
Is your new house located in one of the hot spots too?
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: How often do you visit your site? 716Jan 23, 2022 8:40 am Builders must just love the new virus restrictions, which may stop you from site visits and which the police may enforce, but I live in WA, so I cannot comment. My builder had it in the contract that I cannot visit the site without the building supervisor, which is rubbish as he never gave me his mobile and is a busy man. My client contact was not accessible, not even via the supplied mobile no. So I need to ring reception for her to call me back, which may be a day late, then I would have to make an appointment with the supervisor, etc. I called her the "buffer" as like in the navy, no navy officer needs to speak directly to lower ranks as our officers are trained in the style of British navy officers! To counter this inaccessibility, I gave the builder a legally worded indemnity for any claims while I was on site, which was rejected verbally, so I visited as often as possible to check and found many short cuts. A building inspector would only arrive to check at stage completions and then it would be too late to repair and too costly, so expect the builder to brush off any repairs, unless you are willing to go to court. Take photos to take it to the Building Commission which I had to do. Re: How often do you visit your site? 717Jan 23, 2022 11:28 am ![]() Builders must just love the new virus restrictions, which may stop you from site visits and which the police may enforce, but I live in WA, so I cannot comment. My builder had it in the contract that I cannot visit the site without the building supervisor, which is rubbish as he never gave me his mobile and is a busy man. My client contact was not accessible, not even via the supplied mobile no. So I need to ring reception for her to call me back, which may be a day late, then I would have to make an appointment with the supervisor, etc. I called her the "buffer" as like in the navy, no navy officer needs to speak directly to lower ranks as our officers are trained in the style of British navy officers! To counter this inaccessibility, I gave the builder a legally worded indemnity for any claims while I was on site, which was rejected verbally, so I visited as often as possible to check and found many short cuts. A building inspector would only arrive to check at stage completions and then it would be too late to repair and too costly, so expect the builder to brush off any repairs, unless you are willing to go to court. Take photos to take it to the Building Commission which I had to do. Wow, I didn't realise the virus had such an impact on building. But you're right, sometimes builder's are very hard to get hold of once you've signed on the dotted line. When we built our house in 2012, we asked for three windows at the front of the house ( we have a very big void in the entry ) to have sliding windows as opposed to fixed glass. Guess what happened? they installed the fixed one. When we complained to the site supervisor he said there was nothing they could do as the windows were already installed. It's been 10 years now since we moved in, & there's not a day that goes by that I regret that we didn't take the matter further & rectify the problem. So my advice to anyone who sees something wrong in their build is fix it, it may take longer to complete the build, but the outcome will be worth it. Re: How often do you visit your site? 718Jan 23, 2022 1:22 pm When signing either a HIA or MBA contract, be aware that you don't automatically have access to the site. The public isn't allowed on construction sites for "safety reasons". It doesn't matter if it's your land or not - when you hand over the site to the Builder, they take complete control. They decide whether you can get in. The builders worry that having the clients on site too much will give them ideas for making changes and slow down progress. While you are waiting for your new home to be built, it's normal for you to want to check it out and make sure you are happy with it! You can add a clause to your contract that allows you to visit the site within 24-48 hours. You'll need the Builder to show you around. Most builders are cool with that. Generally, it's best to pay a building inspector to approve every claim. Having a trained eye look out for snags gives you peace of mind. The inspectors can report back to you any problems they find in the builders' work. Hope this helps anyone on this thread! Regards, Colin Operations Director Homebuildguide.com.au Click Here For A Free eBook About Custom Home Building Re: How often do you visit your site? 719May 29, 2022 4:48 pm ![]() Hi there, We are getting closer to our housebuild commencing (fingers crossed as always of course) and I wondered what the general consensus is for visiting the site to check on progress etc? How often do you visit your sites? And do you turn up after the builders have clocked off or whilst they are there (do they get annoyed?!)? Unfortunately we don't live within walking distance of the site, and I am about to have a baby and have no car as hubbie uses it for work - so if I want to visit I will need to get a couple of buses. Hubbie can pop in on the way to or from work, but probably not every day and possibly not always at times the builders are there. Grateful for your insights! Many thanks, Nina In my case , every weekend 'coz it's a bit far.. Re: How often do you visit your site? 720May 30, 2022 5:26 pm It was actually in my contract to have to contact the manager for a site visit, so I gave the company a quasi legal waiver if an accident happens, but they did not want to accept it, so I visited as often as possible while workmen were on site. The roofer said tom watch as something might fall! Best to visit as often as possible as shortcuts are frequent. Take your phone and make photos. It is your largest expenditure in life, so it pays to safeguard your interests. Each state has a building commission where you can make a complaint if the builder hesitates too long. Some trades get screwed, so ensure you do not. Most trades are "cheaper" 457 visa holders and they do a good job, but nothing is guaranteed. Hi The "P" just advises there are some problems with the site that the engineer needs to address, as you're a KDR the P would relate to the disturbed/loose soil with… 1 8637 ![]() Thanks for the insight! My plot is a new development so hopefully I won't have too much problem during build as everyone should be roughly building together. I also… 2 17090 ![]() Approvals are covered in the cost we are paying to the pool company. The only thing stated in our home build contract for the additional cost is engineering support. … 3 25364 |