I am wondering if i should tell the builder exactly what to do here?
What if i said take out the grey bricks, and they do, and in the end the facade still looks sh1t?
I think as client I should inspect(judge) but not supervise (supervision means Im taking responsibility of the outcome).
The manager has asked me to meet with the supervisor and tell him what I want him to do. But looking at that brick quality, it is really quite disappointing. What if I ask them to fix and then later can;t claim compensation from them for the poor brick quality?
I have typed up a letter to the manager, but I havent emailed it:
________________________________________
(name),
I think it is unnecessary that I meet him onsite. There is nothing much I can do, but to tell him the facade and mix looks like a bad mistake for a facebrick wall. Seriously, you and him don't think the facade looks poor quality from the pics I took? I do not really know exactly how to fix this to make it right, the Builder and tradesmen are the professional. All I can say is whether the quality is acceptable. In my opinion, the bricks look really bad, and may even need a render finish in the end if the remedial job still can't improve it.
(name), we are in a position where I may even go into a dispute with the Builder, so i cannot tell you exactly what to do. The Builder is the professional. I am the customer, all I can say in the end is "good job, the facade looks great", or "I am not going to accept this, eventhough I dont know exactly how to fix this.Please compensate me or render for free or fix."
but here's my opinion where I think your bricklayers have gone wrong:
Basically with less than 10% greyish brick, it is impossible to make a composition or a presentable pattern for the front facade. The proportion of grey bricks put on the facade compared to reds, will only make certain spots look like mistakes (or a case of "ran out of similar bricks" or a patch up job). For this facade, "similar bricks"= red(>90%). "Odd ones out" = grey(<10%). Hence, take out all the greyish ash bricks from the front facade. We cannot have a 90% plain facade, and then try to slip in a few dark ones, and not to have it look like someone made a mistake. Furthermore the grey bricks quality are really bad.
Unless he wants to reorder a new better presentable batch from Austral to redo the facade?
I am even considering the option of rendering the whole front facade if it still looks unpresentable in the end.
Has Austral responded, and if they are giving any compensation for such poor grade/batch?