Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 20, 2013 10:10 pm Let's talk contracts. Just got ours from our builder - they seem really on the ball... but there's some gaping holes to me. If you have worked out what you want (eg. taps, sinks, door handles, ovens etc) before hand and they have those selections then would this be in the contract? (Ours is TBC) There's no allowance for electrical - just that it's to the plan - except no plan is agreed as yet. There's some to and fro about what's standard in our email trail, but I'm not sure how detailed this normally is for others. Dates. Our builder won't commit to a hard date. Fair enough - things happen. But what sort of dates does the standard contract have? Because ours have NONE! I am sure this is an oversight given there's a clause for extensions of time - you have to have a timeframe to extend for that clause to work. Obviously I'll go back to them on this but they don't want to commit to a hard date (we've discussed this) but I want something less nebulous - what does the average contract say? Of course there's a "do not visit site" clause (with extra acknowledgement signatures) - but my site is a 3.5acres block that I want to go and do some gardening on - and in particular we will want to establish some plants possibly before the build is finished... how do others handle this? Finally there's the issue that we are to do some parts of the work - painting for example - which needs to be done part way through the build? I would like to paint before the pantry shelves are put in, before the kitchen cabinetry etc... or is this not standard? How do others handle this? (And I've got a sep. post about rain water and grey water collection) It feels like there's a few nice big wiggle room spots for the builder - not exactly feeling like I'm nailing down solid details I can rely on. What is in your contract re these - and what else do I need to be aware of? Re: Standard inclusions in a contract 2Sep 20, 2013 10:27 pm We didn't have a hard date just a 34 week contract... We were told the admin stage took 3-6 months after admin was complete they had twenty days to commence construction. No all the taps, handles etc. wasn't in the contract, I am building my second house now, and it's the same. It is in the colour selection document that you sign off on closer to construction. Absolutely no way can you access the site, are they using a site fence around the build? It would be included in your site costs... It's an WHS issue, I was caught onsite for the first build and was given a strong warning. I am pretty certain the people that decided not to do the painting done by the builder had to do it post handover.... They decided they would never do it again, as there is heaps to do post handover, landscaping, fencing etc. Is it really that much of a saving? The standard is for the builder to do painting. Built a Hawthorne 31 with EB nessjeffdreamhouse.blogspot.com.au Building an investment now with New Living homes... We are at nearly finished... Just landscaping and driveway to go! Re: Standard inclusions in a contract 3Sep 20, 2013 10:52 pm Thanks 1sttimebuilding2012 I'm in the wheatbelt - painting out here will be about $15k (there's very few tradies, they charge whatever they like) - where we can buy the paint, a spray paint thingamabob and all manner of extras for less than a third of that... we want to paint before the carpentry goes in obviously but if not we'll do it after. Hopefully they'll let us in there between the other trades. I'm happy to stay off site - I just want to determine with them where the site starts and ends - it's three and a half acres - they don't need the whole damn space! We need to get in to spray for weeds, maintain fire breaks and manage the land a little (legally we have to do the first two, the third is preference). And I want to water some plants that will need summer heat to get established (bouganvillia etc)... I'm happy to leave the winter plantings (fruit trees, grape vines etc) until later but if they go substantially over time then I'm wanting to get in there - otherwise it will be a full year again before I can plant these or we'll have real issues in summer. I can live with an agreed number of weeks post admin - that's a good way to put it, with a clause on how soon they must start. I just want to be in by next winter - they say this is possible/probable and they they think it's actually about 36 weeks total from contract sign date - or initial build deposit if we want to wait to sign (for first home owners boost) so that's plenty of time - but if it all goes pear shaped I don't want to become that house that sits half done for an eternity while they go do something less painful. Re: Standard inclusions in a contract 4Sep 21, 2013 9:05 am Sounds like you Builder does final choice at 'Pre-Start' rather than a 'Selection Meeting' before contract signing. Some builders do it this way but its not my favorite way of working. Does the contract have allowances in for upgrades already. IMHO you will need it for electrical upgrades most builders are still in the 1950's as far as power sockets are concerned (see http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/02/ele ... g-general/) I wouldn't be happy signing until I knew the final cost and a construction time. As you are building on a rural block I would say mark out, and even fence, the house building site. You then give the builder possession of the house building site only, and continue to work on the remainder of the block. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Standard inclusions in a contract 5Sep 21, 2013 9:42 am A contract should be carefully read and understood and if you're not happy then negotiate changes. The standard contract doesn't actually ban you from the site, rather it states that only the owner or a nominated representative of the owner is permitted on site and that you aren't allowed to interfere with the building works. Many builders add in a clause to state you aren't allowed on site, that you must be supervised, that they require a weeks notice, yada yada yada. If you don't like it then don't agree to it. If you only want to access the remainder of the block then instruct them to amend it to read along the lines of "The owner or nominated representative shall not be permitted access to the building envelope or construction works unless having prior authorisation from the builder. Access to the remainder of the property shall be permitted as long as this does not interfere with the builders access to the site or the building works." The old OH&S reason for you not going on site gets trotted out a bit. They don't want to be liable for you injuring yourself. You can always indemnify them from responsibility in writing if you wish to. They are already covered contractually if you mess around with stuff on site (interference in building works) which can give them grounds to terminate the contract. If you've already determined all your fittings there's no reason why they can't include them in the contract. You can also insist on an allowance for electrical to be included if you wish. Some builders will have everything specified in the contract, some will just make allowances. You certainly don't want to give them an opportunity to slug you with a variation charge to change your electrical from the standard if there's no allowance in the contract for it. This is a contract between you and the builder. It should protect both of you. There must be a specified start date. There must be a specified number of days of construction. There must be allowances for delay days. There must be a clause for liquidated damages payable to you if they don't meet the construction deadline. End of the day, don't sign something you're not happy with. Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. Thanks. There are plenty of builders around my suburb. I'll make sure to do some door-to-door knocking, or note their building details on the temp fence. 4 4751 You talk about deletions, are they variations or PS and PC adjustments? pleas list them 1 16565 What we have done in a few theatres ( including my own) is run 2 layers of 13mm gyprock, but sounds insulation especially for the bass is really tricky as a lot of that… 4 2572 |