Refund for Unused Concrete ?

Hi all,

Our piers have recently been poured.
Our total allowance for concrete for the piers is 60 lineal meters (400mm diameter). This was charged as part of site cost (but not itemised).

The piering people have only used around half of the allowance!! (in meters).

Now, is it unreasonable and has anyone tried to get a "refund" back from the builder for the unused (but charged) portion of the concrete?

Thanks
Lex

I'd be more concerned about why all the piers haven't been done

None of that gives a total consumption.
If there are piers not done then I expect they will be later.

If you were given a breakdown of the costs and consumption prior,
then you could probably have e credit, if not then I don't think you have any chance.

Concrete is measured in Cubic Metres often seen as CU mtrs.

Exactly...what do the drawings say and if the certified drawings require 60 lm....ask for a please explain.

OK, thank you for your comments; to clarify:
All is fine with the number of piers - they have all been poured as per the plan.
However, their total length is nowhere near the max length on which the site cost was based!
Does this help?

Now, it seems that we are up for a nice refund, but - do we get it and how?!?! Any ideas of what kind of excuses they may come up with (to brush me off)? (Sorry, yeah, I don't believe they would offer a refund themselves, or even agree to it upon our inquiry.)

Secondly, do you know how much the builders charge (we are with the C) for "exportation of soil" (Sydney metro) ? There might be some soil left over after all the digging for pipes and piers.

5 cu prolly cost about $1000.
You could always ask.

Pardon my ignorance , but what is "prolly" ??
And are you talking about the used concrete, or the cost of exportation of 5 m3 of soil?

"Prolly" - probably.

yes probably.
I was talking about the cost of 'new concrete only' @ $1000 for 5cu mtrs.

Ok, thanks. Wow, that surely seems very cheap ... our overall 'standard' site costs were just under 16k (M class slab) plus some 2k provisional.

If you had to pay extra if the piers came out more than expected, then you should get a refund if they come in at less than expected. Check your contract. Piers are about $90/m, so you should be getting about $2800 back.

Have you included the builders margin being %25 ?

Thanks, Casa, that was my thinking too ... I don't believe they would hesitate to send me a PCV for extra work.
E - Hmmm, if I'm supposed to get a refund, I don't think there is any clause saying that I would get 25% on top of that . I shall double check it though, maybe it slipped my attention, maybe I grouped it automatically under "things that never happen" hahahaha) ... but definitely a good point (if not a cheeky one too) !!

It is an interesting question though -- the cost you have in your contract includes this margin. How will it work with getting a refund?

I dont think it is unreasonable to seek a credit....

Our situation is similar. We had fixed site costs based upon a soil test. @ contract, we had a line item for 45 screw piles, total $14.5k

Once I had the engineering drawings just before site start, only 21 concrete piers were shown on the plan. I asked the question why and how much I would get back and was told (without a fight) that a credit figure would be provided after the site works were complete. Apparently this type of thing doesnt happen very often at all.

Sure enough, a few weeks after base stage I had a PCV in the mail with an $8.5k credit.

According to my broker,the way that it is provided back is that the total house cost is reduced by the amount. As site costs have no effect on total valuation there will be a different of $8.5k between approved mortgage amount and actual $$ paid to the builder once the last invoice is paid. The bank should provide these funds to you at the end of the build at your discretion.

Good luck.

I am pretty sure that under the standard HIA contract that credit variations (ie: refunds to you) will not include the builder's preliminaries/margin of 20% (or whatever % is in your contract). So regardless of what refund you may get back, the builder retains their preliminaries/margin amount.

Thanks, Sierra. Just one thing - at what stage did you raise this and with whom (the slab manager, the CSO, the site supervisor after the slab)?
Did you put it in writing as well?
Thanks
Lex

I raised it with my CSO via email and a phone call prior to site works commencing, basically the next day that I noticed and had a positive written response the same day confirming the credit (with amount to be specified after base stage).

Hmmm, nice builder you have there!
I'm thinking to wait and see if they do anything. If not, then I'll ask. Are there any "rules" that it's maybe too late ?!!?