Building a new home can be a stressful experience – but not one that’s supposed to last several years.
So when the Duncan family built their new house with Platinum Homes, their experience with a bad plumber really took the shine off.
"I love the house, but I’m not happy with the way it was treated," says new homeowner Callum Duncan.
Callum and his wife Rose chose Platinum to build on their existing site, after their old home – a converted lodge – was damaged in the earthquake of 2010 and had to be demolished.
"It had character, so it was a shame to lose it… But at the same time we were excited about getting a new home too," he said.
But from the start, there were issues.
There were doors hung the wrong way, outdoor taps connected to the hot water and light switches in the wrong place.
Although it all got sorted out, there was one outstanding issue that – unbeknownst to the Duncans – has been causing a major problem since the day the house was installed.
The fireplace. Or more importantly – the fireplace flue, which was installed by the plumber as it was a wetback system.
"Being a spiral lock chimney it has to be fitted from the outside, from the roof down – well he fitted it from the inside and did a little bit of damage to the ceiling plasterboard".
Once the plasterboard was sorted, the installation then required a second fix up after the Duncan’s neighbour noticed the flue was on a major lean.
"[He] rang me up and told me that my chimney was pissed," says Callum, who then went up on the roof to inspect, and noticed a whole lot of birds’ nests and broken tiles.
Not happy, he notified the Platinum project manager but Callum Duncan says the response that he got wasn’t exactly reassuring.
"He said ‘well I see your point but to be quite honest with you I can’t see you having anything done about it because everyone’s been paid now and they’re all just going to do a runner now and no one’s going to admit to fault".
Feeling he couldn’t take the matter any further, Callum told his insurance company about the conversation and left it at that. Until one day, the Duncans noticed a bit of a problem running down their living room wall.
"Suddenly I start seeing water running down the walls and I thought ‘man, what’s that?" Callum said.
"Water had worked its way into the tiles, the wall cavity, soaked the gib board and the water had actually formed bubbles between the paint and the gib board".
Callum got in touch with the roofers, and then Platinum – the company promising it would get the leak sorted immediately.
But nothing happened, and so the Duncans came to Fair Go.
As soon as we got in touch – Platinum got onto the repairs, and within a week the broken tiles had been fixed and the roof was watertight.
In a statement, the company said it didn’t know about Callum’s roof issues raised in 2015, and says a communication breakdown was to blame for the repair not being done as promised.
"Due to a miscommunication, the work was never completed. As we never heard back from the client, we incorrectly believed the work was complete. We unreservedly apologise to the Duncans for this delay," it said.
The company also made mention several times that it didn’t believe the Duncans’ complaint warranted an on-air story, and a Platinum representative rang the Duncans requesting they attempt to stop it going to air.
Callum Duncan says he felt guilty about complaining – but is pleased the roof is finally fixed.
"A friend told me once it takes three houses before you can get it right," he said.
The Duncans have vowed this will be the first – and last – time they take on a new build.
SHARE ME