Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 14, 2016 6:49 am We are close to getting our Cert. of Occ. of our new home (Henley) and am concerned that we are being mislead with respect of the front door/porch area. Every concreter that has come to quote our driveway has said that the step up (or down) from our front door to the slab is "NOT COMPLIANT". They say that 190mm is the maximum height that is acceptable. The actual height is 250mm. They say that the builder must build up to a level of compliance. I raised this concern with the builder (Henley) and they have simply placed a wooden pallet step at the base of the door and said that it is now compliant. Is this satisfactory in terms of compliance? I'd be very surprised if it was as it is such a cop out. Hardly long lasting and most likely to break when trying to move in. See the pic attached. Any tips on where too from here would be appreciated. Cheers Ron Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 2Dec 14, 2016 7:47 am That's cow manure. Not sure if it's compliant or not but their half assed attempt at fixing it definitely sets off alarm bells. Hopefully you can find the info in writing to show your builder. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 3Dec 14, 2016 8:35 am Ron Moore We are close to getting our Cert. of Occ. of our new home (Henley) and am concerned that we are being mislead with respect of the front door/porch area. Every concreter that has come to quote our driveway has said that the step up (or down) from our front door to the slab is "NOT COMPLIANT". They say that 190mm is the maximum height that is acceptable. The actual height is 250mm. They say that the builder must build up to a level of compliance. I raised this concern with the builder (Henley) and they have simply placed a wooden pallet step at the base of the door and said that it is now compliant. Is this satisfactory in terms of compliance? I'd be very surprised if it was as it is such a cop out. Hardly long lasting and most likely to break when trying to move in. See the pic attached. Any tips on where too from here would be appreciated. Cheers Ron Hi Ron, I've got the same 'lovely' step you do! Also with Henley! I'm creating a decked area at the entrance, so for us it's temporary and not an issue. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 4Dec 14, 2016 9:01 am Is there a display home and if so, what is that like? 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: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 5Dec 14, 2016 12:25 pm I've actually heard of someone else complaining about this. They also built with Henley. All they got was a plank of wood propped up on bricks. Not acceptable if you ask me. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 6Dec 14, 2016 6:54 pm I'd be complaining about that! Not entirely sure how they will fix it but that's not your problem, it's theirs. What does the plan show re the step down? My Phoenix by Metricon in Melbourne viewtopic.php?f=31&t=83584&p=1570829&hilit=my+phoenix+by+metricon+in+melbourne#p1570829 Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 7Dec 14, 2016 9:07 pm Have you done front tiling .. (not clear in picture) .. I had similar issue today .. my laundry door was marked as too high ( 210 mm) .. guess what builder did ? Just put dirt !! ( his argument .. this is part of landscaping .. you woul anyway put paving or dirt here Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 8Dec 14, 2016 10:02 pm Wow 250 is a huge step up. Did you tell them you were going to deck it or something? If you were planning to leave it as concrete then they've given you a non-compliant home.. :/ To a laundry or other external door that the adjacent floor is by you is a different story. Is the timber theyve put there fixed? Is it nailed to the slab? I'd presume you could say it's unacceptable and refuse last payment til it's fixed? They can top concrete on top of this slab to bring it up higher. The step onto our front porch is about 110. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 9Dec 14, 2016 10:27 pm I'm building with Henley, waiting land to title, and have checked our stepdown to porch is 258mm. What is compliance measure? The display home have decked porch but Henley won't provide it as can't provide 50year structural guarantee on it, in line with the house guarantee. So would this mean it is built with the intention of decking the porch? Alfresco is only 172mm step down in comparison and was told at tender this would allow decking to level with the house. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 10Dec 14, 2016 10:30 pm Ron Moore We are close to getting our Cert. of Occ. of our new home (Henley) and am concerned that we are being mislead with respect of the front door/porch area. Every concreter that has come to quote our driveway has said that the step up (or down) from our front door to the slab is "NOT COMPLIANT". They say that 190mm is the maximum height that is acceptable. The actual height is 250mm. They say that the builder must build up to a level of compliance. I raised this concern with the builder (Henley) and they have simply placed a wooden pallet step at the base of the door and said that it is now compliant. Is this satisfactory in terms of compliance? I'd be very surprised if it was as it is such a cop out. Hardly long lasting and most likely to break when trying to move in. See the pic attached. Any tips on where too from here would be appreciated. Cheers Ron Hi Ron, did you use a private building inspector? If so, did they raise it as a non compliance issue? I'm also with Henley. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 11Dec 15, 2016 5:26 am spice girl I'm building with Henley, waiting land to title, and have checked our stepdown to porch is 258mm. What is compliance measure? The display home have decked porch but Henley won't provide it as can't provide 50year structural guarantee on it, in line with the house guarantee. So would this mean it is built with the intention of decking the porch? Alfresco is only 172mm step down in comparison and was told at tender this would allow decking to level with the house. The highest a step can be is 190mm. So technically you would need to deck that porch bringing the level up higher before you got your OC. That said many private certifiers might accept the timber step Henley have added in the OP's case if it's safe and fixed in place. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 12Dec 15, 2016 8:35 am Hi everyone, thanks for your thoughts, comments and suggestions. To answer a few of your questions; -No, I had not discussed with builder, nor had they asked, what my intentions were with respect of decking, tiling or concreting. I just expected it would be at a workable height for most applications, and at least be compliant. - No cat_dunc, the wooden pallet placed at the base of the door has not been fixed in anyway. I can simply lift it out. - My intention is to colour concrete to flush floor level. Most if not all of the display homes have timber decking porches and therefore can not compare with a display. - spice girl, as another has mentioned 190mm is the legal compliance level and no, I've not as yet engaged a 'Private Building Inspector' but had started yesterday to make enquiries and are awaiting a callback to book one in. I trusted Henley's quality and workmanship too much I think as at this end of the transaction all the cracks seem to have come to the surface. And while their displays are perfect, their builds are not. I liken it to the menu board we see behind the counter when we visit Macca's and order the yummy looking burger from the board only then to get a crappy thrown together ugly burger that looks nothing like the promo. Maybe I am being too harsh as I have a lot of good things to say about Henley, our home etc but as a business person myself it is at this end where customer service needs to be at its highest level, not at its lowest. SM has been good to date but unwavering on this step up. Internal admin appalling. And that's an understatement! At the end of the day it has become clear to me that Henley are just another builder, no different to any of the other volume builders in the country. They are not separated by quality or service in any way and how they have been recognised as Aust #1 Builder many times over only alarms me, not impresses me. If you want an average build and poor CS just pick any of the big builders. And to quote Craigasaurus........It's just "cow manure" Oh, HIA, BVA and MBA are all a waste of time. They work plain and simple...FOR THEIR BUILDER MATES not the consumer. None of these org have wanted to help me! Waste of space. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 14Dec 15, 2016 11:51 am cat_dunc Have you already paid the last bill? Im guessing you probably have if you're looking at the occupation certificate? Hi cat_dunc, No, not been paid yet but any threat of not paying it will see us have to wait until late January before we can get in! Not worth the wait but why can they still be allowed to give over a CO if by the building regs this does not comply? Who is it that they are actually accountable to? They don't care that it doesn't comply, well rather insist that the wooden pallet makes it so! Yes, I can get an independent inspection and hope that this brings it to a head but why can I not just expect a builder such as Henley, to build a home to comply with the Australian Standards. Is that too much to ask? You'd think that a $377k build that a small $250 concrete job to comply would be a no brainer. Even if it be $500. Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 15Dec 15, 2016 2:21 pm Ron Moore Hi everyone, thanks for your thoughts, comments and suggestions. To answer a few of your questions; -No, I had not discussed with builder, nor had they asked, what my intentions were with respect of decking, tiling or concreting. I just expected it would be at a workable height for most applications, and at least be compliant. - No cat_dunc, the wooden pallet placed at the base of the door has not been fixed in anyway. I can simply lift it out. - My intention is to colour concrete to flush floor level. Most if not all of the display homes have timber decking porches and therefore can not compare with a display. - spice girl, as another has mentioned 190mm is the legal compliance level and no, I've not as yet engaged a 'Private Building Inspector' but had started yesterday to make enquiries and are awaiting a callback to book one in. I trusted Henley's quality and workmanship too much I think as at this end of the transaction all the cracks seem to have come to the surface. And while their displays are perfect, their builds are not. I liken it to the menu board we see behind the counter when we visit Macca's and order the yummy looking burger from the board only then to get a crappy thrown together ugly burger that looks nothing like the promo. Maybe I am being too harsh as I have a lot of good things to say about Henley, our home etc but as a business person myself it is at this end where customer service needs to be at its highest level, not at its lowest. SM has been good to date but unwavering on this step up. Internal admin appalling. And that's an understatement! At the end of the day it has become clear to me that Henley are just another builder, no different to any of the other volume builders in the country. They are not separated by quality or service in any way and how they have been recognised as Aust #1 Builder many times over only alarms me, not impresses me. If you want an average build and poor CS just pick any of the big builders. And to quote Craigasaurus........It's just "cow manure" Oh, HIA, BVA and MBA are all a waste of time. They work plain and simple...FOR THEIR BUILDER MATES not the consumer. None of these org have wanted to help me! Waste of space. Hi Ron, couldn't agree with you more! If you didn't intend on doing any treatments to the area, then you need to not settle for their word twisting and get them to fix it. This is my third build with Henley and in our case it was better the devil you know! We have many walls that are miss aligned all over the place that's taking them awhile to fix. We were told that we would be in by Xmas but just today, they explained it can't be done. I'd rather wait and have all rectification works done correctly and not rushed than have keys prior Xmas and us being ** of with crappy workmanship at handover. My point here is don't feel that your alone, everyone has some issues with their builds and if they didn't then they didn't look hard enough! Good Luck and I hope you get the result you are after! Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 16Dec 15, 2016 3:22 pm As independent inspector I came across the same issue with Henley and they would not budge. I told my clients that I likely can win this point in VCAT but there is expense going through the process 3-5k. In the end business decision prevailed and it wasnt worth it, they would take care of it during landscaping. This one is in my black book to resurrect if I have to take builder on for other serious issues. 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: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 17Sep 11, 2022 12:42 pm Very old post but Iām having issue with my steps to pass final Inspection , so I am aloud to put a wooden pallet at the exterior to Make the step into the house under 190mm? Will a pallet pass? I made the pallet height at least 130mm and the step into the house height under 190mm Re: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 18Sep 11, 2022 10:16 pm Ron Moore We are close to getting our Cert. of Occ. of our new home (Henley) and am concerned that we are being mislead with respect of the front door/porch area. Every concreter that has come to quote our driveway has said that the step up (or down) from our front door to the slab is "NOT COMPLIANT". They say that 190mm is the maximum height that is acceptable. The actual height is 250mm. They say that the builder must build up to a level of compliance. I raised this concern with the builder (Henley) and they have simply placed a wooden pallet step at the base of the door and said that it is now compliant. Is this satisfactory in terms of compliance? I'd be very surprised if it was as it is such a cop out. Hardly long lasting and most likely to break when trying to move in. See the pic attached. Any tips on where too from here would be appreciated. Cheers Ron have you checked your plans? 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: How high is too high for step down to front porch? 19Sep 11, 2022 11:01 pm building-expert Ron Moore We are close to getting our Cert. of Occ. of our new home (Henley) and am concerned that we are being mislead with respect of the front door/porch area. Every concreter that has come to quote our driveway has said that the step up (or down) from our front door to the slab is "NOT COMPLIANT". They say that 190mm is the maximum height that is acceptable. The actual height is 250mm. They say that the builder must build up to a level of compliance. I raised this concern with the builder (Henley) and they have simply placed a wooden pallet step at the base of the door and said that it is now compliant. Is this satisfactory in terms of compliance? I'd be very surprised if it was as it is such a cop out. Hardly long lasting and most likely to break when trying to move in. See the pic attached. Any tips on where too from here would be appreciated. Cheers Ron have you checked your plans? I'm pretty sure that some time in the last 6 years Ron will have addressed this issue. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Take a pick with a level sittingo n the slab and a pick with a level sitting on the sill please. This will help us diagnose the issue and therefore a solution. RE,… 8 9407 It will be neat but you won't have much freeboard. At least they are not weep holes. Are you in a high intensity rainfall region? The regulatory slope is only required… 3 8281 the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 11837 |