Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 27, 2010 11:50 am Hi, Would just appreciate some advice for my little sister. My sister and her husband purchased a block of land last year and Council approved construction for a 2 storey house in late December. As of yesterday when my wife and I saw it for the first time, it had not been cleared, and certainly did not appear ready for a slab! However, the builder has maintained that the house will be ready to move in by July 2010. My sister is expecting her 1st baby in September 2010, and dearly wants to be settled into her new house by then. From what I understand it is a double brick, 2 storey house, approximately 26 square metres. I would appreciate some feedback as whether the builder is leading my sister 'up the garden path'. Not having built, I don't want to say anything to my sister at this stage, but I also want her to be realistic. Hope that makes sense. TIA Olly Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 2Jan 27, 2010 12:02 pm If they started next week, and finished at the end of July, that gives them 6 months to build. It's certainly achievable, but with the Easter break falling in the middle of construction, it would be tight. I'm sure others had their double story homes built in this time frame though. Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 3Jan 27, 2010 12:04 pm I guess it would all depend on whether she's had all the plans approved by her builder/council, prestart done. Have they given her a site start date yet? June is only 5 months away... so i guess if they started pretty much straight away they'd have a good chance of it being built by then. But its a 2 storey... so i think it'll take longer then 5/6 months to build. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 4Jan 27, 2010 12:16 pm Thanks for your responses! I just worry for my little sister. Love her to bits, but she is, shall we say, disorganised. From the paperwork she has given me to sift through, it would appear that the Council has provided her with development approval for the construction of the house. She has signed a HIA contract, which states that the builder has up to 26 weeks to complete the house but no commencement start date. There is also something about the industry shut-down - not sure how that affects things. The block does not have any trees on it, but is totally overgrown and has a lot of rubbish on it that will need to be removed. It certainly isn't flat! She will be just crushed if the house isn't ready! Thanks Olly Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 5Jan 27, 2010 12:55 pm Anybody else willing to take a punt? Am toying with the idea of ringing the builder and asking him straight up if he is positive that the house will be ready by the first week of July? Thoughts? Thanks everyone. Olly Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 6Jan 27, 2010 1:00 pm I doubt the builder will tell you anything if your name isn't on the contract Olly. Get your sister or her husband to give them a call to chase up a site start date. Do you know if their plans have been sent to teh scheduling department or anything? viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 7Jan 27, 2010 1:33 pm Hi Jodie, Thanks for your response. You are right, the builder probably won't talk to me! I am pretty sure that there isn't a scheduling department as such, as it seems to be a one-man band. I am just too much of a worry-wart! Hence, still not biting the bullet and buidling my own house yet. Olly Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 8Jan 27, 2010 2:01 pm If the buiding contract says 26 weeks the builder most likely assumes they will make it by then. They will have to start soon but once they get onsite everything can happen very fast. Your sister will probably be in pre-baby but certainly won't be carrying the boxes! Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 9Jan 27, 2010 2:02 pm I hope you meant 26 squares, not 26 m2 as it will be a bit to small for a house It sounds reasonable and most standard contracts have 28-30 weekss. We're building a 46 square house and the contract says 28 weeks. However, as I discussed with my SS, until the roof is in he won't even try to predict when our handover will be possible as it all pretty much dependent on the weather before the roof goes on. ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 10Jan 27, 2010 2:06 pm Thanks everyone for the replies. I should take my sister's advice and apparently take a 'chill pill'. But hey, that's what older brothers are there for - to worry about their sisters. OllyBolly Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 11Jan 27, 2010 2:18 pm My older brother is the same Olly, its a good thing (even if its HIGHLY annoying LOL) viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Flat block of land - builder says house ready by July 10 12Jan 28, 2010 9:43 am There are a 3 key things to get your Sister to request of the builder. 1. Has the Construction Certificate (Building Certificate) been issued? This occurs after the DA is approved by the Council and in most cases these days is issued by a private certifier. Your Contract should outline that the builder has to start work within a certain amount time from the Cert being issued. 2. What is the Contract Start Date? This date can and ususally does differ from the site start date. Most builders start work at the site a few days before the CSD to ensure they don't run over the timeline stated to complete the build. To cover yourself, get the builder to send you the CSD in writing, then you can work out your completion timeline (26 weeks etc) from there. 3. You mentioned the block is overgrown - ask the builder what condition the block needs to be in for them the start work. For me, I was specifically told that the block needed to be clear of any solid debris and the grass was not to be any taller than 300mm Note: Weather delays - check your contract for how rain days are claimed. Some builders don't claim rain days as they go but save them up until the end if it looks like they are going to go over. 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