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Hello everyone,
We are building Madison 40 with Porter Davis in Melbourne and have chosen Darbecca as our Independent Building Inspector and have taken up the following inspections:
- Pre-Pour/Steel
- Slab/Frame
- Frame Re-Inspection/Pre Plaster
- Fixing
- Waterproofing
- Final
We were looking for some advice on what are the absolute must-do stages? Are there any stages we could omit? The Pre-Pour is planned for 08th October.
Regards
Jay
There are numerous threads that ask these same questions. Have you already used the forum's search facility?
A pre-contract consultation is often overlooked yet many of the problems discussed on H1 could have been avoided had one been done. Unfortunately, it appears that you have already signed the contract.
Do Porter Davis still have a Performance Solution" in the contract that allows them to do water resistant finishes instead of water proofing to wet areas?
EDIT: Oops! Forgot something.
viewtopic.php?p=1832175#p1832175 Follow the Homeone links in my posts in the above thread
. You will also find other related threads at the bottom of this page.
Note that you would almost certainly be contracting a building consultant who does inspections. Don't be timid about asking for their qualifications and experience.
I also recommend having an
expert plumbing professional do a stormwater and drainage CCTV cam inspection as well as a roof drainage compliance inspection pre handover. You cannot trust a lot of plumbers to deliver a compliant product and their work is not checked...their Certificate Of Compliance is accepted as proof of compliance.
Also have someone check the plumbing end fixtures flow rates and the site's compliance for the dwelling's required minimum Probable Simultaneous Demand (PSD) pre handover. It is a very quick but important check that unfortunately is often not done.
Oohhh this will be interesting......
I saw on this forum only a couple of weeks ago, that PD were introducing into their contracts, a "clause" that if you used Darbecca, you could be in breach of contract (or something very similar)?
Can anyone help me out here? I can locate it I'm sure, but I'm a bit of a dinosaur with forum links etc....
Hello everyone,
We are building Madison 40 with Porter Davis in Melbourne and have chosen Darbecca as our Independent Building Inspector and have taken up the following inspections:
- Pre-Pour/Steel
- Slab/Frame
- Frame Re-Inspection/Pre Plaster
- Fixing
- Waterproofing
- Final
We were looking for some advice on what are the absolute must-do stages? Are there any stages we could omit? The Pre-Pour is planned for 08th October.
Regards
Jay
In addition to SaveH2O's suggestions, I would make sure you carry out a comprehensive leak test on your water tank system if you are getting one installed. If it is a charged system it is going to be full of water the whole time and once the pipework is covered up it is much harder to find and fix leaks. It will require filling up the system completely with water until it is overflowing into the stormwater system for a couple of hours at least - then checking each and every piping junction, etc. I speak from experience here regarding doing this test. If I could turn back time, the CCTV inspections and the water tank system would be right at the top of any inspection list and I would refuse to build with any builder who resisted getting these inspections done.
Plumbers are just woefully awful and they get away with it time and time because their work is hidden from the view during normal inspections, definitely lost from view once the house is handed over and by the time you find you have problems, most of the time the plumber will have moved on to wreck some other persons home. Of course, their own homes will be perfect though.
Or to put things another way, if I had hired a "normal" inspector to do the universally recommended inspections so to speak, my home would have come back with a flawless report. But if I had gotten the plumbing CCTV inspected and the water tank system checked before being put into service, the builder would have had hell to pay.
Hi Save H20,
Many thanks for your feedback. This is really helpful! I couldn't locate Porter Davis having a Performance solution item in my contract, will go through it once again.
Also, I've taken note of your suggestion on stormwater, drainage CCTV cam and other inspections. Have since asked Darbecca if their inspections cover these.
Cheers
Jay
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There are numerous threads that ask these same questions. Have you already used the forum's search facility?
A pre-contract consultation is often overlooked yet many of the problems discussed on H1 could have been avoided had one been done. Unfortunately, it appears that you have already signed the contract.
Do Porter Davis still have a Performance Solution" in the contract that allows them to do water resistant finishes instead of water proofing to wet areas?
The thread below is titled: Building Inspector - how many and what stage
Follow the Homeone links in my posts in the above thread. You will also find other related threads at the bottom of this page.
Note that you would almost certainly be contracting a building consultant who does inspections. Don't be timid about asking for their qualifications and experience.
I also recommend having an expert plumbing professional do a stormwater and drainage CCTV cam inspection as well as a roof drainage compliance inspection pre handover. You cannot trust a lot of plumbers to deliver a compliant product and their work is not checked...their Certificate Of Compliance is accepted as proof of compliance.
Also have someone check the plumbing end fixtures flow rates and the site's compliance for the dwelling's required minimum Probable Simultaneous Demand (PSD) pre handover. It is a very quick but important check that unfortunately is often not done.
Thanks Blacktea2sugars, I was told by Porter Davis they will claim at least 7 business days (each stage) to the overall build time, though there was no reference to this being a breach of contract.
Cheers
Jay
________________________________________________________
Oohhh this will be interesting......
I saw on this forum only a couple of weeks ago, that PD were introducing into their contracts, a "clause" that if you used Darbecca, you could be in breach of contract (or something very similar)?
Can anyone help me out here? I can locate it I'm sure, but I'm a bit of a dinosaur with forum links etc....
Hey catchnair - How is your build progressing? Looking to also use PD in the upper/outer north Melbourne area to build a 1-storey
Not wishing to throw a spanner, but reports by building inspectors can be ignored by builders. They may drag it out beyond the six-month guarantee period and then drop you.
Some wise guy suggested to get it in your contract to pay progress payments only until all the problems of the report are ironed out, but no builder will accept that clause, I have tried.
After a house cracked, the owner found the steel had been left on the membrane and Dale Alcock as seen on TV fought it in court and lost and the house had to be demolished. But then it needs a licensed surveyor and a lawyer to fix things.
Word on the traps is that compulsory inspections are in the wind, perhaps only in WA. The builders managed not having to have structural insurance for buildings larger than three stories (spelling?) and the owners of Opal Towers paid $1 mio.for apartments and now they are worth nothing.
three stories (spelling?)
storeys
Word on the traps is that compulsory inspections are in the wind, perhaps only in WA.
In an ideal world, the State regulatory bodies would have personel to oversee and formally inspected all stages. Reports would have the power to make builders, trades and other building professionals act on non compliance and/or structural issues and serious breaches and/or unsatisfactory follow up action subject to disciplinary action.
In todays world, this is how it should be because the current system aint workin'.
What about an amendment to the HIA contract to protect consumers that agrees the progress payments, or some meaningful percentage, can be withheld until construction defects identified at each stage by a mutually agreed building inspector are rectified by the builder, checked and confirmed done? This, in addition to fair and reasonable liquidated damages $ amounts in the contract for delays, may encourage builders financially to rectify any defects identified during the build. Unfortunately the current HIA standard contract and lack of effective government regulatory enforcement supports some builders to deliver poor quality work and just ignore the private inspection reports which consumers have paid around $2K for. Surely the HIA is interested in promoting good quality workmanship amongst its builder members?
What about an amendment to the HIA contract to protect consumers.....
members come first.