Poor Quality Workmanship

It did not take long for the sad reality of the poor, sub-standard workmanship to dawn on us. The disappointment in the build quality and lack of attention to detail was shocking. We had such high hopes for our eco house (see our post How We Got Here). Instead, our eco build was turning out to be an eco build disaster. The poor quality of workmanship was visible in damp and rust, cracks and leaks. From our expectations of excellence to the very sad reality of the end product was a bitter and extremely expensive pill to swallow. See MBA Report for an impartial opinion on the house build.

NHBRC and Shoddy Work

Because the builder failed to enrol the house build with the NHBRC we have no warranties and protection against this poor and shoddy work. The builder is registered with the NHBRC but without enrolment, as required by law, we cannot claim compensation for the many problems in the house. See our post on National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC)

The early problems were just a hint of what was to come. Not only did we have a eco build disaster, we also had Vexatious and Frivolous Litigation.

A quote by the American motivational speaker William Arthur Ward: “The cost of mediocrity is disappointment” and utter disappointment is exactly what we felt.

It is surprising that the builder obtained an Electrical Compliance certificate when the kitchen tap is so close to an electric socket.

Banter in the Early Days

We have a WhatsApp conversation with the developer of 304 pages! That’s a lot of good humoured banter! The conversation includes photos but still it’s lots of chatter. Good humour soon changed to frustration when the snag list continued to grow and the developer became defensive. The builder took no responsibility for the numerous problems in this eco build disaster and certainly he has never acknowledged the poor workmanship. It was as if the builder lost interest and then had no intention fixing any problems properly and permanently. It is highly probable that the builder does not have the ability to build or fix an eco house.

Sadly, many snags that were “fixed” appeared again at a later stage. Some snags have reappeared numerous times. The builder never looked for the source of a problem – it seemed a quick cover-up was meant to suffice.

Cellar Debacle

Since day one the cellar has been an absolute disaster. Damp appeared almost immediately after the house was so-called “complete”.

For damp proofing, the architect specified a torch-on method on the positive side of the cellar retainer wall. We believed the architect was on site ensuring the house was built according to the approved building plans. But that was never part of his contract: his involvement ended at submitting the plans to the municipality for approval. Unfortunately with damp proofing the builder found his own method. He used an Australian spray on product on the negative side of the wall contrary to the architect’s specifications. We have no idea whether this product is SABS approved or not.

As with most cellars there ought to be an agricultural drain to relieve water pressure from the retainer wall. The engineer specified an agricultural drain as can be seen below in the diagram “The Engineer’s Retainer Wall Detail”. We know that he never saw the drain and yet he signed it off but what we don’t know is if the agricultural drain was ever installed. Installed or not, it did not work, neither did the spray-on damp proof.

For further information on cellar damp proofing read this article by SBS Cellar Retaining Walls

Derbigum is a wellknown name in damp proofing. Their site describes Underground Tanking.

The Engineer’s Retainer Wall Detail

Rust Around the House

More Disappointment in this Eco Build Disaster

Remedial Works July 2020

The developer and builder paid no attention to the court order of 23 June 2020. Their plea for a further 7 weeks to work in the house was dismissed. But they spent the next 4 weeks doing what they wanted in the house. At no time did they tell us what they were doing to our house nor did they discuss any of the remedial works with us. Unbelievably, our legal team recommended that we leave them to work. We could not be seen to be obstructive. If courts are that fickle then what justice is there? The builder could do what he wanted without ever consulting us and yet we would be considered obstructive to ask questions! We could not even have someone on site to quality control the builder’s work.

After 4 weeks the developer requested a further occupation inspection. Again they failed to get the certificate, mainly because of the ceiling heights in the upstairs rooms. 

Damp and Cracks

After Remedial Works – Even more Shoddy Workmanship

Conclusion

It is hard to believe that after more than 5 years our house lies abandoned. The first house built on the eco estate is an empty shell that has no an occupation certificate. It is no shining example of excellence. Instead, the damp, cracks, leaks, etc are a continuous reminder of the poor quality of workmanship metered out by the developer’s builder. As can be seen from our landing page On Rocky Ground our journey has been far from a happy one. 

That is the sad reality of what this builder and developer have created.