including a timber post just sitting in the ground to rot rather than being bolted to a stainless steel stirrup. It was a problem because the post was supporting the balcony... second issue was waterproofing of the bathroom floors (wasnt dont accoring to building code!).
This is one of my bugbears, yes the waterproofing pickup is a good one as it could save you some grief at a later stage.
But with the post on the ground, i'm interested to know did your builder say that was how it was going to be left? or was a tempory prop and they were they simply waiting for the stirrup to arrive?