Issues with house - Need Advice

Hi Guys,

Looking for some advice on some issues with my house. It is a 3 year old house.

Issue 1:

Ever since I moved into the house about a year ago, I have been hearing clicking, popping and cracking noises in the ceiling and walls. Specially the ceiling I think if my spatial awareness is not completely off. But there is no subsequent cracks in the house after the noise happens.The noises happen at random times in specific rooms. I have been able to make a recording of it in one of the rooms:

Vocaroo | Online voice recorder . These noises were recorded at random times and combined into one file.

Could be an issue with the ceiling/roof? I had a b/p inspection done by Steve from Ausinspect who was recommended in this forum. He checked the roof cavity and no issues were found.

What could be causing these noises and how do I get to the bottom of it?

Issue 2:

Storm-water does not adequately drain. I have included some images below. The red markers show where the water pools. The black arrow shows the slope of the land:

imgur.com
imgur.com
imgur.com

Should the builder be liable for this issue? If not, who would I employ to fix this?

Issue 3:

This is not really an issue, but more of a question. There is an easement in my house for draining water which you can see in the image:

imgur.com

What does this easement mean and how does it effect the house?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank You.

 

Movement is normal otherwise on a hot day the expansion could cause damage. An absence of cracking in cornices and other joints is a good sign. If you have undertile thermal insulation such a foil sarking could this be moving in wind or heat affected ?
Loose tile rocking ?
Steel roof expansion. Sheets screwed without dampened screws (rubber)
Cracked tile movement ?
Birds on roof ?
Birds on guttering ? (They drove me nuts in daytime until I bought 2 black cat silhouettes)

Why didnt you get legal advice on the easement 3 years ago ?

The yard water issue is likley fixed if you used a socked ag drain in a small trench and run this to the stomwater pit. Or a Its poor soil drainage, maybe both. Does the water flow off a gazebo onto the grass etc ? If so it needs a drain above and possibly in ground. eg a polymer drain with grate to the pit. The concrete beside the house has poor surface levels when poured and levelled and could be addressed by having a stencil layer to change the way water flows. Away from house to a pit at low point.

 

I have sarking under the roof.

I bought the house a year ago from the first owner. I was not aware of this easement when I bought the property and my solicitor did not mention it. I recently was just going through some property documents when I noticed the easement.

 

1. Is the roof metal or tile?

2.What did the building inspector you just employed say? Since they saw the problem, they are best placed to advise a solution.

The NCC (National Construction Code) requires a particular slope on the land and concrete paths surrounding a house so that water runs away from the house. Is water pooling by the house slab or is it flowing away?

If the slope is incorrect then it is a builders warranty issue. If not, then a plumber who does drainage might be your best bet. Or DIY.

 

It is tile.

What is interesting is that the neighbour who I share a party wall with ( it is a duplex with a shared wall in the middle) have not heard any such noises. I would think me and my neighbours roof structure is one?

I have not employed a building inspector recently. When I bought the house 1 year, I had the building inspection done. At that time, the water pooling issue was not evident. The noise issue was not either. You would have to live in the house to notice these noises, or at the time the inspection was done, the noise did not occur.

In this image you can see water pooling by the end of the stairs. On the right side there is the external brick wall. I think the slab is below the brickwork. So it is polling by the slab?

imgur.com

Just to confirm, by cracks do you mean something like this? Then answer is no. I do not have such cracks.

https://www.bciwa.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Wall-cracks-cornice.jpg

https://edensstructural.com/wp-cont...sons-Youre-Seeing-Cracks-in-Your-Walls-01.jpg

The roof is tile.
When the property was inspected a year ago, the inspector flew a drone over the roof and no cracked tiles were seen.

Can be birds. But I feel the noise is on the internal ceiling and walls. If the noise was coming from birds on the gutters or the roof , it would sound different?

Do you mean if the water flows of the gazebo roof? Don't think so. The gazebo is part of the house and under the same roof the house is under and has gutters. What I mean is the gazebo is not a separate structure from the house.

Is this something that is DIY? Or would I need to hire a plumber?

What kind of trades person would do such work? Concreter or plumber?

Thank you for your advice.

 

Landscaper.plumber.diy.
I lived in a property in melb that was a swamp in winter. Grass woukd drown and be like mud. I dug drainage and problem went away. Ownership issue

 

it could be many things

what are the terms of the Easement as explained in the s88b
which can be ordered together with the deposited plan

 

Is this the s88b?

imgur.com

I am lot 1 and my neighbour is lot 2 who I share a party wall in the middle with. Both of us seem to have benefited and burdened from this easement.

The authority who owns this easement is my council which is stated further down the document the screen-shot is from.

 

@property_noob
sorry, a late reply, but yes they are the terms.

the drainage easement is reciprocal as you have mentioned. both lots are burdened and benefited.
and I assume you mean "the authority empowered to release, vary or modify the easement" is the local council.

is there also a "positive covenant" and "restriction as to user" on the property title

if so it is probably pertaining to an "on site detention system'
which sometimes includes and specifies the pipes, pits, gutters, OSD tanks, rainwater tanks etc etc. as the case may be.

a bit of a sloppy way of defining an easement, but it might have been the only way at the time

I also interpret the terms as, once the building is demolished the easement is dissolved.

however, I wouldn't be concerned with it. most new developments now have council restrictions on rainwater systems.

but as always, confirm with your legal representative.