Liquidated Damages

Yesterday we received notice of our liquidated damages. Basically, after taking an extra 22 weeks than the contract sign date, they've claimed 3 weeks extension for the 3 weeks until site start, 5 weeks for over Christmas because the contract says they can, even though their workers were back after 2 weeks and another 8 weeks of weather delays. The overall amount was 6 weeks x the rental guarantee of $380 per weeks. They've tried to get out of the additional penalties listed in the contract.

Eight weeks of weather delays is a bit much even though we had some rain. We've asked for a breakdown of which days they are claiming and what trades could not work those days because the contract still states that the "in the reasonable opinion of the builder" work could not be carried out. If the trades involved are plasterers, how can they claim rain delays?

The most ridiculous comment was when they claimed in their letter of damages that we hadn't paid within 5 days of the invoice date. Our first invoices were received on 5th November 2007, with an invoice date of 19th October. The builder has obviously back-dated the invoices.

Have a look back at some of our posts where you can see the progress, considering the brickwork claim was dated 16th November 2007 (brickwork was clearly not complete). The internal linings invoice is dated 21st December 2007 (the roof was still being done and the insulation and electrical hadn't been started).

You are kidding!!

We think the photo says it all - look at the gap between the rangehood and the splashback:


The rangehood has to be a certain distance from the cooktop for safety reasons. However, it looks like the instructions given by the builder to the splashback company weren't so clear (even though the plan was).

Another not-so-good repair was to the laundry window, which needed to be reglazed because the door had the wrong glass in it:

The bottom corner is not straight and the bottom frame piece is bent so much it has split at the nail.

We really are at a loss for words at this point.

Pre-handover inspection completed

We had a pre-handover inspection last week, along with an independent inspection. Most of the faults are minor. Examples include corrosion on some door furniture (requiring replacement), the laundry tub needs to be replaced, some brickwork and roof tile fixes, paint imperfections and so on.

The inspection from Tyrrell's showed up a lot of internal paint imperfections but didn't address any external faults. Our independent inspection report was used to point out things Tyrrells missed plus the external faults.

Here are some photos of some of the faults with sticky notes indicating the area that needs to be rectified:

Paint imperfections and door not sliding correctly


Sideways view of fridge space with leaking water point and a couple of marks on the wall.

Chipped render above the window. This fault was not found by any inspectors.


Tiles not complete. Apparently, this defect was already due to be fixed during a "roof service" EB always do before handover.

Here are some more positive pictures:


Front elevation. The pergola and fascia has been painted Jasper and the render colour (Wattyl Slate) is now complete (though hard to tell with the shade). Our landscaper will be coating the brick piers to the left of the front door and right of the windows in stack stone:

The kitchen with the glass splashback. The far powerpoint still needs to be screwed in (the electrician was probably fishing the cooktop powerpoint just under the bench).


The fireplace - the feature wall colour is Dulux Capsicum Red

Bricks cleaned..but a major issue with the re-bricking

We had a major issue this week because when the bricks were redone at the front of the house, a draw-wire that was installed in the brickwork by our automation contractor (for pulling wires for a video doorbell) was moved away from it's original position and then mortared into the bricks. A draw-wire is useless if it's in the wrong position or you can't pull on the draw-wire because it's buried in mortar!!! The builder may have to pull out a lot of bricks to fix the problem.

The bricks were cleaned this week. The side garage door frame copped a hammering (again) from the acid because the frame had not been protected. The building inspector we hired told them to protect the door before cleaning the bricks but some people don't listen. We've been told the corrosion will be scraped off before they paint, so we'll see.

Have a look at the photo:


The brickwork is mostly good........

....but some of the old faults like bricks overhanging the slab (disguised with lots of mortar)....
....and cracked bricks in certain areas (under alfresco doors)...
Unfortunately, because the builder has tried to re-use the other items around the bricks, we have some other faults, especially with the pergola on the front elevation...
The timber cross beam doesn't reach bricks, there is a gap with the guttering to the bricks and the round moulding is not flush against the bricks....

....and the front board is split at the second bottom nail and chipped at the top.

Our patience is wearing thin with all these issues that just keep continuing to occur. The positive thing is we are making some progress.

Re-bricking pretty much complete

The re-bricking has pretty much completed and the eaves have been lined again. The bricks still need to be cleaned and some render is still required above the front door and around the side of the house. We still believe there are some brick defects (overhanging slab) but overall the brickwork is a lot better than beforehand. Unfortunately, there's quite a bit of damage to the colourbond capping over the bricks that will need to be repaired or replaced.

Here are some photos:

The front elevation has been completed and the timber fascia above the entry has been replaced. The fascia will be painted the same colour as the front door.

The entryway. The rendered brickwork above the doorway has been replaced with face bricks. These bricks will need to be re-rendered and painted.


The alfresco area brickwork is done and the ceiling is pretty much lined, apart from the cornice.


An odd articulation joint. Articulation joints normally line up with the edge of the window. We'll get the inspector to examine this joint.


Damaged render finish on the front facade. The lining is probably covering more damage.


The capping on top of the bricks is all bent. It used to sit almost flush with the brickwork.


From the side, you can see how the capping is bent and doesn't sit straight on top of the bricks.

The kitchen bulkhead has been modified to fit the rangehood. Eden Brae have accepted responsibility for the rangehood when it goes in and the rangehood will be "corniced"around. The hole in the wall on the right will accommodate a touch screen and video door intercom.

Re-bricking continues

Last weekend we took some more photos of the re-bricking. It's coming along slowly. Unfortunately there is dried mortar all over the gas meter, electricity meter box and Telstra phone connection cover. We're hopeful they'll fix these issues without intervention from us.

Unfortunately, the sparky installed some lower power heat/exhaust fans (and hence cheaper) than we specified in the bathrooms. We've reported the "mistake" and are awaiting the result.

Here are some photos of the re-bricking and the kitchen glass splashback that has been installed:

The front of the house protected from the elements with Enviroseal. Good idea considering the weather this week. The fascia board still hasn't been replaced and now has "Dune" roof capping.

The side of the garage up to the side door has been done.

The alfresco area and rumpus room are coming along

We asked for Clipsal 375W heat/fans and these are HPM 275W heat/fans (you can see the HPM logo if you look closely)

The kitchen splashback has been installed. The photo doesn't really do it justice.

Re-bricking has started

Here are some pictures of the re-bricking. The quality looks a lot better than before but you can't tell until it is all finished and cleaned. At least we can't pull the mortar away with a finger.

Rear wall bricking mostly complete apart from the missing bricks towards the bottom and the window sills.



The alfresco area with some of the bricks pulled away. The remaining bricks will be removed soon as well and replaced.



Another wall with enviroseal to protect the insulation, frame and wall lining from the elements


The front of the house looks like it might be worked on next week.

We're not sure why we now have a roof over the porch because we gave written notice of tradesman damage to the front part of the timber fascia and had verbal agreement from the site supervisor and area manager to replace that piece of timber. Oh well, more time means more penalties.