OT: Projekt Haus II

[Jim Bookie]

hey lima, hope it get's sorted out sooner, rather than later.
i haven't ever built a house, but i'm sure the heartache is most always omnipresent.
stick to your guns.

[Lima]

Thanks for the support all.

We'll get there.

[Sloth]

Hey Liam if you want some advice over the phone from a (retired) master builder I can give you my old man's number to have a chat with. He has seen this thing happen a few times over the years and has also been in the situation where he has picked up and rescued jobs from other builders' fark ups, aswell as being on the end of non payment from developers whilst building large projects so he might have some advice on your matter. His main game these days is pre purchase building inspections but he has also dealt with problem resolution type stuff similar to your situation.

[CiaranGTI]

farkn call A Current Affair on the carnts.

But seriously, that sucks Liam. I thought our building process was painful but it hasn't even got a patch on yours. Good luck getting it fixed.

[Sloth]

I've seen enough of friends' issues including Lima's to know that:
1. I don't have enough energy to put up with the actions of sh!t builders
2. Major reno will cost you more in the end so just buy a new house!

Even if building the whole house new, the answer is just to go with big name developer. For example, my estate is developed and built by Mirvac. no stress whatsoever, and all I do is put down 10% until they finish. I've also bought from Lend Lease, Grollo and another mid size developer and never had any issues. The one house we bought, demolished and got council permit was a nightmare. Just as well we didn't go ahead with the build!

My advice to you Wayne and to anyone buying a 'big name developer' property is to get a defect inspection report done before moving in and shelling out the rest of the dough.

But buying new is actually not always the best way, buying near new (i.e 2 - 5 yrs old) is often the best way as by then any structural defects have usually come to light and if you still choose to continue with the purchase (but who would if they are major defects !) then you still have warranty to get them repaired.

[Lima]

Hey Liam if you want some advice over the phone from a (retired) master builder I can give you my old man's number to have a chat with. He has seen this thing happen a few times over the years and has also been in the situation where he has picked up and rescued jobs from other builders' fark ups, aswell as being on the end of non payment from developers whilst building large projects so he might have some advice on your matter. His main game these days is pre purchase building inspections but he has also dealt with problem resolution type stuff similar to your situation.

Thanks Jim, will keep that in mind.

[Lima]

Just keeps getting better...

At 3am this morning, while watching the FA Cup final someone came onto site poking around for some midnight spares.

In the "open" parts of the house there were a few minor things, some of value, that our uninvited guest had a look at. He then went to the bedroom that is accessible and noticed there is a bed in there and must have twigged someone was living here. He then must have heard the TV and stood at our temporary door in the hallway and muttered something.

I got up, went to the door and just said "What!"

The guy then scarpered off site and a few seconds later I heard a car speed off.

No damage done, luckily.

We called the coppers this morning to let them know and they came and had a look, asked a few questions etc.

All of a sudden our motivation to get to lock up has increased quite a lot.

Calm blue oceans.

[YellowDieselGolf]

Fug, that's scary.

Hope things get better mate!

[Lima]

Well, dip in me in honey and feed me to the con merchants. 217 days after these were installed on our roof they have finally been turned on...

There were 36 days between the above post and our most recent billing cut off. We generated 299kW/h, which at 45.7¢ = $136.

[mikinoz]

Want to get a rental German Shepherd for the short term security.

Fair cop though, a stalled building project is ripe for trouble. You were lucky you were up!

[Jono171]

Sorry to hear Lima, especially about the last bit. It's crazy to think you'd have to be concerned for your safety and your property when rennovating a house in inner-Canberra. Maybe invest in a battery-operated sensor light? Also, I wish the mrs. could assist legally, but she's into a different area of law.....

[MickyD]

Maybe invest in a battery-operated sensor light hooked up to a gatling gun?

fixed.

[Jono171]

lol yes. And with tech these days, the security system doesnt have to be a passive experience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU

[Sloth]

Just keeps getting better...

At 3am this morning, while watching the FA Cup final someone came onto site poking around for some midnight spares.
In the "open" parts of the house there were a few minor things, some of value, that our uninvited guest had a look at. He then went to the bedroom that is accessible and noticed there is a bed in there and must have twigged someone was living here. He then must have heard the TV and stood at our temporary door in the hallway and muttered something.
I got up, went to the door and just said "What!"
The guy then scarpered off site and a few seconds later I heard a car speed off.
No damage done, luckily.
We called the coppers this morning to let them know and they came and had a look, asked a few questions etc.
All of a sudden our motivation to get to lock up has increased quite a lot.
Calm blue oceans.

Fark ! This was on our minds also as we were also living in with 2 kids. We ended up building around the existing house and once the windows / doors could be locked we then brought down what had then become an internal wall of about 6 metres, but there were two very large windows also that came out so the brick work was less than expected but it still caused a hell of a mess as those old 1950's dry pressed bricks can do, but that's the price we had to pay. I guess the layout we were building allowed us to do this though and understandably not all layouts would be able to allow for that.

The only intruder to then get in was a mouse until we patched the floor / closed the cavity brick work a week or so later. I gave him a special treat to eat on his second visit the next day and he no longer appeared on the third day.

Is there anyway you can temporarily barricade the openings?

[Lima]

Not really Jim...

[dkr]

So he's had to climb the fence to get in?

[Lima]

Nope, the fence isn't as secure as it looks. There's a number of ways to get in, all of which have been done a few times by the various tradies we've already had on site legitimately.

So it's fair to say it was probably another tradie looking for some freebies. The fact the house hasn't visibly changed a lot in the last month or two would only help build a case that the site is vacant.

We've been parking our cars in the driveway next door (which is vacant) mainly to keep out of the way of the tradies, but also because there's no trees immediately near by so our cars don't get crapped on by birds, haha.

[mikinoz]

fixed.

[MickyD]

more like:


(excellent movie by the way)

[MickyD]

Liam, new nearmap imagery (May 4th) is up for Canberra

[malliemcg]

bugger to hear about your issues mate, let us know if you need some help readjusting knee caps, you're a chiro right

[Mi16 Man]

Farken hell Lima.....just caught up on this thread. Chin up....roll with the punches....

[Lima]

The old builder collected his last remaining stuff this morning.

We should have a roof by Monday.

[TheHamofMam]

Time for

[mikinoz]

The old builder collected his last remaining stuff this morning.

We should have a roof by Monday.

I'll come around on the long weekend for the topping out ceremony.

[Lima]

Time for

Let's not get carried away. We've rung 3-4 builders to try and get them to come and inspect the site and quote on the remaining work. Most have met our request with indifference, one even asking how does he know it's not us that's dodgy, haha.

The only one to come good is a young bloke not long out of his apprenticeship and just starting his business. He's been pretty helpful so far.

Fingers crossed.

[Lima]

I'll come around on the long weekend for the topping out ceremony.

Sounds like a plan. Hopefully it's not a topping off ceremony.

[TheHamofMam]

Let's not get carried away.
Fingers crossed.

Well, in that case, time for just

[robbo mcs]

.

Fingers crossed.

Liam,

I've got everything crossed for you. Everytime I see something posted on this thread I don't know whether to read it or not. I can't bear the thought of more bad news, but then want to read it in case it is good news

Hopefully it all gets sorted out damn quick!

Robbo

[Lima]

Haha, thanks Robbo. We'll get to the end in one piece. Eventually.

[Lima]

Something happened!

[mikinoz]

New bloke has done more this week than the last 6 or so pages of this thread!

That's a great result!

Lock up by Friday night then?

[Lima]

Not by Friday, but we should have the windows in by Monday week. The guy helping us at the moment can only commit to weekends.

We're speaking to another builder on Wednesday who may be able to commit full time.

[Lima]

I just re-read this thread from start to finish...

[mikinoz]

Not that bad.

At least as a Carlton supporter you have attained the character quality of perservence, which has been required to get this far!