Long story short, he picked up a few things and not surprisingly the waterproofing was not to building codes. The alternative method used by M is allowable if it's in the contract and we signed off on that approach. It wasn't and we didn't. End result is the waterproofers had to come back and waterproof the entire floor area of the upstairs bathrooms including toilet area with retainers added and to make some changes to the balcony area to comply. Our inspector has had this discussion with M in the past hence his preferred timing of inspection. Thanks to all the readers of this blog that commented to my earlier waterproof Q'n some weeks back - check here for previous post.
To M's credit, they did it without fuss. M also arranged for the downstairs toilet waste point to be corrected as well - some 3.5 months after our inspector queried the position and angle of the first approach at his first visit. It taken awhile but M finally got it right.
The independent inspector was in the area so he dropped in to ensure all works were carried out correctly and he stated it was one of the better waterproofing jobs he has seen M do. Extremely happy with that comment - imagine the comment if it had been done that way the first time around.
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| Revised waterproofing to upstairs ensuite incl toilet area |
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| Upstairs ensuite incl's small metal retaining strip at entry (diff to see in pic) |
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| Balcony area corrected - waterproofing running up 100mm on all edges incl under door seal |
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| Tiles ready and waiting... |
Last week also included the flooring guys coming out to ensure the slab is perfectly flat ahead of the floorboards going down (a couple of weeks off) and a chippie back to ensure upstairs is perfectly flat for carpets (also a couple of weeks off).
This week is all about tiles.
Cam
I've been told blue waterproofing is inferior to the black stuff they usually use. M must be going cheap.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Jay Jay, although the independent inspector was very happy with the work and he is a waterproofing specialist!?
ReplyDeleteGlad you got the waterproofing sorted. Bring on the tiles!!
ReplyDeleteSo glad the waterproofing has now been done properly. Phew!
ReplyDeleteB
Hi Cam and Kirsten, Firstly, thank you for sharing your experience! It has been most helpful for us! I am also building a double story with M. After reading your post, I'd asked our SS about the waterproofing and he said that M only does the shower base and not the whole bathroom floor. He does recommend that we do the whole floor and just pay a bit extra directly to the tradie. I'm contemplating getting an independent inspector. Do you recommend yours? How much did it cost? We are building in Melb east.
ReplyDeleteHi ML,
ReplyDeleteSorry to take so long to get back to you. With regards to waterproofing, it is our belief that the building code stands (ie, all floors must be waterproofed on second floor wet areas) if there is no actual reference to only waterproofing the shower and bath in your contract.
The standard inclusions in the contract from M make absolutely no reference to altering the waterproofing areas from what the building code says. You should check through your own contract and bring this all to the attention of your SS & CM.
With that in mind, we thought that using an independent inspector was worthwhile as M didn't question what he said about the waterproofing even though Cam had mentioned it to them before and even looked up the building regs.
We have no hesitation in recommending Rob Simpson from 'Building Check pty ltd' - 9817 2234 - his business operated from Kew. He is very technical and we were very happy with both his reports and it was reasonably priced. We believe his business partner is excellent re handover queries as she has a eye for imperfections.
Hope this helps.
Kirst
Thank you Kirst!! I'll double check our contract tonight and I'll give Building Check a call tomorrow!!
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