Villa build

[pinsharp]

The villa I am buying has just started to be built. I have heard of some properties being built with inferior cement and are now structurally unsound. Anything I can do to protect myself on build quality? I have just had a house built in the Uk and visited the site most days ... I am very glad I did! Not quite so easy when the site isn't round the corner

[PeteC]

Just a general comment. I think those developers who offer warranties give the buyer some peace of mind? What is the norm for HH concerning warranty? Pete

[dr dave soul monsta]

you could insist that your cement comes from the depot in a truck pre mixed rather than allowing the builders to mix on site in an old bath tub

[gooze]

Inferior cement,thats a new one on me, I really do not think this should be causing you any sleepless nights, Now water, electric, roof tiles and steel thats worth woorrying about. Seriously good advice is if you are not here to overlook the property yourself, find someone who is qualified to do it for you. Have you spoken to the developer about your concerns ?.Any decent developer should be able to put your mind at rest.

[VincentD]

Inferior cement can be a problem, as Dr Dave points out. Ordering by the truck is only feasible for, say, pouring floors where you need to order a large quantity and use all of it in a short time.

Ready-mix cement has a certain time limit before it starts to set. (This is why you sometimes see these drivers doing some really creative driving if they get caught in traffic - they don't want to arrive at a building site with a solid lump of concrete.)

This short life span is also the reason the plastic bathtub is so popular - there is very little waste for the quantities involved. It is also much more difficult to monitor, so you could be at the mercy of some unscrupulous developers.

You have very little recourse once the title deed changes hands.