Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 02, 2010 7:46 pm Hi all, I'm currently building my first home in Craigieburn. I have used Boral Escura Smooth Pearl Grey bricks. I'm really unhappy with the quality of the brickwork and mortar. Aside from numerous chips in the brickwork all around the house, some bricks are being knocked out and replaced with bricks from a different batch and are not consistent in colour. Also, the colour of the mortar is very inconsistent. Does anyone have any information about the standards required for brickwork and mortar? I've tried Googling, but can't seem to find any definitive info. Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 2Apr 02, 2010 8:44 pm Hi, have a look at this: http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/resources/documents/S+T_GUIDE_07.pdf Note the definition for the "normal viewing position" - if you can see the issues from that distance, it's a defect. I'd get onto the SS and ask what's the rectification plan. If your bricks are painted, they will most likely pass the ball to the brick manufacturer, who will likely call another company to have a look. If agreed (and with your agreement and suggestions as to what to paint), they would then paint the damaged areas / chips, and even whole bricks where they have been taken from a different batch. Good luck and let us know how it goes! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 3Apr 02, 2010 9:30 pm Thanks Lex... exactly what I was looking for! After reading through that document, it appears that my brickwork and mortar may not meet the building standards at all, contrary to what my SS said. The bricks are clay and not painted, so colour matching them with paint won't be a viable option. And I'm not too sure they'll do about the different mortar colours, but at least I know that I'm definitely not crazy after all and there is certainly a problem! Here's some pics of the bricks/mortar. As you can see, it just doesn't look good at all ^ Mortar colours ^ Repaired brickwork ^ Different brick colours Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 4Apr 02, 2010 11:29 pm Hi Paul, That's shocking!!! Surely they can't expect that is quality work??? This is getting ridiculous, just because they are not making profit building your house but surely their reputation is worth more than that, to me it's stupidity because they might lose out a few thousands to fix the problem but by not fixing it properly will cause them to lose tens of thousands in sales YKWIM. I hope my build is not the same as yours but you never know. I don't know how to help you but only suggest that you get an independent building inspector in to inspect and record any defects and if they won't fix the problem properly than call BACV and tell them of your situation and ask for their building inspector to come out and assess, bear in mind that in Victoria (stupid) that the builder is not legally obligated to fix the defect on their report but they could end up in the disciplinary board (if you read the Building Commission Insight magazine most of the outcome are a joke with the builder only coping a small fine). However, you can use your building inspector's report, the BACV inspection report or BACV inspector to be witness at VCAT ( please go to the Building Commission website for further details). Also check the building dispute cases on this website http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/vic/VCAT/ in particular this case JG King Pty Ltd v Sansome & Anor (Domestic Building) [2009] VCAT 2226 (21 October 2009) but there are other cases that are relevant so please go through them. Following your experience so far, I'm really nervous how my house will turn out with this builder, but at the moment I can't back out but the only thing I can do is to keep a close eye on them. I wish you all the best Paul and hopefully you can move in your house soon. Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 5Apr 03, 2010 11:00 am Howdy Polo, Yeah, the SS insists that the chipping, mortar and different colour bricks 'add character' and give the house an industrial feel, which is in keeping with the design You're right about the inspector. I definitely have to get an independent inspector to go over the entire house when it's eventually finished. There are other things I know of (such as the north wall completely missing any type of insulation - it's just plasterboard and Colorbond cladding at the moment), but there's probably going to be other defects that I don't know of. If they don't fix those defects, I'll need to get the BACV to appoint another inspector to go through the outstanding issues. It's a shame the BACV don't offer a complete inspection service. They only inspect a list of known defects that have been picked up by a private independent inspector (not a full quality inspection). Don't be too nervous about your house. The problems with this builder appear to be limited to my particular design, as almost every one they've built have had major problems. Their other homes (such as your Galleria) are quite well-built and I've heard no complaints from owners Cheers, Paul Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 6Apr 04, 2010 12:28 am Hi Paul, Thanks for the reassurance, and I hope that myself and other Zoccala customers will not endure the same bad experience you folks up in Craigieburn are having. That's great to hear that you know your legal rights and where to go for assistance (plan ahead). I just hope it doesn't go that far and pray that Zoccala look past the $$$ and fix up their mistakes properly, so this nightmare can end and both you and them can move on. Are you able to ask for the whole house to be rendered or all bricks to be demolish and re do again?? Seriously it's costing them liquidated damages per week and at the rate they're mucking around it probably end up costing them the same as if they were to demolish the bricks and re-do it or render the whole house. Stay strong and I hope soon you will be able move into the dream home you initially expected to have and paid good money for, not what is given to you at the moment. Polo. Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 7Apr 05, 2010 7:59 am Yeah, that brickwork speaks for itself Such a rough, uneven job ... I was going to suggest to paint and bag the house, but I doubt it would do in this case, as the rough walls would still show underneath. Not to mention the mortar colour, which is worlds apart! Best of luck and please keep us updated!! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Brickwork and Mortar Standards 8May 06, 2010 11:20 am I'd be sending them an email with a link to this thread.......I know our builder has mentioned that they are sensitive to internet forums & reviews. Seriously though, that is shocking work. Didn't you pick this up when the brickwork first went up? Recently I moved to a 30 year old house and found within few months there are small brown nests in the brick mortar and few small round holes in few places of brick… 0 22677 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Don't think they are designed for double brick. WA has a particular way of building and unfortunately that's the way a large amount of sills are finished. 3 7003 I believe this is correct. From the picture you can see the power was put in last so the electrician knew where the water was. Really it's a common sense issue more… 4 5152 |