Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 281Mar 11, 2010 8:35 am CONGRATS!!!! Enjoy you wonderful new home __________________________ M3tr1con Denver 32...Now 43!!! All moved in & love it!!!! Our Blog - http://fitzy5denverdream.blogspot.com Our H1 link - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=29964 Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 282Mar 11, 2010 11:01 am OMG OMG OMG OMG Yay for you guys congrats you have your nice new house. But I can't wait to see pics......... Forum thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22300 Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 283Mar 11, 2010 10:40 pm Great to hear you're in the house and that some outstanding work is being done now instead of later! YAY!!!! So it is true what they say about a Dyson vac...everyone I know who has it can't stop raving about it! Can't wait for the pic fest to come after you've settled into your new home! Building thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22917 27.07.09 Contract signed. 08.09.09 Site scraped. 18.09.09 Slab completed! 23.11.09 Bricking done 09.03.10 - Tiling 15.04.10 PCI 01.05.10 Handover Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 286Apr 10, 2010 10:24 pm Hey Guys, Thanks so much for all your posts Sorry that its taken ages for me to reply but there is just so much to do now I cant believe we have already been in for a 1 whole month!!!!! Everything's just about sorted and M*tricon have been fantastic at getting those outstanding things completed. They also gave us a nice surprise and sent a very nice food & wine hamper to us for Easter. I would have to say that my experience with M*tricon has been great and I would highly recommend them to anyone Anyway, would you believe that I haven't taken one photo since we'v been in! While we were building I couldn't stop taking photos I hope everyone's builds are going well & Il try to check in again soon to catch up on everyone's threads Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 287Apr 11, 2010 8:49 pm Very, very best wishes to you Shelz. Geoff - Decophile. Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Hand Over Complete!!! 288Apr 17, 2010 4:13 pm Shelz I hope you post some more photos. I have been quietly following your thread for a while now and am really eager to see the final results as I am just about to start building the Santorini myself. Congratulations on moving in, I hope you're enjoying your new home. kayjay Building Santorini 26 with M3tric0n at 'The Avenue at Casey" Re: Another Santorini 26 M*tricon-Dream turning into a NIGHT 289Dec 01, 2010 8:29 pm Hi Everyone, I know Iv been MIA for long time but as the new title suggests our ""Dream"' is now becoming our nightmare! We have now officially been in our home for almost 9 months. At under three months in, the ceiling in the pantry started to lift off and there were some minor cracks appearing all through the house (cornices splitting, architraves cracking etc.) Or three month inspection resulted in them patching up these cracks and the builder stating that it was due to the moisture from our recent break from the drought! Over the last three days the whole house has started shifting and il attach some pictures below to show you just some of the damage. The worst of which occurred just yesterday when i came home to find plaster flakes all over our rumpus floor and the whole cornice separating from the wall & ceiling & split right through the middle! This damage correlates with the external brickwork on that same wall cracking and splitting through the mortar! Over the last 24 hours even more splits and cracks are appearing throughout the whole house and it seem as though the house is sinking and the ceiling is lifting and separating from the house. The plaster work is also starting to bulge and pop in various spots. I have reported this as urgent with the builder and have also been in touch with the building commission. The builder has sent someone out to take pictures of the damage (focusing only on the major stuff though). The builder is currently stating that it is because we have not done any landscaping in the backyard & that this is apparantly causing all the structural damage but they have not yet given a definite answer as it is still being investigated. When I brought this up with a staff member at the building commission, she stated that in her opinion a house this young should not have that much movement irrespective of the landscaping not being done. BUT there hands are tied until the builder completley refuses to take responsibility! The builder is also stating that due to the holiday season coming up they don't know if anything will get done until the new year! At this rate the house will not be livable by the New year! We are devasted and Im am even scared to come home from work in fear of what I might find. The builder has drawn our attention to the slab maintenance section of the contract which does state that on clay soils a 900ml concrete path is recommended around the perimeter of the house but it does not say that it is required or else! We were looking at starting our rear landscaping around now when the weather starts to warm up and when we had more funds available to do so. If we had been advised or warned of this then we would have made the concrete and landscaping a priority over the internal furnishings. In fact I would have paid the builder to do concrete all around the house when we were doing all choices prior to contract signing. Instead they chose to advise of this only now! I have so many questions to any of you that are qualified in these matters or have experienced a similar thing. We are now wanting to contact a slab engineer or inspector but don't know were to start! A couple of tradies who work in the building industry (friends of ours) have stated that it seems the house is sinking due to not sufficient support in the footings! Please reply back if you have ANY advise or experience! *Rumpus Cornice -This was taken yesterday and has gotten far worse!! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ *Closer look! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ *Closer look other end! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ *Brickwork - This has also gotten far worse in the last 24 hours! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ * Brick work other side! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Again, this is just some of whats happening. There is alot more!!!! Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 290Dec 01, 2010 8:53 pm OMG Shelz, I am so sorry this has happened. I was reading the last couple of pages of your thread, really enjoying your experience with the house only to be so shocked by your last post. I can only imagine how devastating this must be for you. It is the worst nightmare of every new homebuilder. I sincerley hope that *M* sort it out to your satisfaction and nothing further happens. Hoping for the very best outcome for you and your family http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v156/CAP121/Emoticons/Actions/fingers_crossed.gif Happy, Healthy Free Range Wessex Saddleback Pigs My doom and gloom paperwork nightmare viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32170 Construction viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43653 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 291Dec 01, 2010 9:13 pm Thank you for your reply Velouria;) We are very shocked ourselves and something tells me this is going to be a long drawn out process! Hopefully we get the right result in the end though!!! Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 292Dec 01, 2010 11:31 pm Hi Shelz. We built with PD, and been here for 18mths, we have had cracking in the cornices, doors not closing properly. We were advised that this is " typical " as the house is still settling.? Going back to out cost's etc when we 1st started, we had to pay a ridiculous amount of money to have 10 - 12 supporting holes dug, filled with concret before the top grade slab was laid, for the reason to stop potential " movement ". We are close to getting an " independant " site assessment done for the entire house and deciding then, what our next step is going to be. As the Site assessment is literally a legal document, we can take it alot further ( ie to court ) I just so happen to briefly mention this to PD previously, and found that things were fixed VERY quickly, but it seems they have slackened off again, and I think they need to be REMINDED.! So my advice to yourself, is get an Independant Site Assessment done.. Or Mention to " M " that it is something that you are considering Arnolds Creek AL Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 293Dec 02, 2010 5:25 am Hey Arnolds Creek AL, Thank you for that information! I have heard of atleast 2 other PD's homes behind us that are having the same issues. One that just recently got completely re-bricked! What's absolutely gutting us is the fact that they are blaming it on our lack of landscaping! In fact when one of there cronies came out to take the pics of the damage yesterday he specifically took shots of the landscaping or lack there of! We have not touched the rear of the house at all. So it has been left the way they handed it to us with dirt mounded up against the slab to cover it! Im thinking this is going to be the thing they blame it on but how in the H*ll am i meant to know that that should not be there. Surely they have some duty of care! Atleast you had this extra support added and a top slab! We just have a H class slab with no addtional support! My cousin has been in her *M* for 18mnths in a different suburb and has also not done an ounce of landscaping but she has not got any cracks at all! Not one!! Overnight the rest of the house has starting cracking aswell and im begining to think this may not be fixable if the problem ****** deep in the slab! Im am sooo stressed about it all and hubby is devasted!!! Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 294Dec 02, 2010 8:40 am I'm so sorry to read this and I can only imagine just how gutted you must be feeling. I have been in my house now for about 15 months and have not done any landscaping around the house at all. In fact, every time it rains (which is often in Melb) we are left with a moat at our front door and around the north side of the house. We are on predominantly sandy soils, not clay, but there are small pockets of clay in some areas. We have had minimal movement to our house, and all the smallish cracks in cornices and nail pops were fixed at our 12 month inspection. Our slab is of the raft design, not waffle pod, and we have deepend edge beams along the east (root barrier) and south (sitting on fill). I would be looking at getting an independant inspection done as soon as you can. I wouldn't have thought a house should move THAT much so early in it's life, and the slab should be engineered to COPE with the changes in soil due to excessive or total lack of rainfall. Isn't that why they do soil tests and construct the slab accordingly?? I would be curious to know what the slab looks like under the floor coverings... Document everything, and I'd be considering taking daily photos of all the problem areas with a ruler to show widths and rate of growth. Best wishes to you and I hope something is sorted out for you ASAP....ie BEFORE Christmas. It's only going to rain more (if you're in VIC...). Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 295Dec 02, 2010 8:42 am That is terrible. You would not expect that your house is going to start cracking in such a short period of time, or that it would start sinking. If it is falling apart so quickly, with you finding new cracks and damage everyday, what condition is it going to be in by the time they come in the new year to look at it? I would be emailing them updated photos daily of the new damage, so that they can fully understand the situation. Also, if it was so important for perimeter concreting and landscaping to be done immediately, they should have specifically spelt this out to you. I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I can completely understand you and hubby's devestation. contract signed: Nov 09 Released to Construction: 23 Jul 10 Slab poured: 9 Aug 10 Frame completed: 30 Aug 10 Windows & Gutters: 7 Sep 10 Bricks: 15 - 23 Sep 10 Roof: 24 Sep 10 Gyprock: 20 Oct 10 Lockup: 25 Oct 10 Kitchen: 27 Oct 10 Tiling: 6 - 9 Nov 10 Painting: 17 Nov 10 Carpet: 30 Nov 10 PCI: 15 Dec 10 Handover: 17 Dec 10 https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=35943 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 296Dec 02, 2010 8:50 am Shelz I would be looking at getting an independant inspection done as soon as you can. I wouldn't have thought a house should move THAT much so early in it's life, and the slab should be engineered to COPE with the changes in soil due to excessive or total lack of rainfall. Isn't that why they do soil tests and construct the slab accordingly?? This is exactly what we think! I regret not having done any landscaping now just so they would not be able to use this against us. However, Im sure there would be something else. They would then probably say that its because we done our landscaping!!! Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 297Dec 02, 2010 9:13 am Stormy I would be curious to know what the slab looks like under the floor coverings... Document everything, and I'd be considering taking daily photos of all the problem areas with a ruler to show widths and rate of growth. I'm with Stormy. Are you able to see the side of the slab particularly in the areas of brick movement? If the bricks are moving as well as the timber / plaster etc it seems as though 'something' is happening to the slab. I wish you every success with getting this dealt with sooner rather than later and Stormy's idea of sending daily photos with measurements is probably worth more than words. We had to do that in the end with our ensuite waste pipe being in the wrong position and when they saw a photo with a tape measure against where the pipe was and where it should have been they took action straight away. Phone calls weren't getting any action in our case. Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 298Dec 02, 2010 12:56 pm Hi Shelz. There was a dude handing out flyers with his number on it at a display we visited at the Gold Coast last weekend. I had a chat to him and he also built with big M and has had no end of dramas with cracks, shifting, windows not flush, the list goes on and on. His flyer is asking people to come and visit his "dream" home as opposed to their displays which are always pretty schmik. To cut a long story short they recently offered him $5000 to go away. The damage or poor workmanship alone he reckons is into the tens of thousands. Sorry to hear that you are having dramas too. It makes everyone in todays market even wearier of the big volume builders. I guess that's why we opted for a smaller custom builder to help us with our investment. Hope it all works out for you. Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 299Dec 02, 2010 2:36 pm Thanks for all your responses:) It is just ridiculous that we get more warranty on a $50 gadget then on a $300,000 house! I have a $150 guess handbag that started to fray at the 11month mark and i was given a full credit to buy something else. No bl**dy questions asked! After reading Tsurf's post I felt sick to my stomach! Thanks for posting it though cause i do need to aware of what I am dealing with! Hubby had already said that he would go make a pest of himself at head office if they dont come to the party, but doesnt sound like it would do any good!!! Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Another Santorini 26 by *M*-Dream turning into a NIGHTMA 300Dec 02, 2010 3:10 pm OMG Shez that is bad what is happening to you . We have a few cracks but they fixed most of them. But I noticed only last week that we have a big one in our kitchen that the plaster is coming away, nothing like yours. I think from memory you aren't far from us. We have done our backyard and front yard and have concrete going right around the house and we still have way more movement than I think for a house that is 9 months old too. When I said my unit never had any cracks and the builder was ******* the supervisor wouldn't answer me and just said it is due to the weather hmmmmmm, I wonder what the quality of materials they are using. Get an inspector in there pronto. Get your husband to go in and demand to speak to a manager and don't leave till one comes down. I would tell him to take his sleeping bag and tent and tell them he will camp out there in their nice office till someone comes and speak to him. I know of someone that did this and he got his problem solved straight away Forum thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22300 I use Tramex moisture meter and it will tell me instantly if the wall is cement sheet or plaster or masonite but most people dont have the equipment. 5 7062 the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 11829 8 6119 |