Governments are corrupted by industry lobbies.
When our corrupt Building Commission was abolished in favour of VBA the first thing they did was to retain most of existing staff, renamed their…

A simple procedure may not have prevented the problem but could have put the owner into a better position in relation to the dispute.
1 check and verify contractors qualifications, registration…

Builders obligation is not only to comply with Acts, regulations and standards but also to conform with contractual obligations.
Rusted gutter is not acceptable
Parapet flashing is to short and must…

The level of soil under your house should be higher than outside. If there is a retaining wall then it must have proper drainage.

Your roof lashings should be accurately cut and fitted, sealed and pop riveted at joints at 40mm centres. Your parapet flashings should be fixed at 500mm centres. Work should be…

Great post from Simeon but I would like to add something no one is talking about, power imbalance.
Mostly you will have inexperienced homeowner dealing with educated and experienced builder who…

I believe you do because you are second builder on the job. If you sell who is going to warrant portion of work you have done? Who is going …

All existing services should be decommissioned and capped prior to demolition or else you risk rubbish in sewer and stormwater pipes, electrical hazard and gas hazard.

The possible trick here is that if the builder is not doing demolition it could be alleged that the demolition is incomplete and has interfered with the classification of site…

Sewer vent, yes you will smell sewer gasses when you sit in your gazebo.

Many people have lodged insurance claim for damage to their home from an insurable event only to find the claim either rejected or the insurer offering a settlement well below…

The supplier does not have proof of "cost" until invoices are paid, ask for a copy of paid invoices

Try Nik from Compliance Building Reports

Unfortunately you were badly advised.
If I did your pre contract review I would have flagged potential issue.
Looks like landscaping has to go in asap, all you can do is try…

This should have been no surprise if you had read development approval condition 28.
Why isn't your builder completing all the work, including landscaping?
There would be appeal provisions for the council…

It does not matter what the content of building contact is because it is Domestic Contract Act 2000 that has the protocol for the administration of PC sums and Provisional…

Get a good building consultant to review your contract and give you expert opinion

If your builder has terminated building contract (rightfully or wrongfully) your contract is at an end. There is no provision for the builder to come back. Financially the builder has…

Who designed the house?

Your understanding of PC is correct, be firm

Read your building contract.
Contract termination is a two step process where firstly a notice of intention to terminate is sent, specifying default and giving time for the default to be…

As QS I can tell you that not all rock is excavation in rock.
Many people have paid tens of thousands of dollars for excavations that either are not classified as…

It does not matter if you signed the variation if it is not valid or if it is not calculated properly or proven with evidence of cost or if it…

More detail would be welcome, why are rooms not fit for the purpose? Even if so then builder should fix the problem under builder's warranty.
Compensation is only paid if the…

No one answered your question Do you reckon build costs are ever going to drop in future?
No chance, for a number of reasons
1 inflation and loss of currency value
2 increasing…

The oldest advice in the book, do your homework and shop around.

It is a common problem on building sites that builder make errors in levels set out and then try to pass on the cost, or they just try to pass…

It is never a good idea to plant trees close to house foundation however if you must then you can mitigate damage from trees by installing a tree root barrier.
Some…

Your slab is likely built on highly reactive clay soil and that means that there will be seasonal foundation movement regardless of adequacy of house construction and maintenance.
If the cracking…

Prime suspects are always people on the job. Many times I had lunch with them, shared a joke, paid their wages or contract price, knew name of their kids and…