Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 14, 2012 10:24 pm We bought a block of land in Epping north from a reputed developer which was to a discounted price and the sales person said the discount is because the land is already titled. It had a slope from naked eye and she said slope is about 1.5m and cut and fill will cost about 20K. AS it was on a discounted price we thought that’s ok. We were new to Australia and started with zero knowledge, so without much questioning we bought the land. Did not have much idea of engineering at the time of buying. When we go though builders to find a house we realize this site is with lot of problems with 2.6m fall but we were too late.. It was very hard to find a house suit this site and also a meaning full site cost without doing a soil test. We did a soil test and show the report to most of the builders who were happy to give a approximate site cost according to this report and engineering. Simonds, PD carlilse came with >40K site cost and at this time we thought to sell the land as we cannot afford. Then XX builder who we are building with now gave us a cost of 35K which we thought ok and they wanted to do their own soil test to give us a fixed price. After their soil test cost came to 31K which was good and we signed the contract for a fixed price. Site works started and site cuts were done , storm water, other drainage pipes were done it was planned to do the waffle pod slab in a weeks time and we got a shocking news from my builder. They said they excavated site and removed rocks and further excavations done up to 3m and then they found excess fill and building waste underneath which were not mentioned in foundation data. They said the site conditions are terrible and the slab need piers, and the put the work on hold sending us a letter” client to resolve problem with developer” as they think the developer liable for the extra site cost. ( builder think fill should be mentioned in section 32) WE went to the developer who said this site block was discounted to cover up the additional site cost and (which the sales person did not even mentioned) and they have add a possible filling section to the land contract which with our zero knowledge did not notice. And they said we need to do whatever we agreed with builder. When we query about our fixed price contact, builder show us a place it has mentioned” client can get significant additional cost if the developer do not have a compaction report’ . The developer has not done a compaction as they have not done any structural filling. What ever the fill is before they purchase the land. Now our job is on hold for nearly 1 ½ months, as my builder not come up with a costing it drag so much. At first they said additional work need to give a cost and they wanted to find out who is barring the cost. After going through a soliciter, now they preparing a costing but they have warned us the amount can be significant. WE have taken the maximum from bank loan as it was a fixed price we didn’t expected this cost. Now we are in real trouble!!! I got few things to clarify 1. Our site report classified site as P class due to fill so for the initial site cost of 35K came with P slab, Piers etc. XX Builders soil report classified site as H-D class and they planned a H-D class waffle pod slab with site cost 31K. We got the lowest site cost for our soil report from this builder and that’s why we decided to build with them without selling the land. Can I argue that my builders soil report misleading as my soil report gives a better understanding of the site so that they are liable for this? 3 . Should the builder need to ask for a compaction report before deciding a slab for a P class site? 2. Is there any standard for the filling of land even they did not do a structural fill by the developer? Looking forward for some helpful advice.. Re: HELP! Who ever liable for the problem we are the suffer 2Oct 15, 2012 5:18 am I can't give you legal advice but it seems that the builder has relied on their own soil test when giving you the price of the home. There is a good chance that you are protected against escalating costs but you will 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: HELP! Who ever liable for the problem we are the suffer 3Oct 19, 2012 4:21 pm Thanks a lot for your reply. Yesterday we got the shocking new site cost which is 36K on top of the 32K making it nearly 70K!! My solicitor suggest us to go VCAT and hope to do so. JUst wondering to know how much it can cost to do a structural fill for a 400sqm block if the approximate depth to the natural founding in 3m? I want to know whether is it cheaper to do that than spending a lot on othe site work. Re: HELP! Who ever liable for the problem we are the suffer 4Oct 19, 2012 5:37 pm I think you are in real trouble You need professional contract manager to sort this out for you 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 2 5843 I don’t think so as the floor area over 300 square meters then it is class 3…. 12 17936 Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7931 |