Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 02, 2009 9:28 pm I'd love some opinions on this!
We signed specs that said our house would be built on a waffle slab, but the builder is half way through building the house and we now find that it has been built on stumps and wooden beams. They're saying this is better because the house can be raised (the land is on a slope) but in the end they haven't built what the contract says. We're worried about causing too much conflict in case it affects the rest of the building and how they deal with us. Any ideas on whether this is a big problem, whether slab or stumps cost more etc so we can work out whether we should be asking for some form of compensation (eg upgraded fittings or some outdoor decking)? Thanks! First home buyers learning as we go! Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 2Mar 02, 2009 9:34 pm Wow!
Thats a biggie... How the hell did they get that past the council?? We are building a slab ... then we changed our mind to stumps. Surely the local council / independent certifier could pic the difference between stumps and a slab ... couldn't they? Forget compensation ... if they have built the wrong house someone may have some issues with this in the future. An independant inspection / audit of your paperwork and your building site would be a start I would think. Who was your builder (if you wish to share?) Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 3Mar 02, 2009 9:36 pm How come it took till half way through the build to realise it was on stumps and not a slab?
I'm not sure about which is more expensive.. I'll leave that for other to comment on. Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 4Mar 02, 2009 9:50 pm We bought the house off the plan and went overseas for a while, when we came back the frame was up, half of the bricks, windows in and no slab. I don't know about any of the Council stuff, do they come and look at it at this stage or not until it's finished? Also, the information the builder gave the Council may have been correct, just apparently the specs that were signed as part of our contract of sale were a slightly out of date version.
Basically we don't know whether we're worse off or not for getting stumps rather than a slab and we need to work out the advantages/disadvantages of stumps rather than waffle slab before we work out how much to complain about it! Which is better to have? First home buyers learning as we go! Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 5Mar 02, 2009 10:00 pm This is truly mind-boggling
House footings are engineered to defined specifications. A change like this requires re-engineering, virtually from scratch. Every authority involved (eg council) and your lender (if any) will need to have considered and approved a change of this magnitude. Most importantly, YOU needed to know as soon as the builder had a rush of blood to the head and came up with this gem of an idea. The ramifications are significant and fundamental. I suggest you stop considering whether or not a set of steak knives will appease you and tell the builder to stop work immediately and supply full and complete details so you can get independent building, engineeering and legal advice and consider your position. The builder should be left under no illusions that he will ultimately foot any costs associated with this action. There are times when a softly-softly approach is appropriate......this is not one of them. You need to be calm, but very firm and business-like. Your builder has treated you without any respect or consideration. I must add that this advice/opinion is clearly based on the assumption that I have correctly understood the situation from your post......in some ways I hope I haven't Cheers zeke EDIT Your last post went up while I was posting and itmakes it a little clearer how this happened, especially as you were o/s when the change was made. But I don't think that changes my opinion significantly. I still can't see a truly professional builder making a change like this to what was contracted without getting your written agreement......unless you signed something giving him rights to decide things like this on your behalf....? From what you have told us, he appears to have left himself wide open legally and I think you're in the box seat. I suggest he's going to have to wait nervously while you decide what you want to do and I think you need some expert hands-on advice on this. Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 6Mar 02, 2009 10:16 pm Thanks for your replies, I have a feeling I have not explained the situation well!
We now know that the builder always intended the house to be on stumps, that is how it was designed and engineered and we assume put to Council. The only issue is that the specifications, ie, the list of features included in the house that the real estate agent gave us, says waffle slab ground floor, timber first floor. This is because last time he built this same house he did build it on a waffle slab and the specs from that house were accidentally attached to our contract without the required amendments. Only we didn't know this and bought on the basis of those specs. So there are no issues to do with engineering, structure or Council approvals. The issue is, if we bargained price on the basis of those specs, should we get some form of compensation for the fact that the house we bought is on stumps and not a slab, or is it a better to have bought a house on stumps, in which case it is all fine with us? Hope this clears things up? First home buyers learning as we go! Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 7Mar 02, 2009 10:24 pm Most houses on sloping land are built on stumps, there will be no structural issues I am sure.
There will be a huge difference in the energy rating of the house. Houses on stumps don't rate well. In fact up until about a year ago they were given a free hike in star rating just to qualify. Have an energy audit done by a qualified energy rating professional (maybe $150-$200). The difference is what you will lose energy costs. Most houses on stumps have double glazed windows. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 9Mar 02, 2009 10:32 pm Ha ha.....glad to hear I had it all wrong, Ayperos. Still, it gave me an excuse to rave on a bit and let off some steam.....was a quiet evening until then.
In short, there are advantages and disadvantages to both building systems, but I doubt if the cost differences are very high. It will depend largely on the site factors, especially slope, and the types of flooring you're having. Cheers zeke Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 10Mar 02, 2009 10:52 pm We were looking at one particular house , before we decided on the one we are building.
We got a quote to build it on slab (normal slab, not waffle), and then on stumps.. Stumps was an extra .. wait for it... $80,000 more!!! This is the house.. It looks big, but it is approx 35-40 sq.. (cant remember exactly sorry) http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu251/homeone_sha/bJunwood-Ct---front-exterio.jpg They told me the timber flooring, joists and bearers, etc is much more expensive than concrete .. -Sha Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 11Mar 02, 2009 10:55 pm sha We were looking at one particular house , before we decided on the one we are building. We got a quote to build it on slab (normal slab, not waffle), and then on stumps.. Stumps was an extra .. wait for it... $80,000 more!!! This is the house.. It looks big, but it is approx 35-40 sq.. (cant remember exactly sorry) http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu251/homeone_sha/bJunwood-Ct---front-exterio.jpg They told me the timber flooring, joists and bearers, etc is much more expensive than concrete .. -Sha True - on a flat block. Stumps cheaper on a slope... but I do think your quoted difference was stupid... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 12Mar 02, 2009 11:11 pm ed @ EcoClassic sha We were looking at one particular house , before we decided on the one we are building. We got a quote to build it on slab (normal slab, not waffle), and then on stumps.. Stumps was an extra .. wait for it... $80,000 more!!! This is the house.. It looks big, but it is approx 35-40 sq.. (cant remember exactly sorry) http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu251/homeone_sha/bJunwood-Ct---front-exterio.jpg They told me the timber flooring, joists and bearers, etc is much more expensive than concrete .. -Sha True - on a flat block. Stumps cheaper on a slope... but I do think your quoted difference was stupid... Ed we did too.. so we went to another builder.. That house was a small company that do gorgeous homes.. we went with a project builder that does average homes , that we love just as much (cause its ours!).. and saved a bucketload! -sha Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 13Mar 03, 2009 7:38 am Stumps are better for the owner and cost a bit more.
Slab is better for the builder. It is less time consuming to build and you dont have the same tradespersons back and forth. Stumps is more difficult because it takes you longer to come out of the ground. If you ask a builder what is better he will say slab. (its better for him) You also always end up with a better job on stumps. Even your garage will look better when the pour the infill slab at the end. Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 14Mar 03, 2009 12:23 pm Whether you're better off financially with stumps or not is really beside the point. If the slab wasn't constructed according to the engineers drawings, it won't be passed and you may have trouble when it comes time to issuing the occupancy certificate.
I didn't take any notice of what state you are in, but if in Vic, call the Building and Conciliation Victoria (jointly run by Building Commission and Consumer Affairs). If you in the other states, they may have a similar set up, or simply call Consumer Affairs for advice. Building in remote, regional Vic We have roof, frame, walls, plumbing, electrical....but no bricks! Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 15Mar 03, 2009 12:26 pm Thanks for all of your comments. Our house is being built on a slope. As I mentioned above, the issue is not engineering because the builder intended for the house to be on stumps, designed it as such (for our block anyway) and the only mix up is that old specs were given to us, specs that related to a different block where he had built the same house but on a slab.
We did ask a friend of ours who is a builder, as well as asking other friends, and they said a slab is better because there are no creaks in the floor, the floor levelling doesn't shift over time and there are no termite problems. However, a slab can crack depending on the conditions. There seem to be positives and negatives of both so it's difficult to know if we should take issue with not getting what was in the specs, take it as a bonus because we're better off, or forget about it because it makes no difference? First home buyers learning as we go! Re: Contract says waffle slab, got stumps! 16Mar 03, 2009 12:51 pm Ive heard really bad stories about waffle pod you should be glad its stumps (we are really hoping ours will come back non waffle).
I believe that waffle pod is the cheapest, so be careful they may slug you more money if you ask for reimbursement! If you're in a flood zone, not only are you dealing with the importation of fill and laying it down in 150 lifts to achieve compaction, you're going to have to consider… 4 5533 The Soil classification has little to do with piers. The purpose of the classing of the soil is to identify the clay content and the "average expected range of movement… 2 9854 Are they stumps or screw piles ? How much fill is there, is the site a class "P" ? A "H2" site is not supposed to have stumps it is supposed to have grid beams according… 1 6942 |