What could go wrong? – Building Mistakes

Following are things that can & often do go wrong without a Resiplan

It’s not uncommon to see photos of building mistakes featured in the news, very often labelled as being “funny”, but we can tell you that the owners of those buildings where the mistakes were made rarely ever share in the humour.

Usually what precludes them from seeing the funny side of things is that it's always costly to rectify the situation, if it can be rectified at all, and usually an argument over who will foot the bill.

The home pictured below is a case in point. It perhaps could have been mirror reversed on this site to enable unobstructed vehicle access but somehow that got overlooked. At least their driveway will be well lit.

"I just built what was approved..."  [Builder].

We’re not talking about poor quality workmanship here. However it's not uncommon that the builder gets the blame for the mistakes for simply building 'what's in the approved plans'. Not always, but invariably, these mistakes can be traced back to poor design and a lack of proper planning. If the builder has also taken on that role then the buck stops with him.

Beware Horizontal Hazards Above & Below

And it's not always things that are in plain sight that can cause problems. The obstruction may be above, such as in the photo below, necessitating adequate clearance above, though it is often below such as underground electricity or telephone cables. It's also not uncommon for sewerage pipes and water supply pipes to be placed very close to front boundaries which can become problematic if you need to excavate.

Many of these building mistakes relate to stairs or access ramps which are things that rely on accurate base levels information. Others, like poor drainage happen because insufficient detail or no detail at all of what surrounds the site is captured. A Resiplan will capture this sort of information.

Stormwater Drainage:

Drainage has to be one of the easier tasks that invariably gets completed poorly, or missed out all together. It’s not rocket science – you must allow for rainwater! You’ve probably seen it, where rainwater is left to discharge onto the ground or some place where it's expected that it will run uphill – this is a big ‘no-no’ as it always leads to problems. Water does not run uphill [der]!

It's a problem that is frequently seen when homes have been lifted to build underneath with a view to providing extra living space. Even if it's only for storage nobody wants their precious possessions to become sodden every time it rains. If this isn’t addressed at the designing and planning stage and your builder doesn't identify that there's a problem, it’s usually a huge & costly problem to rectify down the track. This is where a Resiplan becomes invaluable as it will identify site levels clearly enabling these sorts of potential issues to be designed away.

Site Levels:

Speaking of site levels, as we mentioned earlier, many of these building mistakes relate to stairs or access ramps which are things that rely on accurate base site levels information. This can also lead to problems with floor heights especially with extensions to existing homes. The amount of different ways builders can botch new floor heights is remarkable… an example would be where the new floor is a step UP from the main house because the builder didn’t drop the ground level by a fraction more.

One would hope that most mistakes miscalculating the floor height of additions wouldn't be as bad as the one shown above, and in our experience they are not, but it does illustrate the point. What we do know is that even small floor height variations can become a real annoyance as many a stubbed toe will testify.

And it's not just inside, but outside too as can be seen in the photo below

Encroachment:

Here’s a word that both builders and homeowners alike are unfamiliar with – until they experience it - and we can tell you now that it can lead to a battle but it's not a battle you want to be engaged in!

Encroachment happens when you build over a boundary line – that is, onto someone else’s property. And it's not always restricted to ‘physical ground’, but can include pipes, gutters, retaining walls and so on.

In the majority of cases the builder carries out the encroachment in pure ignorance –  because it hadn't been clearly identified in the plans leaving you with a nasty bill to put right, or legal fees should your neighbours decide to sue. A Resiplan upfront would enable this issue, and the other issues we've mentioned, to be avoided.

The finished product will only be as good as the initial design. And the initial design is only as good as the accuracy and availability of accurate base information. That's the starting point!

Take your time when planning and get it right. Poor design or altering the plan after the project is under way will cost more as will delays in construction.

Featured below are more photos that illustrate the types of building mistakes we've discussed above.

Privacy - What's next Door?

Finally  - Privacy is a worthwhile consideration that's not just limited to high-rise apartments when building or extending or even building a Granny Flat. Try not to upset the neighbours, it can become troublesome!