Replacement Fence - Fencer or Owners Problem?

• 

  whooah1979 on 21/08/2019 - 06:43

  What's in the ground, stays in the ground.

  Just put some dirt on it.

  • 

    tomsco on 21/08/2019 - 07:34

    Fair enough. Having a google, it seems a bit of a hammer and chisel to grind down the bits above ground level first.

  • 

    savage bargain on 21/08/2019 - 12:37

    Might be a stupid question, but would this attract termites if left underground over years that the treatment in the wood breaks down?
    (I live in an area where termites go for anything, including carpet and fruit trees, so I can't remember the last time I've seen a wooden fence…)

    • 

      HighAndDry on 21/08/2019 - 14:23

      Also a possibly stupid question (not saying yours is), could OP get rid of the stump by burning it?

      • 

        whooah1979 on 21/08/2019 - 23:24

        +1

        H4 is treated with copper, chromium and arsenic. Burning it is bad for the bees.

    • 

      whooah1979 on 21/08/2019 - 23:18

      +1

      H4 timber is pest resistant.

• 

  mskeggs on 21/08/2019 - 08:26

  +2

  I would rate leaving a post sticking up above ground level as a bit of a sloppy job, but trying to get them to come back is likely more trouble than the 20mins to fix it your self by smashing it down.
  For a tradie to revisit a site costs them $100 in travel plus lost time and earnings, so it is a bit unfair to insist over small things.

  But there is a camp on OzBargain that takes the opposite view, and that the customer is always right and the work is not complete till the customer is satisfied. In my opinion this approach drives up costs for everyone.

  • 

    tomsco on 21/08/2019 - 08:30

    Job still ongoing, hence why I'm wanting to find out now. If they were done, I'd accept it as a small enough thing to have a go at, but seeing as they're still there is the only reason I am asking.

    • 

      mskeggs on 21/08/2019 - 08:33

      +1

      In that case, I think it is pretty reasonable to ask them to sort it. Unless their quote separated removal of the old fence and you declined that option!

    • 

      brad1-8tsi on 22/08/2019 - 09:03

      Get them to grind it down a bit more so that it's 200mm under the ground… unless you think it will cause an issue with gardening or other work

  • 

    pjetson on 21/08/2019 - 09:16

    You agree that it's a

    a bit of a sloppy job

    But you're happy to pay for and accept work of that standard?

    • 

      mskeggs on 21/08/2019 - 09:55

      Sure, if it was a good quote, and was as agreed, and doing otherwise would require the bloke to come back out for 10 or 20 minutes to get a centimetre off the old post.
      It's hard to tell, because it appears to be a bare building site, but it may well be the fencer assumes landscaping will cover it up as is.

      It isn't some point of principal, it is just it is equally convenient for me to hit it with a mattock for a minute as it is to call the guy and make hime come back. And the reverse, I'm not seeking to teach him a lesson about pride of workmanship by forcing him to come back.

      But my yard doesn't look like a bowling green - for somebody who is meticulous, and who advised when the quote was given it had to come out perfect, by all means call them back.

      The issue is when people get a quote, wave it through with little thought, then go over the result with a fine tooth comb. It isn't fair on a tradie to say at quote stage "good enough" is what you are after, but later demand perfection.
      I'm not suggesting this is what the OP did, but there have been other posts where people have showed they require very high standards, but clearly haven't made that known when requesting the original quote (as I expect they don't want to pay for their standards).

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 21/08/2019 - 11:46

    +1

    For a tradie to revisit a site costs them $100 in travel plus lost time and earnings…

    They should do a proper job the first time around to prevent having those kinds of problems.

• 

  Austaurean on 21/08/2019 - 08:52

  It is usual practice to leave the old post stump in the ground, as you have found, they are hard to dig out.
  Although best practice would be to ensure it is cut off well below ground level so that it is not a hazard or eyesore.

  We had our side fence completed recently, One fellow came, in the first day he removed the old fence, and put in new posts for a colour bond install.
  I must admit I didn't actually look to see if he removed the posts completely, but I do not think he did.
  The second day he came back and put in the colour bond sheets, all done, no dramas, looks great and he was gone before 4pm the 2nd day.
  We have strong winds too and the new fence has not budged.

  There are no visible wooden post stumps anywhere.

• 

  futureminime on 21/08/2019 - 09:01

  Voted fencer should fix - taking everything at face value, not sure that if you covered the post in the picture it wouldn't be okay.

  Remember - They guy working isn't a mind reader, tradies are just people. Go and have a discussion with him. Raise your concerns so they don't become issues. If they are still working then there shouldn't be any issues.

  In the end both parties want a good outcome - you want a good fence and they want a satisfied customer that could pass on word of mouth business. The other thing to consider is if you think you're changing the original plan and they will have extra costs consider if its fair to pay extra to get it done. If it annoys you it will just cost you later. The main thing is to be fair, honest and open and DISCUSS, not demand.

• 

  geek001 on 21/08/2019 - 09:05

  +1

  Probably see if they would grind down the old post a bit lower as I do agree that the work is sloppy. Removing the old posts now is not a good idea. If you manage to pull the old post out, it will leave a hole in the ground which may destabilise your new posts.

• 

  onetwothreefour on 21/08/2019 - 10:43

  I had this same problem when I rebuilt my fence in December as a couple of my posts broke off when trying to remove them and left a bit sticking out (although I did it all myself and didn't use a builder).

  I didn't have much choice for one of them because I needed to put a new post in the same place so I had to remove it and the concrete around it. It wasn't easy but I had the tools needed to break up the concrete and then pull out the wood post.

  If I were you I'd just try and take out as much of the wood sticking up as you can, it looks wet and a bit rotten so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard, maybe hitting it with a hammer or something heavy might break it up a bit. Then just cover it up with soil and no one will ever know there's still an old post there.

• 

  JimmyF on 21/08/2019 - 11:30

  old post has been snapped off at ground level with the stump left in the ground.
  I would’ve expected them to remove the whole post

  What does the contract/scope of works say? Did they remove the old fence or was that you? Normally these are left in the ground to rot away. You could ask them to cut them a bit lower or as you said, clear a bit of dirt away and chisel the top off, then put the dirt back.

  Where they’ve removed the old fence on the corner of the property, they have unevenly removed the end pailing. The new pailings will be in a different location, so this bit will stand out.

  Matching up fence lines/corners is always messy. I'm not really sure what you want them to do here? Its not finished yet, so hard to say.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 21/08/2019 - 11:49

  A stump grinder doesn't cost much if a fencer is going to need it regularly.

  Tradies justify their cost because they have unforseen costs as contingencies. I expect them to at least have the tools for said contingencies.