Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 20, 2009 2:05 pm We've just had our 12 month inspection with Hnley - All things were ok, well except for..... a great deal of varnish is flaking off our living area sliding door. This started to flake off after 10 months. Its exposing alot of the wood. Get this I've been told that "varnish" is a high maintenance item and that i should expect the varnish to flake off !!!!! They've said they will re-varnish the areas but will then wash their hands off it and expect me re-varnish even if its within another 12 months I'd be interested to hear if anybody had any similar dealings with these people. All their houses have the same wooden sliding doors and i would expect that this is an issue where the sun can get to it like ours. Another classic tale of cheap materials i suspect. Thanks, Simon Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 2Oct 20, 2009 2:27 pm That's pretty unacceptable Simon, sorry to hear they responded like that! We're starting our build with Henley now. We have the timber sliding doors which face north, but these will be protected from the sun by the alfresco. We also have our front entry door though which will face west, I imagine this will cop a fair bit of afternoon/evening sun. It is more exposed than the sliding doors. Will have to keep an eye on them. What house did you build? Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 3Oct 20, 2009 2:38 pm Barclay. Exposure to the sun is the key. I understand the degradation due to the sun but within 12 months.... that i can't understand. I would have expected to have issues with 2-3 years or so. Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 4Oct 20, 2009 3:03 pm I don't think you can expect them to keep being responsible for the re-varnishing, as it is something that requires annual maintenance just like resealing of a driveway or repainting etc. However, definitely get them to do it this time and in the future buy a marine grade varnish and it will last a lot longer. Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 5Oct 20, 2009 3:26 pm Completely agree about me maintaining it and i have no problem with that. I just didn't expect to be revarnishing after 10 months.... It was made out like it was my fault. That was what i wasn't too pleased about. The contract does state that they will only maintain the exterior stain for 12 months which is fair enough given the harsh aussie weather. Simon Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 6Oct 20, 2009 3:27 pm Restaining/varnishing external timber is normally considered a 12 monthly job. A lot of builders warn against timber windows for this reason. I expect we will be restaining our windows and doors constantly Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 7Oct 20, 2009 3:55 pm Simon, the building commission standards and tolerances for exterior semitransparant stains says it is a defect if there is lifting, blistering, flaking or fading within 12 months, so yes they need to do it this time around, but as everybody else mentioned timber windows and doors is just one of those ongoing maintenance issues. Ours look like crap and we haven't even had hand over yet (with H) so i dread to think what ours will look like in 12 months time Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 8Oct 21, 2009 8:53 am Call me cynical, but I bet they use the cheapest varnish or stain they can get their hands on. And while they may well fix it this time around you'll be faced with the same problem again. I reckon your best bet is to bite the bullet and do it yourself, but properly. The Intergrain 'Trishield' products (http://www.intergrain.com.au/trishield.html) are something I've had great success with in the past. The end result looks great and it lasts for ages: I've used it on outside garden furniture that well and truly cops the weather and the stuff still looks like new. On exterior timber windows I'm up to three years after the initial application and maintenance to date has been zero. It takes a lot more time and effort than merely slapping a layer of varnish on but the payback is enhanced appearance and durability. If you decide to have a go then practice on some scrap timber first so you can get a feel for how it needs to be applied. As for other exterior timbers, I don't even go for 12 month maintenance. I would re-oil the exposed posts and timbers on my old covered deck every 3 months and re-oil the deck itself every six months. It doesn't take long for our harsh sun to take its toll on unprotected timber, you just have to look around at new housing estates where you can see external timbers everywhere cracking and fading and peeling after less than a year. And if nothing else it keeps it looking good. My point after all this is don't rely on the builders to do a good job - they'll do as little as possible as cheaply as possible that they think they can get away with. Sand your doors back yourself then buy some decent product and do it yourself, it'll look better and last longer. Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 9Oct 21, 2009 8:59 am Stand your ground. We did and ended up with whole new timber triple slider. I bet they haven't stained the underneath of the door. This voids the warranty that comes with the doors. We ended up with water damage and the door not sliding well. So after an on site inspection with both henley and canterbury doors it was decided that since they had not sealed the doors properly they had to replace. Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 10Oct 21, 2009 8:59 am The better grade materials definately make a difference. In our first home (South East Qld also) the breakdown on the exterior varnish started not long after 7 months. It was a N facing door, plenty of sun and good blast from our summer thunderstorms. Some will say exterior timbers need to be cared for every 6 months. It's not a costly exercise but a task none the less. Hence the question many bring up.... timber vs aluminium bifolds? Built 36sq Plantation "Retreat" on 4460m2 at Spring Mountain, Qld In Living and landscaping.. >>> ... http://retreatspring.blogspot.com Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 11Oct 21, 2009 9:20 am mmmm, sounds like i'll be keeping a closer eye on the timbers doors and i may even take a bit of advise and sand and revarnish myself next year. At least they'll be redoing it for us for the time being. To be fair this is the only thing during the whole build that i've had an issue with and i had a quick rant to let off some steam ! Thanks for the feedback Simon Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 12Oct 21, 2009 9:22 am mmmm, sounds like i'll be keeping a closer eye on the timbers doors and i may even take a bit of advise and sand and revarnish myself next year. At least they'll be redoing it for us for the time being. To be fair this is the only thing during the whole build that i've had an issue with and i had a quick rant to let off some steam ! Thanks for the feedback Simon Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 13Oct 22, 2009 12:37 pm Having had a bit of experience over the last 10 years maintaining sun exposed timber, I have come to the conclusion that no varnish product is able to withstand the sun at all. So, I switched back to using exterior timber oil products and never had a problem. You just redo the oil each 1-2 years and you dont get the horrible flaking of varnish. Building - Henley Ambassador 483 - 15m Status - Post contract plans & siting. Blog & photos - http://fromgotowhoa.blogspot.com/ Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 14Oct 22, 2009 12:51 pm We were told at our colour selection appointment that we would need to re-stain our front door and our timber windows annually. I guess if you are advised upfront you expect to do it, but if we weren't told I'd feel the same way as you! Building with Dennis Family Homes - Hartley 280 Location: Settlers Run, Botanic Ridge Re: Hnley - 12 month inspection. Not happy. 15Oct 22, 2009 6:14 pm Thudd Call me cynical, but I bet they use the cheapest varnish or stain they can get their hands on. And while they may well fix it this time around you'll be faced with the same problem again. I reckon your best bet is to bite the bullet and do it yourself, but properly. My point after all this is don't rely on the builders to do a good job - they'll do as little as possible as cheaply as possible that they think they can get away with. Sand your doors back yourself then buy some decent product and do it yourself, it'll look better and last longer. This is the exact reason why l have 52ltrs of paint, and 8 ltrs of exterior varnish readily awaiting handover. The nasty "chalky" feeling walls & avg varnishing jobs they do have left me no option. So first week after handover Dad (ex-painter) and I are re-doing everything (and OMG, it'll be rolled, not sprayed!). Also the fact we chose "walnut" as our finish for front door/sliding doors, and the result is a mid brown no where near walnut (although diff suppliers have different walnuts, this seems to be different to anything l've seen) meant sanding back and starting again was always going to happen. Exterior varnish you should get 2-3yrs out off (pending obviously location), depending what they've used & how well its applied. Doesn't surprise me you've got less than 12months. 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 98697 you need to understand the breakdown of warranties. 90 warranty is considered as minor defects rectification period where as the longer ones are more major/structural… 1 5351 Hi, I have this sewer inspection point sitting in an odd spot in the rear of my yard: https://imgur.com/ghLI98q What I'd like to do is put a firepit in that corner of… 0 6534 |