Asked to pay to rent a drill for pilings

[jonny on the spot]

First post go steady :)

Starting a house build with a well know Thai house build. The soil survey has come back containing clay and i have been asked to cough up 40,000 baht to rent a land drill as apparently the pilings cannot be hammered home now. This has been designated a "special problem".

This is a company boasting 30 years in the game and 1000s of houses built. Does it seem reasonable to you good people that i am being asked to pay to rent a tool for a company i am already paying to build a house?

Any opinions welcome, thanks in advance.

[transam]

They should have done all the surveying to come up with the quote you were originally given.

My house, they used a digger to make all the holes for the concrete pads that form the base of the concrete uprights..

[jonny on the spot]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

They should have done all the surveying to come up with the quote you were originally given.

My house, they used a digger to make all the holes for the concrete pads that form the base of the concrete uprights..

Yea i was thinking that, thanks for the reply

[Peterw42]

I recall it being a standard clause in a building contract back in Australia.

 

Saying something like "quote is based on standard footings, standard soil etc, extra footings/excavation may be required and may incur extra costs.

 

 

 

 

[Cake Monster]

As in all Business, there are times when things dont go to plan, and the costs rise on the project.

However, a truly Professional Company would just say " Ooops ! didnt see that coming " and swallow the costs into the House price.

OK ! having to pay for the " special tool " will eat into their profit a little, but they seem to want as much as they can get from you.

The main issue I see, is that if you pay for this " special tool " on top of an already Contracted price ( I assume ) are they going to come back at you for even more " problems " to be solved.

Put your project on hold and tell the Builders why you are doing this

Consult a Lawyer and cancel the Contract with them is my advice.

[VocalNeal]

29 minutes ago, jonny on the spot said:

Any opinions welcome, thanks in advance.

I can't see any opinions changing the situation?

[bigupandchill]

What does it say in the contract?

[VocalNeal]

4 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

However, a truly Professional Company would just say " Ooops ! didnt see that coming " and swallow the costs into the House price.

Maybe one of the bids did that and added 40,000 baht to their bid but they didn't get the job.

The OP could have paid for a soil test himself at the beginning?

Or they could have simply not done a soil test and used standard foundation methods?

Edited September 22, 2021 by VocalNeal

[jonny on the spot]

47 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

As in all Business, there are times when things dont go to plan, and the costs rise on the project.

However, a truly Professional Company would just say " Ooops ! didnt see that coming " and swallow the costs into the House price.

OK ! having to pay for the " special tool " will eat into their profit a little, but they seem to want as much as they can get from you.

The main issue I see, is that if you pay for this " special tool " on top of an already Contracted price ( I assume ) are they going to come back at you for even more " problems " to be solved.

Put your project on hold and tell the Builders why you are doing this

Consult a Lawyer and cancel the Contract with them is my advice.

That's exactly it, nail on head. Yes paying this opens the door for a new "special tool" rental for a new "special problem" every other week.

I am finding it hard to believe that a house builder of this size should have to rent anything and not already own it.

Many thanks for that reply, its appreciated.

[jonny on the spot]

49 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

I can't see any opinions changing the situation?

Well you just wasted 3 seconds of your life replying then didn't you, you do understand the concept of forums yes?

[VocalNeal]

26 minutes ago, jonny on the spot said:

Well you just wasted 3 seconds of your life replying then didn't you, you do understand the concept of forums yes?

Most of the responses so far seem to be along the lines of "What if Superman had worked for the Germans"

As we don't know the content of any contract signed by the OP it is difficult to offer any useful advise.

Advice as you seem to know is one of the concepts of a forum?

Another concept of a forum maybe to alert others as to pitfalls when attempting similar.

Edited September 22, 2021 by VocalNeal

[Nojohndoe]

Is this building a single or multi story? Is it on back fill on wetland? How long in place if so ? Sloping ground?

There are many factors that can alter or  justify the need for  deep piles rather than a substantial  floating pad.

[jonny on the spot]

9 hours ago, Nojohndoe said:

Is this building a single or multi story? Is it on back fill on wetland? How long in place if so ? Sloping ground?

There are many factors that can alter or  justify the need for  deep piles rather than a substantial  floating pad.

I am not questioning the need for deep piles i am questioning if it seems reasonable for me to pay to rent a tool for a company to do a job i am already paying them to do.

This is not 12 random guys i found outside Mega Home doing this its a national company, i am just a bit stunned they dont own a land drill.

Cheers for the reply.

[jonny on the spot]

10 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Most of the responses so far seem to be along the lines of "What if Superman had worked for the Germans"

 

We would have whipped out the cryptonite and kicked his ass ????

[Dan O]

The best advice is look at your contract and see what limitations and exclusions are identified. No one on here can give you proper advice without knowing that info. All you'll get are opinions based on who knows what past experience.

 

In the end the contract will control the financial position if you flat refuse to pay and there may be other penalties if you cancel the contract in an effort to force a decisions your way. Also doing that could easily get the cost covered but affect the future quality of work.

 

I would look at the contract and if unclear then negotiate but be very clear about any other outliers that could come up in the future. In the grand scheme is the 40k significant compared to the cost to build?

[jonny on the spot]

4 hours ago, Dan O said:

The best advice is look at your contract and see what limitations and exclusions are identified. No one on here can give you proper advice without knowing that info. All you'll get are opinions based on who knows what past experience.

 

In the end the contract will control the financial position if you flat refuse to pay and there may be other penalties if you cancel the contract in an effort to force a decisions your way. Also doing that could easily get the cost covered but affect the future quality of work.

 

I would look at the contract and if unclear then negotiate but be very clear about any other outliers that could come up in the future. In the grand scheme is the 40k significant compared to the cost to build?

I cant see anything specific in the contract, and no the 40,000 is not a significant amount in the grand scheme of things. It just as you mentioned sets a bad precedent for future "special problems"

But above all there is just something that dont sit right with me about renting a tool for a job i am already paying a company to do. I dont buy the noodle man a pot to boil them in.

Anyway i am going to pay it because i am loathe to hold this up for 40,000 baht, i really just asked on here to see if anyone else had a similar experience.

Thanks for the reply, cheers.

[Halfaboy]

You should be deducted with the amount of money which was in the original budget for doing this part of the job. So, the amount of money to be additionally paid should be less.

[EVENKEEL]

First post go steady ????

Starting a house build with a well know Thai house build. The soil survey has come back containing clay and i have been asked to cough up 40,000 baht to rent a land drill as apparently the pilings cannot be hammered home now. This has been designated a "special problem".

 

I only want to know about how you drive pilings into the ground. How does this work?

[LarrySR]

Apparently you already paid for the pile hammer but they aren't using that now.

Not good way to begin a project. Tell them to stuff it and rent a place.