I am enquiring about available courses of action withI am enquiring about available courses of action with respect to the following scenario. We are manufacturers & suppliers of Concrete Stumps to the domestic house building industry. In December last year, we supplied approx. $ 850 of Concrete Stumps to a Timber Merchant, who the on-supplied them to a Building Contractor.. The contractor used them in construction of a house in rural Victoria. After installing the stumps and the sub-floor structure in about February this year, they were inspected by the responsible authority and passed the inspection, enabling the contractor to proceed then with the framing of the house, which he has done. However, in late June'21, we received an email from the Timber Merchant advising that close on 50% of the stumps had cracked and needed to be replaced. We inspected the site with the builder, and took one of the stumps for testing. Subsequent testing has shown that the stumps met & exceeded the specification set down by the relevant Australian Standards. We are of the opinion that something has exerted a sideways or uplift force on the unprotected structure to cause such damage 5 months after installation & inspection. A check of weather events in the area reveal that the area had an extreme weather event (wind) in June this year, which may have caused or contributed to the cracking of the stumps. In any event, the building contractor is now pursuing us to make good the damage at our expense, claiming the stumps supplied were 'clearly defective and not fit for purpose'. Can you please advise our best course of action in this claim against us, esp. in view of containing costs etc. The various options we see at this stage are (1) Fight it thru legal avenues. (2) Contractor could claim on his builders insurance, or (3) we could forward the claim to our insurance company under our Products Liability policy. We would appreciate your advice. Regards, ***** ********… read more
John Melis
Lawyer
Bachelor's Degree
31,751 satisfied customers
The house we bought 2 years ago has a sleeper wall and chainThe house we bought 2 years ago has a sleeper wall and chain wire fence on one side which is failing quite badly . the neighbours don,t want to take any responsibility . it is also very unsightly as t… read more
John Melis
Lawyer
Bachelor's Degree
31,751 satisfied customers
We live in NSW. Our neighbours fence is built [by survey]Second opinion] Peter we live in NSW. Our neighbours fence is built [by survey] within their own property boundary by mm's, but still within their own property boundary. Our last Termite inspection id… read more
John Melis
Lawyer
Bachelor's Degree
31,751 satisfied customers
Does timber used for decking in Australia have to beDoes timber used for decking in Australia have to be Australian Standard. I am wondering as there are new products on the market such as Thermally modified American Oak being sold by local suppliers a… read more
John Melis
Lawyer
Bachelor's Degree
31,751 satisfied customers
L, Below is the email I sent to QBCC tonight. I hope itl,Below is the email I sent to QBCC tonight. I hope it reads okay.MexxxxxDear Sir or Ma'am,The purpose of this email is to seek guidance over an issue we are having with our pest installer and their refusal to honour their warranty despite written guarantee on company paraphernalia given to us at handover. We have paid for the recommended annual inspections to be carried out since our house was new. Our house was built in 2009. We have communicated regularly with the installer, Termicide to rectify the termite infestation, however they refuse to honour their warranty which, in their correspondence, states: covers 12 years from time of installation. The saga is as follows:On 04th March 2017, Termicide attended our property to carry out the annual warranty inspection where active termites were discovered. Termicide's inspector, Rick, treated the area with a pesticide to eliminate them and advised at the time that the termites had ingressed our home via a crack in the footpath running along the back of our home. Upon closer investigation we found no evidence to support that statement. He also stated that the damage he uncovered was about the extent of the termites' incursion into our home. We found that statement to be wrong. After the termite barrier had been installed we engaged the services of a builder to repair the damage originally highlighted by your staff, however upon removing the linen cupboard and gyprock wall we discovered the damage was greater than was originally thought.It was the first visit on 04th March we were informed by Termicide we were not covered by their warranty. We were surprised to find this out considering we have kept up with, and paid for our warranty inspections since the house was constructed. On the 18th of March 2017 a follow-up inspection to gauge the effectiveness of the chemical was carried out by Termicide. Rick determined the termites to be eliminated and a more permanent solution to prevent further infestation was discussed along with methods of payment. A quote was sent via email where we elected to have the entire house treated by way of chemical barrier.On Monday, 29th and Tuesday, 3th of May 2017 a chemical barrier was installed at the cost to us of approximately $6,500.00. We have paid the invoice in full. This is despite the letter to us, dated 6 January 2010, stating in paragraph two the following:“Termicide also warrants your home against infestation for twelve years. This warranty guarantees that should termites breach the barrier and enter your home, Termicide undertakes to remove, repair and reinstate any structural damage at no cost you yourselves. The only proviso we have is that you undertake to have a (sic) annual warranty callout to comply with Australian Standards 3660.1 carried out by a member of our fully trained staff.”Australian Standards 3660.1 states the following:“The Purpose of termite barriers is to deter concealed entry by termites into a building, above the termite barrier. Termites can build around barriers but their workings or evidence thereof are then in the open where they may be detected more regularly”.At no stage has evidence of termite workings been detected either by members of Termicide staff or my Family, only the visible damage found in the roof where further investigation was warranted, in March.By being told termites ingressed our home via a crack in the footpath outside the house means they still breached the Termiglass and/or the slab which is meant to be protected by Frizbee Collars. Either way the termites breached Termicide's product and made their way into our home. Apart from the annual inspections carried out by Termicide, we are always on the lookout for infestations such as this in addition to ants, lawn grub and other pests. My father-in-law, who lives with us, and who has been in the building industry for 50 years, is a creature of habit and has done a regular walkaround of the house since we moved in … read more
John Melis
Lawyer
Bachelor's Degree
31,751 satisfied customers
We signed a contract of sale on 25.11.15 we have neverWe signed a contract of sale on 25.11.15 we have never received access for a pest inspection which out contract was conditional upon until 18.12.15 (proof e-mails) asking for access from 25.11.15 whic… read more
James D. Ford
Solicitor
1,600 satisfied customers
My neighbour and I have agreed to split costs of a common fenceMy neighbour and I have agreed to split costs of a common fence and retaining wall.On closer inspection the contractor has discovered an electrical line running under the fence on the neighbours side … read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
We are a seller and have a signed contract on our home (REIQWe are a seller and have a signed contract on our home (REIQ Contract for Houses and Residential Land EF001 Ninth Edition) dated 9th November 2013. On Page 2 of 12 under "Finance Date" and "Building a… read more
Brisbane-Lawyer
Lawyer & Solicitor
Master
14,357 satisfied customers
I need information about a notice of waiver We are buying aI need information about a notice of waiver We are buying a property. In the contract it states a deposit of 15k of which 5k is paid now and 10k to be paid within 18 days of acceptance. One condition … read more
kmslaw
Special Counsel
Bachelor's Degree
215 satisfied customers
Do I have any case against a company who provides protectionDo I have any case against a company who provides protection against termites and the protection fails. The company undertakes monthly checks of their system. In March 2013 we found our garage was inf… read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
I bought a house in May 2011 had termite inspection done &I bought a house in May 2011 had termite inspection done & also got a copy of a pest inspection report from the vendors dated March 2011. (Extensive termite damage found in April 2012) I imediatly had… read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
Hi, My husband and I puchased a house that was in the handsHi, My husband and I puchased a house that was in the hands of the Sherriff's Office due to the fact that the prior owner owed a lot of money to various builders and renovators. He then took it upon h… read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
At a time when I was under going surgery, and my husband wasAt a time when I was under going surgery, and my husband was working from home we made a very bad judgement call and paid in good faith the full amount for a low brick wall and some landscape gardenin… read more
Patrick H.
Lawyer
5,422 satisfied customers
Seeking answer from Lawyer with Knowledge of Master BuildersSeeking answer from Lawyer with Knowledge of Master Builders Association of Victoria new Homes contract regarding Public Liability clauses it contains. The Builder is required by the contract to put i… read more
Peter G.
Solicitor
Bachelor's Degree
767 satisfied customers
HI, We recently sold a property we had built 18months earlier,HI, We recently sold a property we had built 18months earlier, on settlement the buyers asked to with hold 20k in their solicitors trust fund due to the fact the rear timber retaining wall had failed.… read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
We have recently purchased a property in NSW with settlementWe have recently purchased a property in NSW with settlement being on the 4th May. We have had a pest inspection which has said that there are no termites. We have moved into the place already as part… read more
Leon
Solicitor
Master's Degree
33,424 satisfied customers
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