Frames arrive

I had an interesting phone call from the builder this week. The shortened version went something like this:

ADMIN LADY: I'm just calling to let you know that we're sending a variation through for traffic control.
ME: WTF? (well, not really WTF but I felt like swearing)
ADMIN LADY: The RTA have requested traffic control while your frames are delivered. We're sending the bill through as a variation. I just wanted to let you know beforehand instead of just emailing.
ME: No. We have a fixed price contract with you, that's what the website says, that's what the contract says. It's fixed price.
ADMIN LADY: The RTA have requested it.
ME: Well, you should've included road closures in the tender/contract. It's not my fault that you didn't. You can't just add things as variations when you feel like it.
ADMIN LADY: Was there anything in the contract as a provisional sum?
ME: No.
ADMIN LADY: I'll check the contract and get back to you.

10 minutes later our SS rings.... traffic control has been cancelled. He thinks that someone (from the frame company?) might've just "Google earthed" it and assumed that we needed the road closed temporarily. I should say at this point that our SS has been great so far, he seems like a good down-to-earth bloke.

I can't believe they tried to get us to pay extra and just assumed that I'd sign the variation. This kind of thing should be identified during the tender/contract stage. They claim to have done a site inspection before building, they should've picked it up if it was going to be an issue. If we make a change to the contract now they will charge us a $1000 admin fee, whereas they feel they can just change things as they please - not going to happen! This sort of thing should be covered in the site costs.

The website even states "All of our contracts are fixed priced so there are no nasty surprises at the end. With our fixed price approach you know exactly how much your home will cost before you start to build, making it easier to manage your decisions and budget."

Anyway, the frames turned up on Thursday and were placed on the slab today. It doesn't sound like much, but they had to draw up the rooms so they could make sure everything is placed correctly and fits together. I'm expecting they'll be back tomorrow or Monday to assemble the ground floor.

Frames and steel beams arrive:

Frames laid out on ground floor: