Construction Locks

Have you ever thought about who has keys for the locks on the doors of your new house?

After all there are lot’s of tradies working on the house after ‘Lock Up’ stage.

Well these days most builders use Construction Locks, sometimes called Project, locks. These are a special type of lock which comes with two types of key:

The Construction Keys

Standard pattern ‘master’ keys which are given to all the tradies, who can with a single key enter any of the builders houses under construction

The Final Key 

These are the keys which is given to you at handover. Once you use this key it displaces some ball bearings in the lock which should mean the Construction key will no longer work.

Some of the things you should know about Construction Locks are:

  • Before the end of the handover you should make sure you use the Final Key in every door lock in the house. check each lock with all the keys you are given. This will ensure that:
  • Every lock will be changed to only open with the final key. (It’s worth borrowing the site supervisors key to make sure his key no longer works)
  • All the locks, and keys work properly.
  • The  locks the builder uses are unlikely to be expensive/high quality.
  • Although the construction key won’t work there will be a limited number of final key combinations for this type of lock. If you want in increased level of security it could be worth getting a locksmith to re-key the locks as soon as possible. The cost is going to be around $60-80/lock plus a call out fee.

Would you go for better locks?

 

The Settling In Section contains lots of advice on what to do after

you have moved in your new house

 

Pre-Plasterboard Inspection

Plasterboard can cover a lot of defects . . . . . . . so if worth checking on things before it goes up.

Typically the timing of this inspection will be after the ‘Lock Up Stage‘ but before the completion of the ‘Fixing Stage‘.

Due to cost lots of people don’t use a Building Inspector, or only use one for the Practical Completion Inspection (PCI).

I think making sure things are OK at the ‘Pre-Plaster Stage’ is as important as PCI , so if your budget is strained that is where I think your money is best spent.

Getting things fixed at this stage is much easier than trying to sort out issues between PCI and handover.

A further advantage of a detailed inspection at this stage is that it really emphasises to the Site Supervisor that quality is important to you before they get to the ‘Fit Out Stage’.

Don’t forget the outside, Checks, if they haven’t been done at an earlier stage, should include:

  1. Site Drainage –  Are the drains and sewers in and the construction looks OK. Is the site graded so water doesn’t pond against the house
  2. Brickwork /External Cladding – Does this look neat and well finished, and not have bricks overhanging the edge of the slab?
  3. Building Weather Tight – Look up is the roof complete? Is there any evidence of rain coming in? If you asked for sarking has it been installed?
  4. Layout – Are the rooms the right size and the doors and windows where you expected them to be
  5. Framing Defects – Does the frame look and feel solid, square and straight? Have the electricians and plumbers damaged any of the structural members during their installation of pipes and cables?
  6. Electrical and Plumbing – Are power cables and mounting plates in position where you want all your power sockets? Do the plumbing connections look to be in the right places
  7. Wet Areas – Has the waterproofing been applied and look complete?
  8. Insulation – Have the correct insulation batts been fitted into the external wall frame, with no missing areas, or gaps between individual batts. Has any noise insulation been installed between rooms and between floors, with no missing areas, or gaps?

Doing your own PCI ? . . . the PCI Guide provides extensive checklists and advice for only $4

 

Soil Heave – Protecting the Slab During Construction

There has been a lot of talk in the Melbourne papers recently about ‘Slab Heave’ when Building on Clay so I thought I would explain how to minimise the risk during construction.

A key issue when building on clay is to avoid any extra moisture getting into the clay under the slab. causing the clay to swell, by keeping the area around the slab well drained.

This is particularly important where part of the slab is below the natural ground level such as when ‘Cut and Fill’ is required to get a level site.

Detail For Protection Against  Soil Heave

The diagram below shows what you should be looking for, during construction, to protect the ground under your slab from gaining moisture.

The key issues are:

  • The excavated surface falls away from the edge of the slab for at least 1m with a minimum drop of 75mm.
  • Where the water will not continue to flow away from the slab an Aggi Drain in a granular back filled trench should be provided. This drain should be a minimum of 100mm below the surface level of the clay and fall to a suitable discharge point.
  • Any trench in the area between the slab and the aggi drain should be topped with well compacted clay to ensure there is no easy passage for water to penetrate under the slab.
  • Roof drainage should be connected to a suitable point of discharge as soon as possible after the roofing material is fixed. (See Temporary Downspout)

Although the requirement for an aggi drain is not as critical where the ground slopes away from the slab, it is nevertheless good practice to have one.

 

Also see Agricultural Drains

 

Fixing Stage Inspections

This is the time when all plasterboard lining (or internal cladding) architraves, skirtings, doors, built in shelves, baths, basins, troughs, sinks, cabinets and cupboards of a home are fitted and fixed in position.

The waterproofing of all wet areas will also have been completed.

The house will still require painting and things like cabinet doors may be missing.

Why Inspect At This Stage

Bringing defects to the attention of the builder at this stage usually means they can be more easily dealt with than at the PCI Stage.

This could mean less delays overall.

Things To Look For

Here are some things you, or your inspector, should be looking at:

  • Doors correctly fitted without sticking and catches and lock operating correctly.
  • Architraves neatly fitted.
  • Window Frames correctly fitted and sealed.
  • Correct glass specification, with safety markings for glass doors
  • Skirting neatly fitted .
  • Correct cabinets fitted with good workmanship.
  • Correct tiles  / splashbacks installed neatly
  • Correct shelves and rails in Wardrobes
  • Ceiling/wall linings and cornices neatly fitted.
  • Electrical switches, light fittings, smoke alarms. and power sockets correctly located.
  • External structures such as pergolas, verandas, decks, and carports constructed with adequate workmanship and the correct materials.
  • Al Fresco / Patio surface finished correctly and draining away from the house
  • Termite protection / Vermin proofing in place.
  • Step heights.
  • Balustrades for balconies and landings securely fixed
  • Anything else that looks wrong!

 

Only Completion Stage to Go!

 

 

How Many Construction Inspections?

Well I do my own inspections, so for my houses they have been at least once week. . . . . but if you are paying $4-500 an inspection for a professional you might want to consider the options below!

Just remember the fewer professional inspections the more you should take an active interest yourself.

Option 1

Five Inspections based on the Standard Progress Payments

  1. Base – Best to inspect before the slab is concreted to check:- The slab is in the right location, plumbing is in the right place, and site is properly drained to avoid the ground becoming waterlogged.
  2. Frame – This is the main structural component of your house. It should be assembled properly and according to the engineering details. The slab can also be checked for problems.
  3. Lock Up – Time to ensure that the outer shell of the house is weatherproof and the brickwork is satisfactory. At this stage check  if pipe work and electrical cabling are in the right places. You may also be able to check if  the insulation is correctly installed.
  4. Fixing  Waterproof membranes in wet areas correctly installed.  Architraves, skirting, doors, baths, basins,  sinks, troughs, wall cabinets, cupboards, bench tops, shelves, properly fixed in correct locations.
  5. Practical Completion (PCI) – The last chance to get mistakes and omissions sorted before Handover.

Option 2

Three Inspections

To save money you could reduce the number of inspections to the following three.

  1. Base – As 1 above.
  2. Pre-Plaster – As the frame is still visible before the plasterboard is installed this becomes a combined Frame, and Lock Up  Inspection.
  3. Practical Completion (PCI) as 5 above. 

Option 3

Some people might only be prepared to pay for one inspection and go for the PCI.

My thoughts would be the Pre-Plaster Inspection would be the one to choose.

This is a chance to pick up any serious structural issues before they are covered up.

The PCI Inspection really is more about picking up finishing quality issues than structural issues.

 

See the PCI Guide for advice and extensive checklists….only $4

 

Delaying Progress Payments


So your builder has just made a claim for a Progress Payment . . . . . but you are not happy with the workmanship, or don’t agree that the Construction Stage is finished.

What can you do?

A lot of people would say “Don’t make the payment!”  but it’s not quite as simple as that!

What The Contract Says

Here are some of the relevant sections from the HIA contract used in my last build.

  • A time limit for payment in days (Schedule 1.7* Will typically range from 7 to 10 days).
  • A rate for penalty interest if the payment is not made by the due date. (Schedule 1.8* Typically minimum of 15% per annum, calculated daily, but can be up to 25%)
  • The Builder has the right to Suspend the Works if not paid. (Clause 35*)

* In your contract documents the numbers may be different but you should find similar sections.

As you can see just not paying the payment could have considerable consequences.

Suggested Action

In my opinion it is better to try and avoid, or minimise, the above consequences.

Also in the event of future legal issues it is also best to be seen to be ‘Reasonable’.

My suggested actions would be to write to the builder (Not phone) as soon as possible stating:

  1. That you do not believe that all the works comprising the stage had been satisfactorily completed.
  2. Why you believe the works had not been completed.
  3. Offering to pay 80-90% of the amount by the due date.

In effect you are only paying for the work that has been satisfactorily completed, rather than the whole claim.

This approach is more likely to maintain a cordial approach to your relationship with the builder while making sure they are aware that they need to ‘Lift their Game’.

 

See Payments for more posts

 

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