Porter Davis homes

hmm yes.. wouldn't be a thrilling experience. Check out what they've used to create their preliminary site costs proposal. this might help gauge how accurate the costs are that you're looking at. I know when I was in the Sales process, it was purely a guess as to the typical conditions of that area, but my soil report which was presented to me at site costs/Tender appointment, although it was preliminary, it did show a lot of rock so we were able to factor this in early on and the costs didn't change.

Good luck

The urbane one chocolate bricks are a couple of shades darker and I love them. Last night I drove past a house with the same bricks but the shade was much lighter and I’m really glad that ours are darker.

If you're building in an estate, perhaps you can try and find other people from the estate to talk to, just to get an idea of the site costs they had? I was only able to find one person on here building in the estate I am, but as the entire estate is very flat and all the blocks really do look exactly the same, hearing what his site costs came to was enough to stop me from stressing - and turned out to be accurate by the time soil tests and contracts were done.

Hi serenitynow,
I’m glad you are liking your bricks! I’m glad you were able to get to Hopetoun to refresh your memory. You should post up some photos! Cheers, Ebony

you cant really predict. we had an estimate done by a very reputable source locally who ended up spot on with the soil type and slab requirements but the UPGRADE with PD was still more than their quote by about $5K. The UPGRADE. This was an all inclusive quote so PD are up by around $15K [with around $10K estimate to be included in the PD house price from the way it has been explained to us].

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster

I have spent many nights over the past few months reading the masses of information that you have all generously shared, so to all of you a big thanks

Last week our slab was poured and over the weekend the windows, door frames, frame wood and trusses have all been delivered as well as the frame being outlined on the slab, so I am assuming the frame will begin in the next day or so. So far I cannot fault anything (not that heaps has been done) however there are a couple of things that I'm a little unsure about that I'm hoping I can get a little input on from other members experiences:

Firstly I have yet to hear from my Site Supervisor. My file was recently moved from PD North to East due to what appears to be a restructure of the company, so I can only guess that the SS has a mass of new houses to look after and thus the lack of initial contact. I was given his mobile number when I was notified of the relocating of my file but I do not want to be too pushy and contact him first, although I may have to being that I need to organise a frame inspection and the company needs 3-5 days lead time. My CSC is fantastic and has sent several requests for him to contact me however thus far I have heard nothing. Is anyone able to enlighten me on when they were first contacted? Is this common? Any advice on what to do?

The other query is more trivial then anything. When should I expect temp fencing to be erected? I know it is fairly useless and would not keep anyone out if they really want to snoop/steal but we are the first to build in a new estate and with no other existing houses having a view of our block I can just see things going walkabout in the night.

Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated

Hi mattnjac,
I got a call from SS after slab was poured.
I'd ask for his no & call to organise your frame inspection.

In regards to temp fencing I'd also ask the question!
You could always email him to? Ask your rep.

Good luck with your build I'm extremely pleased with PD. My build has been awesome. Quality very good. Very glad I chose PD to build our house.

Mel

Hi MattnJac,
Welcome, we would all love to keep hearing about your progress. Which house are you building?

The fence is just an OH&S requirement so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. We haven't started building yet but it seems most people are contacted by their SS just after slab pouring. I would get in contact ASAP to be sure they are working of the correct plans. Good luck !!!!

Hey Guys

Thanks for the replies, glad to hear everything has gone so well for you Mel, fingers crossed its the same for me. So far, touch wood, it has been a really good experience with PD, a few hiccups, like being onto my 4th CSC, but that's nothing I'm too fussed about.

Rups, We are building the Francis 29, which has since been discontinued, in Doreen. We are the only ones to have started construction which is pretty exciting. I did make sure that the final plans were the correct ones as we did have 3 or 4 versions over the course of the admin period, that was something I actually did after reading some of the posts in this very thread


Perhaps you two are right and its best I just bite the bullet and make the first contact, cant hurt I guess. Otherwise I could be waiting who knows how long!

Thanks again

Matt

Hi All,

We are quickly approaching our lock-up stage and PD, and they have done a wonderful job so far, there are a few issues with gaps between the outer window seal (black thing that runs at the bottom of the aluminum frame) and the brick work, which I have fed back to my SS and CSA. I have not been officially been told that lockup has occurred, but I did see the plaster board delivered yesterday, and looking at the progress, all the wooden frames have been planed ready for the plasterboard to go up.

Just wanted to ask if I should get a inspection completed?

I had one completed when the framing was done, and the inspector did not really tell me much apart from the things I pointed out to him when I was inspecting the frame.

Any thoughts?

Gren

Hi Rups,
Yes, I can confirm that we have a new display coming which we are really excited about! I'm about to make an announcement with all the details so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks, Ebony

Hi MattnJac,
Glad to see you on the forum. I am happy to hear that you'll be building with Porter Davis. The Francis 29 is a great design which I’m sure you’ll be happy with. The forum is a great place to get honest and open feedback and advice from other members, like Rups and mel_mox. Also feel free to ask me any questions you may have along the way. We also have a really informative blog as well http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/ . If you don’t hear from your SS be sure to let either me or BC know and we can follow this up for you. Goodluck with everything and keep is posted on your progress. Cheers Ebony

Hi Gren,
I’m glad to hear things are well and you feel we’ve done a wonderful job, even despite those few issues. I think by you picking up the same issues as the inspectors shows you are looking for the right things and if it helps to ease your mind then perhaps it would be worth having the inspector again. But it’s entirely up to you. Let me know what you decide. Cheers, Ebony

Very exciting Ebony - looking forward to the announcement

All your interior design questions answered!

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Hi Gren,

We had the issue with a large gap between the window and the brickwork sill but this will get picked up (if it hasn't been done so already) when they get the builiding inspector through.

Do send an email to your SS to highlight it (just in case) but be rest assured that it won't pass the building inspector (there is a building standard and tolerances they have to adhere to).

We had this same issue (where the gap was nearly 2 cm!) but don't worry, they will come back to fix these up at a later stage. The building inspector will mark all the ones that need to be removed and redone. To keep the flow of your build happening they will progress to each stage, but the items that need to be fixed up will be rescheduled.

We have our PCI today and i can tell you this is probably going to be the quickest one in history as our SS has been brilliant in fixing up anything that we have highlighted hasn't been right or getting on top of those areas he saw issues with (even if we hadn't!)

Cheers,

Mel

Our display homes at The Keys are turning into a Coco Republic showroom for one day only!

You’ve seen all the beautiful furnishings in our Prestige display homes. Now it’s your chance to take a piece or two home with you.
With two beautiful homes on display so there will be a wide range of Coco Republic ex-display furniture, accessories, lamps and artwork available for purchase, with up to 70% off retail prices.

Join us for complimentary barista made coffee as members from the Coco Republic team will be on hand to give you great tips, plenty of inspiration and help you find that perfect piece for your home at special prices from our Porter Davis Prestige display centre at The Keys in Keysborough.
Ensure you bring your trailer as purchases can be taken away on the day. Alternatively, you can arrange delivery with Coco Republic for a fee.

When: Saturday 22 October 2011

Time: 9am-11am

Where: The Keys - Prestige display centre
Keylana Drive, Keysborough
Melway Ref: 88 H12

RSVP today to ivana.horvat@porterdavis.com.au

Look out for more Coco Republic sales coming soon in the South East!

Just when I was about to comment on how quick Porter Davis are in trying to fix things with an unhappy customer, I get an email proving to me that it is all for show.
After various complaints I received a 'concerned' phone call yesterday morning. They 'understood' our frustrations, and explained some things that relaxed us (me) a bit regarding our BC. They also agreed that we should not have made it all the way through to the contract before being told they cannot do the niches, and were going to explain this to the construction manager as a special circumstance to let this get through. After the phone call we felt a million times better about everything, and thought if we can get the niche's, we could relax and put all the troubles behind us.

Today I get an email explaining that they asked the construction manager, and while he was understanding of our situation, we still can't have the niches. Blah blah blah have a nice day.

They think that this makes everything better? I had proof that they can do it (thanks Eli). They said that since a meeting one year ago they no longer do them at all, period. Great.
Nobody bothered to tell us to begin with. If they did we probably would have looked at other house designs, or most likely upgraded to 4 bedrooms, which moves the bathroom and ensuite around a bit.
Nobody could be bothered doing anything then, nobody can be bothered trying to do anything now. We are just expected to deal with it. Why should we have to LIVE with their mistake? with their laziness?
We have had to put up with a terrible BC that is clearly in above her head (I was told she is new) and they can't make an effort to make one of their own mistakes right?

I just want one 'win'. Just to be able to come on here and say 'it was a nightmare to begin with, but they made up for it all and now things are going great' so we can join in on the excitement that the rest of you are having.
A the moment we just resent the entire ordeal.

Hi everyone,

well we had PCI this morning. This was about a 2 hour meeting going thru every single room.
Only minor things need fixing, We organised an independant inspection last friday prior to PCI & the things he found were minor: mortar on bricks, weather strips need to be put on external doors, etc. Very pleased

Handover should happen next friday if all goes to plan

I would like to say that team PD have been wonderful throughout our build. I am so happy with the quality.
Yes we had 7 Customer Reps, due to high staff turnover but our SS was outstanding and we only had one!

mel

Sorry!? I am building a house right now with a Niche, see my dates below..

I am confused..