HELP! Water penetration from courtyard into living area

[JiMb0]

Well as the title states I really need some help in regards to continuing moisture damage which is evident to both floor & side wall areas at the rear of an IP.

Bit of a sticky one as it's a unit in a strata building which I purchased from the developer. Currently there is a big legal battle going on as the units should all have HOW / HWI certificates but don't (residential building that is no greater than three storys, etc). Basically on completion the builder and developer went into liquidation and the only person still standing is the private certifyer so the body corporate is going after them.

The problem I have is that due to defective building / materials on common property, my unit (and others) are suffering greatly. From what I can tell this issue is certainyl to do with common property and should fall under Section 62 of the Strata Schemes Management Act but nothing is being done. Whilst the body corporate has a good case against the private certifyer, they're holding off on any repairs as they state that if items are repaired it would be hard to prove if they were defective originally or if they have been damaged after the fact.

I'm at the point where I just need to get it fixed ....

On first inspection my assumption was that water appeared to be entering at the joint under the sill. I attempted to remedy this by applying silicone caulking the entire length of the joint under the sill as there was a visible gap between which did not appear weather-tight.

Unfortunately as the problem persisted, I have now removed a section of the rotting floating solid timber floor boards to get to the root of the problem and it would appear there is a complete lack of waterproofing measures carried out to stop water entering between outside tiles and door sill to ensure sill is weather-tight. Not only this, but the slab actually stops a good 3" (three inches) away from the inner edge of the door sill, so from the end of the slab, under the sill to the tiles is merely a combination of very wet sand / dirt with a very thin rough layer of concrete on top in some sections. I believe this is allowing water to easily permeate under the courtyard tiling and into the unit, possibly from even as far as the garden box in the courtyard as there would seem to be no moisture barrier whatsoever.

Any ideas? Photos below which show the problem described above -

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[The Fence]

Clearly this is evidence of shoddy building and the builder needs to fix or warranty insurance then need be pursued.....that is so bad......

 

[JiMb0]

Indeed it's not good As mentioned the Home Owners Warranty / Home Warranty Insurance was never applied for / gained / provided as whichever authority was responsible (certifier?) believed it wasn't applicable. On completion the builder and developer went into liquidation, shut down the companies and started up new ones like every dodgy builder out there

From what I understand the principal certifying authority should not have issued an occupation certificate for the completed building work without the home warranty insurance certificate, but they did. This is why there is a legal battle going after the private certifier.

HWI was in the contracts when the units were sold off the plan, however the HWI certificates were never issued / provided.

 

[Ausprop]

nor should they have issued a building licence without indemnity in place. this story sounds incredible - a series of blunders from woe to go.

 

[battle on]

What a disgrace!!

It's about time laws were brought in to stop people like this from ever starting up a business again.

But what to do....

1) Just leave it and hope the issues are sorted quickly...not good for you

2) Try to stop the moisture getting in somehow until the issues are sorted....still not good but could be possible.

3) Take plenty of photos and documented evidence, get it fixed and hope you can claim costs back later.... might be the quickest fix but you may be out of pocket.

It looks like you will have to dig all that loose crap out (support the door frame) and get things nice and cleen and use bondcrete on the edges (maybe even some reo) then pour some more cement (8" thick if possible) in so it comes out past the door. You will probably need some drainage trenches somewhere as well.

I hope things get sorted for you quickly.

cheers

 

[JiMb0]

Yup, prolly best just to go with option #3 and get on with life I think like you say battle_on, clean out all the junk, waterproof with Bond/Pondcrete or Ardex WPM-001 etc, pour in cement / concrete and see how we go.

I wonder about damages for lost rent as I can't rent the place out in it's current condition. My plan was only to be there 6 months for FHOG and then rent out, however it's now been 1.5 years and they're well aware of the waterproofing (lack there of) problems throughout the unit complex and still nothing has been done which is why I've taken it into my own hands to find out what was going on underneath the floorboards.

I just spoke to them again today only to find out there will be a meeting soon to discuss the current legal case but it's always like this. There's never any result. Would be nice to hear "we're going to document everything, fix it up to stop further damage / liability and whatever happens with the legal case happens". In my mind the ongoing legal case could take years and shouldn't stop work taking place to rectify the problems.

I've paid $16k in "special levies" alone in the last fin year and yet to see anything be done, and this is is a 35 Unit complex.

Perhaps we need new managers as these guys are pathetic. Some vandals set fire to our communal garbage room a month ago and whilst I understand this will be repaired under insurance and quotes need to be obtained / work carried out, etc, the building manager still hasn't arranged for new bins to replace those destroyed in the fire so the little bins left fill quickly and garbage is just being placed on the floor. Ridiculous as when I spoke to them today they said they would make a call to council which in my mind says they hadn't done anything about the bins to date .... what do we pay them management fees for again?

 

[craigb]

their was a report on this from the Master Builders *** notes and as more people were wanting to be able to walk through to the outside areas without a step this "as picture" was the results, the building at the time was legal, although the changes are in place for the mandetory step, to prevent this happening, talk to the MBA or the HIA and show them the photo's and see what the new follow up procedures are, talk to one of the managers not just the phone ansering service, they will help you , they may also put pressure on the builder to rectify the problem. good luck!

 

[brickbuybrick]

Hey buddy. i contract to an insurance company. Recently went through a unit block and repaired 4 aluminium sliding doors with the same issues as what you have there. This block's strata took forever to finalise and they ended up paying a special levy to repair.

Theres no alcor (thin tin non porous) under the door. It should turn up at each corner and internally above the slab. this acts so that any water that tracks under the door will not have a porous substrate to absorb into the slab. The tiles should have a fall on them as well.

The sliding doors need to be taken out, new alcor installed. More than likely some gyprock will need to be removed and replaced. To get sliding door unit out.

Takes about a week. Carpenters, gyprockers, painters, maybe tilers, (or in this company's case just load it all on two chippies. thanks boss)

Generally insurance work is done by larger companies and they like to make alot of money so its not usually cheap. (hope you can prove me wrong)

If i can offer some solace it happens alot.

Hope it works out for you.

 

[yadreamin]

jimbo
STOP paying those managers and even the BCfees if your managers cannot ring the council to arrange new bins which you pay for in your rates then tell the buggars to go jump. Do you know that as a rate payer you can ring and arrange a new bin?
I know the bins is just a small issue in the big picture but just stop paying. You do seem to have a botomless pit thats not even waterproof.
Jeez l reckon you must have a serious sinking feeling going on
good luck on getting a good clear outcome sooooooooon
cheers
yadreamin

 

[BUNDY]

I'd find out who the engineer was as well. Check the original certified engineers drawings. People are insane to build the same internal and external levels in a house and rely on flashing/waterproofing to keep water/rain out. Too many problems can occur. (incorrectly installed flashing, crack or break in the waterproofing, building movement/settling in etc etc).

I agree, take heaps of photos and even get an independent engineer to do a report on it. Then get it fixed ASAP as it will only lead to more dramas and damage the longer it persists. Then at least you can stop worrying about it.

Bundy

 

[thebuildingsurv]

If the builder was the owner HWI may not have been required. Did your solictor not check to see if it formed part of your contract. In the above case the builder will get it when the buildings are put up for sale

 

[Zeddy]

This may actually be a more serious problem than just waterproofing. I can't see from the photographs, but where is the slab ending? If the internal wall skin isn't located over the slab, that would mean that the load bearing skin is not supported by the footing - bad news!

I'd find out who the engineer was as well. Check the original certified engineers drawings. People are insane to build the same internal and external levels in a house and rely on flashing/waterproofing to keep water/rain out. Too many problems can occur. (incorrectly installed flashing, crack or break in the waterproofing, building movement/settling in etc etc).

From the photographs, the external level does not appear to be the same level as the interior. In the last photograph, there is a step down at the edge.

However, given that the door frame is sitting on soil, the question that begs to be asked is what are those tiles attached to?