Building with Kurmond Homes

Loks
Thanks. I will appreciate getting the contact details for your landscaper.

How much do you all think landscaping should cost? I really have no idea and can only guess from watching The Block where they budget about $20-25,000 to do a courtyard. I guess there are fees to design the area and make drawings plus their profit on top of cost for plants, trees, lawn etc plus any decking or cement area but I just don't know what price range per square metre so I won't really know if I am paying a fair price or getting ripped off.

Would love everyone's comments on this please. Really need yr advice.

Good question Big Mama, I too have no idea about the cost of landscaping. If the quotes go to high I might be designing a vast open desert look
EK1976 - thanks for the landscaping site. Had a look at their FB site already and I will definitely contact them for some info. Do you know someone that has used these guys before? If so what are their prices like??
Anyone else with info or ideas would still be greatly appreciated.
We had a call from SS yesterday.... Scaffolding will continue on Monday and because of this our brickies have headed off to someone else!!! Hopefully they will be back the following week, so it's going to be another waste of a week.
Oh, and when did everyone get to have their first walk through (official or unofficial)?

Hi guys, he has done a lot of work in our estate and has done my sisters retaining walls.. Pricing is depending on what you need, he does everything from retainer walls, decking, planting, excavation plenty much everything, he not the cheapest but not the most expensive but his quality is the best and he is absolute perfection... Ses pm if you need more details
The first official walk thru at frame inspection

Ses78
Official walk throughs were frame stage then just before painting started then PCI.

Thanks EK and big mama, as our bricks have been going for two weeks now, we have definitely missed our first official walk through will have to follow up on that one

Hey Big Mama

Heggie Maintenance Services is the guy I know

Heggie Maintenance Service Pty Ltd
Hills District Turf Laying And Landscaping Service
North Shore Turf Laying
PO Box 389 | Seven Hills NSW 1730
Phone/Fax: 02 9659 9146 | Mob: 0412 011 648
Email: heggiemaintenance@bigpond.com.au

I have no idea about prices

Thanks Loks Did you get your tiling done?

Ses78
If you didn't get a walk through at frame stage that is slack. Make sure you email the office and ask them to forward you the certification document from the frames inspection.

Oh dear. Rain forecast for three days. There goes the completion of my driveway

Tiles and tiler no show
Ses78 we didn't get a prepaint inspection but took ourselves through while the painter was there

Ses, frame inspections usually occur after bricks and roof. Ours was after these and my notes for other posters suggests theirs were too. So hopefully you haven't missed it but still worth asking them when it will be.

We found out our vanities, mirrors, tapware, toilets, showers are all done. Baths not quite in yet though. I have started writing my PCI checklist since that should happen in the next few weeks.

Boo for no tiles Loks and boo for cupboard changes Big Mama. Hopefully this week...

yes frame inspection after completion of brickwork and roof tiles.

Houses we are neck and neck, have they given you a timeframe? I have it in writing that SS wants settlement by end of November, granted it did not state a year so perhaps they are aiming for next year.
Can see very little apart from some paintwork that needs fixing so far Awaiting splash back for kitchen. Wet area tiling looks good, light fittings and fixtures are all good. Wardrobes and linens are all complete

Loks you are so funny. Actually, given all the delays, you could possibly be right about next year.

Guys I saw a few websites that said landscaping should be 5-10% of the total cost of the build, more if there is a lot of retaining walls or decking etc so I guess that is a ball park figure??

that's funny Big Mama, I went googling and got the same sort of costings... I've costed out the turf alone and on a rough estimate approx $3k for our block and that's if we lay it ourselves, we need a retaining wall and some plants would be nice, ahhhh there goes the pool

We have tiles and a splash back. Has anyone had any action in the rain?

Very nice Loks

Our driveway is finished - YAY.
Outstanding jobs still incomplete - BOO.

Where does everyone's externally ducted exhaust go to? Our SS said it goes into the roof space and I said it bloody well does not. He asked if it was an upgrade and we told him no, it is standard inclusion. Looks like we might end up with another delay... grrr. Sounds like their right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Hmph!

Think he may be right, we added a electric exhaust vent in our roof as an upgrade to expel the air if it builds, it turns on automatically when required, kind of like the old whirly birds.
Don't quote me though, I'm not exactly an engineer lol.

YAY on the driveway boo hiss on the incomplete work

It's been nearly 3 weeks past and all we had done was upper floor eaves and the downpipes painted.

Still waiting for them to take down the scaffolding one level so they can complete the roof.

This rain has not helped.

Hi to all,
It's been a long time since I've posted as it's been too sad and depressing to write anything at all. We have had mistake after mistake and delay after delay. We have finally had excavation last week after 13 awful and frustrating months!

I'm trying to mentally put the pre construction behind us and think about the construction time with a new positive frame of mind.

Anyway our site supervisor seems great so trying to put the past behind us now.

Congratulations to all of you who are approaching the finish line. It's a big testament of your patience and perseverance.

I'm at the same stage as quach128 - even though I'm supposed to be 2 months ahead!!!

Return to shire
Oh dear that's no good. Sounds like you are getting the same treatment as us. Two months behind? No good. Boo.

We were supposed to be having our final walk through last week. As there is incomplete work (surprise) it was postponed until tomorrow. Work still incomplete so guessing there is no walk through but who knows as there has been no contact from SS (surprise again)

EK1976
How are you going with final PCI?

Hi big mama,
Well all the rain last week delayed the driveway, touch up external paint, and lots of smaller jobs, so full stream ahead this week, driveway due to be done tomorrow/Wednesday and SS said handover this Friday x-fingers but I did email him a long list of things I wanted done before handover that might delay things, but I just want my brand new house perfect...
I hope everyone is nearing completion....