Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 06, 2013 10:01 pm Its nearly 3 months since the slab has been laid and we still don't have roofs or bricks installed. Every time I ask when they are going to make any progress to our house (politely), they just tell me it will be within 2 weeks and then 2 weeks came and went, they'll tell me another 2 weeks and so on. It gets really frustrating to see houses started later than us but they are more advanced because every time I go passed those blocks, there are actual people working there! My block is a ghost town I've tried speaking to them but they seem to get more and more annoyed with me. I'm worried to ruin my relationship with my builder and I'll end up to have a crap house But I want to know when they will actually act on their promises. Has anyone gone through this? If so, what is the best strategy to deal with the builder without ruining the relationship? Thanks in advance. Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 2Oct 06, 2013 10:28 pm Oh no! How disappointing! Have you called Fair Trading to see what your rights are? Casey + Gary + 5 kool kiddos + 1 funky Frenchie + 5 happy hens = barrels of fun in Muswellbrook Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 3Oct 07, 2013 12:39 am Make a booking with the builder and explain, just like you have done so here. They should not get upset over that calm approach. Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 4Oct 07, 2013 4:41 am The Best relationship that you can have with a builder is mutual respect. From what you have said the builder doesn't seem to be giving you any respect. I would be sending a letter to the manager asking him to explain lack of progress on the contract. 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: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 5Oct 07, 2013 8:34 am I think you are well within your rights to request an explanation as to why there has been no progress on site. You seem to be a patient person and so I agree- coordinate a meeting with your builder to communicate your concerns but do so in a calm but confident manner. This approach should not ruin the relationship - but to be honest you shouldn't let them take advantage of your patience either! Your building contract should have a completion date and so if they have not progressed since the slab was poured, they would need valid reasons as to why they will not potentially complete the build by the contract completion date. I know builders don't always complete by the completion date but they need justifiable reasons. Good luck Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 6Oct 07, 2013 9:49 am Ibby Its nearly 3 months since the slab has been laid and we still don't have roofs or bricks installed. Every time I ask when they are going to make any progress to our house (politely), they just tell me it will be within 2 weeks and then 2 weeks came and went, they'll tell me another 2 weeks and so on. Ibby It gets really frustrating to see houses started later than us but they are more advanced because every time I go passed those blocks, there are actual people working there! Are the other houses that you mention being built by your builder or other builders? It is of extreme importance that you start looking at the progress of other houses being built by your builder. If you find that those builds are also inactive, then there could be real cause for concern. I wouldn't be politely asking; I would be putting everything in writing. You should start that process now, beginning with a summary of broken promises and the time frame to date. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 7Oct 07, 2013 10:00 pm I have been actually dealing with the Director of the company and even that, there is still no progress Is there a way to find out what are the addresses of the other projects that a builder is/are currently working on, other that going for a drive around the neighbourhood? The house I mentioned are being built by other builders and they are building very fast! It is fast because that there are always tradies working on the site. I feel like I have done absolutely everything to motivate them to fasten the progress of our house like paying the invoice the day after I receive it, giving them incentives such as once our house is completed, we are more that willing to open our house to their potential buyers, give them pressies etc. None of those work Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 8Oct 07, 2013 10:59 pm It sounds like you are too nice! I assume that the contract has penalty clauses. Ibby Is there a way to find out what are the addresses of the other projects that a builder is/are currently working on, other that going for a drive around the neighbourhood? You could get someone to ask for addresses in the area. I don't know if there is a register of new starts that can be accessed. Stewie would know; if he doesn't visit this thread, maybe send him a PM. He always gives good advice. I really hope that this is nothing more than an unusual delay. The director is obviously not a Chinaman. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=67441&p=1082264#p1082264 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 10Oct 08, 2013 7:00 am All the above is good advice. Most builders will put their logos and signs up in front of their sites when they build for free advertising so you can usually tell who is building what in your area. Another way to find out if your builder is also doing some other jobs in your area is to access the local councils website and have a look at the approved DA's. Pretty easy to do - it will just take a while to do a streets worth but if you persist you'll find some. Another way is to casually drop in to some of these jobs and ask the tradies on site who the builder is. Stewie Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 11Oct 08, 2013 7:46 pm Thanks for all advice guys. I will look up at the local council website to check out the approved DA. I guess I will try to me more firm. I thought being nice and give them incentives don't work. Sometimes I actually regret on my decision of building a house PS: I live in the ACT Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 12Oct 08, 2013 8:06 pm Just please tell me the director you've been dealing with is not Mentor Hopefully things will pick up shortly, but if there has been literally no one on site for 3 months I would definitely check that work is being done somewhere else by the builder so that they are not going bust. EDIT: for an interesting read, and a scary glimpse of the lack of regulations/responsibility, check out this thread. Mentor himself replies a few times in the thread as well, but I think he deleted his posts (they are probably still there in quotes). It's blowing my mind that people like this are not prosecuted and jailed. http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-re ... ?t=2087160 Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 13Oct 08, 2013 8:25 pm No the director is definitely not Mentor - you are safe I will probably walk around the neighborhood on the weekend and see if I can see my builder projects as I cannot find them on the local council website Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 14Oct 08, 2013 9:45 pm Hi Ibby, Have you had any contact with an inspector re engagement? If you have, maybe have a talk with him and ask if he has heard anything around the traps. Some of the tradies that you run into might also know something as they would have contact with others. It's a small world. Do they have (a) display home(s)? 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 15Oct 08, 2013 10:02 pm No I don't know their inspectors nor tradies. Also, they are a small building company so they don't have display home. I swear I did all my research before I signed with them but none of them helped me with my situation right now Re: Scared to complain to our builders.. what to do! 16Oct 08, 2013 10:17 pm I mean an independent inspector you may have spoken to re engaging him during the build. The tradies can be anyone you bump into. If you see any on sites that your builder has, then at least you know that someone is having work done. I wouldn't necessarily be asking one of his tradies anything. I wouldn't be throwing caution to the wind just yet either. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Urgent help: What is better roof sarking or ceiling insulati 18Nov 13, 2013 9:36 pm Hi guys, Our builder is pretty much stuffed up and didn't install the roof sarking until I pointed out - not happy! Anyways,they told me that they are not removing the rooftiles and the roof battens as it is going to cost them a lot. To compensate with that, they told me that they will put additional wool batts in the ceiling to increase the energy rating (additional to R4 batts as per our contract). Can you please advise whether what they are offering me is a good thing or are they ripping me off? Is roof sarking essential on preventing the leaks on the roof and hitting the batts or the wool batts does it anyway? I don't know what to do! Godammit. I'm not having any luck:( Any help will be appreciated! Thank you. I Look at your bill from the electricity company. It should detail the charges. You will need to do some estimating and some calculations. Then charge the… 8 4247 Site works are just about to start on our build with Blueprint in Midvale. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106894 2 3952 Hi all, We are looking to build a new two storey house in western Sydney. Can anyone recommend a smallish builder to go with? We are trying to stay away from the big… 0 12140 |