Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 20, 2008 3:49 pm Hi everyone,
Well, further to my last post, we have had Kevin inspect and find numerous issues with our frame and a couple with frame overhang and slab overpour. The god news is that these issues have been found and highlighted to Porter Davis who are playing ball and SAYING that things that need to be rectified will be fixed in due course. With that in mind you can imagine i would be rather happy..... well, that was until i took mu wife to site today to show her progress to date. It seems that the framers have been back, sure they have addressed maybe 2 of the 10 issues from Kevin's report but the real surprise was......... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and ....... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and ...... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I have never proclaimed to be the smartest person in the world but they look like the sort of marks that a hammer might leave and given that the framers were there the day after i met with ths SS i find it just a little coincidental that this has happened. As you can imagine I am furious. What can i do about this, i am at a total loss. What could they possibly achieve by smacking holes in my slab? Can i request that these chippies be replaced? Please help me... i am going insane. Regards, Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 2Apr 20, 2008 3:59 pm Have you got a photo with something that gives a bit of scale or do you know how big the holes are.
Whereabouts is this damage...I'm assuming on top of the slab. And whats the brown stuff...timber bits...mud..or? To me the second and third one looks like boney concrete. Happens when they don't compact properly and you get voids in the concrete. The first ones also seems to coincide at the intersection of three shrinkage cracks...an overall shot would be useful. Don't know about the slab smackin' idea....the hammer face would get pretty dinged up to do that much damage....but stranger things have happened. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 3Apr 20, 2008 4:04 pm Doesn't look like hammer holes to me. I think you are jumping to conclusions. Looks like faults with the concrete. Top shot looks like there is contamination of concrete (roots or similar).
Ash. Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 4Apr 20, 2008 4:14 pm Hi,
Thanks for the replies. Each of the holes are approx 5cm in diammeter. As for imperfections in the concrete, i thought of that but then how would you go from having perfectly ok smooth slab to those sorts of holes in just a 36 hour period. Especially without a major weather event. The above 3 photos were just of the about 20 different points throughout the house that have been found. The timeline goes like this. Wednesday - Kevin inspects and sends report. Thursday - Meet with SS to go over report and general walkthrough (no slab issues). Friday - framers sent back to site to fix their work as required. Sunday - 20 or so separate holes miraculously appeared since Thursday afternoon. Some of the holes were filed with saw dust as well, meaning that the holes were there from at or before the framers were back. Sorry, but i do not think i am jumping to conclusions. Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 5Apr 20, 2008 4:30 pm Is there a pattern to where they are in the slab...along a line....do you know whether they put a wall whether they shouldn't have and had to remove it....? mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 6Apr 20, 2008 4:39 pm Looks a bitt like they pulled up some of the frame and resulted in ripping up some of the concrete. I imagine masonary nails being yanked out and bringing up concrete.
There does appear to be some evidence of grinding or sand blasting of some sort eg between the holes on image 3. Could this be to remove masonary nails? Best thing is to ask politely. Blow up later. Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 7Apr 20, 2008 4:40 pm No there is no real pattern to them. They are ramdom, some in the middle of one room, others out to the side, but generally there are two next to each other (not sure if you want to call that a pattern).
The frame has been completed and the dimensions of the house are correct, nothing wrong with this side of things, so no wall put up wrong then taken down. Just a crappy job where noggings missing, double studs not strapped or fixed properly, truss blocks not up against trusses, wrong timber used in load bearing walls etc etc..... They were supposed to fix some of these on Friday. Some were addressed others not. The void in the second photo is about 5 foot from any wall or other structure that would need fixing to the slab so i am not sure about your theory 3times. I do not like to point the finger but i also do not believe in these sorts of coincidences. Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 8Apr 20, 2008 4:43 pm Wonder if someone has been playing with the nail gun? That woul be pretty bad. Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 9Apr 20, 2008 4:54 pm Weird and intriguing......the timeline is suspicious....but the holes/damage are odd....
3timesbuilda Best thing is to ask politely. Blow up later. Sage advice.... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 10Apr 20, 2008 6:02 pm Ratter,
I would suggest they were already there but just well hidden, Is it possible (thinking back, that there were wood piles, dust sweep ups plaster etc ****** over these items for your inspection? I think PD have a major issue on their hands there and I look forward to Kevins comments on the pics. Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 11Apr 20, 2008 6:50 pm Hi Matt,
I agree that PD will have a major issue. As for the dust pile etc.. We have onle had the slab and frame done, no plaster. There has not been any sweep up as there are piles of sawdust around most of the edges of the house, the only places there is saw dust other that the edges is where the worst of the damage is (conveniently). The slab is only 18 days old so if these are related to faulty slab then i would hate to see what will happen after 18 months. I agree that the timeline is suspicious but if the slab were defective then i would expect this to be evident throughout the house and not just in some rooms and not others. How do you suggest i deal with this, obviously i will talk to the SS who will say "no problem, this happens lets just patch it up", or should i be more suspicious and get the slab looked at by an engineer? Regards, Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 12Apr 20, 2008 6:55 pm Ratter
Didn't you mention a building inspector (Kevin?)...can you email him the photos and ask for an opinion...? mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 13Apr 20, 2008 7:04 pm Hi,
Have emailed Kevin some pics, will be interested to hear from him tomorrow and see what he thinks. I think if i had the choice between the damage being due to a defective slab or being caused by angry framers i would prefer the damage be caused by the framers. After all, getting something minor repaired is hard enough, imagine trying to get the slab replaced. Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 14Apr 20, 2008 7:09 pm Ratter After all, getting something minor repaired is hard enough, imagine trying to get the slab replaced. Very, very unlikely to require the latter, most likely minor surface repairs or a bit of cold chiseling to remove any loose concrete (if any) and epoxy mortaring....a common repair on concrete...even major structural concrete....one of the things about building we aware and alert (which you have been) but don't work yourself up prematurely....although I know it's bloody hard when you invest a lot of time, money, and effort into the project. Let us all know how you go.... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 15Apr 20, 2008 8:43 pm Hi Ratter
since you have emailed them to Kevin just wait and see his comments. However, the pictures look nasty. But hopefully they are fixable. all the best and keep us posted. Also, very important, keep calm and take deep breath often .... Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 16Apr 21, 2008 2:00 am I originally thought they looked like nails (ramset?) that had been pulled up althout there may not have been any wall there I noticed when I walked throuhg a half built home that they had some wood propping the frame up and secured that against another piece of wood that was nailed to the concrete.
Obviously this was a temporary fixture to prop up the frame and the wood nailed to the concrete would likely be pulled up and possibly create similar holes in the slab. Just a possibility. Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 17Apr 21, 2008 7:43 am Hello all,
Well don't I feel silly! Kevin has had a look at the pics, he has said the same thing as you piranha. "These chips are quite normal and have most likely always been there, but just never noticed." "They are caused by the framing carpenters fixing temporary blocks to the top of the slab when erecting the walls so that they can brace the centre of the walls to them to keep the top plates straight. Most slabs have these in them and they are repaired (filled) by the builder prior to completion." I am so glad that I have Kevin on my side, definitely worth every penny. I appologise if i offended anyone with my presumption over the tradies, i will certainly try asking questions instead of making judgements in the future. I guess it is easy to be passionate about something you care about so much. Thank you to those of you who said to remain calm, if i had gone in guns blazing i would have looked like even more of an idiot. Regards, Ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 18Apr 21, 2008 8:31 am Excellent new ratter! mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 19Apr 21, 2008 10:49 pm he he,, kudos to me for an accurate yet uneducated guess based on my observations walking through a half built display home. I guess there is hope for me yet as a soon to be owner builder.
Glad to hear the tradies hadnt taken revenge on your slab after all ratter Re: Just when things seem to be going well...... this!!!! 20Apr 22, 2008 7:47 am We have some marks on our slab similar to those shown, which will be fixed before handover.
In our case they were caused by nailing the temporary supporting timber to the frame as it was constructed. Imagine a peice of timber with one end on the slab, and one end on the top of a wall - then put a nail in at each end to hold it there. If you go back through our blog and look at the frame pictures you will see what I mean. The marks in the concrete are left by the removal of the nail. Ugly? Yep. Happy? No. Will it be fixed? You bet! We didn't suffer the same cracks that I see in your picture. Cheers They using concrete or timber sleepers? Timber or steel uprights? Any drainage behind sleeper? 3 5878 It's possible but a soak well is usually much larger. Your 'soak well' only holds 424 litres when full. What is your soil type? Soak wells need sandy soils. 10 9009 Finally got the Soakwell at my house sucked out. Now I’m looking for ideas on how to hide it as it’s a bit of an eye sore. I’m thinking I’d like to turf over the… 0 3273 |