A lot has happened since the last update. It's great to see progress, but really frustrating the way the BigM are handling this. As usual we are kept in the dark about the progress and are always the ones to chase up for updates.
The site inspection had to be pushed back a day as the BigM concreter requested for additional time to ensure that the pre-pour tasks were done properly. It is a good thing that they want to ensure it's done properly, however we aren't entirely sure they deliver on their promises. Our inspector from NHI (Rob) attended site but the BigM site manager was nowhere to be seen, the only person onsite happened to be a concreter who was able to address some of the minor issues that the inspector raised. It is quite interesting that the builders say the site manager must be onsite with us, yet they don't show up at the scheduled date/time. Rob @ NHI was very helpful and was able to explain two of the major issues prior to leaving site to head off and write the report. We received the report later in the evening and sent it straight to the site manager for review and requested for the issues to be resolved prior to concrete pour.
Major Issue 1 - Storm Water Pipe - Concealed pipes at the front portico which needs resolving
Major Issue 2 - Punctures in the Vapour Barrier
What is incredibly frustrating is the lack of communication and lack of care for the quality of our home from the BigM. They do care about getting paid though, regardless of the quality of the work. One day after the concrete had been poured, we received the notification for the completion of the base stage and received the first invoice. We contacted the building coordinator (BC) as we wanted to inspect the site prior to releasing the payment. The advice from the BC was that we should process the payment as accounts would penalise us if we didn't show that we made the effort to process payment. Wish there was a way we could penalise them for not showing us that they made effort to ensure the quality of the work completed was high. Payment of this invoice was processed, however it wasn't until days after this, that our site manager contacted us and said it was an unusual request to do a site visit at this point, but he had visited the site and asked the concreter to fix a few of the issues (including the issue of the site not being level). We are yet to get any proof that any issues have been fixed as WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO ONSITE! So frustrating having to trust a bunch of people who really don't care for us or the quality of our home.
The site inspection had to be pushed back a day as the BigM concreter requested for additional time to ensure that the pre-pour tasks were done properly. It is a good thing that they want to ensure it's done properly, however we aren't entirely sure they deliver on their promises. Our inspector from NHI (Rob) attended site but the BigM site manager was nowhere to be seen, the only person onsite happened to be a concreter who was able to address some of the minor issues that the inspector raised. It is quite interesting that the builders say the site manager must be onsite with us, yet they don't show up at the scheduled date/time. Rob @ NHI was very helpful and was able to explain two of the major issues prior to leaving site to head off and write the report. We received the report later in the evening and sent it straight to the site manager for review and requested for the issues to be resolved prior to concrete pour.
Major Issue 1 - Storm Water Pipe - Concealed pipes at the front portico which needs resolving
- We tried to get in touch with the site manager straight away to bring this to his attention so it could be addressed prior to slab pour the next morning but weren't able to get through. When he did respond, he said that he didn't have an issue with the pipes (of course he didn't) however would pass it onto their engineers. The engineers believed that it was adequate however recommended extra lagging around the pipe.
- This issue was apparently addressed prior to concrete pour.
Major Issue 2 - Punctures in the Vapour Barrier
- The recommendation from the inspector was that the pipe penetrations through the vapour barrier must be properly repaired prior to any concrete being poured.
- When we followed up with the site manager to see whether this was addressed prior to concrete pour, we were advised that it wasn't as the information did not get to the concreter in time, slab pour started at 6:30AM, but this would not cause any issues for our home in the future. Hopefully that's the truth. I'm sorry, but as a site manager managing what is one of the most important stages of a house build and knowing an inspection had just been completed, you would think that the site manager would make sure he reviewed the report and relayed the information to their contractors before work started the next morning.
What is incredibly frustrating is the lack of communication and lack of care for the quality of our home from the BigM. They do care about getting paid though, regardless of the quality of the work. One day after the concrete had been poured, we received the notification for the completion of the base stage and received the first invoice. We contacted the building coordinator (BC) as we wanted to inspect the site prior to releasing the payment. The advice from the BC was that we should process the payment as accounts would penalise us if we didn't show that we made the effort to process payment. Wish there was a way we could penalise them for not showing us that they made effort to ensure the quality of the work completed was high. Payment of this invoice was processed, however it wasn't until days after this, that our site manager contacted us and said it was an unusual request to do a site visit at this point, but he had visited the site and asked the concreter to fix a few of the issues (including the issue of the site not being level). We are yet to get any proof that any issues have been fixed as WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO ONSITE! So frustrating having to trust a bunch of people who really don't care for us or the quality of our home.