Unfortunately, in our legal system we have to prove that the builder was at fault. Even if you have as much knowledge as a tradie, you would still need to enlist qualified engineers to give testimony. How expensive is that going to be!
Of course, the sad thing is that any builder would probably behave in the same way so what choice does that leave the consumer.
I heard about this and I queried m on this. They admitted to it. And said that's why now they have a 25 years guarantee on their slab which is great. Any other builder that users waffle is risky. Apparently waffle isn't that great to build with. But a lot of builders use this. Except m build there's with higher standards now. And no other builder that I know of offers 25 years guarantees on theirs. And you will pay for it in your site cost.
For instance our site cost with urban edge was $16,000 and I got them to bring it to $12,000. This was before we decided to ditch them for m.
That being said there was I think not much guarantee on that. I think about 10 years. Which is average. Now if the council put a tree on your nature strip. That tree could take as long as 15 or more to grow to its full height. By then those roots are growing underneath your house. And could do a lot of damage to your foundation. Which in turn would causes your foundation to crack. Then you would be in big trouble. And your cost would be enormous.
This is why Metricon site cost are usually more too. Their waffle would be reinforced and would be far more better then most builders.
And if your anything like me. I'm the type that would spend that more and go for quality. Knowing that something is not only better but would last me longer.