Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 23, 2009 1:20 pm Due to incorrect measurements on our house plan (error made by builder’s draftsman), our garage is c.40cm shorter than we expected it to be, ie. our contract plans detail width to be 5.98m when in fact it only measures 5.56m wide. Obviously my husband and I are quite frustrated as we have lost a decent amount of space and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it, as the garage has been built up to boundary line. We also believe we may have lost space in the bathroom as well (due to same error), but we need to look into this further. What would you do? Do you think we are entitled to compensation on top of the refund for the reduced size of house? Thanks. Re: Builder error - what would you do? 2Mar 23, 2009 1:38 pm I dont' think you'll get compensated for emotional and stress level damage. however, i would expect that they compenstate you for a smaller house as a minimum. What you can do is hold them to the contract...tell them u want to take everything down and rebuild per the specs or they are at risk of breaching contract. i'd pick a figure somewhere between how much it would cost for them to tear it down and do it again to paying you for living with it.... just remember everyone else may not notice the 40cm but everytime u get out of the garage you would think if only i had that extra 40cm..very frustrating indeed. i made my builder pull down a whole brick wall b/c i wasnt happy with the brick spacing.... they did it... ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Builder error - what would you do? 3Mar 23, 2009 8:36 pm Can you still fit the two cars through the front of the garage as a result?! If not, I don't think any amount of compensation would cover it, personally... Building the Grand Harmony Triple with Scott Park Homes Re: Builder error - what would you do? 4Mar 23, 2009 8:47 pm that's a really hard questions. I don't know what I'd do, I guess I'd want a price reduction plus some sort of "payoff" by having the builder supply something I didn't plan on with the original contract. Maybe a quality shed to make up for the lost storage space in the garage. (maybe air conditioning???) just something to make you "ok" about the error. I wonder if you could make them pull it down and put it up again, I wouldn't feel comfortable even threatening that, but if they didn't take care of me in some way, I spose I would seek legal advice on my rights etc... good luck Annie A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Builder error - what would you do? 5Mar 23, 2009 11:36 pm I think this is one of the many situations where it is easier to give advice than follow it However, I recommend you make the builder wear the problem instead of taking it on yourself. It's the builder's mistake and it is up to the builder to find a solution......ie either rectify the error or offer you compensation that you consider acceptable. Try not to feel under any moral obligation to "not be difficult". Of course, you need to remain reasonable and willing to consider offers (such as the ones others have suggested). But, in the end, it's up to the builder to find a solution that is totally acceptable to you as I think he's in real strife if he doesn't succeed in doing so. He should be the one having sleepless nights. Hopefully someone will know if there's any form of insurance builders tend to have to cover such contingencies - and perhaps if your ultimate bargaining stance (make me happy or I'll insist on what's in the contract, even if you have to tear it down and start again) is legally sustainable to the bitter end. It may be worth drawing up a "wishlist" of options that would make you feel reasonably content about compromising. Should the builder flatly reject all of them, then legal advice seems to be the next step. Obviously, it would be better for all concerned if that could be avoided. Cheers zeke Re: Builder error - what would you do? 6Mar 24, 2009 1:58 pm Thanks for all responses. Smeagol - Unfortunately rebuild wasn't an option as the additional space is not there - the measurement on the plan was incorrect and only picked up once the slab had been laid. And you are very right re nobody else will notice the smaller garage, but it will always bother us - our garage is not only for 2 cars, but storage space for tools/bikes etc ... yes EXTREMELY frustrating as every cm helps! starlet We have two large cars and although we're not totally sure if they will fit (with ducted vacuum unit plus bikes etc) - we're still hopeful that at least the cars will fit .... the arrangement of the garage will have to change. Annietom We're thinking the same as you .... we feel we want more than just the price reduction, but something to say that they are sorry and to show that they do care that they made the mistake and want to finish the job with happy customers. We are also considering legal advice. zeke That's been our problem through most of this build - we haven't wanted to appear 'difficult' and they have got away with many errors. The garage size issue hasn't been the only problem we have faced with this build - a bit of a long story (like with most house builds) and I won't go on about it here, but we feel we have swallowed them all and caused minimal fuss. We're considering taking the garage issue further out of principle!! I like your idea of a 'wishlist' and finding a compromise ... and indeed, if that is rejected, legal advice it is! Many thanks to you all Bought in Nov 21 at the height of the market (classic). Good area, atrocious floor plan. BUT has land out to the left-hand side that we can extend out on (see second… 0 8783 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39755 Hi It came to my attention after the handover that - The facade cladding on the face and the side are not straight. -The face tapers down by 50mm from left to right and… 0 2472 |