Wellington: Master Builders?

[Swoop]

My place was designed by an award winning architect...

Oh dear.....

Architects simply build monuments to themselves.

[Skunk]

This is my current after hours job. Fixing a shit job add-on from the mid 80's. No eaves, internal gutter etc.

More pics here

[Finn]

Architects simply build monuments to themselves.

Ayn Rand fan are we?

[The Stranger:Me]

well im a member of a similar trade assn and i also had a neighbour who worked for bro repairs fixing flat tyres who sold his house and bought a McKoullogh kitset and built it himself next thing i know he is a builder and a couple of years later he is a member of the master bldrs assn and advertising as a Registered Master Bldr, so either they have changed their critera or your wrong also i have been in the building industry since 1975 . you have to have done a apprentiship and be a qualified carpenter to be a member of Certified Builders

Define qualified. My understanding is you need only be an indentured tradesman to become a certified builder. You need not have any qualifications other than time served. Not that hard really to stick out 4 years and bingo, you are able to become a certified builder. A good half (or more) of the guys I served my time with I wouldn't let near my place.

Master builders federation regularly find those advertising that they are Master Builders when they aren't and this is taken very seriously. Obviously it is impossible for me to comment on the case to which you refer as you are privy to the detail and I am not, but by all means take it up with the Master Builders Federation.

I am sure that if the Certified Builders logo becomes recognisable or carries any weight in the industry at any stage they will have the same issues to deal with too.

So you have been in the building industry since 1975. Well you beat me by 3yrs, but please do explain how this has any baring on the matter at hand.

[Hitcher]

Oh good grief.

A simple inquiry about builders who may be able to do a bit of deck construction has degenerated into a war of words between rival building trade associations and which one of these may or may not hold the moral high ground; the adequacy or not of building trade 'qualifications" or the value of time-based apprenticeships. Most people have probably had good, bad and indifferent experiences with tradespeople and other "professionals" over their lives and make recommendations accordingly.

XP@ wanted recommendations. Some of us have given him some.

I don't particularly care whether this should be morticed or butt-jointed and, as we are occasionally reminded with a particularly offensive photographic image, arguing on the Internet is ultimately futile, especially with those whose foundations run deep.

[XP@]

XP@ wanted recommendations. Some of us have given him some.

Ah, don't worry, I have 4 kids, so I can ignore a lot of cr4p.

Some good recommendations would be good though, in my experience you have to call about 10 tradesmen to get one to even look at a job.

As for Master builders, I didn't know there was more than one association, but basically I don't want a cowboy. Better still would be knowing the money i pay would go towards something i also like eg a bike, even though it belongs to someone else. (there are too many builders driving around in V8 utes, this is not good, cos bikes seem to be invisible to them)

So I am still up for ideas, or if anyone has the skills to quote for about $30k of work....

Or if you are a Quantity Surveyor then I could use your skills instead. In fact at this stage a QS may be more use to me.

[badlieutenant]

In regards to finding a good builder, ph around and ask to see examples of previous work. My old employer keep photos and names of all work and clients and encouraged possible clients to contact any of them to see what they thought of his work. At that time he had been building for 26 years and never advertised.
Ive seen inspectors walk on site have a glance around and bugger off. At least thats how it was a couple of years ago. Nowadays they are super fussy
which I dont mind but having to book a week in advance can be a pain when they have to come on site alot more now.

As a builder I'll never touch another stucco house again. They will fail (IMHO) cracking been a major issue, capillary action of water is as good as sticking a hose in your wall, Ive helped repair multi story multi million dollar buildings that after four years have converted 300mm/45mm studs at 400mm centers into what looked like charcol. The only thing holding up this 4 story external wall (that was also a fire exit) was the stucco, a bit of irony there

As i have just found out its a good idea to have penetrations in the building envelope that are covered by the E2 guide. If it isnt refered to in the acceptable solutions guide it can be a bit of a nightmare.

last I heard by 2009 alot of the work done on a house will have to be done by a registered practioner, which I assume is a certified builder, not master builder or master trade. No more DIY swap the old windows for new french doors lark.

[The Stranger:Me]

last I heard by 2009 alot of the work done on a house will have to be done by a registered practioner, which I assume is a certified builder, not master builder or master trade. No more DIY swap the old windows for new french doors lark.

It is an arse covering exercise as they found out this time there was no one to foot the bill.

The term certified builder usually is used to refer to these guys.

The certification for work as you describe however is not issued by these folk and anyone can subject to various checks and conditions (and insurance) become certified.

So Master Builders, Certified Builders or those not belonging to any trade association can become certified to carry out the work.

The DIY guys will still in theory be able to do there stuff, however they will need to have someone with arse cover check it off and accept responsibility for it - for a fee. Much as you can do a lot of your own electrical work now and have it checked off by a registered sparky.

That said, all of the above is subject to change without notice.

[SPman]

Or if you are a Quantity Surveyor then I could use your skills instead. In fact at this stage a QS may be more use to me.

How about both? A QS / builder (qualified and experienced in both - large meandering decks a speciality)

Bugger - wrong country these days!

Registration of builders - ie arse covering acts by the authorities, will become voluntary in Nov 07 (if they've finally decided how) and compulsory by Nov 09. - all structural or envelope / cladding related work will have to be signed off, by a registered builder.

[XP@]

Even if you do all you should then you can win them all...

http://picasaweb.google.com/ExPatty/DeckShared
this is only a small portion of the abortion that has been made of our deck...

No I can't say who, legal issues and all that.

[badlieutenant]

eeeeww. was it an existing deck that got butynol placed later ? just a guess as I would have thought you use marine grade ply.
is that a flashing wiv all da nails and brackets planted thru ?

[Brett]

Masterbuilder Guarantee does not mean a single thing. It is a marketing gimmick and nothing more. Certified Builders is similar, except that they actually monitor your company and insist that to hold the licence, that at least on ebuilder in the company is registered...

At the end of the day, reputation is what counts. I really feel for those poor sods who have leaky buildings...frustrating situation to be in. And that folks is why you DO NOT build a house using a monolithic cladding or especially plastered polystyrene as a cladding. No matter how many flashing and control joints you put in them and the plaster, the buggers can find a way to leak. I am about to build my place, and it will be brick and tile/long run all the way baby...

[SPman]

Strangely enough, despite all the hype about them, from my observation around Auckland, the "chilly bin houses" hold up far better than the Hardietex abortions. If the surface cracks and water gets in, its got 40mm of poly to get through before it reaches the timber. Most of the trouble with the poly (like all the rest) is flashing details and ground clearance issues.