Terms of Trade

1. Our agreement

Your signed or paid-for quote, together with these Terms of Trade, is the whole agreement between you and Gold Coast Patios & Carports. If the quote and these terms ever say different things, the quote wins. Anything agreed verbally is not part of the agreement until it is written into the quote or confirmed by us in writing.

2. Price, scope and changes

• The quote covers only the items listed under Scope of Works. If it isn’t written there, it isn’t included.
• Sizes and areas are approximate until the final measure. The price may move up or down after the final measure to match what is actually built, and we confirm any change in writing before materials are ordered.
• Any change you ask for after the final measure is a variation. We quote it in writing, you accept it in writing, and it is paid with the next stage payment or before the variation work starts, whichever comes first.
• Items you supply (for example a ceiling fan) are supplied by you unless the quote says otherwise. We install what you supply, but we don’t warrant it.
• We arrange any building approval, certification or engineering the quote lists. If the quote doesn’t list it, it isn’t included in the price.

3. Payment

Every job is paid in four stages. The amounts are shown on your quote.

4. What each stage means

• Final measure: our site visit to confirm dimensions, post positions, heights, colours and the final cut of the roof. It is the last point at which the design can change. After this visit the materials are made to your measurements and can’t be returned or altered.
• Delivery of materials: the day the roof panels, beams and/or posts arrive at your property. They are usually left on the driveway or nature strip, and you don’t need to be home.
• Practical completion of the structure: the day the posts, beams, roof, flashings, gutters and downpipes listed in the quote are finished and the patio can be used. Minor cosmetic items that don’t stop you using the patio (for example a sealant line, a flashing end to be dressed, a colour touch-up) do not delay practical completion. They are written on a defects sheet with a fix date and dealt with under section 5. Electrical work is not part of the structure’s practical completion; it is its own stage.
• Electrical completion: the day the licensed electrician finishes the items listed in the quote and the lights and fan work.

5. Defects and rectification

• Tell us about anything you believe is a defect in writing, with a photo, within 7 days of practical completion. We’ll inspect and, for anything we agree is a defect, fix it within 14 days, weather and supplier availability permitting.
• Minor defects are listed on a signed defects sheet. A minor defect never entitles you to hold back a stage payment. Stage 4 is due on practical completion, not on the defects sheet being cleared.
• These are not defects: small variations in Colorbond® colour between batches; slight waviness in flat panel or flashing surfaces; sealant lines; marks or scuffs that come out with a clean; movement, settlement or cracking in your existing paving, concrete, fences or house; anything caused by you, another trade, weather events or lack of maintenance.
• Where a site visit is needed to check an item we’ll agree a day. You don’t need to be present for external work.

6. Access and delays

• You give us reasonable access Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm, including side gates unlocked and pets secured, from the delivery date until the job is complete. You don’t need to be home.
• If you restrict access, aren’t available for work that needs you present, or ask us to move a booked trade, the completion date moves by the same number of days and the stage payments still fall due on the stage reached.
• Wet weather, supplier delays and material shortages extend the completion date. We’ll tell you as soon as we know.

7. Your site

• The quote assumes safe, clear access for people and materials, standard footings in normal soil, and that underground services (power, water, gas, stormwater, sewer) are where plans or you say they are. Rock, unstable ground, hidden services, asbestos or engineered footings beyond standard are extra and quoted when found.
• Please clear the work area before we arrive: furniture, pots, BBQs, cars, pool equipment. We take care, but we aren’t responsible for items left in the work area.
• Removal of an existing structure is not included unless quoted.

8. Materials, colours and warranty

• You confirm roof, gutter, downpipe, flashing and post colours in writing before the final measure. Once ordered, custom-made materials can’t be changed or returned; if you change your mind after ordering you pay for both sets.
• Manufacturers’ warranties on panels, steel and Colorbond® finishes pass through to you. Our workmanship warranty is 5 years from practical completion. Statutory warranties also apply.
• Materials delivered to your site are your responsibility to keep safe from the moment they arrive. If something is damaged or stolen on site before installation, replacement is charged as a variation.

9. Cancelling

• Before the final measure: the deposit is retained to cover our time.
• After the final measure: the Stage 2 payment is retained. If materials have been ordered you pay their full cost.
• After delivery: the full contract price is payable less any work not yet done.

10. Photos

We may photograph the finished job and use the photos in our marketing. Your name and address are never shown. Tell us in writing if you’d rather we didn’t.

11. If there’s a problem

Talk to us first; most things are fixed with a phone call. If we can’t agree, either of us can use the free dispute-resolution service run by the building regulator in your state. The agreement is governed by the law of Queensland.