Building with Metricon

The concern with mould is the remaining spores. If these are already spread through the roof and rooms they can re-activate under the right conditions of moisture and temperature and spread further to damage furniture and clothing, shoes, books, etc. These spores can be dormant for years awaiting suitable conditions to come back to life. I have experienced this. Take care.

Get an independent inspector to visit regularly. Also suggest you visit at least once per week with the site supervisor and follow a checklist looking for poor quality works. this will force them to actually check their own work! Be prepared for delaying tactics to frustrate your efforts however. Record any issues with photos and promptly document them in writing to the builder, requesting acknowledgement.

Get an independent inspector to visit regularly. Also suggest you visit at least once per week with the site supervisor and follow a checklist looking for poor quality works. this will force them to actually check their own work! Be prepared for delaying tactics to frustrate your efforts however. Record any issues with photos and promptly document them in writing to the builder, requesting acknowledgement.

Hi All
Quick question since our building permit is already valid, do we still need to apply for another one to build a stratco roof for our entertainment area and for our fence? We have sent to council our 3 applications for report and consent for the 1.5m fences and under 5m rear setback. So waiting for that to clear, but was wondering what is the process now for building permit.

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=ht ... are_type=t

Hi all, i was quote for a base house price back in late nov, and now when i asked for it again the base price has increased 22k. Does anyone know if M has raised prices the past few months?

They increase 2-3 times a year. Some houses make huge jumps due to the cost of certain designs.

Given that building approvals are down about 20% recently you would expect competition for jobs between the volume builders like Metricon, and the contractors in the value chain to result in lower building prices to maintain their business. Ask them specifically why the pricing has increased. You deserve an open, straight answer.

Hi All,
Just after some advice... we have received our final contract and HIA new homes contract to review before we sign later next week.
Is there anything I should know/ check?
I have been through the contract item by item and checked against latest house plans- some things we will need to amend but is there anything else I should be looking for?
Is there also a company who could help review this contract- esp the new homes contract as there is so much technical lingo in it!
Our site fees have gone up $11k without no notification? Really annoying esp when they have itemised we need a $20k slab upgrade in lieu of standard. Is this really necessary? We are building on new land that’s flat!
Thanks in advance.

20k slab i would think u accept it happily..

Your house is like 350-700k.

And 20k for slab is a fraction of the cost. The slab is the 2nd most important item after your frame.

Very true... it is just they have reassured us so many times that the site costs wouldn’t increase... and never that we needed to upgrade a slab. I agree a slab is important but just wasn’t sure if this was usual procedure... just upgrade it without notice at the final contract stage?

Thanks for your reply.

Norfolk is well worth listening to. Writing generally, it's sad for all, but the economic rot seems to be beginning to set into the residential building industry. Building approvals are really sagging off. In SA, for a worst example, the industry is talking about a negative 30% in residential building approvals compared to similar period a year back. Leading to the predictable corporate eventuality for some builders. There's no way that public works, despite all the babble, will take up the slack in the actual industry. Too, building supply companies are stressed. Building supply retail outlets are being reported closing. Appliance prices are looking amazing compared to a year back.

The sag in residential building approvals can be linked to credit tightening but it's likely also highly forced by confidence levels and value decisions by those who might otherwise be investing in a new build. The new economics of the sector will be reflected, eventually, in the building sector's pricing.

In essence, a time to keep a tight hold on one's hat.

Metricon's 'standard' HIA contract will put you at a significant disadvantage if there are problems identified with the build. The HIA is paid to represent Metricon's interests. The standard contract is unfair and, unfortunately,it protects Metricon, not naive first time customers (Metricon's target customer!). The contract supports them to behave in the many questionable ways which have been documented by contributors to this website. For example, Metricon don’t care how slow they are with your build! The cost to them of any delay is $30 per working day - less any rain days as per the liquidated damages clause. The cost to you of delays is rent, interest, storage etc of $200 or more per calendar day. If you push them to fix defects they will respond by slowing down to put you under pressure to accept them. Be aware of this and consider the costs of delays in build time to you. A 6 month delay if you insist on a quality build per the plans can easily cost you $50,000 more, as well as a lot of family stress! I suggest that paying a lawyer to review your contract before you sign may be a good investment.

Also, I suggest you demand a detailed explanation for the $11K slab difference. If Metricon are not open and honest with you now before you sign their contract then you cannot expect them to behave ethically towards you later. Metricon's display homes, and their slick sales and marketing presence does not accurately represent their low capability or their ethics as a home builder. Beware of the way Metricon has treated other customers after the contract is signed!

The HIA contract is totally one sided and NOT in favour of the consumer.

I signed a “standard” HIA fixed price contract last year and it is the biggest mistake of my life.

The builder has you by the short ones and if you get to the point where you need to terminate because they are doing the wrong thing you are screwed.

So true,should be illegal as they say u sign a standard hia contract that makes customers think it's a government drawn contract ,when it fact it's nothing near the best contract for consumers.

Thanks all for your feedback re HIA contract. But what to do as it has to be signed for the build to commence??

Thanks Norfolk- I will be asking for a run down of all the additional costs and a please explain before we proceed.

There will always be negative cases.
If u already decided to build what is there to think about.

The contract is std as per any large volume builders. Some worst than others but they are more or less on same level.

Thanks MyFirst - yes true whoever we go through will have some sort of similar contract... part of the process.
Fingers crossed ours will be a positive experience!

I think u r in Melbourne right.
Seen a few houses build around my area by metricon. They look pretty good.

Also on this forum those in melb building with metricon they all seems pretty happy with it.

So theoritically should be alright.

Nah, most will have the same sort of contract,so accept it,no way,just plain wrong,get a pre contract inspection and change contract significantly,you will regret it if something goes wrong,and the chance of something wrong is almost a certainty,this cow manure of not being allowed to take contract with you is enough to say,stick your house up yours or give me the contract ,and personaly if I was told that,I would walk has that's a huge red flag.