Skirting boards pulling away from wall and floor tiles

wil4kat · Oct 07, 2018 4:50 pm

Is anyone able to offer me some advice. i have just moved into a brand new home. Unfortunately it has many defects one of which is some significant cracking. The skirting are coming away from the tiles and large gaps are appearing. The wall is also coming away from the skirting. It is happening in several areas downstairs which is completely tiled.I initially thought it was a moisture issue but the builder doesn't think so. It also is not in the one area so this rules out a leaking toilet etc.

The house is only less than two months old and I have never seen cracking like this even in an old house. I'm not sure if it is relevant, but I also have huge grout colour inconsistencies which worsens when we have wet weather.

Could anyone offer some suggestions as to what it happening?
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Marshall5858 · Oct 08, 2018 8:29 am

We have this in our home, it’s only a small spot next to our sliding door. Our house is 18 months old. The builder has said they don’t fix it unless it’s 3mm or more. We were told to just fill it and paint. Do you have a 3 month inspection? If so then maybe mention it then

kirashogun · Oct 08, 2018 5:42 pm

I would get a structural engineer to have a look. Could be slab heave. Do a baseline of your floor level.

Get all copies of your foundation design and soil report ready.

wil4kat · Oct 09, 2018 4:59 pm

Marshall5858

We have this in our home, it’s only a small spot next to our sliding door. Our house is 18 months old. The builder has said they don’t fix it unless it’s 3mm or more. We were told to just fill it and paint. Do you have a 3 month inspection? If so then maybe mention it then

It's way more than 3mm. I know the photos don't show that much of a gap but it's quite large. I've done the 90 day defect list although I've only been here less that 60 as there are so many defects.

wil4kat · Oct 09, 2018 5:00 pm

kirashogun

I would get a structural engineer to have a look. Could be slab heave. Do a baseline of your floor level.

Get all copies of your foundation design and soil report ready.

They are reluctant to pass on any information to me. I asked for the structural plans and the builder told me to stop demanding Inofmrstiin from them. He told me to contact council to get them. The council wouldn't have them, its ridiculous.

wil4kat · Oct 09, 2018 5:01 pm

wil4kat

kirashogun

I would get a structural engineer to have a look. Could be slab heave. Do a baseline of your floor level.

Get all copies of your foundation design and soil report ready.

They are reluctant to pass on any information to me. I asked for the structural plans and the builder told me to stop demanding Inofmrstiin from them. He told me to contact council to get them. The council wouldn't have them, its ridiculous.

Sorry typo ... information I meant to write

kirashogun · Oct 09, 2018 5:41 pm

wil4kat

They are reluctant to pass on any information to me. I asked for the structural plans and the builder told me to stop demanding Inofmrstiin from them. He told me to contact council to get them. The council wouldn't have them, its ridiculous.

Get it from the building surveyor. They issue the building permit. It would be illegal to issue permit without the right structural plans.

wil4kat · Oct 09, 2018 5:43 pm

kirashogun

wil4kat

They are reluctant to pass on any information to me. I asked for the structural plans and the builder told me to stop demanding Inofmrstiin from them. He told me to contact council to get them. The council wouldn't have them, its ridiculous.

Get it from the building surveyor. They issue the building permit. It would be illegal to issue permit without the right structural plans.

Thanks I will give that a go. I would have thought if I paid for the house that I would be entitled to this documentation supplied from the builder.

insider · Oct 21, 2018 7:11 pm

wil4kat

Is anyone able to offer me some advice. i have just moved into a brand new home. Unfortunately it has many defects one of which is some significant cracking. The skirting are coming away from the tiles and large gaps are appearing. The wall is also coming away from the skirting. It is happening in several areas downstairs which is completely tiled.I initially thought it was a moisture issue but the builder doesn't think so. It also is not in the one area so this rules out a leaking toilet etc.

The house is only less than two months old and I have never seen cracking like this even in an old house. I'm not sure if it is relevant, but I also have huge grout colour inconsistencies which worsens when we have wet weather.

Could anyone offer some suggestions as to what it happening?
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Can you give us some more information.Is the damage near the middle of the house? What suburb are you in? Did it happen immediately after construction or just recently?

wil4kat · Oct 21, 2018 8:14 pm

insider

wil4kat

Is anyone able to offer me some advice. i have just moved into a brand new home. Unfortunately it has many defects one of which is some significant cracking. The skirting are coming away from the tiles and large gaps are appearing. The wall is also coming away from the skirting. It is happening in several areas downstairs which is completely tiled.I initially thought it was a moisture issue but the builder doesn't think so. It also is not in the one area so this rules out a leaking toilet etc.

The house is only less than two months old and I have never seen cracking like this even in an old house. I'm not sure if it is relevant, but I also have huge grout colour inconsistencies which worsens when we have wet weather.

Could anyone offer some suggestions as to what it happening?
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Can you give us some more information.Is the damage near the middle of the house? What suburb are you in? Did it happen immediately after construction or just recently?

The damage is mainly towards the centre of the home...that said, it is not a big home so the damage isn't more than a few metres from the external walls of the house. The grout has been various colours from the beginning. It looked like someone had washed the floor and it wasn't dry yet. Only thing is, some areas continue to look wet. This worsens when it rains.

I live in Richmond NSW. I only noticed the pulling away of the skirting boards/wall/tiles after living here for a couple of weeks. It has worsened over time but now appears to be slowing down. I've only lived here for two months. The home is zero allotment on both sides. Very hard to detect is something is happening on the zero lot external wall. The builder has had positive unacceptable moisture readings on the external walls. They have now taken some skirting boards off and it appears to be dry concrete and gyprock behind.

insider · Oct 21, 2018 8:25 pm

wil4kat

insider

wil4kat

Is anyone able to offer me some advice. i have just moved into a brand new home. Unfortunately it has many defects one of which is some significant cracking. The skirting are coming away from the tiles and large gaps are appearing. The wall is also coming away from the skirting. It is happening in several areas downstairs which is completely tiled.I initially thought it was a moisture issue but the builder doesn't think so. It also is not in the one area so this rules out a leaking toilet etc.

The house is only less than two months old and I have never seen cracking like this even in an old house. I'm not sure if it is relevant, but I also have huge grout colour inconsistencies which worsens when we have wet weather.

Could anyone offer some suggestions as to what it happening?
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅
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Can you give us some more information.Is the damage near the middle of the house? What suburb are you in? Did it happen immediately after construction or just recently?

The damage is mainly towards the centre of the home...that said, it is not a big home so the damage isn't more than a few metres from the external walls of the house. The grout has been various colours from the beginning. It looked like someone had washed the floor and it wasn't dry yet. Only thing is, some areas continue to look wet. This worsens when it rains.

I live in Richmond NSW. I only noticed the pulling away of the skirting boards/wall/tiles after living here for a couple of weeks. It has worsened over time but now appears to be slowing down. I've only lived here for two months. The home is zero allotment on both sides. Very hard to detect is something is happening on the zero lot external wall. The builder has had positive unacceptable moisture readings on the external walls. They have now taken some skirting boards off and it appears to be dry concrete and gyprock behind.

Do you know what your soil classification is?

wil4kat · Oct 21, 2018 8:47 pm

Sorry I have no idea what the soil classification is

insider · Oct 21, 2018 8:49 pm

wil4kat

Sorry I have no idea what the soil classification is

When your house was constructed the would have done a soil test first and classified how reactive the soil is.That determines
what size your foundations are.

wil4kat · Oct 21, 2018 8:51 pm

Plans show "site classification S", "slab classification M"

wil4kat · Oct 21, 2018 8:52 pm

Just read on the front plan .. "aggressive soil requirements"

building-expert · Oct 22, 2018 7:16 am

Good advice from kirashogun and insider. Can you post soil test summary/recommendations?
Your house movement is symptomatic of slab instability but you need to post more information. Have you had independent inspections during your build?

wil4kat · Oct 22, 2018 7:40 am

building-expert

Good advice from kirashogun and insider. Can you post soil test summary/recommendations?
Your house movement is symptomatic of slab instability but you need to post more information. Have you had independent inspections during your build?

This was built as part a multi dwelling development and I have no information on the soil tests and what was actually conducted. A lot of things in the development have not been done to plan and I have hundreds of defects throughout the interior and exterior of the home. The builder won't give me any information. I had to battle them to get a copy of the structural plans.

I had no independent inspections during the build, only their private certifier. I didn't realise there was a problem until the cracks started appearing around six or so weeks ago. I called a structural engineer as I thought I should get the house assessed but he advised me to work with the builder in the first instance and consult a structural engineer if I was unhappy with the outcome.

building-expert · Oct 22, 2018 9:30 am

You need to engage a very experienced building consultant to assess what is happening with your home and to do forensic on whether the builder has followed approved drawings.

Norfolk · Jan 30, 2020 7:14 pm

Hi wil4kat How did McDonald_Jones Homes respond when you advised them of the defects? Were they rectified promptly and appropriately? What is the status now? How a volume builder manages defects after handover provides an indication of their capability and ethics to their potential customers.