Hello all,
I'm building a new house and the builder has issued me with a couple of variations without communicating any information to me or informing me of the work to be done will be sent out as a variation.
Would anyone know what my rights in this instance are? Can they deviate from contract and do things without a consultation with me first and getting my approval?
This is very much in the early stages of build (slab) and I'm worried that they will keep sending me variations down the track and just expect me to pay them. One of the variation is manageable in $ terms but the other is ridiculous. They claim they did not foresee this work would needed to have been done (rubbish).
To me, this feels like they are being opportunistic and trying to get as much money out of me as possible.
Thanks in advance
Building a New House and Variations
Comments
One is for removal of steel H beams that were left after removal of the retaining wall next to neighbouring property and the other is concrete upstand in lieu of the retaining wall that will now be the garage wall boundary.
Is this post or pre-contract?
Did you sign a contract (i.e & initial every page) before this?
Edit: Check the plans and see if the garage boundary is stated as "double brick retaining wall"
Cheers
Post signing contract. They claim they did not foresee that the concrete upstand will need to be built.
OK, so that is PCV. (Post contract Variation)
I wouldn't sign it IMO.
They removed the retaining wall to save costs.
Retaining walls (the lack of) cause really big issues with neighbouring properties, as some builders try to wriggle out of installing them.
I would consult the Engineering contractor that draft the plans (Co. listed on the plans) and see why they have removed it.
For the builder to not inform you of any alterations is a breach by them and that will definitely cause a Red Flag for me. They hope you sign and not read. Shifty IMO
Edit: What ever excuse they give, ensure that it is in writing (email etc).
Normally PCV is updated by the vendor which incurs a charge. The builder should not change the PCV unless you want to alter the house.
Please don't tell me the builder is Simmonds?
I would get it investigated.
Hi Vinni,
Thanks for your reply. The builder is not Simmonds (i'll leave the name out for now)
The retaining wall was removed because the garage is being built on the boundary, hence why there is the need to have the concrete retaining wall in place. This concrete retaining wall is actually on the plans.
No information has been provided to us.
I've been trying to get in contact with them for the past 3 days and no response.
Thanks for your suggestion, will definitely need to keep investigating this.Did you request the garage to be at the boundary? Normally that is a $700+ variation ~ +200mm extension
Was the retaining wall at the exact same position before the proposed PCV garage wall was placed at the boundary?
Does it state on the Eng.Plan that the garage wall at the boundary will be Double Bricked Retaining Wall? (i.e double-deep bricked and how many courses of brick - height)
@vinni9284:
- It was part of the house and land package where the house had already been designed so that the garage will be built on the boundary. This was not something new that we had requested.The retaining wall is at the exact position before the the PCV garage wall
It does not state that the house will be double bricked. The new concrete retaining wall is only about a 1m high on top which the bricks will go. This 1m height is the only portion that needs retaining.
Ask the builder
Hard to get a reply from them. 4 days in and still no word
Just curious which builder are you dealing with.
I'll leave the name out of it for now, sorry. I am more concerned about what my rights are and if I can fight them on this. to me, they are being opportunistic.
Really depends on the variations. For example, extra pilings or a huge rock in the earth that needs removal is understandable. What kind of variations are you talking about?
Oh and while you're at it, you should get the sparky to install a power outlet near your toilet for a Xiaomi bidet :)
I've got a Xiaomi phone and power bank already which I would highly recommend. The bidet would no doubt we just as reliable :)
So they are charging you a variation for adding something that was on the plans and removing something that was clearly visible on the existing property?
Unless there were exclusions related to this included in the contract I can't see why it is a variation. Most likely they stuffed up and didn't include it in their costs and are now trying to recover it from you.
I had sent them a 'polite' email questioning their variations and after a considerable time they've finally gotten back to me stating that there was some 'considerable misunderstanding' with the person issuing the variation, footings manager and the construction manager and that I do not need to pay anything extra to what they had quoted for the footings. They have apologised for the mistake.
Boy oh boy…. crises averted but makes you think twice before signing anything or agreeing to anything.
I got a suggestion to hire my own site project manager to keep them in check and make sure they don't try rip people off, perhaps worth exploring considering this is my first home and having no construction experience.
Thanks all.Waiting up to 4 days is a bit of a worry.
I would definitely advise to get an independent building inspector throughout the whole build.
However you have to notify them of your intentions of hiring an inspector throughout the build process.Please don't fall for the bull-tish "we have our own quality inspections" crap.
I had an independent inspector for 5 of the 6 build phases/steps, even after their 3 months post inspection PCI.
At the time, it cost me a total of ~ $2500 however I got $10K+ back in repairs.
Don't forget, you are protecting your asset currently worth $200K+ … and x 2 with interest paying it off!They even had to knock down the Garage Boundary Wall as it was a retaining wall however not double-bricked. Hence my previous question. So definitely ROI for me.
In my experience, the builders suffer from three main issues of many:
- Conjunctivitis - Cannot see any defects.
- Acute memory loss - They forget to carry out their promises.
- The Wriggles - Reject warranty if warranted to fix and they know they can get out of it. (Well most insurance companies fall in this field)
Never trust a builder. These days it is hard to trust your colleague LOL
Any correspondence ensure that it is in writing.
Good luck
Cheers
I think the 3-4 day delay in getting any response from the builder is the biggest worry. Even a short "we'll look into it & get back to you" would suffice. No response at all? It's only going to get worse, I think. I think your own inspector is a good idea.
@vinni9284: "Never trust a builder." We are 16 months into a building project. Up until this project, I would have agreed with you. However, we must have struck gold in having the most trustworthy, honest & precise builders we have ever worked with. Sure, document everything, as memory lapses occur when dealing with a large complicated project. But once the documentation is located, everything is honoured without a fuss. Post-contract variations (I think we're up to #18) have all been reasonable. Paving 2mm out? (Standards allow for 4mm, I think.) All removed & done again without fuss, no cost or variation to us.
16 months into the build?
What are you building? A shopping complex?
Normally a house takes 6 months unless your project has special circumstances/caveats
Cheers
@vinni9284: Not all houses take 6 months. This is more a renovation of an 80 year old structure with multiple previous renovations to deal with, so not really straight forward.
Ok. I see. Yep. Special circumstances.
Well you're very lucky that your builder has treated you well thus far.
If you haven't hired a building inspector, i would highly recommended it.
I still don't trust them. But that's from my experience.
Wishing you all the best in your build:-)
Cheers
In my world (not buildings but construction) all variations are approved before going ahead. Ie the contractor will not go ahead with anything that is my in the contract without approval from the client, be that in writing or in person in site.
If you have a fixed price contract they should not charge you anything extra without consulting with you and having you approve the extra. Of course sometimes you must pay to complete the job, but other times you might have another option like using your own materials or labour to reduce the costs of the variation. For example, the variation to remove steel from the site might be reduced if you get down there on Sunday with a trailer and take it to the scrappies yourself.
What are the variations?