Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 11, 2020 1:38 pm Hi everyone, Our new build has commenced construction and I was just wanted some feedback as to what my expectations should be regarding communication from site supervisor. So far I have contacted him once for detail clarification after the site cut. Apart from that he has not made any contact and we are entering our 3rd week of construction. What is the usual amount of contact people have received during the build period? I am not sure if my expectations are too high but I thought I would have heard something by now. Any input welcome Thanks Re: Site supervisor expectations 2May 11, 2020 2:45 pm Try to find out how many constructions he currently has under his supervision. Many new home buyers think that their SS is managing only their build. 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: Site supervisor expectations 3May 11, 2020 2:58 pm I would assume 15-20, I kind of expected maybe an email or phone call a week or fortnight for an update. Re: Site supervisor expectations 4May 11, 2020 3:01 pm Typically 15-20 constructions therefore he can't be your private building concierge! Don't expect the site supervisor to actually 'supervise' the build. Their role is mainly calling up the next contractors' jobs and ordering the materials to keep the job moving along the company's fixed production process. He won't check things (like workmanship) other than its been done so he can update the production workflow scheduling software which drives their purchasing and accounting processes. His intended contact with you will probably be just a quick call or text every few weeks to say its all going well, even if its not! If you want to be involved, to understand, and check things in your build you will need to drive this yourself by scheduling very regular on site inspections with him. Ideally weekly. Re: Site supervisor expectations 5May 11, 2020 4:43 pm Davenport30build Hi everyone, Our new build has commenced construction and I was just wanted some feedback as to what my expectations should be regarding communication from site supervisor. So far I have contacted him once for detail clarification after the site cut. Apart from that he has not made any contact and we are entering our 3rd week of construction. What is the usual amount of contact people have received during the build period? I am not sure if my expectations are too high but I thought I would have heard something by now. Any input welcome Thanks Almost none. Unless you have not confirmed all selections, the Supervisor should in theory have all the information required to complete the job without ever needing to contact you. In fact, they generally hate to contact customers, because they usually get questions that they aren't interested in answering because they don't impact the delivery of the contract. They just want to get the job started, keep it moving and have as little contact as possible. It only slows them down and they don't like having to answer to non Trade related people (Like why is my building not progressing?, its been sitting vacant for 3 weeks WTF?, Will we be in before Xmas?) I expected a lot more, but got nothing. Some big builders have Liaison or Client Reps that handle all the contact and "check in" but they are in all probability also part of an admin team that covers billing and invoicing. The only time I ever heard from our Super was when they wanted something (materials) that I was supplying and they felt it was okay to just call and say "We don;t have XXX, you're slowing down the build" (Note, this didn't go down well for them when XX was on site, had been for 3 weeks, delivered personally by Me and I had spoken to Him and emailed him about it on the day I delivered it to be sure he had all the information) Ultimately, if you want contact, call the Builders office ask to speak to the Manager/Owner/Customer Relations Dept (it will depend on the scale of the builder) and tell then what you expect and ask if you can get it. It may not be from the Super, but if they know all they need to do to keep you happy and reduce the contact is a 3 line summary of what happened through the week and when they expect to move to the next stage + when you'll need to pay some $$, I can't see any Builder not getting on board Re: Site supervisor expectations 6May 11, 2020 5:08 pm Yes!, In the construction phase its all about their efficient & minimum acceptable standard delivery of the contract. Forget about the sweet sales and pre construction processes. Now its bluntly: 'You pay the money, we build the house, don't get in the way'. If you want some engagement from the SS and involvement with your build then leverage the 'reasonable access to site to inspect' clause in your contract. Re: Site supervisor expectations 7May 12, 2020 8:32 am When we built, we received an email each week to let us know what would be happening in the following week. If we had an issues, we emailed him and he usually responded within a day or two. Not much personal contact, mainly through email. Re: Site supervisor expectations 8May 12, 2020 10:09 am Davenport30build Hi everyone, Our new build has commenced construction and I was just wanted some feedback as to what my expectations should be regarding communication from site supervisor. So far I have contacted him once for detail clarification after the site cut. Apart from that he has not made any contact and we are entering our 3rd week of construction. What is the usual amount of contact people have received during the build period? I am not sure if my expectations are too high but I thought I would have heard something by now. Any input welcome Thanks Under normal circumstances your "Site Supervisor" might spend 30 minutes a week on your site. He's not there to communicate with you. He is there to maximise profit to the builder. Under current circumstances you may be lucky to get more of his time but don't expect too much. That's why your builder will have a Client Liaison Officer. You communicate with them, they communicate with the Supervisor and if you're lucky you get a response from the CLO. Re: Site supervisor expectations 9May 12, 2020 10:18 am Thankyou OP & others for clarifying this. We're building first time and had similar concerns since our SS has never contacted us or sent us an update. I live close to my construction site, so check the progress myself or contact the sales guy for an update. Re: Site supervisor expectations 10May 12, 2020 11:26 am This is why it is critical to use an independent Building Inspector. They are there to pick up on quality issues, standards issues etc that the Site Supervisor will ignore in the name of schedule and profit. Re: Site supervisor expectations 11May 12, 2020 12:40 pm Thanks for the responses. We have engaged an independent building inspector for peace of mind as we are using a volume builder. My partner works very close to site so we know when there has been progress, I guess I just assumed we would have some form of communication either from the client Liason officer or site supervisor. but I might be best making my expectations more clear to them- I don’t think asking for a quick text or email once a fortnight outlining the forecast events is unreasonable. Re: Site supervisor expectations 12May 12, 2020 1:00 pm Consider an 'independent building inspector' as your consultant. They are not independent because you commission them. They have no authority over the builder, and typically no respect from them either. For an approx. $2K 'package' they inspect each stage for about an hour and provide you with a report based on their professional opinions. If they identify any issues of concern then its up to you to negotiate and manage these issues with your builder, not your consultant. Do not expect your SS to bother to even read these inspection reports. If he does and acknowledges issues its a bonus. Get this in writing. Make sure you personally observe they actually get fIxed however! If you are interested to visit the site regularly (with the SS, or his permission) and check things yourself then I suggest reading this document and obtain some basic checking tools from Bunnings: https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/asset ... s-2015.pdf This document will also help you to understand your consultant's reports. Re: Site supervisor expectations 13May 12, 2020 1:21 pm Norfolk Consider an 'independent building inspector' as your consultant. They are not independent because you commission them. They have no authority over the builder, and typically no respect from them either. For an approx. $2K 'package' they inspect each stage for about an hour and provide you with a report based on their professional opinions. If they identify any issues of concern then its up to you to negotiate and manage these issues with your builder, not your consultant. Do not expect your SS to bother to even read these inspection reports. If he does and acknowledges issues its a bonus. Get this in writing. Make sure you personally observe they actually get fIxed however! If you are interested to visit the site regularly (with the SS, or his permission) and check things yourself then I suggest reading this document and obtain some basic checking tools from Bunnings: https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/asset ... s-2015.pdf This document will also help you to understand your consultant's reports. Very well said, Private Inspection reports are just an eyewash for the builder. My pre pour inspection report had 26 items, of which ones identifiable by me would be 6-7. How many did my builder fix ? Can't say, but for the most obvious ones. I got a response for the inspection report along with my base stage invoice. This seems to a similar trend across most builders, some of my friends have similar stories. IMO it's best to engage the private inspector at crucial stages rather than buy a package for all stages and then try your luck following up on the issues. The most obvious stage would be PCI. Re: Site supervisor expectations 14May 12, 2020 6:00 pm Unfortunately at PCI is probably too late to check things. Structural defects will be hidden, Errors vs. the plan, Poor brickwork and crooked interior gyprock etc will be impractical to fix. Particularly when you need to get handover ASAP. Your either accept PCI or get delayed until you agree. Warranty phase will waste your time. Re: Site supervisor expectations 15May 12, 2020 7:24 pm I've reviewed a mates contract with Carlise Homes and it simply rejects anything relating to what the private building inspect picks up and if they find anything the costs go direct to the client. Might be worth just reviewing the contract if not done already. Registered Building - Always happy to help where I can and simply loves the game. DM me if you need help in VIC. Re: Site supervisor expectations 16May 12, 2020 7:42 pm Norfolk Consider an 'independent building inspector' as your consultant. They are not independent because you commission them. They have no authority over the builder, and typically no respect from them either. For an approx. $2K 'package' they inspect each stage for about an hour and provide you with a report based on their professional opinions. If they identify any issues of concern then its up to you to negotiate and manage these issues with your builder, not your consultant. Do not expect your SS to bother to even read these inspection reports. If he does and acknowledges issues its a bonus. Get this in writing. Make sure you personally observe they actually get fIxed however! If you are interested to visit the site regularly (with the SS, or his permission) and check things yourself then I suggest reading this document and obtain some basic checking tools from Bunnings: https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/asset ... s-2015.pdf This document will also help you to understand your consultant's reports. You also need to be aware of the possibility that your Building Inspector might know and be good mates with your Site Supervisor. It's an incestuous industry. Re: Site supervisor expectations 17May 12, 2020 8:27 pm Our SS sends us weekly updates which are always on time and gives us an idea of the work being performed for that week. He is also responsive to texts and emails and answers my calls or will call us back within a reasonable time frame. We have also requested a couple of site meetings and he has not had an issue accommodating us. So far pretty happy as he explains the reasoning behind any concerns we have, however, we do not always agree with each other. Re: Site supervisor expectations 18May 12, 2020 8:45 pm MClark I've reviewed a mates contract with Carlise Homes and it simply rejects anything relating to what the private building inspect picks up and if they find anything the costs go direct to the client. Sounds very much like it fits the definition of an Unfair Contract Clause. Check ACCC if you don't know what Unfair Contract Clauses are. Why would anyone build with a builder who shows such disrespect to their client and lack of care about adherence to Standards and build quality. 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: Site supervisor expectations 19May 12, 2020 11:06 pm We are on a similar situation. We have just completed the base slab but I haven't receive anything from our supervisor. I tried to call him once and he only told me that he hasn't seen our plans yet and that he will call me back which he never did. Our eathworks and plumbing were already completed at that time. I texted him couple of times as well but no response. We live close to our site so we just visit it once in a while so we see the progress. Re: Site supervisor expectations 20May 13, 2020 3:38 pm SaveH2O MClark I've reviewed a mates contract with Carlise Homes and it simply rejects anything relating to what the private building inspect picks up and if they find anything the costs go direct to the client. Sounds very much like it fits the definition of an Unfair Contract Clause. Check ACCC if you don't know what Unfair Contract Clauses are. Why would anyone build with a builder who shows such disrespect to their client and lack of care about adherence to Standards and build quality. It was in the special condition clause, which unfortunately you can push the boundaries with requirements. Registered Building - Always happy to help where I can and simply loves the game. DM me if you need help in VIC. I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13063 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37085 |