Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 24, 2009 9:48 am Hi We have run into an issue with our builder regarding the retaining wall at the front of the property. We have a 1200mm retaining wall runing along the front boundary. It doesnt actually retain a lot, in fact there will need to be about 100 sqm of sand dumped in to fill the front yard so that the front lawn is 1 course lower than the top of the retaining wall. This retaining wall was put on the plan by the builder as part of the siteworks etc when doing the house. We are now being told that the sand hasn't been costed into the contract, ie unless we pay for the sand separately (and delivery and dumping) the end result will be that we have a rendered retaining wall and then effectively a hole where our front lawn should be. This isn't right is it? Surely the builder is under an obligation in the contract to build the house according to plans, ie, fill to the levels specified on the site plan. Any suggestions? Re: Retaining wall issue 2Apr 24, 2009 10:46 am I don't think it would be? I know that we had to import fill two weeks ago and we either had to pay for it or alternatively find it ourself. I was lucky to know an excavation mob who could deliver over 500 tonnes for us - and smooth it out - for nothing. Otherwise the cheapest the builder could do was $14 a tonne. Is it actually spelt out in your contract anywhere? I have read every single page of my contract - in fact it sits by the computer so I can refer back to it at any stage. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Retaining wall issue 3Apr 24, 2009 10:51 am Hey Becster, The only reason the builder would have put the retainer in on your plans and your land is because a particular section of your land needed is to close to an unlevel area that they are buiding on and where the slab is in relation to this area. Does that make sense......... Filling in that area is not a necessity as it purely needed to be retained for movement...the fact that you want to put lawn or a garden or whatever it might be This section of land is yours to do with what you like they just have to make sure the land is retained if it is a certain distance from the slab. It does have something to do with the survey of your land and the levels that the builder started with. I could be completely off track but somewhere on your plans there will be the retainer and then it will state under your site works what is required with this retainer. If it is not written anywhere for them to level that area....ufortunately it is not for them to worry about. Good luck Becster. Re: Retaining wall issue 4Apr 24, 2009 11:26 am call local pool companies they generally provide free fill and level out, but it may be a bit crappy Da Vinci Outdoor Living Architectural landscaping http://www.davincioutdoor.com Re: Retaining wall issue 5Apr 24, 2009 1:18 pm Is the house on the low side or the high side of the retaining wall? (I'm sorry if I've missed something.) At first I pictured the front lawn in front of the house and then the retaining wall but upon rereading it a few times I'm not sure what to make of it. If the house is on the low side of the street and the retaining wall was built to enable the ground to be levelled for the house and the area immediately around it, then wouldn't the ground behind the retaining wall be up to the top of the retaining wall, except for a thinnish gap where the drainage goes? Is that what the sand is for? (The walls I've seen have had pebbles.) I would have thought that the ag drain and appropriate backfill around the ag drain would be considered an inherent part of the construction of a retaining wall. If the house is on the high side of the street and the retaining wall was constructed for more practical and aesthetic reasons, to allow you to have a useful flat area out the front of the house, then I guess it might depend on the wording of your contract as to what you can require the builder to do. (Morally I think the builder should finish the job, in layman's terms a retaining wall implies there's something retained behind it, NOT a hole, but legally . . . ?) Getting some free fill might be the way to go, but you'd probably still need a layer of something decent for the lawn to grow in (sand wouldn't be any good either). Oh, I just realised you said sqm not cubic metres. So that's the area to be covered, not the quantity to be delivered? Re: Retaining wall issue 6Apr 24, 2009 2:16 pm i will need fill for my shed and the builder noted that fill is quite cheap. it wont be included unless specified Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Retaining wall issue 7Apr 24, 2009 4:59 pm Hi again - yep, meant cubic metres not sqm. Talking with a friend today, and having read all your comments today - yeh, i appreciate that we are probably (ie 99.9% sure) going to do the fill ourselves as there isn't anything in the contract about it at all (never assume, being the lesson learnt today).. The "retaining" wall is really doing no retaining at all, we are on the high side of the street and once the fill is done, the wall will have the effect of levelling off the lawn/garden so that it runs straight out from the house to the retaining wall. The alternate scenario would have been a gradual slope leading from the footpath to the front door. I was chatting with the site supervisor at the site today and he also mentioned the pool company option. Whatever we do we'll have to add soil improver to grow things - west facing 1km back from the Indian Ocean, howling south westerlies (!) so maybe that's the way to go ... Thanks for all your advice Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5099 thanks Chippy, i hope they have applied sealer but i am doubt to be honest, so i am gonna do this job after handover. 8 16176 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16043 |