Interesting

I did a bit of research yesterday on two things – tree root protection and Wattyl ID paint.

 

On the tree roots I spoke to a Civil Engineer, a friend of the family, who explained what tree root protection was and the different options for doing it.  He also told me that the builder’s statement that the root system will remain active after a tree is removed, so the root protection is still required, is not correct.  Once the tree is removed the roots won’t continue to grow.  By remove, I mean the stump as well, not just cutting down the tree.  He also gave me a rough rule of thumb to work out which trees might be a problem, so it will be interesting to see which trees the builder identifies when they come back with their re-assessment.  I also contacted some tree root specialists to get quotes on an independent site survey for tree root protection.

Maybe stumps would be a better option?

When hubby spoke to our design consultant during the week, one of the reasons we were given for the extra cost of the Wattyl ID paint is that it is thinner and needs more effort to apply, hence more labour costs.  So I called the Wattyl Information Hotline and spoke to someone in the Technical department.  I think he thought my questions very strange but he looked up various paints and told me that the thickness of the Wattyl ID paint was very similiar to the other Wattyl paint products.  He also said that there shouldn’t be any more effort required to use it, but it would depend on the painter’s skill.

I’m surprised that this seems to be such a big problem for the builder.  Are we the first people to ask for this?  Many other project home builders offer “eco” or “green” upgrade packages – Metricon, Renmark Homes, Botanic Homes to name a few.   I don’t know how much extra these packages are, but  my point is that we are not asking for a specialist or alternative (“hippy”) product; these products are common in the market place and the industry.  And even though this builder doesn’t offer a “green” package, I didn’t expect it to be so difficult to do.

 

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