Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 22, 2010 8:43 am Hi guys,
Fel has asked the question in her thread, but I thought I'd throw it out here too. We're coming up to this stage... what Henley call their "New Home Inspection"... and what I guess other normal builders call PCI... For those of you who have been through this... can you help us out and give us a run down of what happens? Thanks in advance... EDIT: I'm going to take everyone's advice (hope y'all dont mind ) and make a summary/check list in this first post... to save future members time... CHECK LIST: Indoors * Continue to test light sockets even when the SS nags you to stop * Take electrical plan - make sure all powerpoints/light switches are correct * Check all taps work and basins drain properly * Take shoes off, walk around with sock and see if any sharp bits catch hold * Open all windows to check for ease of operation * Take your own light globes to test fittings (apparently Henley supply only one) * Take a cloth in case you need to clean benchtops to check for scratches * Check flanges at the base of all cabinets * Check privacy locks work correctly * Check door handles are all level (not on funny angles) * Check you have all bath plugs * Flush toilets * Sit on toilets for a better view from the 'other' direction * Take a copy of your contract and cross off each item as you inspect it * Fill the bathtubs with water, let it settle * Run showers on full, check water drains away and doesnt pool * Check where silicon meets benchtops * Check shower/tap fittings to ensure they have teflon/thread tape * Check ceiling paint for patches, especially where paint has been sprayed, not rolled * Get up in the manhole, check all insulation has been layed, not just thrown up in bundles Outdoors * Check fit off of down pipes * Check all clips are on down pipes * Check facia and gutters for scratches * Take gumboots or change of shoes * Check caulking around external doors General * Take packet of extra dots incase Henley run out * Ensure SS's handwriting is legible * Take step ladder/ladder to reach light sockets/climb into manhole * Dont jump ahead of your SS or go too fast. Make sure ALL of your concerns are noted down on paper and not skipped over. Dont move onto the next room until you are completely satisfied. Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 2May 22, 2010 8:52 am You go in. They ignore half of what you point out. Play the "oh, we've run out of dots, I'll have to go to the car to get some more" game (which will WORK on one of you!). Get you to sign the list of defects which you wont be able to read anyway. Tell you it will be fixed in a week or two but probably longer since you brought an independent inspector with you. Tell you if you hadn't brought that independent inspector you could have had the house today. Tell you to stop testing the light sockets as if any are not working all you have to do is call up and they will be fixed immediately. Half fix some of the things on your list and you'll accept the house anyway because you know you will be able to fix things better anyway. Never turn up when you do ring to say some of the lights dont work. Make sense? haha Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 3May 22, 2010 8:58 am Thanks Ari... so first bit of advice... take your own box of dots incase they use that excuse...? We've been sorting out issues with them since mid Jan... almost half thinking not to take an inspector with us. My dad (who's an inspector) has been through at ealier stages and has pointed out issues, which we've brought up with them, and they've been fixed. We have our own list of new issues since then. If we dont take an inspector, what are the chances they will listen to all our issues and not just ignore them? They've been ok so far in fixing things that we've pointed out... Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 4May 22, 2010 9:03 am Basically, it's your chance to go through your home with a fine toothed comb and note ANYTHING that is not to your liking. The inspector will either write it down or say that won't be fixed! We went along with light globes (to check correct wiring and see if they all worked) a little electric shaver to test ALL powerpoints, a torch (just in case it's dark underneath some benches) and I think a tape measure and small spirit level. We started at the front door and worked our way through each square centermetre of house. Looking at paint finish, door furniture, hinges, all skirtings, windows, shelving, cupboards etc. We checked to see if all powerpoints were installed, all the taps were working and basins drained properly and no leaks underneath (although we were advised to repeat this proceedure after the hot water had been installed and run it in every basin and then recheck for leaks). I took my shoes and socks off and walked around bare foot in the bathrooms and showers to make sure threre was no raised or sharp tiles. Check the finish on all your cupboards and benches and see if all the calking around the edges was neat. Open and close all windows for ease of operation/sticking. After thoroughly going through the inside we then went outside and again checked all the brickwork, paint work, mortar blowouts, finish around windows, cleanliness of site, installation of termite treatment, proper fitting off of downpipes and painting of the section at ground level that connects to the storm water (a white pipe). We ended up with 66 items on the list, most of which were small paint defects and fixed within a week. We had a reinspection and 4 items had not been attended to properly, and we signed a piece of paper to state that Henley would fixed post handover. 3 were done in a day about 3 weeks after moving in, I'm still waiting on the 4th (7 months later...) Don't call out the defects too fast or the inspector may not keep up and write them down (which is what we found!) And DO NOT feel you have to rush! It's your chance to go through everything and get what doesn't look 'right' fixed. Good luck Guy's!! 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: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 5May 22, 2010 9:08 am I really hope Fels inspection goes like Stormy's. I've looked at Stormy's photos many times and its certainly not the condition our house was presented in or left in at handover. The tiles were so dirty you couldn't make out grout issues. Erin, they did have other dots in the car. I did offer mine though. lol Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 6May 22, 2010 9:16 am Stormy's got it covered - the only thing extra that I'd do is take a couple of cleaning cloths in case your benches etc are really dusty. Give them a wipe over with a damp cloth so you can check for fine scratches, paint spatter or any other damage. You may never see minor defects under the grime. I suppose you could do the same with tiled areas... Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 7May 22, 2010 9:30 am Hi Aaron @ Erin... yayyyy.... you're almost there At my PCI, I had my independent inspector start outside, while the SS and myself went inside and went through the bleeding obvious things like missing powerpoints and lights, scratched floorboards & benches, and bad tiling. Then my independant inspector came inside and did his thing. At the end, we compared lists and left off things in the independent report that were already in the official PCI list. There were lots of things my inspector picked up which neither myself or SS knew to look for. Caulking around external doors, flanges at the base of all cabinets, quads in the staircase, sticky window winders, creaking hinges, even missing screws from the wardrobe tracks. I was too busy looking at the bigger stuff, so I was very glad he was there to pick up all the extra things. My advice... make sure your SS writes EVERY single item you point out, in handwriting that YOU can read. You get a copy of it, and you'll need to refer to it later on and don't want to get an interpreter to work out what it says! There will be some things you point out which your SS will just say "Oh, that gets done just before handover anyway". But make him write it down in the PCI list anyway. You never know.... I've recently found the hard way out that unless it's in the list, it may not get done at all - even if they promised it would be done during PCI. Good luck!!!! Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 8May 22, 2010 10:02 am I should also add, make sure you check the privacy locks if you have any. 3 out of 5 of ours needed adjusting! Flush your toilets on BOTH flushes too, to see if they work and fill properly! If you're really particular you could take some toilet paper and see if it 'goes down'! I also sat on it to see if I could see any defects around the room from that angle! I did, and they were fixed! I would not have seen them from a standing position, and I would have always noticed it when 'sitting'! 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: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 9May 22, 2010 10:25 am Great post Erin!!! Thanks to everyone who's replied..... Will be bookmarking this one! Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 10May 22, 2010 10:45 am Also go over your contract, maybe type up a list or photocopy every item that's listed on there and acually cross each item off that list as you go through the house. Most of the big stuff you'd be aware if it's there or not, but you could find little things you'd forgotten about, given you signed your contract so long ago now Land Deposit - 18/12/2009 Became a land Baron - 21/12/2010 Site Start - 27/1/2011 All moved in!! Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 11May 22, 2010 11:30 am A hidden one - fill your bathtup up with water, and let it sit there for a while - just to make sure the bath can handle the water. (it's happened before where the bath has cracked or tiles fall off and the support structures aren't done!). I'd also add to check for silicon where tiles meet benchtops - grout will fall out. Doesn't hurt to bring a copy of the plans - esp electrical to make sure it's all in there - and I'd write down stuff too - and compare notes at the end before signing anything. Good luck! My house and my rants.... - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=26937 We are in!!!...and still unpacking. Thankfully there are always Tim Tams Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 12May 22, 2010 7:44 pm Cheers guys thanks heaps for your answers. Definitely some good advice from everyone I have more questions... specifically for those who have gone through this process with H3nley... * when your file goes to the 'handover department' - how long before you had your 'NHI'? * how long do H3nley have to fix any defects on your list? * when have your appliances been installed? * have you had a 3 month or 12 month maintenance thingo? Thanks!!! Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 13May 22, 2010 7:50 pm We built our 2nd house with Henley (many years ago)-the 3 things we had issues with were: 1) bath that was not fixed (discovered the first time we went to bathe a then toddler and the whole bath moved..) 2) silicone tape not put around shower fittings (discovered after a wet patch appeared on dining room wall) and whole sections of ceiling unpainted (caused by spray painting instead of rolling). Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 14May 22, 2010 9:07 pm Aaron & Erin * when your file goes to the 'handover department' - how long before you had your 'NHI'? roughly 10 days according to the timeline on my blog Quote: * how long do H3nley have to fix any defects on your list? I think they had up to 14 days to fix. Mine were done in a week, so we had a re-inspection the following week. We could have had handover that day, but the bank completely stuffed us around. Quote: * when have your appliances been installed? for me: handover 10/09/09 (thurs) telstra trenching 14/09/09 (mon) flooring and carpet install 15-19/09/09 (Tues - Fri inclusive) Hire truck to empty storage 21st and 22nd /09/09 (mon and tues) Appliances 24/09/09 (thurs - includes hot water) Heating/cooling commissioned 25/09/09 First night in! (fri) Quote: * have you had a 3 month or 12 month maintenance thingo? Better to do only a 12 month maintenance, so the house goes through all the 4 seasons and changes in weather. There would not have been many things on my 3 month list, but 7 months on the list keeps growing... 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: CHECK LIST for Henley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... 15May 22, 2010 9:40 pm This is an awesome help guys! Good one you Erin for kicking it off, and thanks to everyone who's made a contribution There are many things in this thread I never would have thought of Re: CHECK LIST for Henley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... 16May 22, 2010 10:20 pm Fantastic advice will be bookmarking this one too. We've just been plastered and at the stage where i regret not buying an established home... Now that they've destroyed my poor little bricks white marks and corroding mortar make little misses very sad indeed Dear J.K. Rowling, Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two friends? Sincerely, Anonymous Re: CHECK LIST for Henley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... 17May 27, 2010 7:23 pm Great thread Erin! We are also looking at having PCI in the next few weeks. Will be bookmarking this for sure Building Monaco32 with Carlisle Homes in Alamanda Estate 20/08/2010 - HANDOVER 24/8!! Blog - http://ourmonaco32.blogspot.com/ Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14415 Re: H3nley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... help please 18May 28, 2010 8:22 pm Aaron & Erin Cheers guys thanks heaps for your answers. Definitely some good advice from everyone I have more questions... specifically for those who have gone through this process with H3nley... * when your file goes to the 'handover department' - how long before you had your 'NHI'? * how long do H3nley have to fix any defects on your list? * when have your appliances been installed? * have you had a 3 month or 12 month maintenance thingo? Thanks!!! Well with us we had a great handover guy! He let us check everything and wrote everything down! There 14 days from house going to handover department to inspection. Henley have 14 days to fix the list but ours was done in a week and we handed over that day after the inspection. Our appliances were installed the tuesday after handover as they needed 3 working days notice. And they offer 12 months maintenance... we had a few small issues like wrong locks on garage which we contacted our handover guy about and they were fixed within 2 days. Another thing to check is run both your showers full ball for a while and make sure they dont flood as our main bathroom did! 2nd build here we come in Whittlesea! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=92617 1st Build - Henley - Cooper in Doreen! (2009) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17354 Re: CHECK LIST for Henley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... 19May 29, 2010 6:27 pm Great thread!! Off to buy a few light bulbs for testing. Does anyone know which type of light fitting they use? Is it bayonette or screw-in type? I presume it's 60W (or equivalent). Re: CHECK LIST for Henley's "New Home Inspection" = PCI... 20May 29, 2010 6:44 pm Hey Erin, can you add in 'take boots' or appropriate footwear for muddy conditions in your summary? It's something I didn't think of and would have been handy! 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 98688 We hired Darbecca to do every stage inspection, and I strongly recommend them to anyone that asks me. They were amazing. Thorough reports with photos at every stage,… 6 7132 i would not be signing anything on the day read your contract about when builder submits final invoice generally, have to meet builder within 7 days of receiving final… 1 4744 |