Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 3Apr 20, 2015 12:03 pm It's not right. The purpose of weep holes is for cavity drainage and ventilation. Weep holes that have been covered up will obstruct water getting away and will lead to permanent dampness, possible bridge for rising dampness and increased termite risk. It is also not in accordance with BCA which requires 75 mm clearance between DPC (bottom of weep hole) and landscaped surfaces that are graded away from dwelling. Its defective! If your home is a new home and builder is responsible for the paving then builder needs to fix it under warranty (up to 10Y in Vic) 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: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 5Apr 25, 2015 10:59 pm building-expert It's not right. The purpose of weep holes is for cavity drainage and ventilation. Weep holes that have been covered up will obstruct water getting away and will lead to permanent dampness, possible bridge for rising dampness and increased termite risk. It is also not in accordance with BCA which requires 75 mm clearance between DPC (bottom of weep hole) and landscaped surfaces that are graded away from dwelling. Its defective! If your home is a new home and builder is responsible for the paving then builder needs to fix it under warranty (up to 10Y in Vic) Just to update you........I went as far as getting BCA involved who surprised me by saying yes they would prefer clearance and no obstruction to weep holes but in their opinion they wouldn't enforce this in any way. They say it's just their recommendation and most new houses nowadays do this and they haven't had anyone report problems. I'm very disappointed and looks like we have to accept this. To make matters worse we have paid for stainless steel mesh to cover all weep holes (bushfire regulations) and the BCA said they don't rate our chances of getting a refund from your builder!! Charming!!!!! Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 6Apr 27, 2015 8:20 am tmwoburn building-expert It's not right. The purpose of weep holes is for cavity drainage and ventilation. Weep holes that have been covered up will obstruct water getting away and will lead to permanent dampness, possible bridge for rising dampness and increased termite risk. It is also not in accordance with BCA which requires 75 mm clearance between DPC (bottom of weep hole) and landscaped surfaces that are graded away from dwelling. Its defective! If your home is a new home and builder is responsible for the paving then builder needs to fix it under warranty (up to 10Y in Vic) Just to update you........I went as far as getting BCA involved who surprised me by saying yes they would prefer clearance and no obstruction to weep holes but in their opinion they wouldn't enforce this in any way. They say it's just their recommendation and most new houses nowadays do this and they haven't had anyone report problems. I'm very disappointed and looks like we have to accept this. To make matters worse we have paid for stainless steel mesh to cover all weep holes (bushfire regulations) and the BCA said they don't rate our chances of getting a refund from your builder!! Charming!!!!! I am not sure what you mean when you say "getting BCA involved", they don't enforce. BCA is part of building control and is enforced by the act administered by Building Surveyors (or at least it should be). You should get expert opinion. 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: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 7Apr 27, 2015 12:34 pm Thanks for your reply. I spoke to The City of Swan who issued our building permit following the advice of this extract (from BCA guidelines):- "The BCA will then be enforced by the person that has issued the building permit which will be either a local council or municipal building surveyor or a private building certifier. Prior to construction, a builder’s plans must be approved before a building permit is issued" Their answer was as I previously mentioned. I asked if I could have something from them in writing to say the weep holes should not be covered as per the building code and they said they would not support that argument because it is a guide and not enforceable. I was told there is a two year waiting list for building disputes.......don't want to go there! Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 8Apr 27, 2015 2:46 pm I can understand your frustration unfortunately I am not familiar with your state even though I suspect it would in substance not be much different from Vic. So there has to be a way to compel builder to follow BCA. Try and get independent building consultant opinion. Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 10Apr 28, 2015 12:28 am I'm sorry but this is absolute bull dust. My understanding is that the NCC is the law and is not able to be over-ridden unless an approved alternate solution was granted. Go to your state's Building Authority.
Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 11Apr 28, 2015 7:46 am tlblhayward I'm sorry but this is absolute bull dust. My understanding is that the NCC was the law and is not able to be overriden unless an approved alternate solution was granted. Go to your state's Building Authority. I agree! plus covered up weep holes may provide covert termite entry and therefore may increase your termite risk. There is no insurance against termite damage. 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: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 12Apr 28, 2015 9:55 am The NCC is publically available now, so you should be able to make things more specific by finding and referring to the relevant section. This is something the builder should fix, but you'll need to assess whether that route will end up costing you more time and money than fixing the problem youself and getting the job done right. Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 14Apr 29, 2015 12:25 am This might be a stupid question . In our old house which was brick no render I had the weep holes at the front of the house as well . But in this house where I have render they covered . However out the back where there is brick I can see them . Concreter said these days they can be covered . But not sure about that . What about the homeowners that don't won't a step down to there backyard and won't the same level Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 16Apr 29, 2015 11:08 am You can ask for your weep holes to be higher up your wall when you sign up. But who knows that kind of thing when you're first builders?!!! We have weep holes covered all around our house including front and we still have a step down to get in and out the back/front onto paving. We are at handover now and I think it all hinges on whether you can afford to pursue this with a builder wasting time/rental money fighting it as is our case with Aveling Homes. We also have a lot of other issues to be resolved. As far as bushfire regulations we have BAL12.5 and have paid extra for steel mesh to be inserted into weep holes which are now underground! When we asked for a credit our SS said you still need that fire protection underground!!!! Also, they put plastic mesh instead of steel!!! And to top it off when we asked why our rear garage roller door hasn't got ember seals (paid extra $1,200) like our front one our SS said it's not needed!!! Crazy, crazy times! Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 17Apr 29, 2015 11:28 am I doubt the termite people would be impressed with this. Assuming you do have some kind of a termite barrier / protection built / installed as part of your house building. My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 18Apr 29, 2015 2:27 pm Weep holes if at the same level of the paving will also let water into the house if it builds up against the wall in the case of heavy downpour. The top of the weephole is the bottom of the frame bottom plate so if you get water to the top of the weephole....expect it to come into the house Other than that, write a letter to the builder stating the building code that it is in breech of, send it to them via registered post and demand and response within 14 days. Tell them you are happy to take their word for it that it is ok, however, request where in the building code it says this. If all this fails, let them know that you will be pursuing in further unless the issue is rectified, this may mean a trip to your local Small Claims Tribunal. However before that point I would suggest as BE mentioned get a proper inspector to write a report that will bear some weight in a hearing. Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 19Apr 29, 2015 11:36 pm Crazyk we have 2c set downs in double brick here in Perth. Still doesn't make it right. Tmwoburn they can't be higher up either unless flashed accordingly but that's too much hassle for project builders. If the building does not meet AS, it's defective. Follow it up and demand it's fixed. Plastic weep hole covers is crap, I'm sure but I'll check the standard tomorrow! Re: Pavers covering weep holes Is This Normal? 20Apr 30, 2015 1:21 pm Melsie68 Concreter said these days they can be covered . The context of this thread has been when they are covered by the ground, which is a different issues to being covered by render. There are two big problems in them being covered by the ground: 1) The damp-proof membrane is usually placed under the brick course with the weep holes. This is what stops rising damp, but is defeated if the damp soil is in contact with bricks than are above the membrane. 2) The top corner of the slab is an important inspection point for termite activity, and should not be covered by the ground. Having any of the bricks below ground level makes it easier for termites to get in, and harder to detect it. Sometimes people will rebate the bricks down below ground level, but then they rely more on maintaining chemical barriers to keep termites out. Rendering over weep holes doesn't cause these issues, so is less of a concern. It does mean that water has a harder time getting out if it collects inside the cavity, but I don't think it's as much of a concern as actually having the damp-proof membrane underground. Regarding homeowners who don't want a step down to get outside. Seriously... unless it never rains there, you really need the outside ground level below the inside floor level. So those who don't want a step down need a ramp down at the door. it depends on the natural ground level, if they excavated their boundary wall needed to be built as a retaining wall. If you filled, which sounds like the case then you… 1 7086 I know foam has been around since the 90's and CSR started manufacturing Hebel in 1989, so it's definitely possible 5 5457 You are correct. Just read through all the ncc rules and 75mm is the minimum requirement for me. 4 11183 |