Browse Forums Building A New House Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 21Dec 11, 2008 12:52 pm Just want to share our experience during our pre-handover walk through...
it was that good... we though of NOT getting Kev to do another inspection. we only found minor stuff like paint touch ups (major ones where the wrong location of wall lights to ensuite and bathroom. SS was pleased with our walk through. he said anything that Kev would find will no longer be fixed, as it was going to happen after our walk through. but we still asked Kev to inspect. after a week.. we found out that there were so many items that we overlooked (because of lack of knowledge with tolerances, etc). these items are not in accordance with the BC standards/tolerances. we had to get the attention of the higher management in order for SS to fix it. problem is, we already have the final cheque with us and the bank is charging us interest for it.. but we haven't gotten the keys yet and they are still fixing the issues SLOWLY... there might be some people who are happy to get the keys to their new homes because they weren't aware of any major defects.. but i wonder how they would feel if they had an independent inspector who finds out about these defects. that's a dilemma - to accept the keys and let the builder go away with major defects.. or wait for them to fix the defects. Donuts, just hope that there won't be any major issues that will hold up your handover. If issues are minor, probably you can live with it in 3 months and let them fix it during 3-month maintenance stage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 22Dec 11, 2008 1:02 pm Hi VJ, great post, interesting points!!! if you don't mind me asking what sorts of things did he pick up on, got me worried now, cause we didn't use one, but im sure those who haven't had an inspection can look out for.... Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 23Dec 11, 2008 7:14 pm Quote: Hi VJ, great post, interesting points!!! if you don't mind me asking what sorts of things did he pick up on, got me worried now, cause we didn't use one, but im sure those who haven't had an inspection can look out for.... hi woodsey, some of the defects (against BC tolerances/standards) that Kev picked up were: - the exhaust fan fitted into the powder room ceiling does not have a duct fitted, therefore the contaminated air would not go out (will just blow into the ceiling/first floor joist space (imagine, SS gave the excuse that it wasn't part of our contract? what the ? it's a BCA requirement! ) - timber packing strips fitted in behind garage door tracks are only normal radiata pine (class 4 durability) - if timber is used externally, above ground and exposed, should be of durability class 1 or 2 - timber window frames - hard up to the underside, no sufficient clearance - plaster walls that are not plub (lots of areas) - ceiling and cornice lines that are out of level - tiled face of the bath island hob is out of plumb over its short height - bathroom floor falls away from the centre of the door opening towards the vanity cabinet - bedroom floor that is up to 20mm out of level across the rear wall - face of the opening of the study is out of plumb (by 10mm) - dining window had several scratches (we didn't notice it!) - timber sill of bifold doorframe (no sill flashing) - kitchen window side reveals - not plumb - gutters that were scratched - Kev asked to replace and not spray paint, as it was suggested by the supplier. we even had to provide them with the document from the manufacturer recommending no touch-ups to be done if the scratched area is substantial. The report mentioned the BCA codes/Australian Standards that were violated. the last one, we noticed. but the rest, we didn't! we only noticed paint issues, scratches.. and the only major one we complained about was the visible joins to the cladding. so really... let the experts do the inspection for you. it's all worth it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 25Dec 11, 2008 7:33 pm they were supposed to be fixing all...
but when they were discussing about the ones that involve removing the tiles and re-tiling (ensuite bath & bathroom floor tile), we decided to leave it (Kev agreed too). as we are using timber floors upstairs (except in bedrooms), they were saying that the uneven floor in the bathroom won't be obvious anyway. so yeah.. they are going to fix almost everything and we were pleased with it.. remember though that it was because of the BM being there. if only the SS was there, nothing would be fixed . someone mentioned about trusting the SS. we also trusted our SS. we were so happy when we left during the prehandover inspection. but he looked trustworthy because he was hiding so much from us! when we saw Kev's inspection, we realised that he tricked us into accepting those major defects! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 26Dec 11, 2008 7:50 pm yep, that is great that they are fixing nearly all of them.
We are booked in for the walk thru on Monday with Kev; when I spoke to Mrs Builder today she was again cagey about Builder being there for the walk thru, and said she could only confirm his attendance an hour before the appointment Whatever, as long as someone is there representing the Builder (his wife) then at least there will be someone there to notate any problems, however I can see them dragging their feet in fixing them. We are pretty keen to get in before Christmas.... I wonder how badly they want our final payment before Christmas?? Should we call their bluff? Anyway, this is all in the assumption that there will be problems to fix, so we are anticipating worst case scenario. We'll just hope that the reality is that there aren't any, or very few, problems. Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 27Dec 11, 2008 8:01 pm Quote: Anyway, this is all in the assumption that there will be problems to fix, so we are anticipating worst case scenario. We'll just hope that the reality is that there aren't any, or very few, problems. i wonder if there's even one customer in this forum who has ever built and never had any issue during the final inspection. i really hope that you don't have any major issues during your walk through. fingers crossed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: handover / 3 month maintenance check question 28Dec 12, 2008 7:59 am VJ Quote: Hi VJ, great post, interesting points!!! if you don't mind me asking what sorts of things did he pick up on, got me worried now, cause we didn't use one, but im sure those who haven't had an inspection can look out for.... hi woodsey, some of the defects (against BC tolerances/standards) that Kev picked up were: - the exhaust fan fitted into the powder room ceiling does not have a duct fitted, therefore the contaminated air would not go out (will just blow into the ceiling/first floor joist space (imagine, SS gave the excuse that it wasn't part of our contract? what the ? it's a BCA requirement! ) - timber packing strips fitted in behind garage door tracks are only normal radiata pine (class 4 durability) - if timber is used externally, above ground and exposed, should be of durability class 1 or 2 - timber window frames - hard up to the underside, no sufficient clearance - plaster walls that are not plub (lots of areas) - ceiling and cornice lines that are out of level - tiled face of the bath island hob is out of plumb over its short height - bathroom floor falls away from the centre of the door opening towards the vanity cabinet - bedroom floor that is up to 20mm out of level across the rear wall - face of the opening of the study is out of plumb (by 10mm) - dining window had several scratches (we didn't notice it!) - timber sill of bifold doorframe (no sill flashing) - kitchen window side reveals - not plumb - gutters that were scratched - Kev asked to replace and not spray paint, as it was suggested by the supplier. we even had to provide them with the document from the manufacturer recommending no touch-ups to be done if the scratched area is substantial. The report mentioned the BCA codes/Australian Standards that were violated. the last one, we noticed. but the rest, we didn't! we only noticed paint issues, scratches.. and the only major one we complained about was the visible joins to the cladding. so really... let the experts do the inspection for you. it's all worth it. WOW that is ALOT and l must say as an 'inexperienced' person to building industry (as lm guess most of us are!), we wouldn't know to look for half of those things! Now im worried, hopefully nothing is wrong with our house! Does Big Kev do three month inspection? i guess the restrictions there is half the things he may pick up on we properly won't be able to claim under 'maintenance' am i right? VJ someone mentioned about trusting the SS. we also trusted our SS. we were so happy when we left during the prehandover inspection. but he looked trustworthy because he was hiding so much from us! when we saw Kev's inspection, we realised that he tricked us into accepting those major defects! I was teh same as you, l thought we were lucky and had the best SS, now, we have spoken to $imonds head office and told them we don't want to deal with him, the minute we handed over the money he went from friendly 'can do' attitude to cbf! goes to show it was all for show so we wouldn't say anything and he would get his final pay check now we are left trying to sort out his mess! i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98623 Can you give advice on how to get missing certificates needed for a form 21? Our bank requires us to provide one but we are missing 4 building certificates from our first… 3 71778 yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 5314 |