A recent Victorian tribunal decision ordered a builder to pay for the demolition and complete reconstruction of a home after damage caused by slab heave made repairs inadequate. The case highlights the significant risks builders face when soil conditions are not properly assessed and managed before construction begins. Proper soil testing and site preparation are critical to reducing the risk of costly structural defects and disputes.
Can a builder be required to demolish and rebuild a home because of foundation defects?
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Summary
This article examines the Softley v Metricon decision and the risks builders may face when homes are damaged by inadequate soil preparation. It highlights the importance of proper soil sampling and classification before construction to reduce the risk of structural damage and costly remediation.
What does the Softley v Metricon decision mean for home builders?
Home builders around the country are at risk of having to pay hundreds of thousands for houses to get knocked down and rebuilt from scratch. That is the upshot of the recent Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s decision in Softley v Metricon.
What happened in Softley v Metricon?
In that case, the Tribunal ordered the builder, Metricon, to pay for the total demolition and reconstruction of Mr and Mrs Softley’s home in Melton West, Victoria, after finding that damage to their home had been caused by “slab heave”. “Slab heave” occurs when a reactive (and fairly common) kind of clay soil gets wet and expands under the foundation of buildings, putting pressure on the structures built over it and causing them to crack and bow. In the Softley’s case, the damage this caused to their home included large cracks in plasterboards, cornices separating from bowing ceilings and skirting boards coming off.
Why could the decision have wider implications for builders and homeowners?
Softley’s lawyers have heralded this case as “important for others whose homes have been affected by slab heave” The Age, 12 December 2014 but respectfully, we consider this analysis to miss the bigger picture.
How can inadequate soil preparation cause building problems?
HHG Legal Group’s construction law team has seen many cases where various types of soil have reacted in fairly predictable ways because of a failure to treat and prepare it properly before building on it. Instances include, but are by no means limited to, clay expansion in the hills district, erosion of reclaimed land in Bayswater and sandy soil trickling into limestone caves along the northern coastal corridor.
Who is responsible for problems caused by soil conditions?
And whilst the buck stops with the builder, in our experience, the problem often starts with the engineer. In the face of ever-narrowing profit margins in home building and the drive to keep costs down as a result, engineers tend to look for ways to avoid proper soil sampling and classification, to the detriment of both builders and consumers.
Why is proper soil sampling and classification important?
Perhaps the true lesson, then, is that builders and homeowners alike would be wise to invest a little more money in proper soil sampling and classification. Meanwhile, back in Melton West, Metricon is considering an appeal to the Victorian Supreme Court.