Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 12, 2014 6:17 pm Hoping for some advice please! We are building with a project home builder and we hit rock- once they realised we signed a variation for provision for rock excavation- $5000. Our house is now fully bricked and roofed and we've had a new variation sent to us for a total of $10000. We had no warning of going over and I'm just wondering if or how we should query it or even dispute it... I understand there are hidden costs but this has shocked us... Please help! Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 2Nov 12, 2014 8:26 pm There is some information here on how rock is normally dealt with here: http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/08/con ... onal-sums/ 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: Rock excavation not included in contracts 3Nov 13, 2014 6:37 am bashworth There is some information here on how rock is normally dealt with here: http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/08/con ... onal-sums/ Thanks, we had no money set aside for rock removal in the contract so when we hit rock we had to sign a variation for $5000... Now the total is $10,000 without warning. Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 4Nov 13, 2014 8:15 am It makes no sense to me What did soil report say about rock? You cannot sign a provisional variation, if you have been quoted by builder 5K and you agreed then that's it. 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: Rock excavation not included in contracts 5Nov 13, 2014 11:00 am building-expert It makes no sense to me What did soil report say about rock? You cannot sign a provisional variation, if you have been quoted by builder 5K and you agreed then that's it. That's what I am thinking... We have gone well over what we agreed to in the 'provision' variation. I'm not sure what the soil report said- I know we got one from the developer that said s class with shale rock... I don't really know where to go from here... Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 6Nov 13, 2014 12:08 pm di+matt building-expert It makes no sense to me What did soil report say about rock? You cannot sign a provisional variation, if you have been quoted by builder 5K and you agreed then that's it. That's what I am thinking... We have gone well over what we agreed to in the 'provision' variation. I'm not sure what the soil report said- I know we got one from the developer that said s class with shale rock... I don't really know where to go from here... I can help you but you will have to book me. If you are interested I can review the claim, you can PM 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: Rock excavation not included in contracts 7Nov 13, 2014 12:14 pm I would be asking them for proof of their costs - as they have gone well over the $5000 you are more than entitled to see how it is calculated, ask for invoices etc. Also read through your contract and see what it says about how to handle provisional costs - builders are not supposed to undervalue provisional sums. I also feel that they should have notified you before now that the costs were going higher than the $5000 by a substantial amount. My build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68002 Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 8Nov 14, 2014 11:19 am Burnsfirsttime I would be asking them for proof of their costs - as they have gone well over the $5000 you are more than entitled to see how it is calculated, ask for invoices etc. Also read through your contract and see what it says about how to handle provisional costs - builders are not supposed to undervalue provisional sums. I also feel that they should have notified you before now that the costs were going higher than the $5000 by a substantial amount. We have asked for invoices and they have provided them. They have also added the builders 20% margin as per our contract. All invoices are dated September, which is when the work was done but it is now November... We haven't asked for invoices for what has been paid for out of our contract amount... I need to read through our contract to see how much is actually set aside for site scrape, cut etc. Do people normally have to pay the extra for rock removal for plumbing!? Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 9Nov 19, 2014 10:09 pm What have you decided to do? I'm bracing myself for rock removal issues as they are putting in the services down our driveway (battleaxe block) and we know there is rock there. There are clauses in our contract about this extra long driveway and hand digging so my optimistic side is hoping it's coveted but my pessimistic side is expecting the hit Re: Rock excavation not included in contracts 10Nov 19, 2014 10:14 pm Hmmm, I have checked your past posts and it seems that you are in NSW, not WA as I had thought. It pays to show your State in your avatar. 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