There are so many dodgy builds out there. My folks bought a brand new owner/builder duplex a while back (have since moved elsewhere). They had a balcony off their master bedroom. If there was heavy rain and the wind was blowing from a certain direction, water was leaking and settling in the ceiling space below the balcony which was above the garage. Eventually the gyprock rotted of course and the ceiling collapsed. They were just lucky it was above the garage and not the living room etc. They spent a fair bit getting the balcony Re-tiled and waterproofed etc and of course replacing the ceiling but even up to the time they sold it, water was still getting in somewhere...
It's disgusting.
We have a little terrace type of thing, leading to pur backyard (it's a single-storey place), and the gyprock in the ceiling of that outdoor area has already cracked, and is buckling (they didn't even attach it correctly).
I have since patched the crack, but because they never did the gyprocking job properly, it will continue to sag, and crack.
Having worked in a paint shop for almost 10 years, I am aware that 90% of builders are excellent, honest, and hard-working people - but there is a small percentage of people who are just scum.
The builder who built the two duplexes is actually the owner of the property; he agreed to accept a price we offered him, and then changed his mind a week later.
This guy is a bum.
When I politely reached out to him to rectify the faults, he came in one day (while I was at work; he showed up unannounced), and sweet-talked my wife into thinking that the defects were not an issue. She was a bit overwhelmed, and didn't know what to do, so she took his word for it.
I am a little peeved that a house that is under 2 years old has:
* tiles falling off the front verandah
* gyprock sagging, and cracking, on the rear porch
* drainage issues
* skirting boards that are unattaching themselves from the walls in certain spots
* a paint job that was obviously performed with no care (there are bubbles, different sheen levels, and different colours used, all on one wall/door/skirting board)
* a ducted air conditioning system that was not properly installed (which has since been fixed)
I'm not wishing to complain, and I don’t think I'm an unreasonable man.
But the defects that MUST be fixed are the drainage issues, and the sagging/cracking gyprock at the back, and he has dodged us.
I'm worried that I may not be able to take this higher - we have lived in the house for over 12 months (we moved in May 2019).
Things happen, but I'm a bit disappointed that the guy who built the house has dodged us so far.
