Looking Good – Long Ago

In 2017 we could never have guessed the extent of shoddy workmanship in our house. This photo diary shows the almost-complete house. Superficially the house was looking good but it did not have good bones and it did not stay good for long.

Our eco house was to have been our forever home, eco and kind to the earth with double glazing, insulation and solar power. The eco pool frog-friendly and free of chemicals. And with the extra windows we installed there is natural light in abundance. But this dream has been shattered by an incompetent builder and a vexatious, litigious developer. The builder just does not accept responsibility for his shoddy workmanship.

Read our post on The Sad Reality and also Winter Blues to see how the house deteriorated in winter 2021. The leaking garage a fitting testimony to a cowboy builder.

The Cellar

Late 2017 soon after the house was “finished” there was evidence of water ingress in the cellar. A reputable company was called in to sort out the (builder’s) mess. 

In February 2018 the waterproofing experts came in, drilled lots of holes and pressure pumped their chemicals into the wall. These chemicals could save the Gautrain tunnel and fix mines but no matter how many attempts were made in this cellar it did not work.

It seemed there was honeycombing in the concrete in the walls. As much as the waterproofers chased the leaks, they simply could not stop the water ingress.

The builder blames the waterproofers for the cellar problems. He doesn’t realise he caused the problems in the first place.

In fact, the builder never built the cellar to the engineer’s specifications. And, unfortunately the engineer signed off the cellar drain without actually seeing it and knowing it was not ideal.

The cellar got worse and worse until there was 500-600mm water standing. It was emptied and it refilled again.

As the waterproofers worked on the cellar it became evident that the problem was far larger than originally thought.

The waterproofers told the builder to remove all internal walls. He refused for months and eventually removed all walls to a height of about 1m.

During this remedial work the builder would not tell us anything of what they were doing and we were advised by our attorney to let them continue working as we should not be seen to be obstructive.

Shoddy Workmanship Around the House