Contract Documents – Vehicle Access
All Weather Access
You will notice in the contract documents a clause relating to ‘All Weather Access’. This normally requires the Landowner to provide all weather access to the site.
In other words a hard access from the nearest road to the site of your house wide enough to take a delivery truck. Typically this will be a shaped gravel track.
On sloped sites the access should be to the construction pad level. which may be either higher or lower than the existing ground level. (May require considerable excavation, or fill)
As well as rural blocks this clause can apply to Battle Axe Blocks.
I would advise against doing this on the cheap if the road becomes deeply rutted or a truck becomes bogged you could be faced with:
- The cost for towing trucks off the site.
- A claim for additional costs due to delays and repairing the track.
- An extension of time on the building contract.
Access Over Footpath
Most suburban blocks will require site vehicles to cross the kerb and footpath within the road reserve.
Damage to the footpath and kerb should be covered under the insurance clauses of the building contract ……………………Usually the words are “ must indemnify the Owner in respect of, and insure against liability for personal injury, death, property loss or damage arising out of the Building Works. If you don’t see these words in your contract, or see an exemption for footpath damage BEWARE.
Although a good builder will normally protect paths by installing a timber mat over the footpath that may not stop all the sub-contractors driving over other other parts of the path, and causing damage.
One useful check is to take photographs of the kerb and footpath before the start of construction. Send copies of these photos to the site supervisor saying these are a record of the condition of the councils assets.
If you see any damage to the footpath before work starts I would also send copies of the photos to the council pointing out the initial defects.
In my contract with clarendon:
“it is the owner’s responsibility to provide, relocate or repair footpaths and gutter crossings as required by a statutory or other authority. The builder accepts no responsibility for damage caused to any existing footpath regardless of the condition that it is in either prior to or during the course of construction”
:S
Interesting, my contract quote was for a new subdivision with Metricom. Either your builder has changed the standard contract, or perhaps you are a rebuild on an existing street?
I would consider that if the path is old and damaged it would be quite fair for the builder to have a clause like you describe. If the path is in good condition I would consider the clause unfair.
As I comment above this is this is a big risk as not only are you responsible for any cost of repair but their claue gives them ‘permission’ to take no care whatsoever!
Brian