Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 08, 2011 9:17 am Hi all, Over the past year we have found this site to be a wonderful place to help us through the tough times we've had to endure. Just reading that we're not the only people going through it has been somewhat of a help. We thought it was time to sign up for an account and try and get an answer for one of our concerns. Our builder has been nothing but horrific in regards to building our home and their customer service is non existent. From day one we've had nothing but problems, far too long a list to even begin. But, so you're aware of some of the things, some examples are; they bricked the front elevation completely wrong, they completed the brickwork with the wrong mortar finish, they overlooked an articulation joint. We are at a stage where they are forcing handover (threatening interest charges) on us but we do not accept alot of the things as being of a satisfactory standard. We have a legal appointment this week to try and find out our rights and what we can do. One of our concerns is gaps to skirtings and window/door architraves, we chose to have colonial meranti throughout as we like the timber look vs. painted MDF. We planned very early on to make a feature of these timbers by way of leaving them exposed, ie: fitting window coverings inside the architrave. We have attached a couple of photo's of what we consider unacceptable gaps between window/door architraves and the gyprock, many, if not all frames have these gaps. We are hoping that someone can give us some insight as to what is acceptable in relation to these gaps within the building code. We also have gaps where our colonial timber skirtings meet the wall, but if we are correct, these skirting gaps are acceptable over certain wall lengths? Please help us understand if we should accept this. Thank you. http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h2/shnandmchll/IMG_1391.jpg http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h2/shnandmchll/IMG_1392.jpg Re: Architrave Gaps 2Feb 08, 2011 1:12 pm If you have brick veneer construction, it would appear your windows have been set too far back, so the reveals stick out into your home too far. If you have light weight or weatherboard construction, the reveals are too deep. Either way, difficult to fix now... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Architrave Gaps 3Feb 08, 2011 4:54 pm The link below goes into a fair bit of detail on expected standards. You will probably need to start at about page 40 http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/re ... IDE_07.pdf The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Architrave Gaps 4Feb 09, 2011 7:41 am Hi Ed & Bashworth, Thank you for replying. Yes, the house is brick veneer and the reveals do protrude too far past the face of the gyprock, because it's "difficult to fix now" we should accept it? We've had a look through the Standards and Tolerances Guide in the past, and have done so again, but we can find no direct reference to our problem. We're not even sure that the guide applies to South Australia? Kind Regards Re: Architrave Gaps 5Feb 09, 2011 2:31 pm Shattered Dream Hi Ed & Bashworth, Thank you for replying. Yes, the house is brick veneer and the reveals do protrude too far past the face of the gyprock, because it's "difficult to fix now" we should accept it? Kind Regards Welcome. That is up to you, just saying that this is your negotiating position. The windows should have been placed too far forward into the brickwork. But they could take the arcs off and plane the reveals back... if it's a feature, insist. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Architrave Gaps 6Feb 09, 2011 3:12 pm Shattered Dream We've had a look through the Standards and Tolerances Guide in the past, and have done so again, but we can find no direct reference to our problem. We're not even sure that the guide applies to South Australia? Kind Regards Here is the clause that applies: 10.01 Gaps associated with internal fixing Unless documented otherwise, gaps between mouldings or between mouldings and other fixtures, at mitre or butt joints, or at junctions with a wall or other surfaces are defects if they exceed mm in width, occur within the first 2 months and are visible from a normal viewing position. After the first 2 months gaps exceeding 2 mm are considered defective. Although it doesn't directly apply to SA I would say that its an industry standard. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Architrave Gaps 7Feb 10, 2011 5:44 am bashworth Shattered Dream We've had a look through the Standards and Tolerances Guide in the past, and have done so again, but we can find no direct reference to our problem. We're not even sure that the guide applies to South Australia? Kind Regards Here is the clause that applies: 10.01 Gaps associated with internal fixing Unless documented otherwise, gaps between mouldings or between mouldings and other fixtures, at mitre or butt joints, or at junctions with a wall or other surfaces are defects if they exceed 1 mm in width, occur within the first 2 months and are visible from a normal viewing position. After the first 2 months gaps exceeding 2 mm are considered defective. Although it doesn't directly apply to SA I would say that its an industry standard. Perhaps the last clause 10.03 applies... but in any case I would not be happy and would be taking it further. They had to leave a 10mm gap for the plaster at the frame - simple really.
10.01 Gaps associated with internal fixing Unless documented otherwise, gaps between mouldings or between mouldings and other fixtures, at mitre or butt joints, or at junctions with a wall or other surfaces are defects if they exceed mm in width, occur within the first 2 months and are visible from a normal viewing position. After the first 2 months gaps exceeding 2 mm are considered defective. 10.02 Joints in fixing of internal mouldings Unless documented otherwise, the faces of architraves and skirtings are defective if they are not aligned and flush at mitres and butt joints and the misalignment can be seen from a normal viewing position. 10.03 Architrave quirks The width of the quirk (setback from the edge) of each length of an architrave is defective if it is not consistent and where the irregularity can be seen from a normal viewing position. "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Brass fly wire, you will need to cut it, shape it and jam it into brick slots 1 7465 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi, sorry if this is the wrong place - I’m new to the property/building journey (trying to buy my first home) so not sure where/who to go with these sorts of… 0 19156 Sorry I missed this, simply put this is a pathetic job, and as it stands it is non-compliant... I think the worst part is not in the quality of the workmanship so much… 5 7041 |