Sure brightens your day to get that call from a builder! But it might make y’all feel good by comparison, like your burdens aren’t as heavy.
New project. Shell builder travels to site. I had carefully sited the house according to the survey and the setbacks. Local GC (who is excavator also) was to have the site cleared and leveled and gravel spread to within 2″ of level.
Here’s what the shell builder found. The GC had arbitrarily picked a different place on the lot to place the house. He had cleared it. It wasn’t very level. And there were a coupla loads of gravel partially spread. So the shell builder had to sit on his thumbs (crew also) while they tracked down the GC and got him to the site and working to level everything. Then THEY had to order more gravel be/c the GC didn’t have an account, or money, or a credit card available.
While waiting, they checked out the new location, pulled out the survey, and thought something looked funny. Here’s what they discovered. The GC set the house in the new location based on the road rather than the pins. The problem is, THE ROAD WAS BUILT IN THE WRONG FREAKIN’ PLACE!!!!!!! The shell builder uncovered this. The setback requirements are 25′ from the road right of way, and the GC had located the house 25′ from the road, but only 6′ from the actual road r-o-w! To make matters worse, the well had been drilled WITHIN the road right of way.
So now the county has to figure out what to do about the road, and likely will keep it as is and transfer some from the owner on the other side to my client’s side, making the house and well placement ok as is, but losing months in the process. The county’s pulling the building permit, too. And who knows what will happen with the guy’s construction financing. I think this all came up with their requirement of a footer survey…that’s when the shell builder noticed something funny…fortunately before digging or pouring footers.
Sheesh, what a mess they created.
Replies
What has the client said about the GC?
Sounds like you have more of this sort of thing in the future, working with this GC.
As the BSA says "Be Prepared"
Good luck
Dave
Builder hasn't told the client yet. Trying to figure out how to tell him how badly the GC messed up without being killed as the messenger.Client has some interesting times ahead, be/c the GC is the guy he bought the property from and a neighbor.
Private to Sysop: LOL, you scoundrel! <G>
haha, my pleasure :)Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Worse than my story.
Friends of mine had a house built in FL. They were managing the construction long distance. Surveyor came out and got the first pier correct, but then pivoted the house about 45 degrees. Being on the water, house orientation was slightly important. Builder comes along and builds where surveyor marked.
Owners came out and were PO'd. Took surveyor to court and finally extracted money to move house, which they proceeded to do to everyone's amazement.
And they survived last years hurricanes with only a broken window.
Measurements should always be taken from pins, not roads. Roads are handled in a number of ways in different jurisdictions, but often a road is not built down the center of the right of way. Most roads are not built on a right of way, but on land the government owns. But their ownership may go well wide of the actual pavement. In some places the adjacent property owner actually owns to the middle of the road, with the government having a right of way to build across it.
I doubt the road was built in the wrong place, rather, that the survey was misunderstood by someone not trained to read it properly.
Never measure from the road.
Anyway, it's easy to fix. The GC moves the hole and the well to the right place at no charge to the client.
"I doubt the road was built in the wrong place, rather, that the survey was misunderstood by someone not trained to read it properly."I wounldn't put any money on it.When I am the road was plated too tight to make the turns. When people around here have their lots surveyed it is not uncommon to find one corner is 1/3 way or more out in the road.And the teleophone pole on one corner of my lot was assumed to be the property line when the house next door was built back in the 30"s. However, that pole is 7 or 12 ft short of where the plated corner is depending if which survey you use.
>I doubt the road was built in the wrong place, rather, that the survey was misunderstood by someone not trained to read it properly.The "wrongness" of the road was confirmed by a surveyor.
Wonder if that GC is related to KC's framers ;)
jt8
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John R. Wooden
It's not all that uncommon around here for a road to be a bit in the wrong place. Many of the old surveys used things like the "old oak tree" or the "rock wall" as boundary points. Boundary pins are somewhat new, especially in the rural areas, some folks will pull them up and move them. The old roads were often six rod roads and some surveys went from the center.
It's not very likely they will move the road, often a variance will be granted by the planning board if the offence isn't too bad. I think I'd be a bit concerned about the GC, no money, no credit, doesn't check the survey. Sounds like more trouble ahead.