The next project

http://valleyownerbuilder.blogspot.com.au/

My wife and I are doing it all again, this time we are taking the bull by the horns and owner building.

My driveway has not come up to standard, If you look down at the post on the 23/4 it was a bit patchy in colour. I believe that it was caused by the sealant that was used, or how it was applied. Anyway, after 3 emails and a phonecall to the office of Creative Concrete, I got this email reply -

To Ryan,

It seems something has been done to the surface since the work. If you have tried cleaning and it was unsuccesful I would recommend a tint seal over the surface. This isn’t too expensive especially if you undertake it yourself. You do need to be cluey and handy otherwise it can quite easily be done wrong. If you would like further info please let me know.

Kind Regards

Nathan Carter

Managing Director

All I can say is 'How dare he', without even a phonecall to discuss this problem, he says that I must have done something to the driveway.

I replied to his email with the following -

Nathan, I have attached two photographs that were taken on the 23/4 which is the day that the Driveway was poured. Clearly it looks the same. I expect that Creative Concrete will repair this work as it is not up to standard. Please contact me as soon as possible to let me know when this will be done.

I will update this blog when I get his reply. Hopefully this can be sorted out without legal action.

Some photos of what we have done since handover.

6 month maintanance

Well that time has come already, we have had the Maintenance Officer from Coral Homes come today to complete the maintenace inspection. He was very plesent, even though we have come up with what I think is a very large list of defects. I will keep you up to date with how everything goes.Garage Door needs a service, the chain rubs against the door when opening.Toilet needs to be moved over so that it is centered with the window, this will be a big job I think, but it's just to close to the wall.The tiler we had was shocking, this is just a small sample of what he needs to fix.

Door is damaged, this is the second door that we have had so far, so hopefully third time is a charm.


Large bow in the ensuite ceiling

I was meant to get handover this week, the lease on the rental runs out on Wednesday. I gave two weeks notice after asking the site supervisor if it was a suitable time for the house to be finished and he said that it was plenty of time, well that two weeks was up today, and no handover. The house did not pass the plumbing final cert, so the bank will not release the funds. Tomorrow I will have to go to the real estate office and beg to stay in the rental a bit longer, if that is even possible. I will also have to let everyone that has been organised for the move know that it's not going to happen. I am very disappointed about all of this, if someone has taken a new lease on this place, I'm not sure what we are going to do?

Site Supervisor GONE !!!

Saturday 7th March - More bad news (I think)! My site supervisor is no longer working for Coral and the Construction Manager has now gone back to being a Site Supervisor, but not in my building area! So basically, I now have a new SS and CM that are not familiar with the problems that we have had and some of the things that I have discussed with the previous CM i.e He was allowing me to lay my floor tiles before handover, I might not be able to do with the new manager. I am not happy, I was expecting handover on Monday and I am on my Annual Leave now but cannot get stuck into my house.





Friday 13th March
Not much has happened yet. I met the new Site Supervisor on Monday morning, he still hopes to have Handover for us by the end of next week. Unfortunately, I think that this was only said to make me happy, but we will see. The front gutter has been replaced, and the electrician has been out to fix a few things, but that's about it.

I have been there full time for the last 3 days, organising some things myself. I have had my gas cooktop installed, had the air conditioning installed, changed the kitchen faucet, installed 3 glass shelves in the double shower and installed the HT projector, screen and in-roof speakers.

The SS has said that I can lay the tiles after the paint touch up has been done, but I don't think that will happen until mid next week at the earliest.

From Construction to Demolition ????

Coral have started on our Pre-Handover list, the most obvious being moving the kitchen window over so that our range hood will fit in. Also our downpipes have finally been connected, although the one at the front has not been installed as discussed at the pre-handover inspection, it has a funny looking bend at the top instead of being straight.

I just got back from the house and I am even more disappointed with the paint. I'll give you a little back ground to the story first.

The painter called me on Monday 2nd Feb to talk about our paint selection. During the conversation he asked me if I would like to upgrade the paint to Dulux 101. He said he would only charge the difference between the standard paint and the 101, but we had to pay $400 before he would order it because he had been burnt before. I asked if we were getting a 2 coat or 3 coat system because I didn't want the Dulux if it was 2 coat as I would add a 3rd coat at a later stage. He assured me that I was getting a 3 coat system and highly recommended the Dulux 101. He even told me how he does the paint, first coat is the sealer, 2nd cost is the cheaper coloured paint, and the 3rd coat would be Dulux 101.

As the house is now, one of two things has happened.
1) I only got a 2 coat system and the painter lied
2) The painter has to come back and do the 3rd coat and the SS is not aware of this. I find this unlikely as the painter has removed all of the drop sheets and other protection, there is absolutely no sign that the painter is coming back, and the SS has booked the plumber and electrician to finish off on Monday and Tuesday.

There is evidence to me that only 2 coats have been done, for example
-EDITED. Sorry, I have removed this so that I don't show my hand until the SS gives me his opinion.

I want my money back from the painter for the Dulux 101 unless it is applied as we agreed on, and that is as the final coat in a 3 coat system, and if I am told that three coats have been applied then that is a whole other problem the the builder is going to have to fix.

Bottom line is that I am not happy at all, the paint looks terrible. even if it turns out the painter has done a three coat system, the plaster and wood work the he has applied it to has not been finished as it should have been, it is rough as guts, some of the walls feel like sandpaper.

What should I do about this, I am not happy at all, I have sent the SS a text asking him to come out and inspect the painting. At least I didn't pay the painter in cash, so there is a money trail. And to Coral Homes - I want some answers, I did not ask about this upgrade, I was offered to me by a tradesmen employed by you, so I hold you responsible as well.