Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 27, 2011 6:21 pm Hello, We have just been out to our house (roof has just gone on) and have realised the plans have not been followed correctly. Our setbacks from the pegs on the plan are that the house is 3.6m on one side and 1.5m on the other. We have done our own measurements nd they are 2.6m and 2.5m. This is a major problem as our house was designed for side access of 3.5m! Being a Sunday we can not get in contact with our builders and are very worried. I was wondering if anyone knows of this happening before and what has happened. We have vacant blocks which are for sale on either side and only can think of the builder buying this land and giving us another metre. Otherwise the house will be totally useless for what we want. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou Re: house setbacks are wrong 2Feb 27, 2011 7:23 pm Oh my gosh, that sounds like a huge mistake! I'm sorry, I have no idea what can be done to rectify the problem, short of repouring the slab. I'm pretty sure the builder can't buy the block next door and 'give you a metre' because the plan of subdivision has been registered with the planning department etc. If it were me, I would be demanding that they rectify the mistake and build the house as per my plans, or build it for free. Re: house setbacks are wrong 3Feb 27, 2011 7:36 pm Someone in our area had their slab poured in the wrong spot (around 2 metres out from memory but not sure of that) and their builder (a very well known one) gave them a free evap air conditioner and timber bifolds. Doesn't help in your situation though and I'm not sure what can be done. Good luck Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: house setbacks are wrong 4Feb 28, 2011 6:06 pm Hi tinka, just wondering if you have spoken with your builder today and found out what is going on with your slab? I must say, I'm very surprised at the lack of responses you have received on this thread, this is the most shocking thing I've read of on H1, I just can't believe that the builder could get it so very wrong I hope they can fix it for you. Please keep us updated. Re: house setbacks are wrong 5Feb 28, 2011 6:40 pm Oh Tinka, What a terrible start to what should be one of the most exciting times of your life. I would put a stop on all works, seek legal advice and demand demolition and rebuild at the builders cost. It would delay things significantly, but as you say the house is useless to you like this anyway. Good luck Living in my Burbank terrace at Aurora Re: house setbacks are wrong 6Feb 28, 2011 6:57 pm Hi tinka Sorry to hear of your bad luck. What did you require the 3.5m wide access for so we can have a subjective appreciation of how big a problem this is for you? In any case, the incorrect setback is completely unacceptable. The Building Commission’s Standards and Tolerances Guide 2007 (http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/re ... IDE_07.pdf) stipulates at clause 2.03 on page 17 that the house setback shall not deviate more than 5mm from the documented setback or L/200 where L is the documented setback (whichever is greater). If your documented setback is 3.6m then that means the most your actual setback can be out by is 18mm as 3600mm / 200 = 18mm. Thus with a deviation of 1m, your slab is more than 55 times beyond tolerance!!! A builder would have no grounds to expect you to accept this defect and how you play this out is your choice. I can tell you though that the builder will not be purchasing the neighbouring land to gift you the extra metre, so don’t even consider that as an option. If the 3.6m setback is crucial than demand the construction be bulldozed and restarted- this is your legal and contractual right. If however you can live with this defect then you can negotiate a very handsome settlement. If you would want to take the negotiation route then I would consider waiting until construction has completed as then it would be ridiculously expensive for the builder to rectify and you will pretty much have their you-know-what in the palm of your hands. For comparison, my slab was setback 12.5cm too far from the front boundary which presented a problem for me as my water tank footings then encroached over a rear easement by 2.5cm. I only had a measly 3 metres from the back of the house to the fence so every centimetre was important to me. For this mistake I negotiated a free upgrade of my driveway from plain coloured to exposed aggregate with black oxide. Depending on your contract price I think a fair settlement would be not having to make your last progress payment. Best to get legal advice though about any damages available to you as this is a massive breach of contract by the builder! Good luck and keep us updated! Re: house setbacks are wrong 7Feb 28, 2011 7:23 pm unfortunately, this has happened before on the forum have a look at this thread from a couple of years ago. the OP unfortunately never came back to update us on the outcome, but there is some good advice in there. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11104 "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: house setbacks are wrong 8Feb 28, 2011 8:58 pm inverell If you would want to take the negotiation route then I would consider waiting until construction has completed as then it would be ridiculously expensive for the builder to rectify and you will pretty much have their you-know-what in the palm of your hands. I don't know about that - a defect should be brought to the builder's attention as soon as it has been noticed. To delay bringing it to their attention just in order to get a larger payout is unethical and won't bring the owner any favours. Re: house setbacks are wrong 9Feb 28, 2011 9:48 pm The thing with ethics is that it is subjective- what one individual considers to be unethical another individual won't. Furthermore, I have no obligation under my building contract to bring defects to my builder's attention. In fact I am paying good money for the builder to identify such defects themselves. I have a reasonable expectation that my home will be constructed on time, within budget and in accordance with all working drawings and building regulations. How I control the flow of information and manner of communication with my builder to achieve my objectives is a matter for myself and each individual with a building contract. I think many people would agree that it is in fact the building industry who are generally speaking practitioners of unethical behavior- that has certainly been my experience to date. house setbacks are wrong 10Mar 01, 2011 6:17 am Well it may not be "unethical" in your books but IMO it smacks of dishonesty. If you see a problem then why wouldn't you bring it up straight away. Oh that's right you want to "benefit" from that error!! Some things are worth waiting for. Re: house setbacks are wrong 11Mar 01, 2011 7:47 am While you are correct that it isnt your role to identify defects, with contract law, you will find that you have an obligation to minimise the damage (migate your losses). If your builder finds out that you were aware of this situation (reads this thread) and you didnt bring it to his attention then you run the risk of seriously deminishing your legal position should the matter proceed to court You have paid an agreed price for a job to be done, make sure you get what you paid for and get it fixed rather than worrying about trying to profit out of their mistake Re: house setbacks are wrong 13Mar 01, 2011 9:03 am Wow... What a bunch of building industry sympathisers! No wonder they treat us like suckers- with attitudes likes that, why wouldn't they?? Just indulge me here- do you actually think builders have the client's best interests at heart or indeed operate to any degree with corporate responsibilty and ethical practice principles in mind?? Call me jaded, unethical, dishonest etc. but I call you naive. And if you would care to read my first post you would see I actually advise the original poster to bring the defect to their builder's attention if they need to have it rectified. Rectification would involve nothing less than demolition of existing works. Should the original poster however decide to accept the defect, such a decision would have no bearing on existing construction works. Thus it is irrelevant at whatever stage of construction the original poster formaly accepts the defect. This is true in respect of everything other than compensation, as the more construction has progressed the more expensive the alternative to rectify. Get in touch with reality people! house setbacks are wrong 14Mar 01, 2011 9:07 am Last time I looked building a house was not a combative sport. Why makes things harder then they have to be. Not all builders are out to "get" you. Our builder went bankrupt during our build - did I sulk and carry on? No I got on with the build and had the house finished by other means. You don't need to add unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: house setbacks are wrong 15Mar 01, 2011 9:11 am Hi Tinka, Did you contact the builder yesterday? If so, what was the outcome. I would agree with others, that the builder can't buy the neighbouring land and give you a metre of it. I think the only way to fix this problem would be to demolish it and start again. Good luck and I hope you get a decent outcome. contract signed: Nov 09 Released to Construction: 23 Jul 10 Slab poured: 9 Aug 10 Frame completed: 30 Aug 10 Windows & Gutters: 7 Sep 10 Bricks: 15 - 23 Sep 10 Roof: 24 Sep 10 Gyprock: 20 Oct 10 Lockup: 25 Oct 10 Kitchen: 27 Oct 10 Tiling: 6 - 9 Nov 10 Painting: 17 Nov 10 Carpet: 30 Nov 10 PCI: 15 Dec 10 Handover: 17 Dec 10 https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=35943 Re: house setbacks are wrong 16Mar 01, 2011 9:33 am If you are unfortunate enough to have problems with your builder then "combative" is precisely the adjective I would use to describe the nature of such a relationship. I can hardly see how anything I have written can be considered to be "sulking" or "contributing to stress". The situation is already stressful no matter how one proceeds. If one didn't want to experience stress then they should have bought an existing home. What I have offered the original poster is practical advice and their two alternatives- to reject the defect and have it rectified or to accept the defect and maximize your compensation. I fail to see what you all have a problem with. Re: house setbacks are wrong 17Mar 01, 2011 9:49 am I think where the problem ****** is that it appears that you think you have won lotto for the error of the builder. It shouldnt work like that. Personally I would be pushing to have it rebuilt and not accepting any compensation. Get the house built as per contract and enjoy your dream home. After all, isnt that what you (o.p.) wanted Re: house setbacks are wrong 18Mar 01, 2011 9:53 am Let's leave the ethics debate for now, or at least take it to another thread if you'd like to have one. I think it's clear from tinka's one and only post that they are looking to bring it up with their builder. Tinka, all the best and when you have time we would love to hear the outcome of you rissue. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: house setbacks are wrong 19Mar 01, 2011 9:57 am Beat me to it donuts I was going to say, tinka please let us know who you go My land is 260m2 (10m x 26m) located in claymore NSW. Under campbelltown council. I know in general the following setbacks would apply ground floor side setback =… 0 6931 welcome to learning that colours vary in different lighting conditions. 1 2908 2 31347 |