Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Rawson homes or Mcdonald Jones 25Oct 28, 2019 6:20 am Mate I love what you’ve done with that design, the extra room and storage is a great idea! Haven’t met ben - when did you you guys go through the design/purchase? Have you guys finished building yet? How long was it from signing the designs to getting the keys? Re: Rawson homes or Mcdonald Jones 26Oct 28, 2019 9:26 am Josh22 Mate I love what you’ve done with that design, the extra room and storage is a great idea! Haven’t met ben - when did you you guys go through the design/purchase? Have you guys finished building yet? How long was it from signing the designs to getting the keys? We started this process in late 2017. I put it on hold for 8 weeks due to a potential transfer to Brisvegas. Googong messed as around with land settlement, original told settlement would be in Jan 18, which got pushed back to Aug 18. Paperwork and email glitch by all reports... We were hoping to have everything paperwork-wise finalised by settlement, but that part took a lot longer, thus, my issues with the office. Slab went down in late Jan 19, so it's taken longer than the 5 months they originally told us. We should get the keys on 15 November. Forgot to mention that in our final price, that includes custom shower screens, 3-phase power outlet outside for the swim spa, gas outlet for the future gas fireplace, extra outside taps, white smoked glass doors for all the BIR, rendering of the facade, custom shelving in the storage room, upgraded the bathroom and ensuite tiles (went up a level and paid an extra $10m², well worth it) and the entire house is double glazed as well. We went with the standard flooring as the range is quite good, but upgraded the underlay. If they still use Don's Tiling, and if you can arrange it, head to their Sydney store as well as visiting their Canberra store. The basic range in their Canberra store is a little dated, but the staff are fantastic. Due to time frames, our bathroom tiles were discontinued, but they found a very close alternative, and offered to pay the additional laying costs of having the 600x600 on the floor. As I said, I felt we have got good value for money and the build part itself has been pretty good. Re: Rawson homes or Mcdonald Jones 27Oct 28, 2019 9:33 am Also when you are doing fridge spaces, niches etc, remember that the measurements are from the frame, not from the plasterboard, so you lose around 10mm for the board and then skirtings can add another 8mm. We got caught out with this in the fridge space despite giving our fridge dimensions three times. Luckily enough we only paid a deposit on the fridge and we were able to swap it for one that fits. Re: Rawson homes or Mcdonald Jones 28Oct 28, 2019 9:49 am And to wrap it off, my advice is to get quotes for everything you want. Start with your Gucci house and work backwards. Don't build a house and wish you asked the question of 'how much'. Ask the question, get an official price and then work out if you're happy to spend the money. You'll be surprised how cheap some things are that will raise the quality of the house. Verbally we were told to thermo-laminate the kitchen and bathroom would cost thousands, the quote came back at $750. The upgrade makes our kitchen look like a display home kitchen. We upgraded to Cat 7 cable for our smart TV's, and have cables running to all tv points. That cost about $300 more, but future proofing the house as best we can. We wanted a complete house from day 1, so we only have to worry about the yard/garden. The only thing we will do to the house after handover is to have the alfresco and porch concrete polished. Rawsons' don't offer polished concrete flooring when we asked, otherwise I could have selected this regardless of the cost. Also be careful with landscaping and fencing options. Rawsons, like any other builder, whacks on 20% on top of the fee charged by the contractor. You'll pay 20% more, but it will be done at handover, I can understand why some people use this options, but I'd rather keep the coin in my own pocket. I used hi-pages and found sound great tradies at good prices and the vast majority were happy to come to the site and walk through what we'd like done. Re: Rawson homes or Mcdonald Jones 30Mar 02, 2020 7:04 pm I have built with RH and so did my daughter. We both committed a grave mistake in deciding to build with RH. My brother-in-law has just completed the handover of his second MDJ house which is an investment. He had a far better build experience than us. He said that should he build again it will still be with MDJ. We will never build with RH again. Hi AKG, We had a base tender of $592 for 31 squares from MC Donald Jones. It looks relatively cheaper than other builders. But I assume there are many hidden things that… 1 17522 Just started the Build process for Chifley 42 with Rawson homes, will keep you all posted with the Build progress. 0 3548 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 109679 |