Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 23, 2012 3:00 pm Hi all, in my building estate there are certain covenants like enforcing roof eaves all the way around the house, and despite knowing this my builder for some reason decided not to include long eaves as stated on one side/part of my house (that would be unused) from the back of the house up to the garage. When I spoke to the builder about the omission for this section of the house, they said it was for ‘lighting regulations’ but then they spoke to the builder and changed the final contract plans to include eaves all the way from the back of the house up to the garage. The land developer then approved these plans, and construction has started, then when I went out for a site visit the other day, I noticed that the roofer has gone off the old plans and has laid all the roof tiles, but not done any eaves to that side/section of the house…
I for one don’t mind not having eaves there as the distance from the house to the fence on that side is only 1 metre, so by not having 600mm eaves it means that more light pours into that side of the house, however Im not sure what could happen if the land developer finds out? Should I advise the builder immediately of their mistake if at all? Regards and thanks for any assistance Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 2Mar 23, 2012 5:24 pm Personally I would. It is not only the developer that wants this but council. It could also affect your Basix rating. Pretty sure adding eaves is not simply down to the roofer. Think the whole roof frame needs to be redone. McKeachies Run, Aberglasslyn Deposit paid 11th April Land registered 6th June Land settled 20th June Colour selections and contract signed 5th August Commencement letter received 26th September Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 3Mar 23, 2012 6:39 pm If a builder is not capable of following plans,what else can you expect? A frame inspection would have picked up the problem before it became serious and before builder was paid for the frame. Unless you have independent inspector checking stages for you you may end with a disaster. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 4Mar 25, 2012 8:30 pm yeah I've since decided that Im going to tell the builder immediately and hope that they can change it before it becomes too much of an issue and too hard to fix later down the track. Does anyone know if we'd be within our rights to withhold the progess payment for the frame completion that they've just given to us until its fixed? Any help would be greatly appreciated Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 5Mar 26, 2012 3:25 pm Forget about the developer's approval. Just make sure the plans meet the building licence from local council. As has been pointed out, removing these eaves will affect your energy rating (whatever it happens to be called in your state). If the building is inspected and doesnt match the building licence the builder is going to have to make good. Easier for them to do it now rather than when the house is finished. I would however be worried that they cant follow their own plans. Indicates poor administration and poor supervising. Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 6Mar 26, 2012 9:16 pm If you had a variation for eaves to be added than yes make sure they are, i'm sure there was an extra cost. The trusses will not have to be re done to add the eaves, it's just a matter of the truss manufacturer specifying how long the peice of timber will need to be thats nailed to the side. Oh and it's not the end of the world and it doesn't mean your builder is cutting corners and should hung drawn and quartered, just have them make good as per the contract tick it off and move on. As for holding up payment, legally im not sure where you stand. But i'd certainly let them know they wont get lockup untill it is rectified. Cheers Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 7Mar 27, 2012 5:10 am Most building contracts will not give you automatic right to withhold payment and you will be in breach of contract if you do. Unfortunately the only other option if the job is bad enough is to issue a notice of default and threaten termination for a major breach but this is a last resort if all else fails. Tell your builder that you want the problem fixed and that he needs to improve supervision this does not happen again. If your builder co operates then work with him but remain vigilant. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 8Mar 29, 2012 1:27 pm Thanks alot of the help guys. I have since released the progess payment to them in good faith before this was fully resolved, though now things have just become a bit more interesting. As since signing the final contract drawings, which had the eaves going all the way around the house. The builders then asked me to sign a new drawing designs plans for a variation to our driveway. However unbeknown to us and under no instruction, the builder also changed and took the eaves off the side section of the the house in the drawings. So would the builder be able to say that I’m liable to pay for alterations to put the eaves on and to make the house compliant with the estate covenants? even though in the variation letter/request which only details changes to the driveway and makes no mention whatsoever of the eaves. And just that by me signing a later design drawing plan, it’s my fault for not picking up on their mistake, or is it that because there’s no mention of the eaves in the detailed variation letter, that the eaves should have been built according to the final contract, and not the later signed display drawings (especially given that I was only looking for changes to the driveway in the new drawings as per the variation letter)? Any help would be greatly appreciated as the builder is putting everything on the basis that they're just going off the drawing plans that were signed off after the initial final contract binding ones, even though there was no variation letter/request for those changes. Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 9Mar 30, 2012 6:25 am The contract words hold more weight than the drawings, so if they are in the contract, but not in the drawings, you can argue for them to be fixed Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 10Mar 30, 2012 8:17 am Hi Jester Generally speaking builder must act professionally and explain to you the consequences of any variation so that you can make informed decision before signing off. Builder may not depart from approved drawings and construct something that does not comply with restrictions. The fact that the change was done underhand is extremely worrying. In my opinion you are not bound by it but you will probably need professional help. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 11Mar 30, 2012 6:43 pm We had this happen to us, they moved an under bench cupboard in our Island bench from one end to the other between drawings. We signed off on the new drawings without realising. Granted we picked up the error before the build started bu they changed our plans without complaint as we hadn't asked for the amendment. Hold the line with them that they were under no instruction to remove the eaves (particularly push the point that they had a copy of the estate covenants) and they would have to prove that you had asked for the amendment. Hope it gets resolved for you Re: Roof eaves not built to contract & land developer covena 12Apr 15, 2012 1:31 pm Hmmmm, I would write them immediately and inform them that their variation letter didn't include the eave change, that therefore you didn't realise their was an eave change and that the eave change is not approved. I agree with JLD, remind them of your previous complaint about the eaves and let them know you are waiting for their move to rectify. Hi Everyone I learned something this week that I thought would be worth sharing. In NSW a lot of developers of subdivisions put covenants on the land which normally… 0 6597 Update from me! Couldn't find the trimmer - not sure if there isn't one simply because the eave is so narrow. Went ahead with the spring toggles and it all worked out… 7 5879 The two 15mm holes are obviously not compliant. The Dept of Fair Trading would love to see this one! Do the gutters pool water after it stops raining? Although it's… 4 7872 |