Hi All;
We are at the lock up stage of our build and Ive decided to hire a third party building inspector to go through the next 3 stages (lock up, fit in & completion) to ensure quality is up to standard. We have walked through since the completion of lock up & have noticed holes in roof so you can see sunlight & also puddles of water inside the house even though the roofing is supposed to be completed??
Anyway; just wondering- IF the inspections come up with anything not legit, are the builders required to fix it at no cost?? how does this work, do I just present the inspection report to them with the findings??? HELP!!!
Thanks:
Kerry
Hi - We had an independent inspector at PCI and he found over 90 things wrong ... he sent us a copy of his report and sent one to the builder. I was impressed at handover that the SS not only went through the list of things that we had found but also through the inspector's report ... I think they are obliged to fix things that are found, within reason. It's well worth it for the peace of mind and extra support ...
Your contract with the builder requires the builder to construct the house to meet the building regulations and to a specification which should be included within the contract. (Basically the specification should be the quality of construction should be the same standard as the show house).
If the builder doesn't meet the requirements you can withhold payment until the builder makes good at his expense.
Any concerns discuss with our site supervisor AND CONFIRM IN WRITING
The cost varies, around $500/stage approx, and its definitely worth it
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If the builder doesn't meet the requirements you can withhold payment until the builder makes good at his expense.
Any concerns discuss with our site supervisor AND CONFIRM IN WRITING
Make sure you read your contract, my one says you cannot withhold the money until the last stage.
However my builder never had an issue with getting any problems fixed promptly. I think he only provided the invoice *after* all fixes were complete
Builders have a legal obligation to perform building work to comply with the Building Code of Australia and referenced Australian Standards.
If you are not happy with your builders work firstly it is advisable to bring the items to the builders attention for comment. To withhold payment may put you in breach of contract, which could be quite costly.
If you feel you are having problems with your builder, I would suggest it would be advisable to seek some direction from your State Government Building Commission.
I've so far had an inspector do a frame and lock-up inspection, and while the list he found wasn't particularly long, some of the things he found weren't exactly minor issues.
Some examples are that the timber used in one section of the external structural walls wasn't up to the right grade, there's a very large (14mm) drop in the actual slab concrete, they blocked a drain that the engineers report said "don't block!", and they installed the Hebel panels entirely wrong (no flashings in places). There's also been walls and door frames which have been out of plumb, and significant bowing in walls and skirting.
The most significant ones I've noticed though, was that they installed a tile splashback and not the glass splashback that had been ordered;
They've installed all the data returns in to two standard electrical panels instead of a single Krone panel;
And the glass in the front door is transparent, not obscured.
I've reported the first one; I don't reckon they'll do anything about the second one, and the third one I want to clear up on ambiguity because I reckon they'll say "no, that's the right glass".