Good point! I'll definitely not let my guard down then haha.

Check out this link to a Guide to Tolerances and Standards, it states what is acceptable construction.

http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/18127/Guide-to-Standards-and-Tolerances-2007.pdf

Has Practical Completion been reached yet? If you are concerned the builder will not do the work you believe is necessary then you should be fully aware of the clauses in your Contract as most of the commonly used Contracts have minimal incentives for builders to do anything once Practical Completion is reached.

A little confused... does your Contract not provide for the builder to do the painting? that is quite unusual... are you planning on doing the painting yourself after handover?

P.S. that Guide is for Victoria, not sure where you're based but each State would be slightly different...

If painting's not included in the contract, then they probably won't fix the scratches as this can easily be fixed when painting... as for the dents it really depends on how much you're talking... check the standards, but more often than not those standards are generally based on painted surfaces and angles, etc which can be argued is more difficult to judge with raw plaster... but I guess it's a technicality, honourable builders would do the right thing... good luck :/

The guide is widely accepted as the baseline for tolerances and standards and is often used to settle disputes about what is 'acceptable' regardless of the State. Level 4 finish plasterboard is what is required by most building contracts unless stated otherwise.

This sort of behaviour is rampant world wide it seems - very bad in New Zealand at the moment and they get away with is because there is a building boom. Check out this blog it has gone viral almost. http://nzfvtg.org.nz/building-company-reviews/

I've no advice, just commiserations. There's a house just been built where I park my car to go hiking. Really great section and fairly nice big house, seven figure property. Saw the family, young. The front of the house has been clad shockingly, real amateur-hour stuff, and it's all finished. What a nightmare. There must be professionals out there who can clean up these disputes, I guess they charge a bit.

A big part of the problem is the prevalent building style. The builder/carpenter seems to do as little as possible and sub-trades do so much and they all rely on each part of the process being right. Fibro everywhere needing rendering and painting.Tin fascia with fibro soffits. Combine this with brickwork. Plasterboard walls and ceilings usually lined, plastered and painted by three sets of tradesmen. And the builder doesn't co-ordinate the work because he considers it the subbies' responsibility. Not to mention the designers/architects who put these materials/systems together in difficult places without any attention to detailing how it should work. Why all this? It's an economical system? I dunno.

But done properly it's okay. So OP, good luck, hope everyone does the right thing.

I've been a builder for about 20 years.... So a couple of things come to mind

- is painting excluded from your contract.. If so you have a slightly bigger battle.

- all contacts have a defects document. This is in 2 parts, agreed defect and defects not agreed with by builder. Make sure you use this document.

- if you can not get satisfaction, bring in a third party such as a completed buildings inspector to report on the defect/s

- finally, if it is serious ( hard to tell without seeing the house) withhold part of the final payment until fixed to the acceptable standard

Contact the Association of Wall & Ceiling Industries (AWCI) in your state and ask them.