Every build damages surfaces. A benchtop gets chipped when the sink goes in. A door leaf gets knocked by a trolley. A wall gets a rough cut-out for a switch and a stone panel gets scratched by a ladder. None of it is unusual. The question is what happens in the last weeks before handover. This is how our defect rectification for builders in Sydney works.
What gets damaged, and when
From our jobs, the damage arrives in a pattern.
- During fitout. Benchtops chipped by plumbers and appliance installers. Door edges hit by trolleys and deliveries. Joinery scratched while the next trade works around it.
- Late in the program. Walls cut for switches and brackets after the painter has been. Stainless steel scratched by a cleaner with the wrong pad. Glass marked by a grinder two rooms away.
- After practical completion. Damage during the defects period, from the client's own fitout, furniture deliveries and moves.
Each one is a surface repair. The material is different, the method is the same: repair it in place and colour match it, so nothing is pulled out and nothing is re-ordered.
What we repair on a defect list
| Surface | Typical items |
|---|---|
| Stone benchtops, vanities and panels | Edge chips, cut-out chips, cracks, dull patches |
| Laminate and 2-pac joinery | Chips, gouges, lifting edges, damaged hinge holes |
| Doors, frames, architraves, skirting | Knocks, dents, gouges, chipped corners |
| Walls | Cut-outs, holes, scuffs, cracks, damaged render |
| Tiles | Chipped and cracked tiles, fixed in place |
| Stainless steel and aluminium | Scratches, stains, rust runs, chipped powder coat |
| Glass | Scratches on windows, balustrades, shopfronts and splashbacks |
If it is a surface and it is damaged, it goes on the list. We tell you which items are not repairable before we quote, so replacements can be ordered early.
How the list is priced
Send the defect schedule with a photo per item, or walk us through the site. We price each item and send a fixed written quote within one business day. It is itemised so it goes straight into the cost plan and so each line can be attributed to the trade that caused it.
There is no minimum number of items. A single chipped benchtop is a job. A hundred-line schedule across a tower is a job.
How we work around the program
We book against the handover date, not around our own calendar. On a live site that means working around other trades, after hours or on weekends where the program or the tenant needs it. We bring our own equipment, control dust around each repair and clean the area when we finish.
We are insured and WHS-compliant. Our insurance and WHS documents go to the site before we attend, and we do inductions where they are required.
What the site gets for sign-off
Every item gets a before photo and an after photo. They are suitable for sign-off, for insurance claims and for back-charges where the cause needs to be attributed. Every repair is guaranteed.
For homeowners in the middle of a renovation
The same thing happens on a kitchen renovation. The installer chips the new benchtop, or the floor sander marks the new cabinets. Sometimes the installer sends their own person and the repair does not work.
Send us the photos. We repair the damage, colour match it and give you the photos and the invoice to take up with the installer. You do not need to wait months for them to come back.
The one thing to do early
Photograph the damage as it happens, with the date, before the next trade covers it. A chip behind a fitted appliance is harder to reach and harder to attribute. A photo on the day makes the repair and the paperwork both simpler.
