Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 26, 2008 2:15 pm Just wondering about peoples pre hand over issues, what are/were they and which were not enough to stop handover?
From memory, ours were: cracked bathroom floor tile shower feature tile upside down tile with tap - hole visible taps not centred over laundry tub cracking around cornices None of these stopped us moving in and all were fixed in the next few months. So what were yours? Re: What are typical pre handover issues? 2Mar 26, 2008 2:58 pm What I would like to know is, if there are things incomplete or that need to be fixed and there is the "promise" that they will be fixed, do they require access when THEY want it, or will they be willing to come after hours or weekends when it would suit us?
After reading Epiphany's experience with PD and issues after handover I would ideally like to have everything done before accepting it, but I know that it seems common practice now to just agree that it will be done within x amount of time. Hopefully we will have a week or 2 spare on our lease so if it isn't 100% hopefully we can hold off a bit - but then do we legally have to pay the final bill if they deem it complete - with outstanding work to be completed within x amount of days? Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: What are typical pre handover issues? 3Mar 26, 2008 3:13 pm I don't remember all our handover issues but some of the ones I remember are:
• Bathtub and laundry sink needed straightening • Missing grout in some ares • Replacement of one tile around one doorway • Sealant/sealer around sides of glass splashback • Replacing rusty door hinges • Straightening up of outside powerpoints • Various paint touch ups • A few plaster bumps that needed sanding back • They forgot some tiles in the laundry • Some gap sealer required under the front door • Brick cleaning due to varidian (spelling?!) staining [sneakersss] Re: What are typical pre handover issues? 4Mar 26, 2008 3:15 pm First_Timer_Ray What I would like to know is, if there are things incomplete or that need to be fixed and there is the "promise" that they will be fixed, do they require access when THEY want it, or will they be willing to come after hours or weekends when it would suit us? Ray. With us, it was a mutually agreed time. Of course after hours and weekends were not available but since we have kids, it wasn't too much of a problem. Re: What are typical pre handover issues? 5Mar 26, 2008 3:36 pm Having not yet started building, you all are not painting a very good picture.
Why are there so many things that need fixing shouldnt the trades men know how to do their job, or are we not training them correctly at trade school? Paula Re: What are typical pre handover issues? 6Mar 26, 2008 4:08 pm Paula Having not yet started building, you all are not painting a very good picture. Why are there so many things that need fixing shouldnt the trades men know how to do their job, or are we not training them correctly at trade school? Building a house is a very complex thing and there can be many reasons why so many things went wrong... Not every trades person check everything carefully. With our builder, we have lots of issue with the plumber: 2 of the 3 toilets installed leaks (under toilet water tank), 3 of the 7 sinks (including kitchen, laundry, bathroom) installed leaks, ...etc. If this guy can just pay a little bit more attention or stay extra 15 min to double check. The plumber later returned to fix things, but when we checked again, the powder room basin and main bath toilet water tank still leaks! Plus, I heard that project home builders squeeze these trades person very very hard on the margin due to their huge volume. So I guess some of them won't be that happy with the work (but still need the job), and this would impact their quality... Plus, site supervisors normally have to look after 20+ sites per week. Ideally they should stay and check everything. But in the real world, they just have a quick 5-10 min look and then rush off to the next site. And most of the time, the supervisor won't be on site while the trades person are doing their work, so you can understand how things can go wrong. Plus, sometimes there's a delay in paperwork or miscommunication between the office and the supervisor. In our case, someone didn't check our order carefully and order everything as a "normal" standard. But we changed a lot, and thus everything we changed got the wrong parts ordered, the shower rose, the kitchen door handle, ...etc. Plus, most of the works are pre-booked, if something out of control happened and need rework, those jobs that were booked will still continue. E.g. in our case, external brick cleaning was booked ages ago, we then found some problem with painting on alfresco ceiling, the painter returned to fix the paint. But the brick cleaning won't wait until the paint fully dried before they start the cleaning, thus damaged all the paint, and the painter have to return again. We've had the offer of a short term tenant whilst waiting for CDC/DA home approval and demolition for our knock down rebuild. It would achieve a pretty low rent as it's… 0 13691 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8678 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 81560 |