For those looking at external colour visualisation for their new home I would try this online tool I found it really handy (keeping in mind you can't beat the real thing, ie colours in real life under different conditions react different ways, but the screen images help you get a bit of an idea):
http://colorbond.autech.com.au/onlinevi ... esidential
The best part about the tool is that it let's you change colours from the ground up.
Site Costs with Allworth
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Hi, I am building in Claremont Meadows with Penrith City Council.
But could never get anyone from package central to return my phone calls so dealing direct with allworth, their loss. Mite not build Concerto after all as after 4 meetings with Allworth and being told that the house would fit on my land GUESS WHAT ??? council have said no way for the size of house with the ratio of land I have to leave as green space ....looking now at the Cadenza 4 so have got my fingers crossed and still waiting for the call from allworth and their drafting dept
But could never get anyone from package central to return my phone calls so dealing direct with allworth, their loss. Mite not build Concerto after all as after 4 meetings with Allworth and being told that the house would fit on my land GUESS WHAT ??? council have said no way for the size of house with the ratio of land I have to leave as green space ....looking now at the Cadenza 4 so have got my fingers crossed and still waiting for the call from allworth and their drafting dept
yeah unfortunately they're not the best communicators sometimes, which is frustrating but they're a quality company...
I agree with noddy09 here. They are cheaper than competitors but I have seen and heard good things about their build quality. They are slow to communicate and you have to be on top of them chasing things.
So I suggest that you should chase them up and not twiddle your thumbs and make a reason for urgency. Good luck!
So I suggest that you should chase them up and not twiddle your thumbs and make a reason for urgency. Good luck!
A bit off topic but has anyone had any luck negotiating with Allworth to get your own landscaping done before handover?
I was given some weak excuse about liability if an independent contractor is hurt and Allworth being sued, but my limited understanding is each contractor has their own insurances and would have to prove Allworth is negligent to prove causation.
Not sure if I should talk to fair trading about this but thinking I should because I don't like being held to ransom over my property. I really do think it is a matter of them being unreasonable particularly because the special conditions make provision for Allworth to get provide written permission but the building manager said they don't allow driveways or hard landscaping, except pools.
I was given some weak excuse about liability if an independent contractor is hurt and Allworth being sued, but my limited understanding is each contractor has their own insurances and would have to prove Allworth is negligent to prove causation.
Not sure if I should talk to fair trading about this but thinking I should because I don't like being held to ransom over my property. I really do think it is a matter of them being unreasonable particularly because the special conditions make provision for Allworth to get provide written permission but the building manager said they don't allow driveways or hard landscaping, except pools.
HI I think the restriction would relate to the Allworth lead contractor or site supervisor legally needing to give permission for an outside contractor to step foot onto their work-site pre hand over. ie the work cover / legal requirements include inducting the contractor on-site, covering off things like insurance & licences, green cards etc etc. From a legal and subsequent paperwork side of things there is alot to cover for one additional worker (not known to the company) to walk on-site before they even start work. And in addition to all these things maybe it's company policy to avoid these situations which restricts the Site Manager's options ? All in all it makes things less complicated for Allworth. Can you time your landscaping / driveways to occur on the day of hand over ? Sorry I can't be of more assistance. Good luck.
Hi, I am building in Claremont Meadows with Penrith City Council.
But could never get anyone from package central to return my phone calls so dealing direct with allworth, their loss. Mite not build Concerto after all as after 4 meetings with Allworth and being told that the house would fit on my land GUESS WHAT ??? council have said no way for the size of house with the ratio of land I have to leave as green space ....looking now at the Cadenza 4 so have got my fingers crossed and still waiting for the call from allworth and their drafting dept
But could never get anyone from package central to return my phone calls so dealing direct with allworth, their loss. Mite not build Concerto after all as after 4 meetings with Allworth and being told that the house would fit on my land GUESS WHAT ??? council have said no way for the size of house with the ratio of land I have to leave as green space ....looking now at the Cadenza 4 so have got my fingers crossed and still waiting for the call from allworth and their drafting dept
Hi juzme. We are also building in Claremont Meadows and are building the Concerto. What size is your block out of curiosity? We have been told that ours is just the correct ratio and are on a 570m2 block. Plans are in council as we speak.
Hi all
there is one concerto for sale in Stanhope gardens.... have a look
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-h ... -106828505
there is one concerto for sale in Stanhope gardens.... have a look
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-h ... -106828505
Thanks missionhome! we will go have a look on the weekend. In the pictures its seems like they kept most things the same.
Thanks missionhome. We will also be there this weekend.
This is a great find
This is a great find
Found out next door to us are also building a concerto...what are the odds?
Mate, I guess the odds are not that high.
Our next door are also building a concerto with same facade (colonial). However, we are changing ours to the Plaza (with portico) so they will not have issue through council.
Our next door are also building a concerto with same facade (colonial). However, we are changing ours to the Plaza (with portico) so they will not have issue through council.
yeah it would of been nice to find out earlier we might of changed the front..emailed Allworth just to see if we can check what colour scheme they used.
Our house has started!!!
very exciting times for us now, the land has been scraped, piers been dug out and filled with concrete, plumbing has started so should be laying the slab next week hopefully.
Got a question about the piering - we had 58 piers at 2m each, which is 116m in total, Allworth only allowed 80 lineal metres of concrete for the piers so I'm assuming I'll get charged an extra $2000 for the additional concrete. My question is, with all the excess dirt for the piers (there is a huge amount of it) are we expected to remove that dirt? There is a pile at the back of the house, small pile on the side and a huge pile of dirt at the front...
very exciting times for us now, the land has been scraped, piers been dug out and filled with concrete, plumbing has started so should be laying the slab next week hopefully.
Got a question about the piering - we had 58 piers at 2m each, which is 116m in total, Allworth only allowed 80 lineal metres of concrete for the piers so I'm assuming I'll get charged an extra $2000 for the additional concrete. My question is, with all the excess dirt for the piers (there is a huge amount of it) are we expected to remove that dirt? There is a pile at the back of the house, small pile on the side and a huge pile of dirt at the front...
Hi noddy09,
I believe you will have to pay for the soil removal. It is mentioned in the contract as well. I checked this with the homeworld consultant couple of months ago and he said the same. However, he said you may spread the soil at the back in the yard so that you don't pay for the removal. And this will only increase the rear yard level by few mms. But not sure if there will be a charge for this.
I would recommend you speak with Allworth asap and check this out before they clear the soil and invoice you.
Please let us know how you go.
I believe you will have to pay for the soil removal. It is mentioned in the contract as well. I checked this with the homeworld consultant couple of months ago and he said the same. However, he said you may spread the soil at the back in the yard so that you don't pay for the removal. And this will only increase the rear yard level by few mms. But not sure if there will be a charge for this.
I would recommend you speak with Allworth asap and check this out before they clear the soil and invoice you.
Please let us know how you go.
Yes please be aware! Our site costs were $22000 ( didnt know there was a fixed option) We didn't go through package central but another type. We recently paid $5500 to get someone to remove soil from our flat block of land. Then we got a bill for pump for piers ( $660) and then a bill for gravel / mesh for external plumbing ( $550) we had no idea any of this would need to be paid for. We thought that the site costs included everything! So be careful!!
I'm struggling to understand a lot of these additional site cost. How do these costs pop up. Are these houses not being built under fixed price contracts. Surely once the agreed price is paid there cannot be other additonal costs, except for client driven variations?? Am I missing something.
Im going to be building with a custom builder and have discussed Fixed Price.
Spoke with Allworth late this afternoon... External plumbing is getting done next Monday and all our framework is getting delivered next Wednesday (not tomorrow).
I asked about the removal of dirt as we've got a fair bit (58 piers at 2m each x 400mm diameter) and they said if you can remove it get it done before the frames arrive. I forgot to ask them how much they were going to charge me if they did it. I thought I could do this myself but looking around its not too hard to hire a 2 Tone truck and a digger, but where to dump the dirt, thats quite expensive I think...
I've got a friend who knows someone with a truck and digger, he's quoted me $3500 cash (max, could be less if less dirt than what I told him and is quicker in time) to remove the dirt...
I really wasn't expecting it to cost this much... very annoyed...
Does anybody know of any other way of removing the dirt???
I asked about the removal of dirt as we've got a fair bit (58 piers at 2m each x 400mm diameter) and they said if you can remove it get it done before the frames arrive. I forgot to ask them how much they were going to charge me if they did it. I thought I could do this myself but looking around its not too hard to hire a 2 Tone truck and a digger, but where to dump the dirt, thats quite expensive I think...
I've got a friend who knows someone with a truck and digger, he's quoted me $3500 cash (max, could be less if less dirt than what I told him and is quicker in time) to remove the dirt...
I really wasn't expecting it to cost this much... very annoyed...
Does anybody know of any other way of removing the dirt???
Why dont you spread it at the back in your rear and side areas? It should only increase the height by only a couple of cms.
Well today I hired a Dingo digger from Kennards Hire, a great little machine, moved about 13Tone of dirt from the front of our block to the back into a big pile, we'll use a chemical to break down the clay into soil and use it as fill once we've moved in.
Well today I hired a Dingo digger from Kennards Hire, a great little machine, moved about 13Tone of dirt from the front of our block to the back into a big pile, we'll use a chemical to break down the clay into soil and use it as fill once we've moved in.
That's great! Nice idea. How did you get the dingo to the lot? And how long did it take you and $$ hire?
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