Semi-custom 48sq build with Semore Homes (SE Melbourne)

I would be interested in knowing this also??

Price is in the OP, size is in the thread title.

Ah thanks, sorry missed that completely. So $733k for 48sq which is around $15,200 per square......that seems mighty cheap if there are no upgrades....awesome.
I've been quoted around $16,000 psm from Semore on a full custom and after upgrades will come in around $20,000 per square metre.

Received an email from Thomas Archer last week where they said "I’d find it difficult to believe anything much under $25k/Sq is achievable".

Those crooks quoted me $30,000 a square on a full custome 30sq build

Square or square metre?
A square is 100 square feet. Which is 9.3m2
Does it include alfresco, verandahs, garage or just living conditioned areas?
So hard to compare apples and oranges.

Yep, let me repost. All should pricing is per sqaure and yes my quote includes a single garage and very easy to compare as I've spoken to both. Semore came in around $560k excluding sites costs and TA exact same specs have come in around $900k

Hi,

The difference you're seeing between TA and Semore is larger than what we saw, but there certainly was a decent difference. Keep in mind that our pricing is essentially pre-COVID, as Semore ate the COVID increases without passing them on. They also went from hybrid flooring to engineered timber with us only having to pay to direct stick - no charge for the material change. So, our pricing is unders for what they've done, due to circumstance.

It's hard for me to break out what is "upgrades" in the pricing. But our "standard" was single glazed windows, so we upgraded them to double glazed. Other than that, the costs include upgraded carpet and underlay, improved insulation, additional electrical wiring in various places, HVAC upgrades, etc. Not a heap spent upgrading tiles, stone, or tapwear. We do have a little bit of custom joinery, but not a heap.

We are certainly happy with the pricing for Semore when compared to TA or Carter Grange.

SJT

We are on the home stretch now (finally - it's already overdue). We did a PCI walkthrough today. The house was not fully ready, but the builder wanted to start work on our items to help ensure we get in by Xmas. The plan is to have us walk through each week from now until completion.

I'm terrible at taking photos of the house rather than defects, but I did manage to take a few today.

Looks great, how awesome is that staircase, how muchvextra did that set you back?

Stairs = $3k extra; balustrades (including around void) = $9k extra

Great, looks unreal

looks good !! make sure that you show them you are not compromising on the quality. and dont pay the final invoice until all the critical items are fixed.

We drove past your place the other night on the way home from Rowville. It looks great!

So, been a busy period. We moved in to our new place on 21 December, and love it. Since I'm bad at taking photos of houses, here are some that the builder had their professional take.

SJT76 just started following this thread and it's great to see your build come to fruition with hopefully minimal hassle.

If you don't mind sharing, what were some of the key defects that were raised by the inspector? It sounds like Semore were quite accepting of the defects. Were there any that they disagreed with? How was this resolved?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi jamassav.

The defects vary by stage. I would say the main things were:

- Slab: gaps in the formwork leading to areas that overflowed. This in turn caused gaps in the vapour barrier
- Frame: Probably most disagreement on this stage. For example, the builder wanted to space all gaps for wiring evenly; Semore kind of grouped them a bit more. Semore's argument is that it is better not to have wires spread out across a section of wall. They ended up reinforcing some sections of the framing they didn't think they needed to but the inspector wanted done.
- Pre-plaster: walls out of plumb and waterproofing the two main ones. Some of the waterproofing is a timing issue, where they don't do certain parts until they are ready to tile for fear of damage - in this case, I came on site the day they were tiling to make sure they completed this work. Other things were aesthetic vs pure code compliance. In some cases we insisted, in others we decided that Semore's approach was better overall.
- PCI: we were not happy with our render, so a few redos on that. Painting defects. Only thing that was not cosmetic at this point was missing caulking in some areas.

Semore are good at communication. They will talk to you for as long as you need to discuss the defects. If you don't strongly stand your ground, it is possible that they bulldoze through some of it, but for the most part I felt that I could tell them to do it even when they were not 100% convinced.

You need to stay on top of them to ensure the work is done, and advocate for your rights. But they engage with you and spend the time. I was allowed on site at any time, so never felt they were hiding anything.