Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 05, 2012 1:20 pm Hi everyone, I’ve gone through and read the definitions of what constitutes the ‘fixing stage’ according to the HIA (and my contract), however we received our invoice despite the pantry, linen/laundry cupboards, bedroom robes not having the in-built shelving done. And when I queried it with our site supervisor, he said that those things just haven’t been done yet so that its easier for the painters. Given that painting isn’t mentioned in the definition of the ‘fixing stage’, my question is would most home builders wait until both the painting and then later shelving has been done before sending out the invoice, and my builder is just being greedy trying to claim before they're supposed to? Or is my builder (for once) doing something the way it should be done even it means they might not get paid as quickly? (in which case I might pay it) I did also have another query though, in that I’m getting hardwood timber floor boards, and only now that they’ve put the floor skirts on the walls, realised that they intend to put to quad around all the edges once the floorboards go down. I’ve gone over my tender quote and building contract and cannot see any mention whatsoever of quad being used. So can I demand that they pull the skirts up and later lay them back down over the edges of the timber floor without quad? Any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated Re: Timber floors with quad and fixing stage invoice Qs 2Jun 05, 2012 3:01 pm Re: the fixing stage invoice - yes this is fine as they have done the painting in lieu of the fit-outs inside your cabinetry (trust me when I say you want them to do the painting before they fit out your cabinetry) and most standard contracts have a proviso for substituting work from the next stage in lieu of items listed in the current stage under the "... or a percentage of works completed" clause. In the case of the builder completing the painting before the cabinetry fit out they have actually completed a higher % of the works (if the painting has indeed been completed) as the painting takes longer to do than fitting out a few cabinets with shelves and whatnot, so they're not trying to "rip you off" at all and you will need to pay the fixing invoice now or risk having penalty payments added. (we had the same thing with our build) As for the quad issue, well you'd need to talk to your SS as they'll need to re-do the skirts if you don't want quad to hide the gaps between your floor boards and the skirts/archs/walls - there will be gaps to handle the natural expansion and contraction of your hardwood flooring panels as air/humidity conditions change with the seasons (although this is more length-wise than thickness-wise) and no slab is ever going to be perfectly flat so there might be minor deviations at the edges of your flooring (nothing you'd ever notice if you didn't have the straight line at the bottom of a skirt to compare it with). Some companies will do hardwood flooring without using quad to hide the blemishes (requires more attention to detail), but if the builder's contractor doesn't do it then you might be stuck with the quad. Be prepared for him (or her) to say that they can do it but it might look crap if you choose to go that way - that is if their QA inspector will let them get away with it (which they probably wont if it will affect the fit and finish of the home). Some people apparently have nothing better to do than comment on other people's sigs. Re: Timber floors with quad and fixing stage invoice Qs 3Jun 06, 2012 9:28 am cmhamilton Re: the fixing stage invoice - yes this is fine as they have done the painting in lieu of the fit-outs inside your cabinetry (trust me when I say you want them to do the painting before they fit out your cabinetry) and most standard contracts have a proviso for substituting work from the next stage in lieu of items listed in the current stage under the "... or a percentage of works completed" clause. In the case of the builder completing the painting before the cabinetry fit out they have actually completed a higher % of the works (if the painting has indeed been completed) as the painting takes longer to do than fitting out a few cabinets with shelves and whatnot, so they're not trying to "rip you off" at all and you will need to pay the fixing invoice now or risk having penalty payments added. (we had the same thing with our build) Ah thanks, yeah they have done the painting yet, but if they’re choosing to build the place for the best quality outcome in mind, then I’ll pay it in advance. I just wasn’t sure if it was standard that builders, do the painting and then the shelving. It just seemed a bit rich considering that once I pay this that’ll I have paid 90% of the value and yet if I was to fit out the rest of the house to completion it would realistically cost me about 40% more of the value. So they’re already way in front and I also hadn’t signed the regulation 6a waiver thing, which means that each item has to be completed in every stage before I have to pay and not according to a % method. Though yeah Im not going to bother getting into the nitty gritty of holding back a payment for one thing out of ten that hasn’t been done etc. cmhamilton As for the quad issue, well you'd need to talk to your SS as they'll need to re-do the skirts if you don't want quad to hide the gaps between your floor boards and the skirts/archs/walls - there will be gaps to handle the natural expansion and contraction of your hardwood flooring panels as air/humidity conditions change with the seasons (although this is more length-wise than thickness-wise) and no slab is ever going to be perfectly flat so there might be minor deviations at the edges of your flooring (nothing you'd ever notice if you didn't have the straight line at the bottom of a skirt to compare it with). Some companies will do hardwood flooring without using quad to hide the blemishes (requires more attention to detail), but if the builder's contractor doesn't do it then you might be stuck with the quad. Be prepared for him (or her) to say that they can do it but it might look crap if you choose to go that way - that is if their QA inspector will let them get away with it (which they probably wont if it will affect the fit and finish of the home). Hmm okay, its just that from looking at pictures on the internet, the timber floors without quad around the edges looks so much nicer but is just generally avoided where possible by the builders because its harder to do and hence are just being lazy. I had also seen on another thread that according to the domestic building act, that homes should be built according to the display houses, however the builder has since closed down and sold the display home, so I can’t get in to check. And yeah I had scoured my tender quote and contract and seen no mention of quad being used, and hence was hoping there was an option for me to then enforce that they not used quad and ensure any gaps are within the standard and controls guidelines, which to achieve would require them to lay the skirting back down on top. Thanks for the advice, its greatly appreciated Thanks for much mate. I see that you do cabinets before flooring. For timber flooring, for most parts it's fine because it's got base plates, and for door jabs you can… 7 11561 Hi, I am approaching end of the build. My final invoice will be given to me soon to pay. Some context before I ask my question. 1. My builder wont do the landscaping or… 0 3865 I'll look into different shower heads and ask the plumber about some engineering and see what he says. Thanks 2 9564 |