Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 21Jul 28, 2019 12:48 pm There are a lot of threads that discuss stage inspection, just do a forum search using keywords like "important stage inspections" etc. The thread below is a recent one. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96021 Many consider pre pour and pre plaster stage inspections to be the most important and I tend to agree. A slab inspection also takes in checks like pipe trenching which is particularly important when building on reactive soil. The last thing anyone would want is non adherence to AS2870 and a trench serving as a conduit to divert water under the slab. Site drainage, pipe locations etc should also be checked during a competent slab inspection. Plaster covers up mistakes, a pre plaster inspection is vital. A building consultant who does inspections needs to know many trades, many don't but someone with good qualifications and experience will have good knowledge and know what to look for. They will also know how the regulatory hierarchy works. One thing I recommend having is a pre handover camera inspection of all drain and stormwater pipes to check for slope, foreign materials dumped by tradies, damage etc. There have been some horror stories on Homeone. Have you already signed your contract? A pre contract signing consultation is also important but you need a very good consultant experienced in the art. Read my post below and also follow the links in my linked posts. You will be shocked! viewtopic.php?p=1834345#p1834345 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: Tips on building & private inspectors 22Jul 29, 2019 11:10 am If you wait until completion for an inspection then this may not be of any use. I suggest inspecting before each progress payment is invoiced. Discuss this with the builder - if they intend to do a quality job there should be no issues with this. If the inspection identifies some problems at any stage, these should be fixed before you are obliged to pay. For example, if the brickwork is defective you can dispute the builder's claim to the progress payment until its corrected and checked. Waiting until the end when you have paid 95% of the money and need to move in leaves you with limited negotiating power to get significant defects fixed. The site supervisor will just want to palm you off to their post construction warranty department. Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 23Jul 29, 2019 11:28 pm Thanks for the reply. No we have not signed the contract yet. I have gone through the revised tender and it all looks good. Have picked up mistakes and got it fixed. Building with project builder so nothing out of too ordinary. The standard HIA contract offered seems ok. $100 for liquidated damages. Have asked for extension of the cooling off period too. I've gotten quotes from 3 different private building inspectors and 2 of them have now come back suggesting only the 2 inspections. The only one to suggest 4/5 stage inspection however does not offer pre-slab inspection!! So now i have to go and get more quotes from other companies looks like! Shame you are in Vic Save H20, otherwise would've asked for some recommendations! Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 24Jul 29, 2019 11:47 pm Houspect are a NSW forum advertiser who also have a lot of good articles on the forum. I don't know the business but I often see other members who have used them highly recommending them to others. Coincidentially, I mentioned in a prior post having a cctv camera inspection of stormwater and drain pipes pre handover. Well, I just did a reply to a forum member who has 100mm stormwater pipes with 70mm of standing water in them! They must have a minimum 1:100 slope for compliance, a lesser slope reduces the pipe's flow and sediment flushing capacity. 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: Tips on building & private inspectors 25Jul 30, 2019 8:11 am The Australian institute of quantity surveyors suggests the typical construction time for a $500k project home is 23 weeks. Costs of a delay in Sydney if you are renting will be about $200 per day or $1,400 per week depending on your costs and circumstances. Based on the $100 per working? day the builder is offering you in the contract, make sure you are comfortable with liquidated damages of about $400 per week from them (it’s usually payable for working days less rain days). I made the mistake of agreeing to $30 per working day with MetrIcon, and paid $80K in rent and other costs later when they delayed by 43 weeks to pressure me to accept serious defects. This is a normal tactic used to manage their fussy customers in the time vs money vs quality trade off. I made Metricon fix most of the defects. The liquidated damages cost to them of this delay was minimal. The higher the daily liquidated damages amount, and skin in the game, the more financial incentive the builder has to deliver a quality and timely build. Something to consider before signing the contract. Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 26Jul 30, 2019 10:42 pm Haha funny you should mention Houspect! They were the only one who offered the 4/5 stage inspections!! Thanks for explaining the liquidated damages Norfolk! Yeah after reading the forum I was surprised it was $100 per working day as i read industry standard is about $80 per working day? I don't know where you are based Norfolk but my folks neighbours built with Metricon in sydney and their build took ageees!! We actually didn't even look at Metricon as they were bit out of our budget so was surprised to read so many bad reviews about them in NSW. I'm thinking of more like 42 weeks for a realistic build time for our place too thou. seems pretty standard to take about a year. I would rather they took their time to get a quality build than rush through. Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 27Jul 31, 2019 12:11 pm My house is in northern Sydney. Metricon has developed a poor reputation for knock Down rebuilds in this area. 42 weeks was the time quoted by Metricon. They will rush through to claim stage complete and issue the progress invoices, but then slow down if you push them to fix defects once they have most of your money. Metricon had no quality assurance process during the build. That’s not the site supervisors job. This is up to you and the inspector or under warranty later. The variables are time, quality and money which Metricon balances to maximise their profit on your build. Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 28Jul 31, 2019 12:13 pm My house is in northern Sydney. Metricon has developed a poor reputation for knock Dow rebuilds in this area. 42 weeks was the time quoted by Metricon. They will rush through to claim stage complete and issue the progress invoices, but then slow down if you push them to fix defects once they have most of your money. Metricon had no quality assurance process during the build. That’s not the site supervisors job. This is up to you and the inspector or under warranty later. The variables are time, quality and money which Metricon balances to maximise their profit on your build. Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 29Jul 31, 2019 1:55 pm Norfolk My house is in northern Sydney. Metricon has developed a poor reputation for knock Dow rebuilds in this area. 42 weeks was the time quoted by Metricon. They will rush through to claim stage complete and issue the progress invoices, but then slow down if you push them to fix defects once they have most of your money. Metricon had no quality assurance process during the build. That’s not the site supervisors job. This is up to you and the inspector or under warranty later. The variables are time, quality and money which Metricon balances to maximise their profit on your build. Sorry to hear that, I recently ended conversations with THEM due to the poor reviews and recommendations from my circle. Everything was ok until I mentioned that I was not going to proceed with them and that I have chosen another Company, a few derogatory and condescending comments make me realise how right my decision was. On the topic of "liquidated damages", my sample contract states the following "$ per Working Day, calculated on a daily basis (if Damages nothing stated, then $40.00 per Working Day)" Question, how do I go to let them know I want to add the $80 per Working day clause? Re: Tips on building & private inspectors 30Jul 31, 2019 2:28 pm Just ask their salesperson to add the clause, or explain why they can’t / won’t. Alternatively ask them to delete all references to liquidated damages. If they do this the amount you may be able to claim for your delay costs is open ended, as long as you have proof! With the volume building market down about 25% now, I suggest builders may be a bit more negotiable than they were a few years ago. That is a really good attitude Akin to you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. 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