In short: A slab is the one element of a house that cannot be revisited. Melton South gives us a consistent set of pre-pour findings, all of them cheap to correct before the trucks arrive.
The vapour barrier in the wrong place
We have photographed a vapour barrier lying over the steel instead of beneath it. In that position it is not separating the slab from ground moisture, and it is compromising the bond around the reinforcement it is draped over. It looks installed. It is doing the opposite of its job.
Mesh that is not held up
Slab mesh sagging where it has not been properly fixed means the reinforcement ends up at the bottom of the pour rather than where the engineer placed it. Reinforcement in the wrong position is close to reinforcement that is not there.
Termite collars at penetrations
Missing from plumbing penetrations through the slab, on a Melton South job. Every pipe through a slab is a path in, and collars are what close it.
Honeycombing after the pour
Honeycombing along the slab edge is the one finding here that comes after the concrete. It is voids where the mix did not consolidate, and it matters because it exposes reinforcement to moisture and weakens the edge. It is repairable, but it needs to be identified rather than rendered over.
Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Melton South. Licensed building practitioners.
