Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 08, 2012 11:49 am we are building with henley. but happy to hear responses from ALL home builders... its a simple question. we have our HIA section - no problem we have our tender - no problem we have our colour doc - no problem we have our plans - no problem now, remember when you were at colours, and specified that you want this colour laminate here on those top cupboards, and a different colour on those bottom cupboards? and the feature tile strip to run here up the shower wall, and the white duck render to this section of the upper floor, and the eastern brown colour render section to the rear elevation etc.....and the lady in the colour appointment maybe used a highlighter to stipulation what colours where etc on the internal elevation and external elevation drawings??? then the colour selection document, clearly explained written "gloss finish to upper cabinet kitchen doors, as per drawings" but, when we got our contracts the highlighted drawings do NOT form part of the contract (our builder told us). the colour document in the tender states "feature tiling as per drawing", but the ACTUAL highlighted drawing that the colour girl did, is NOT in the document. same with the render to outside etc..... I have been made to feel stupid by the builder that my request to have these form part of the contract. They have said, its written in there and when it comes time to install the kitchen they refer to the drawings that they have and do it as per the tender and drawings. im like why on earth then would that not be included in the final documentation? Now, I have a copy of those elevation sketches that the colour girl gave us and they are signed by me, but why do they NOT form part of the final contracts, for future reference by both parties???? did your final contracts and documents have these drawings in them clearly showing the locatiuon of feature tiles and cupboard colours and different finishes to different cupboards etc??? Same goes for the argus (electrical) drawings. the finial tender in the contracts state the price and "as per argus quote etc", but yet the builder does not attach the plans/data points locations, speaker wire locations, pre wire tv locations etc that argus prepared. Again I have a signed copy of these sketches that the argus girl gave me, as does henley. But again, why on earth would they not be included in the final contract for future reference by both parties...?? did your argus plans included in your final documents? Am i missing something here? am i being over cautious? I asked straight up to the builder this morning, "so you never included the argus plans in your contracts? so you never include the colour selection drawings in your contracts? both were answered 100% no we never include them in the final contracts, they do not form part of the final contracts?? can I please get some clarification for all you fellow builders out there?? what am i missing here? Re: Contracts missing parts, what was in yours? 2May 08, 2012 1:22 pm They weren't included in mine.. though we had good reason not to, as we signed the contract early for the FHOG. It's important to keep an eye on the construction so you can catch them when they work from the wrong specs. If you catch them early you can get it fixed. If you catch them too late they may say it's too much trouble to fix it now and try to get you to compromise. Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Contracts missing parts, what was in yours? 3May 08, 2012 1:54 pm must be diff here in wa - and even between builders, but in our contract, our variations list we did at pre start, included the wording from the tile/laminate selection centre and what laminate selections were to go where, but it also says on the addenda/contract, that tiler to meet client on-site prior to laying to confirm tile layout etc. they also had copy from the selection centre included in all the paperwork. then the variations were gone over while at pre start and added to the contract - which was sent out about 2 weeks prior. we never had any highlited drawings inlcuded either....all our working drawings where there were to be tiles/laminate/render says that these are depictions only and alerts trades to refer to pre-start selections. also for our electrical, all that was done with the builder and does show where all points/switches/extra conduit to be place. but as i said, must be diff in wa so thats prob not much help to you. Re: Contracts missing parts, what was in yours? 4May 08, 2012 2:13 pm You are not stupid and you are the customer, if it does not feel right , you are right. Here are the basics 1 Contract is specification of agreement between parties and it must include instruction set how to build. it must accurately reflect agreement or there will be mistakes on the job and contract disputes. 2 The whole point of drawings and specifications is to instruct the workers how the work is to be done and if this is best done by highlighted drawings and schedules, so be it. You have to remember that many tradies are not properly trained and can't read drawings. I don't see why documents that are part of the agreement cannot be part of the contract. Don't sign until you know it's right. If your builder is already disrespecting you you already have a problem. Consider walking away or get professional help. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Contracts missing parts, what was in yours? 5May 15, 2012 8:49 pm update - postponed last weeks signing, we are now signing tomorrow... I basically told them im NOT signing the contracts until these things are included, they told me they do NOT include them in contract documents, I didnt accept that answer at all... then what do you know....after making me feel pretty stupid, the old "we will include it for you as a once off" so so strange.... anyway, all seems in order, the remainder of the deposit cheque is drawn, fingers crossed we are all signed up tomorrow and then onto the bank for processing Brake and Parts cleaner can potentially cause damage to an exposed aggregate driveway due to its chemical composition, which… 2 11030 I need to replace some lengths of aluminum shower frame but I can't seem to find any suppliers of this stuff. Neither the blue or orange home centers carry these things.… 0 4070 To my understanding early saw cuts are to control shrinkage cracks, so doing them now would be pointless. Control joints may reduce ugly cracking during periods of soil… 3 7422 |