KDR - Rawson Chifley 42 mark ii in Newcastle.

Update time. Finally we have our down pipes installed and tied into the storm water. Just need the pergola thing that attaches to the front over the downstairs bedroom windows to be installed and the outside is finally complete. Driveway in next week or so. So close but yet so far. 😁

Houspect has been really good so far and we went with the full package with all five inspections they offer which are -

* Slab - To be done after the slab has been poured and has had adequate time to dry

* Wall and Roof Framing Complete - pretty self explanatory

* Pre-Lining / Brickwork or veneer Complete / Roof On - To be done when the property is at or close to lock up stage, services are installed, but before any insulation, walls, or ceiling coverings are installed

* Waterproofing - To be done after the waterproofing has been put on, but before the tilers start tiling, which is normally within a couple of days of each other

* Pre-Handover (practical completion) - To be done when the builder notifies he has substantially finished construction and finishes, but prior to handover of keys

My only complaint would be that in this latest Pre-Lining inspection the top roof covering couldn't be inspected as they said there are work safety issues with regards to getting on top of roofs that are above 3.6m, wet and slippery surfaces or gradient of the roof pitch and unfortunately their inspectors are not equipped or qualified for these scenarios.

My issue with this is the roof covering is part of the report, so if they can't do this on a two story house they should let you know in advance as there isn't any specific mention that the roof covering would need specific requirements or arrangements (eg. Builders scaffolding still in place) in order to be looked at as part of the inspection. Had this been the case we would have asked the builder to keep the scaffolding in place or have arranged this inspection earlier when the scaffolding was still up. Just annoying as if the roof covering has any defects like the rest of the building we would really like to know about it before we're in the house and then trying to get Rawson to rectify issues when water has caused damage to the interior, or worse yet causing damage slowly over a number of years only to be discovered after the warranty period has run out.

Also the internal stairs, front door, garage door and bifold doors haven't been installed yet so were not able to be checked as part of this inspection, but the inspection needed to be carried out before insulation & drywall are installed so a bit of a catch-22 with the timing of when Rawson installs certain things.

The Pre-Lining inspection we received is 30 pages (12 pages of just intro waffle, site conditions, definitions, etc) with 18 pages actually listing out everything that is acceptable (line items just say things like "Structural steel fixings - Inspected & Acceptable" or "Noggins - Inspected with Defects / Observations Noted") and any defects which are more specifically detailed with photos and the defect highlighted. For example the defects highlighted on our Pre-Lining inspection which I have gone back to our SS to resolve before they proceed any further with insulation or drywall are -

External:

Roof Cover
• Downpipe over garage and alfresco roof require bottom painted.
• Downpipes to property incomplete.
• Roof could not be safely accessed and was viewed from ground level or scaffolding.

Cladding and Veneer
• No weep holes have been installed to WIP pantry window sill.
• Expansion joint sealing incomplete.
• Laundry door sill bricks incomplete.
• Veneer ties to side of bedroom 1 WIR are not nailed to stud work.
• Veneer ties below bedroom 3 window have not been nailed to stud work.

Windows and Doors
• Angles around windows and doors require installation to cover gaps.
• Corner angle to family room window junction should be installed as soon as possible to prevent water
damage to timber reveals.
• Garage and front doors have not been installed.
• Alfresco slider is installed 10mm out of plumb.
• Corner family room window is installed 10mm out of plumb at each end away from corner junction.
• Laundry door is installed 10mm out of plumb.
• Lounge room window is 10mm out of plumb and reveal is bowed.
• All black mould is to be treated and cleaned off window reveals before painting.
• Windows and doors are usually fixed into final position by fix out carpenters when architraves are
installed after lining is completed.

Internal:

Wall Frame
• No strap braced walls have been bolted to slab. Site supervisor to confirm this meets engineering
requirement.
• Noggin to stair void requires additional fixings.
• Strap bracing to side wall of bedroom 6 requires tensioning.
• Side wall to home theatre is not straight.
• Rear wall to home theatre is not straight.
• Sheet bracing to front family room wall is bulging and causing wall not be straight.
• Noggin missing to front laundry wall.
• Hallway wall outside powder and laundry is not straight.
• Framing around rear garage stack point incomplete.
• Wall to ensuite 1 shower/WC is not straight.
• Strap bracing to bedroom 1 WIP/lounge requires tensioning.
• WC/bedroom 4 wall is not straight.
• Wall to lounge/WIR is not straight.
• Lounge/bedroom 5 wall is not straight.
• No allowance for TV blocking to lounge wall. Site supervisor to confirm detail is correct.
• Noggin to bedroom 5 wall missing.

Floor Frame / Flooring
• Internal stairs have not yet been installed.
• Bump to upper hallway above beam still present. All sheet flooring requires sanding prior to finish
flooring being installed. This should remove humped areas. Site supervisor to ensure area is rectified
before finish flooring is installed.

As you can see pretty detailed and that's why I went with them after getting sample reports from a few different inspection companies, I really wanted to make sure any defect no matter how little is picked up and fixed. Their sample Pre-Handover (practical completion) inspection report is crazy detailed with any little pain blemish highlighted with stickers put on the walls etc, so nice to have an impartial party doing the inspection rather than someone who is perhaps aligned with Rawson.

JiMb00, I appreciate the effort you've put into your reply. Thank you that's really helpful. Its good to know you've got value from it, and its not like those inspections you get when you buy a house and it's 90% full of disclaimers.
Do you know what they do to fix wall that aren't straight?
I almost worried that the inspection will highlight things that Rawson won't fix and I'll have to live with them..
Thanks also for the tip regarding roofing as well.

Hi Salfield,
I know you are closer to your build than we are.. but looks great in the photos!
You've even got them to do the outside lights.. you must have felt pretty cashed up during the electrical consultation.. we skimped and will get some lovely grey junction boxes.

Cheers mate. We didn’t go over board in electrical though. Can’t remember the exact figure. We saved on downlighting as we put fans with lights in each bedroom and where we did put downlights we only did what we thought was sufficient with cool with led’s and I have to say they are plenty bright enough. I’ve seen people putting like 6 leds in each bedroom, stuff like that.
We did just get them to put in batons for the pendants but got there electrician to put the ones we bought in for us for cash. Only charged us $50.

Hi Salfield. It’s been great following your thread. We are building a Chifley 42 MKII at Googong, NSW. We have only just had our Plan Presentation, so I can’t wait to see more of your updates, especially as it heads towards finalisation!

Hi mate. Thank you and good luck with the build. We have had the keys and been in for about two weeks now. Just haven’t had time to post anything up. House is a bit of a mess unfortunately as a lot of things still in boxes. We moved in with quite a few things on our defect list but we wanted out of our rental. Here is one photo so far.

Also if you want any advice please let me know. We have learned a few things along the way.

Hi Salfield,

Congratulations on moving in.. looks really nice!

Hope all the things on your defect list are small and they get sorted out quickly.

Thanks mate. Most things are small but we found during the wild winds the other night that part of the roof isn’t installed correctly. It was banging and chrashing all night and the next day. Pretty angry about that. Landscaping starting today. Will be good to get out of the dirt.

Any updates since the move?

Morning. We will have to book in for you to come over and have a look. I’ll post up some pics later but updates are home theatre is all in and we all love it. Unpacking the last box after 7 weeks. 😁
Also putting a shed up but it’s just 3 x 3.
Still have a heap of things on our defect list. Still have blue film on our windows 7 weeks after handover. Still need painting done, found out yesterday they can repair our stone bench without pulling it out including tiles and sink etc. one of the joins is chipped from when they put it in. Also had a blacked sewer which turned out to be a stake out through the pipe and then the concrete poured over the top putting concrete in the pipe. Have had the garage floor cut up to replace the pipe. 🙈.

Sorry to hear that Salfield, thats pretty ordinary on their part.

So when they poured the driveway they hit the pipe?

No they hit the pipe when they put up the bracing for the drop edge beams. Apparently they would have known when the hit it. Then they pulled the stake out and poured the garage floor slab with the concrete going straight into the stake hole and into the pipe.

Hi Salfield,

Do you still have the plastic wrap on your windows? Stegbar puts a note on their windows that the plastic film must be removed within 3 months delivery to site. Not sure if its the wrap on the frames or blue wrap on the glass etc.

Finally removed the last of it yesterday. It’s the blue film on the windows. Rawson have punted stegbar and gone with a new supplier.
Yes it does say that. I wanted to pull it off myself during the early stages but didn’t want to risk a window getting scratched and they blamed me for doing it.

Hi Salfield,

Good to hear they've managed to remove the film.

I see they have a telescopic post/jackpost in the middle of your alfresco.
Was that temporary until they cut a wooden post/or built a brick post to support it?

Hi Salfield. We have our internal colour consultation tomorrow for our Chifley 42 MKii. We are pretty organised in terms of pre-prep for the consult but do you have any advice for things to be aware of / to look out for?

[quote="luxbuild":1pcnfn1q][quote="Salfield":1pcnfn1q][img:1pcnfn1q]https://forum.homeone.com.au/u/79944_1547550915.jpeg[/img:1pcnfn1q]


You can see in the alfresco they have only done one side with steel and one with timber. Our SS couldn’t give us an answer as to why that is. 🍺
Have you got a thread yet, would love to see what you guys are doing compared with us.[/quote:1pcnfn1q]
Hi Salfield,

Good to hear they've managed to remove the film.

I see they have a telescopic post/jackpost in the middle of your alfresco.
Was that temporary until they cut a wooden post/or built a brick post to support it?[/quote:1pcnfn1q]
Hi mate I don’t believe so. We had the metal posts on two ends and wood on the other. They just built the brick around the post I think. The wood one which you can see was supposed to be in a stirrup but it never was done. The ended up tieing into brick once it was done.

[quote="JoJo76":uble5shb]Hi Salfield. We have our internal colour consultation tomorrow for our Chifley 42 MKii. We are pretty organised in terms of pre-prep for the consult but do you have any advice for things to be aware of / to look out for?[/quote:uble5shb]
Hi mate. Good luck tomorrow. Best advice is to go over everything with a fine tooth comb. If you are organised and confident on what you want you should be right. It’s hard to remember everything now. It would be good to come along and offer advice when it was happening. Get everything in writing that you choose. We had an issue with our doors where they agreed to do all the doors in the upgraded style but when they put them in only did downstairs. We blew up but got no where.