Bricklayer Shortage in Brisbane. Any Recommendations?

LhybridTechie on 28/09/2021 - 16:33

Hi

I am building a low-set house in Pallara (Brisbane South) with one of the major residential builders in Australia.
The house construction started in July and has frame, roof and rough-ins completed.

My site supervisor said there is a Bricklayer shortage and the construction will be halted indefinitely soon. He said they will start with the interior works and complete as much as possible. There are multiple construction projects halted due to this.
The builders are also referring to one of the conditions in the QBCC contract where they can claim extension if there is a trade shortage.

I am confused about this as there are other house construction works going on with Bricklayers and the same builder has Bricklayers in Brisbane North.
So how does it qualify as a trade shortage? Would it be due to the builder paying low rates to Bricklayers compared to other major builders?

Can I fight when they claim extension due to trade shortage?
Are there other materials I can choose instead of bricks to avoid this delay?
Has anyone faced a similar situation?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • redfox1200 on 28/09/2021 - 16:41
    +1

    blueboard and render

    • hybridTechie on 28/09/2021 - 16:57

      Thank you for the suggestion

    • JimB on 30/09/2021 - 00:46

      Blueboard is Cheap and nasty.

      At the very least Hebel.

  • Muzeeb on 28/09/2021 - 16:41
    +6

    Quickly do a bricklayer apprenticeship and complete the works yourself.

  • Drakesy on 28/09/2021 - 16:43
    +1

    Can I fight when they claim extension due to trade shortage? - check your contract they should have a delay clause, it's likely to be in favour of them though.

    Are there other materials I can choose instead of bricks to avoid this delay? - not without considerable redesign work, there's rammed earth etc, but this would've had to of been changed at the concept stage

    Unfortunately half of Australia decided to take up the construction stimulus that the state and federal govs implemented (it seems to be the only way the gov knows how to prop up the ailing housing industry).

    • hybridTechie on 28/09/2021 - 16:58

      Thank you for the suggestion

  • brendanm on 28/09/2021 - 16:44
    +1

    It's possible to build a house with hay, or sticks, though this generally doesn't work out well if there are wolves around.

  • randomusername2017 on 28/09/2021 - 17:11

    there are other house construction works going on with Bricklayers

    Maybe they're all busy?

    • Euphemistic on 30/09/2021 - 11:03

      Any of them have one arm?

  • miwahni on 28/09/2021 - 21:26

    This is a known issue at present and it's not limited to brickies. The construction industry is booming, all brickies are likely booked up and not much you can do about it other than wait.

  • websterp on 28/09/2021 - 22:18
    +1

    We had a similar issue few years ago but in our case we were given the option to choose before the build stated. We chose to build with Hebel and have had no problems post handover and I believe it saved build time as well. Could be an opinion for you too.

    • hybridTechie on 29/09/2021 - 10:19

      Thanks for the suggestion.

  • Logical on 29/09/2021 - 22:36

    In lieu of brickwork, try insulted wall panels that are easy to put up and can be done so by most carpenters: something similar to this https://versiclad.com.au/walls/
    Wall panels such as these are better insulators than brickwork. These wall panels can be finished off with render.
    Ask you builder to suggest alternatives for you to avoid the possible lengthy delay.

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