BUILDING OUR FIRST HOME WE NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

hi everyone, i wouldnt normally ask for help straight away on a forum but i really need some advice.

my wife and i have brought a house off the plans from a builder in south melton (VIC) its not very big but its perfect for us.

it started really well slab went down frame went up and then bricks.. was progressing really well and we were getting so excited watching it all fall in to place.

but we went out on sunday and my wife just about broke down in tears....

all of the skirting had been pulled out and all the door frames out from the front half of the house... all of the plaster had become MOLDY and front door frame was covered in MOLD.

now we have been hearing horror stories bout mold and that it will always come back, what should we do and how are we going to know our house is safe?

we are expecting to start our family and have our first baby and now my wife is scared our house will make our family sick.

some one please help.

can add photos as we have taken hundreds of the progress and also the mold

front door mold


poor trade skills damaged plaster

just no respect damaged sink

OMG Headake, that's terrible.
I can understand why you are so upset, I would be in tears too.
Sorry I have no idea what you can do, but something surely needs to be done, maybe you should get an independant building inspector out and quick

we have a meeting with the site supervisor tomorrow i was just hoping for some infomation...

are they going to have to start the house from scratch to really get rid of all of the mold (like will the frame hold mold spurs and just regrow? or will just have to have all the plaster from the whole house removed to kill it?)

any one wanting to recomend a good inderpentent inspector woudl be great too

You may want to check the Standards and Tolerances Guide from the Building Commission. This documents quite clearly what are defects. I had a quick look but couldn't see a reference to mould, however that sink would definitely be considered a defect. IMO, if you have mould, either the frame was very wet before plaster, or the damp course failed (= defect) or there are leaks somewhere that have pentrated the wall cavities (= defect). As you suspect, the spores may be in the frame, or maybe they were in the plaster sheets that were used.

Here's a link to this document: http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/re ... IDE_07.pdf

We used Alex from Urban Property Inspections and can recommend him. I know he does all over Melbourne. Contact details are on the website: http://www.urbanpropertyinspections.com.au/

Good luck!

What state are you in headake??
Surely someone on here can help you with more specific answers!

Melton would be VIC, Melton is about 35km from the Melb CBD

All the best OP, dont have any advice however.

Hi,

In the past I have used Kevin from New Home Inspections.
Contact details are on the website at http://www.newhomeinspections.com.au/

Good luck and I hope it is all resolved quickly.

It would be good if you could elaborate on this. Who did all the pulling out of the skirting boards and all door frames at the front? Some local hooligans (judging by the look of the plaster)? Or the builder? Would there be a reason for the builder to remove all of these 2 things that they already installed? Why was the plaster disturbed? How often do you talk to the builder/SS?
How long between when these 2 things were installed and when they removed them?

And how long was it from your second last visit (when all was going so well) and the Sunday visit (when everything fell apart)? MoUld wouldn't grow in a few days that much.

And most importantly, what is the terrain like around your house, especially on the front part? For all we know from your post, the front of the house might be facing 5m high rocks which are always wet and a dark forrest on top of them Or, the house may be on the top of a very mild hill and not a tree in sight. You can probably see that the location/setting makes a huge difference. We need much more info from you, otherwise it's a hit and miss guessing game ...

That sink needs to be replaced, don't accept a "fix".

Hope you will come back and update us ...

all skirting and everything that was removed was done by the builder. shocking trades work and just carelessness would say he got the call friday afternoon and was told to remove it and was crappy about it and just ripped it off.

terrain is flat anyone who knows melton area would know. its a new estate and our house faces a main road which still has a 80km/h zone on it. so our drive way is around 7-10m long and then is twin lanes.

ok guys we had our meeting today, and suprise suprise... 20 mins late. (not a good start missed our appointment yesterday and then was 20min late for the this one)

so the building supervisor rocks up true tradie. we go through the house and we explained when we visited the site on sunday we thought it had been vandlised by young kids or something with the way it was left and the way the plaster was till we noticed the MOLD.

we had a chat and he explained he was aware of the mold but had never visited the site till now, mmm not another good sign. so we have a look around and he was what seemed to be ashamed with the workmanship and the damage. he said it had gotten wet from the large down pours we had in melbourne few months back and there was an issue with some trallis or something in the roof joins, and it had flowed through.

he asured us that the entire bottom plaster sheets would be changed over and repairs made and mold would not return after that, we requested from him a report form the builders to state why the damage had accured, what damage had been down, how it was repaired and that it wouldnt return. which he agreed to (fingers crossed this happens)

here is some better shots

Omg that is shocking! I don't have any advice to offer, but crossing my fingers that you get a good outcome!

My suggestion is get in an independent inspector and get them to fix everything prior to your next payment. Also suggest you ring the Building Commission (BACV)for free advice. Look them up on google, they will tell you exactly what to do. All the best!

yes, get some backing. you need someone batting for you
that is just AWFUL

I would want it all pulled down.
(but that is just me. )
and start fresh...new timbers, doors etc.
if you had roof problems, are those trusses ok?

feel so sorry for you both.
good luck

Is your house being built by a large building company or small private builder? If a large builder, I would be going to the managers and making my complaint to them in writing, with pictures and demand results from the them. This is disgraceful work and no wonder the supervisor was looking ashamed. So he should be.
I would certainly pursue an independent inspector in this instance as you need to be assured that all the water damage and frame is fixed to the correct standards.

Good luck with it all.

I think this would qualify as condemned.

Ok we have an appointment on Thursday to get the house inspected we are using dabecca, Darren is doing the inspection was recommended by few people so thought why not! Bit costly but 630 but better than having issues later

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this.

I'm glad you are getting an independent inspector out, I think that is a very wise move.

Just seeing the photo's you have posted, I personally would be pushing to have the house demolished and rebuilt. I personally couldn't raise my children there knowing about the underlying mould.

Hi headake, how did you get on with the inspection yesterday? What did Darren say about it when he saw it?