Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jun 13, 2011 9:34 am Hi Everyone I am new to the forum and am hoping that you can give hubby and I some advice. My apologies in advance if this question has been asked before. We would really appeciate your advice. We started our renovation last September. It involved 'gixing' our roof which had been a poor design previously and renovating flooring and two bathrooms. We had architect plans drawn up and the architect has been 'present' for the whole job. The builders said the job would take about four months and of course we are still going. We are at the almost finished stage and are discovering faults which we are struggling to get the builder to finish and are feeling very frustrated. We have ended up having a meeting with the managing director of the company and the architect to try and get the last of the faults finished. This was because our meetings with the 'foreman' deteriorated because I dared to describe a stuff up that was going down the pathway of highlighting his mistakes in directing the trades (which have happened repeatedly) I am now quite certain that my husband and I are becoming victims of 'builders blindness' not just from the builder but also from the architect as they just want to finish and get off our job. What concerns me the most is there has been some findamental aspects of the job that the architect has not realised were 'wrong' until I really pushed and the builder accepted that they should be rectified. So I guess hubby and I feel like we are fighting this project to its conclusion on our own. of course we can only see the faults that are obvious we are not builders and there could be some really obvious stuff right under our noses we wouldnt even realise until down the track when the builder is long gone. In the last meeting with the managing director and the architect I suggested having an indenpendent person come onto the job and assess the workmanship so that we could feel confident everything has been completed. The architect got very precious about this and said it meant that we didnt trust him. Given that I dont think he has even got up in the roof space.....although he says he has.....I am not sure that I do. The builder and architect sort of ganged up on us and said we would be 'ruining the relationship' if we did get someone to come in and look at the work....which of course made me at the time smell a big RAT. So....my question is.... Should i be getting someone in to look at the work to make sure that the work has been done properly.....given hubby cannot even hold a hammer.... and how do I go about choosing someone appropriate who we can trust to look at everything and give us a thorough report. and no hubby and I are not getting a divorce lol thought we wont ever be doing this again !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Regards Elizabeth Re: Final Inspection 2Jun 13, 2011 11:15 am Its you right to get an independent inspector to look through the house especially to give you peace of mind that everything is as it should be. It does sound like they aren't trust worthy when they aren't comfortable having an outsider look over their work. If the architect feels like you don't trust him by bringing in an outsider then I wouldn't trust him. Anyone who is a professional and 100% happy with their own work shouldn't be upset about having their work looked over by someone else. Its's a professional relationship you have with the builder and architect not a personal one and it seems they are making it personal. I would definitely get an inspector either to put your mind at ease or if its worst case scenario point out what needs fixing. If I didn't trust our builder and sensed they weren't listening to us or attending to our concerns then I would certainly be finding someone to check over the building works. Luck for us we have been really happy with our builders so far. Good luck and hope you are able to resolve these issues so that you can move in to your house knowing its how it should be. Re: Final Inspection 3Jun 20, 2011 3:13 pm Absolutely get an independant inspection done, agree with Kayles, if they have done work to the Building Code regulations, they should be fine with having any work approved. If they haven't then I believe they would get cagey about it. It is business, it is your money being invested, and think of it this way- if the work isn't to code regulations and you're house burnt to the ground, you're insurance will not pay for a re-build. So getting everything correct now will save you money in the long run Holly i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98548 The significant date is when receive final payment invoice Check that section of contract Bit of fluff by builders prior to that 1 15835 Hi, I am approaching end of the build. My final invoice will be given to me soon to pay. Some context before I ask my question. 1. My builder wont do the landscaping or… 0 3826 |