Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 25, 2008 1:05 pm I'd really appreciate some advice!!
We're building with a medium sized company in Melbourne, and we're at the frame stage. Our builder has have framed up a window on the back wall of the rumpus instead of a sliding door. It's not just any sliding door missing either. It's a very expensive door, as we had to pay the post-contract variation fee, a fee to get our energy rating reassessed and the subsequent cost of double glazing the back windows to keep our energy rating. I trust this will be fixed ASAP. There is also a discrepency between our plans and the display home plans... ours are smaller (by only 50mm) in all of the back rooms. Anyway, this is what I'm really concerned about. APPARENTLY, the eaves that are at the front of our house on our plans, and on the plans for the display home aren't supposed to be there. The front of the house faces north, and I want the eaves! We have signed a contract saying the house will be built according to these plans, and if they can charge us $500 to make a post-contract variation that we want to make, are they going to compensate us for their oversight? It's not even about the money, I want my bloody eaves!! We have paid a large amount for our facade, all the options and render, because we like the way it looked on display ( and on our signed plans) and we think its important to have 'street appeal'. All I can think is that it may be because the display home has a colorbond roof and we have tiles, and that alters the pitch of the roof, and therefore the eaves might put it all out of alignment? I don't know. If so, then they should give us a colorbond roof then. It's not our mistake. What I do know, however, is that we have signed off on the plans with the eaves, and that's what we expect to get. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can handle this situation? What are our rights, if we have any at all?? Re: Where do we stand? HELP please!! 3Sep 25, 2008 1:19 pm Jensta, i'd be chasing it up with the builder, meeting them on-site to discuss your concerns and also following up the meeting with an email outlining what was discussed and agreed.
This might seem a silly question, but is the missing door on the plans that you signed? I'm sure its just an oversight. Or they might (like some builders do with garage door openings) frame them up but insert the lintel/supports and open it up afterwards as required. But better to be safe than sorry. Never assume. It IS always beneficial to be able to have good communication with your builder and be able to call them up and meet with them to discuss issues such as these. Calmly of course. At least then you will know that they are actually doing something about the issues and hopefully it will be to yuor satisfaction? Good Luck, let us know how you go? help 4Sep 25, 2008 1:23 pm yes, it was on the final draft of the plans. I am not really worried about the door, that's an easy fix... it's the eaves that really bothers me. If we have to have the house without them, it will totally change the way the house looks. The eaves were in the plans that we signed and in the plans for the display. Re: Where do we stand? HELP please!! 6Sep 25, 2008 1:38 pm Jensta are the roof trusses up already? What has the builder said so far about it? At the end of the day, if they mucked up, they need to rectify it to be in line with the final drawings.
Personally i wouldn't accept a variation or compensation. If thats what you want, then they need to provide it, no matter how big a repair job or delay or expense...cause its THEIR muck up! Not yours!! But its better to be able to discuss it with your builder though, if at least, to put your mind at rest. Stay on them until you are happy. Re: Where do we stand? HELP please!! 7Sep 25, 2008 1:39 pm So you guys have signed the final plans, which shows that u re to have eaves right?
i dont see how ur builder has a leg to stand on...just because they say "ohhh we just realised that u arent supposed to have eaves" (in a matter of expression), it doesn't mean they get to charge u for it now...u've signed the plans and contracts...tough luck to the builders...at least they know for future customers... just dont see that there is any arguement...u signed contract and plans..they have to honour it... resolution 8Sep 26, 2008 8:07 am Yes, we were correct about the missing door at the back, and yes, they are rectifying it straight away. Goodo.
We have come to an agreement on the eaves issue. According to the builder, we can't have the big eaves because it simply won't work. The meeting point of the windows in our bedroom has no support apart from the window itself and therefore won't support the eave. If we want the eaves, we would have to change facades, and we ain't gunna do that! The good news is, the display home, which we fell in love with in the first place, doesn't have the large eaves either. The plans they gave us of the display home are wrong too. Apparently they are a work in progress. I would have been nice to have known this in the beginning. I asked if there were any other differences, and apparently there aren't. Until we get to view them for ourselves though, I'm not entirely convinced. Therefore we will still get the same effect, and we will have to plant larger deciduous trees to help keep the sun off the north facing window, and keep the eyes of the neighbours off our incredibly hot bodies....(yeah right!!) Bad news is, even though its them making the post-contract variation this time, it doesn't seem that they are going to give us $500.... maybe I should ask them about that!! Sorry! I'm new to this forum and have made a mistake in my posting! I'm looking for a structural solution to a stand alone wooden pickets fence with no structural rail… 1 3261 Thankyou so much 😀 I've decided on White on white for doors and trims, White on white 50% on ceiling and Mt buller for walls. Fingers crossed it will look OK 😀 2 7079 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 12643 |