***We are First Home Buyers building with Simonds Homes in Narre Warren, VIC. We appreciate any advice you may have for us as this is our first Home Buying / Building Experience***
Hi there!
My partner and I are First Home Buyers and have recently signed a contract for a block of land at Vimini Drive Estate, Narre Warren. Although the block was small we have found a suitable Double Storey home we are happy with from the Simonds Range of Homes. We are at the stage where we have signed our Land Contract and are waiting to finalize our Finance and our Building Contract.
The more research I do into Testimonials and Reviews from disgruntled Simonds Customer the more uncomfortable I am about proceeding with our contract. Further information on the reading material I am referring to can be found here-
http://www.ozripoff.com/report-view/520-do-not-build-with-simonds-homes
http://www.productreview.com.au/p/simonds.html - of 136 reviews on this site, 94 were rated 1 star out of 5. 12 reviews were rated 5 star.
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?p=3107
It seems most issues stem from negative experiences during the building phase - problems with brickworks, crooked walls, leaky roofs / light sockets, second hand shower recesses, faulty garage doors, ever increasing site costs (i thought it was fixed cost?) etc it seems most issues stem from what they refer to as incompetent and unorganized site supervisors etc. It seems to me the most important thing we need to do is ensure we are provided a competent, experienced and organized Building Supervisor who will oversee our home from start to finish. A lot of issues also relate to delays in construction. We are in no rush to move into our home we just want to make sure everything is done right and done right the first time. they can take as long as they like as long as they get it right.
We are meeting with our Simonds Representative this Saturday (June 4 2011) for a Walk Through of our home stating inclusions / exclusions and finalizing our Building Contract should we agree to proceed. Just trying to compile a list of important questions requiring clarification and anything else we need to be aware of before proceeding further. Our lawyer mentioned something about a 25 year guarantee?
Any Simonds Experiences people would like to share with us - both positive and negative - would be muchly appreciated. We just want to make sure we are as informed as possible before proceeding any further.
Thanks for your time.
Matt and Jasmine
Building First Home with Simonds - Narre Warren, VIC
Page 1 of 3
Hi and welcome to the forum!
I didn't build with Simonds, but I wouldn't take don't too much notice of those websites. People are far more likely to be posting about negative experiences than positive ones so take them with a grain of salt.
Have a read through some of the threads here (other builders as well) and you'll get heaps of info.
My advice is document everything, even after a phone call, play dumb and ask them to shoot you an email regarding what you just discussed, you never know when it will come in handy to have a paper trail. Take photos, keep records. Get on site as often as you can to see what's going on, while being mindful that the tradies are working and not to get in their way.
Educate yourself as much as you possibly can about everything related to your house.... take heaps of photos of the display that you are building so that you have comparisons further down the track (the display could close at any time), take photos of any options or upgrades you requests (again for comparison).
Ask heaps of questions, plenty of people here will answer pretty much anything! The only dumb question is the one you didn't ask!
I didn't build with Simonds, but I wouldn't take don't too much notice of those websites. People are far more likely to be posting about negative experiences than positive ones so take them with a grain of salt.
Have a read through some of the threads here (other builders as well) and you'll get heaps of info.
My advice is document everything, even after a phone call, play dumb and ask them to shoot you an email regarding what you just discussed, you never know when it will come in handy to have a paper trail. Take photos, keep records. Get on site as often as you can to see what's going on, while being mindful that the tradies are working and not to get in their way.
Educate yourself as much as you possibly can about everything related to your house.... take heaps of photos of the display that you are building so that you have comparisons further down the track (the display could close at any time), take photos of any options or upgrades you requests (again for comparison).
Ask heaps of questions, plenty of people here will answer pretty much anything! The only dumb question is the one you didn't ask!
Hi, we will be building with Simonds, we are in the process of the Gallery, finalising the plans and they having the contract signed within the next month.
I agree with the previous poster completely about the building process and also people often come on forums to whinge, I have, but coming on here to read the forums has given me ideas about what I want in my house. I am currently following a positive forum on here.
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45132
Here are my tips for my journey so far, on the walk through, be very clear to the sales person at the display home. Read the quote carefully and make sure that the calculations add up as ours didn't. There are things that you can do cheaper than Simonds, for us that is carpet and a/c, make sure that you make it clear what you don't need. Understand completely what inclusions you will be getting and know that everything in the Gallery adds up to more money you will have to spend.
All up so far we have added $70k onto the base price of the house , so be realistic in what you want in the house when you get to move in.
I also suggest (my own opinion - may not be others) not to go straight to contract but go to tender, this way you can check and recheck your plans.
Also having an independent building inspector helps.
Something no one has suggested to us before before you go to the gallery, go and look at the brick displays then drive by a house built in the brick that you like (austral brick will provide addresses), this way you will be prepared for this choice before the gallery. And you can take samples home, I found this to be helpful for us. And one less thing we have to think about at the gallery.
What house are you going to build?
We are building the Amberlea.
Hope it all goes well.
I agree with the previous poster completely about the building process and also people often come on forums to whinge, I have, but coming on here to read the forums has given me ideas about what I want in my house. I am currently following a positive forum on here.
http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45132
Here are my tips for my journey so far, on the walk through, be very clear to the sales person at the display home. Read the quote carefully and make sure that the calculations add up as ours didn't. There are things that you can do cheaper than Simonds, for us that is carpet and a/c, make sure that you make it clear what you don't need. Understand completely what inclusions you will be getting and know that everything in the Gallery adds up to more money you will have to spend.
All up so far we have added $70k onto the base price of the house , so be realistic in what you want in the house when you get to move in.
I also suggest (my own opinion - may not be others) not to go straight to contract but go to tender, this way you can check and recheck your plans.
Also having an independent building inspector helps.
Something no one has suggested to us before before you go to the gallery, go and look at the brick displays then drive by a house built in the brick that you like (austral brick will provide addresses), this way you will be prepared for this choice before the gallery. And you can take samples home, I found this to be helpful for us. And one less thing we have to think about at the gallery.
What house are you going to build?
We are building the Amberlea.
Hope it all goes well.
Hi Matt & Jasmine,
My experience is going to see a friend's house built by Simonds a couple of months after it was finished. Unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. It was the Villa Grand and I only got to see the ground floor, but I have seen it as a display home before so I know what it's meant to look like.
This may be the case with every new home build, but he had a list of things to be rectified by them, of which very little had been addressed and it was by then passed the time the contract says that defects should be fixed by. A couple of the more glaring things I remember was the quality (or lack of) of the plastering. Most notably in the hallway, the plaster had visible lumps and was not smooth as it should have been, particularly obvious when light shines on the wall and you're looking from an angle. This will not be addressed by Simonds. The other was my friend noticed some insulation that was sitting on the floor after the walls had been plastered, and said 'shouldn't that be in the wall?' to which they replied no, it's leftover, but my friend insisted they check. So they knocked a hole in the wall and sure enough there was none, so it all had to be redone. Oh and the staircase was stained the wrong colour, again can't be fixed. Other little things like windows not being level, tradies trudging mud inside onto the new carpet and it not even coming out after being steam cleaned, downlights in wrong position, some minor changes they'd requested to ensuite vanity weren't done, front door wouldn't close properly as it scraped the floor.
So I don't know. What he said to me was you need to check the contract 20 times to make sure it's right before signing, and you need to be on them all the time during the build to ensure mistakes get fixed. But the experience really put me off volume builders in general. Yes the houses are affordable, but in my opinion that's why. Cheap materials and ** labour. May not always be the case, and it depends on the individual builders/tradies.
My experience is going to see a friend's house built by Simonds a couple of months after it was finished. Unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. It was the Villa Grand and I only got to see the ground floor, but I have seen it as a display home before so I know what it's meant to look like.
This may be the case with every new home build, but he had a list of things to be rectified by them, of which very little had been addressed and it was by then passed the time the contract says that defects should be fixed by. A couple of the more glaring things I remember was the quality (or lack of) of the plastering. Most notably in the hallway, the plaster had visible lumps and was not smooth as it should have been, particularly obvious when light shines on the wall and you're looking from an angle. This will not be addressed by Simonds. The other was my friend noticed some insulation that was sitting on the floor after the walls had been plastered, and said 'shouldn't that be in the wall?' to which they replied no, it's leftover, but my friend insisted they check. So they knocked a hole in the wall and sure enough there was none, so it all had to be redone. Oh and the staircase was stained the wrong colour, again can't be fixed. Other little things like windows not being level, tradies trudging mud inside onto the new carpet and it not even coming out after being steam cleaned, downlights in wrong position, some minor changes they'd requested to ensuite vanity weren't done, front door wouldn't close properly as it scraped the floor.
So I don't know. What he said to me was you need to check the contract 20 times to make sure it's right before signing, and you need to be on them all the time during the build to ensure mistakes get fixed. But the experience really put me off volume builders in general. Yes the houses are affordable, but in my opinion that's why. Cheap materials and ** labour. May not always be the case, and it depends on the individual builders/tradies.
mattnjaz
I suggest you spend quite a bit of time here, I have learnt so much in 4 weeks I wish i knew it before I chose my plan. We go to tender on monday, but I would say here are the important things.
Read the last posts in this thread, it has a full list of things you might forget, most of them cost money, and most are not included! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=5823
Under no circumstance pay the last payment until all issues have been rectified. Way too many examples of it never ever getting repaired.
Get a independent inspector even if your builder does there own.
I suggest you spend quite a bit of time here, I have learnt so much in 4 weeks I wish i knew it before I chose my plan. We go to tender on monday, but I would say here are the important things.
Read the last posts in this thread, it has a full list of things you might forget, most of them cost money, and most are not included! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=5823
Under no circumstance pay the last payment until all issues have been rectified. Way too many examples of it never ever getting repaired.
Get a independent inspector even if your builder does there own.
Welcome mattnjaz!
This is a great forum to get ideas and to share experiences, I hope you find this as helpful as I have. I am building in Narre Warren South, not with Simonds though.
In regards to those comments from those sites, you really have to sift through the genuine concerns from the needless rantings. Such as, if people are complaining of warped ceilings and walls, thats a ligitimate concern! If they are complaining about the mess of the building site while construction is going on, well that cam be expected, after all, it is a building site.
There may look like a lot of complaints, but think about the thousands that you don't see that are perfectly satisfied.
I suggest you get to know and try to get along with your bulding supervisor, that really helps and any correspondent have in writing through email, just incase!
Good luck with the build!
This is a great forum to get ideas and to share experiences, I hope you find this as helpful as I have. I am building in Narre Warren South, not with Simonds though.
In regards to those comments from those sites, you really have to sift through the genuine concerns from the needless rantings. Such as, if people are complaining of warped ceilings and walls, thats a ligitimate concern! If they are complaining about the mess of the building site while construction is going on, well that cam be expected, after all, it is a building site.
There may look like a lot of complaints, but think about the thousands that you don't see that are perfectly satisfied.
I suggest you get to know and try to get along with your bulding supervisor, that really helps and any correspondent have in writing through email, just incase!
Good luck with the build!
Hi Matt & Jasmine,
My experience is going to see a friend's house built by Simonds a couple of months after it was finished. Unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. It was the Villa Grand and I only got to see the ground floor, but I have seen it as a display home before so I know what it's meant to look like.
This may be the case with every new home build, but he had a list of things to be rectified by them, of which very little had been addressed and it was by then passed the time the contract says that defects should be fixed by. A couple of the more glaring things I remember was the quality (or lack of) of the plastering. Most notably in the hallway, the plaster had visible lumps and was not smooth as it should have been, particularly obvious when light shines on the wall and you're looking from an angle. This will not be addressed by Simonds. The other was my friend noticed some insulation that was sitting on the floor after the walls had been plastered, and said 'shouldn't that be in the wall?' to which they replied no, it's leftover, but my friend insisted they check. So they knocked a hole in the wall and sure enough there was none, so it all had to be redone. Oh and the staircase was stained the wrong colour, again can't be fixed. Other little things like windows not being level, tradies trudging mud inside onto the new carpet and it not even coming out after being steam cleaned, downlights in wrong position, some minor changes they'd requested to ensuite vanity weren't done, front door wouldn't close properly as it scraped the floor.
So I don't know. What he said to me was you need to check the contract 20 times to make sure it's right before signing, and you need to be on them all the time during the build to ensure mistakes get fixed. But the experience really put me off volume builders in general. Yes the houses are affordable, but in my opinion that's why. Cheap materials and ** labour. May not always be the case, and it depends on the individual builders/tradies.
My experience is going to see a friend's house built by Simonds a couple of months after it was finished. Unfortunately it wasn't a great experience. It was the Villa Grand and I only got to see the ground floor, but I have seen it as a display home before so I know what it's meant to look like.
This may be the case with every new home build, but he had a list of things to be rectified by them, of which very little had been addressed and it was by then passed the time the contract says that defects should be fixed by. A couple of the more glaring things I remember was the quality (or lack of) of the plastering. Most notably in the hallway, the plaster had visible lumps and was not smooth as it should have been, particularly obvious when light shines on the wall and you're looking from an angle. This will not be addressed by Simonds. The other was my friend noticed some insulation that was sitting on the floor after the walls had been plastered, and said 'shouldn't that be in the wall?' to which they replied no, it's leftover, but my friend insisted they check. So they knocked a hole in the wall and sure enough there was none, so it all had to be redone. Oh and the staircase was stained the wrong colour, again can't be fixed. Other little things like windows not being level, tradies trudging mud inside onto the new carpet and it not even coming out after being steam cleaned, downlights in wrong position, some minor changes they'd requested to ensuite vanity weren't done, front door wouldn't close properly as it scraped the floor.
So I don't know. What he said to me was you need to check the contract 20 times to make sure it's right before signing, and you need to be on them all the time during the build to ensure mistakes get fixed. But the experience really put me off volume builders in general. Yes the houses are affordable, but in my opinion that's why. Cheap materials and ** labour. May not always be the case, and it depends on the individual builders/tradies.
Hi Matt & Jasmine
As others have already said.....welcome to the Forum! Hoping your construction will be a realatively smooth run.
Our experience with Simonds has been pretty much idendical to the info posted above by cinder. Like her friend's house....we had a very long list of rectifications prior to handover.......plaster and paintworks being of major concern. Their trades in these areas are very lacklustre and unfortunately these are the trades from which you need an acceptable finish.
Cinder....if you are also reading this post.......your friend must have Simonds rectify this problem ....... on what grounds will they not address it? It is their contract obligation to abide by the implied warranties of the Simonds New Home contract, in particular Clause 11.1....The Builder warrants that the work will be carried out in a proper and workmanlike manner .... and also Clause 1.4 ....The Builder warrants that the work will be carried out with due care and skill......
If these statutory warranties are not met then Section 8 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act is being breached.
As joles also advised.....document everything, photograph everything and communicate with emails .......that way you have a written record of dealings....don't rely on what was covered in phonecalls........... hoping that you may not need such evidence ...... but speaking only of our experience, it was imperative to have everything covered. I would suggest that after any site meeting which might arise, as joles advised, email them but instead of asking them to confirm to you what was discussed............YOU confirm to them what was covered and agreed at the meeting........because if you ask them, they have been known not to keep their word or disagree that something was agreed upon. You have to be firm all the way and stand your ground.
Become very familiar with your contract and conditions and also the Domestic Building Contracts Act ....... you can obtain details of this by googling "Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995" ....... once accessed, you will find a numbering system, which if clicked on will open to further detail.
As edscl advised ...... closely cover your figure work in your tender/contract. We found a few discrepancies which needed attention. Try to have everything covered before contract and if possible eliminate as much as you can with post contract variations.
In closing, don't be afraid to request a site inspection and if necessary involve management as necessary. The sooner issues are recognised and dealt with the better ...... if they continue to be ignored arrange a further management meeting.
Wishing you all the best with your new home construction ............... I do hope you maybe a lucky one to have a fortunate experience.
Which home are you building?
SherWin
Wow! Thanks for all the feedback so far guys. I've been massively busy these past 2 days so haven't had a chance to check our post and my gmail is not notifying me of new posts for some reason. Just wanted to say I'm really appreciative of all your words of advice.
The best thing for me and jas is the fact that while we have our land contract signed, our land doesn't go to title until at least november so we have plenty of time to make sure we get this right. we are meeting with simonds on the weekend to do the walk through and will have a better idea of where we are at from there. I certainly won't be in any hurry to sign any building contract until we get any concerns addressed.
we will certainly take all of your feedback on board. we understand the importance of a decent competent, experienced site supervisor and that will be the most important aspect of the whole process from what i can tell. what also works in our favour is that our house is being built maybe 2 min drive / 5 min walk from where jas mum lives so we can visit almost every day if need be - understanding not to get in anyone's way of course.
we also understand we will need an independent building inspector at various stages of construction. is anyone able to recommend anyone in the eastern melbourne suburban area? how much does a building inspector cost?
we think we will stick with simonds as our builder primarily due to the fact that our land is very small and we struggled to find a suitable house design. we love the design we just hope it gets built properly. i'm confident as long as we can find the right supervisor, tradies everything will work out ok. can we choose our own supervisor / tradies?
i'm sure i have a million more questions i will need to ask and research answers for but i guess that is a start. thanks again for your time and all your help and advice so far. we really appreciate it.
cheers.
oh yeah and we are building the parkside fusion
The best thing for me and jas is the fact that while we have our land contract signed, our land doesn't go to title until at least november so we have plenty of time to make sure we get this right. we are meeting with simonds on the weekend to do the walk through and will have a better idea of where we are at from there. I certainly won't be in any hurry to sign any building contract until we get any concerns addressed.
we will certainly take all of your feedback on board. we understand the importance of a decent competent, experienced site supervisor and that will be the most important aspect of the whole process from what i can tell. what also works in our favour is that our house is being built maybe 2 min drive / 5 min walk from where jas mum lives so we can visit almost every day if need be - understanding not to get in anyone's way of course.
we also understand we will need an independent building inspector at various stages of construction. is anyone able to recommend anyone in the eastern melbourne suburban area? how much does a building inspector cost?
we think we will stick with simonds as our builder primarily due to the fact that our land is very small and we struggled to find a suitable house design. we love the design we just hope it gets built properly. i'm confident as long as we can find the right supervisor, tradies everything will work out ok. can we choose our own supervisor / tradies?
i'm sure i have a million more questions i will need to ask and research answers for but i guess that is a start. thanks again for your time and all your help and advice so far. we really appreciate it.
cheers.
oh yeah and we are building the parkside fusion
Read the last posts in this thread, it has a full list of things you might forget, most of them cost money, and most are not included! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=5823
hey mate i'm not sure which post you are referring to in this thread? sat may 28 2011 9am?
in case you are wondering, below is apparently what our house includes as standard. this will all need to be confirmed on the weekend of course. if you could asterisk anything below we need to be made particularly aware of would be fantastic.
thanks again.
Kitchen
o Electric underbench oven (600mm)
o Gas cooktop (600mm)
o CHOICE: 600mm slide-out rangehood (with laminated overhead cabinets) OR 600mm canopy rangehood
o 250mm exhaust fan including self sealing air flow draft stopper over cooktop (specific to Atherton 1500, Auburn 1500 and Auburn 1600)
o 1¾ bowl stainless steel sink including basket waste
o Fully lined laminated base with laminate post formed bench top including overhead cupboards (as per working drawings)
o Stainless steel appliances
o Mixer tap (selection of styles)
o Dishwasher space with single power point and plumbing connection
· Bathroom and Ensuite
o Fully lined laminated base cabinet with laminate post formed or square edge benchtop
o Vitreous china above counter hand basins (white) (selection of styles)
o Acrylic designer bath (white) set in a tiled podium (selection of styles)
o Dual flush vitreous china close coupled toilet suite (white) including skirted pan and enclosed trap
o Polished edge mirrors (above vanity benchtop)
o Showers - laminated glass pivot doors and colour matched frames with polymarble base
o Pin lever mixer tapware (selection of styles)
o Shower rose and 220mm wall bath outlet
o 250mm exhaust fans including self sealing air flow draft stoppers to bathroom and ensuite
· Laundry
o Feature acrylic 45lt trough and cabinet (white) with tapware
o Wall mounted washing machine taps
· Ceramic Tiling (From Builders Standard Range)
o Wall tiles to kitchen, bathroom, ensuite and laundry
o Floor tiles to bathroom, ensuite, WC and laundry
o 150mm high skirting tiles to bathroom, ensuite, powder room, WC and laundry (as per working drawings)
· Windows and External Doors
o Sliding aluminium windows including window locks
o Solidcarve entry door
o Push plate external door furniture including lever handle, deadlock, trim plate with logo and key in knob entry set to garage access door
· Garage
o Colorbond roller door to front
o Weatherproof hinged flush panel access door
· Insulation
o R3.5 Glasswool batts to ceiling of roof space only (excludes garage)
o R2.0 Glasswool wall batts including sisalation to external brick veneer walls (excluding garage) and wall between garage and house
· Ceilings
o 2440mm (overall plates) standard ceiling height
· Stairs - 2 Storey
o MDF treads and MDF rises paint finish (plan specific)
o Balusters and handrail (house specific)
· Solar Hot Water Service
o 160lt Lo Line Gas Boosted with 20lt Continuous Flow Booster, 1 No. Solar Collector and the necessary electrical and plumbing connections.
Note: Panel and storage tank positioned at the Builder's discretion. Additional solar panel maybe required at clients’ expense subject to orientation of dwelling
· Roofing
o Concrete colour on roof tile. Selection from Builders range
o Zincalume Cliplock roofing to all flat roof construction (house specific)
o Colorbond fascia and gutter
· Fixing
o 42mm MDF square dressed or pencil round architraves and 67mm MDF square dressed or pencil round skirtings
o Flush panel doors
o Lever passage sets and pull handles (selection of styles)
o Hinged opening doors to wardrobes (as shown on plans)
· Plaster
o Cornice - 75mm cove
· Paint - 2 Coat Application
o Low sheen acrylic to external timber work
o Low sheen acrylic to internal walls
o Flat acrylic to ceilings (white optional)
o Gloss finish to internal woodwork
o Gloss finish to front entry and internal doors
Note: Walls, woodwork and ceiling to be one colour throughout (white ceilings optional)
· Foundations
o Class 'M' concrete slab
· Heating (Natural gas only)
o Gas ducted heating unit in roof space
o Gas wall heater (specific to Atherton 1500, Auburn 1500 and Auburn 1600)
· Electrical
o Double power points and batten light points as per standard electric layout
o Safety switches (earth leakage detector)
o Smoke detectors
o Telephone point to kitchen
o 1 No. TV point
o 1 No. external light point outside laundry
· Connection Costs
o Connection of services - water, gas, electricity, sewer, telephone conduit and stormwater based on 650m2 blocks with 300mm fall and 5m setback. Does not include electricity and telephone consumer account opening fees
o 2 No. external taps
thanks again.
Kitchen
o Electric underbench oven (600mm)
o Gas cooktop (600mm)
o CHOICE: 600mm slide-out rangehood (with laminated overhead cabinets) OR 600mm canopy rangehood
o 250mm exhaust fan including self sealing air flow draft stopper over cooktop (specific to Atherton 1500, Auburn 1500 and Auburn 1600)
o 1¾ bowl stainless steel sink including basket waste
o Fully lined laminated base with laminate post formed bench top including overhead cupboards (as per working drawings)
o Stainless steel appliances
o Mixer tap (selection of styles)
o Dishwasher space with single power point and plumbing connection
· Bathroom and Ensuite
o Fully lined laminated base cabinet with laminate post formed or square edge benchtop
o Vitreous china above counter hand basins (white) (selection of styles)
o Acrylic designer bath (white) set in a tiled podium (selection of styles)
o Dual flush vitreous china close coupled toilet suite (white) including skirted pan and enclosed trap
o Polished edge mirrors (above vanity benchtop)
o Showers - laminated glass pivot doors and colour matched frames with polymarble base
o Pin lever mixer tapware (selection of styles)
o Shower rose and 220mm wall bath outlet
o 250mm exhaust fans including self sealing air flow draft stoppers to bathroom and ensuite
· Laundry
o Feature acrylic 45lt trough and cabinet (white) with tapware
o Wall mounted washing machine taps
· Ceramic Tiling (From Builders Standard Range)
o Wall tiles to kitchen, bathroom, ensuite and laundry
o Floor tiles to bathroom, ensuite, WC and laundry
o 150mm high skirting tiles to bathroom, ensuite, powder room, WC and laundry (as per working drawings)
· Windows and External Doors
o Sliding aluminium windows including window locks
o Solidcarve entry door
o Push plate external door furniture including lever handle, deadlock, trim plate with logo and key in knob entry set to garage access door
· Garage
o Colorbond roller door to front
o Weatherproof hinged flush panel access door
· Insulation
o R3.5 Glasswool batts to ceiling of roof space only (excludes garage)
o R2.0 Glasswool wall batts including sisalation to external brick veneer walls (excluding garage) and wall between garage and house
· Ceilings
o 2440mm (overall plates) standard ceiling height
· Stairs - 2 Storey
o MDF treads and MDF rises paint finish (plan specific)
o Balusters and handrail (house specific)
· Solar Hot Water Service
o 160lt Lo Line Gas Boosted with 20lt Continuous Flow Booster, 1 No. Solar Collector and the necessary electrical and plumbing connections.
Note: Panel and storage tank positioned at the Builder's discretion. Additional solar panel maybe required at clients’ expense subject to orientation of dwelling
· Roofing
o Concrete colour on roof tile. Selection from Builders range
o Zincalume Cliplock roofing to all flat roof construction (house specific)
o Colorbond fascia and gutter
· Fixing
o 42mm MDF square dressed or pencil round architraves and 67mm MDF square dressed or pencil round skirtings
o Flush panel doors
o Lever passage sets and pull handles (selection of styles)
o Hinged opening doors to wardrobes (as shown on plans)
· Plaster
o Cornice - 75mm cove
· Paint - 2 Coat Application
o Low sheen acrylic to external timber work
o Low sheen acrylic to internal walls
o Flat acrylic to ceilings (white optional)
o Gloss finish to internal woodwork
o Gloss finish to front entry and internal doors
Note: Walls, woodwork and ceiling to be one colour throughout (white ceilings optional)
· Foundations
o Class 'M' concrete slab
· Heating (Natural gas only)
o Gas ducted heating unit in roof space
o Gas wall heater (specific to Atherton 1500, Auburn 1500 and Auburn 1600)
· Electrical
o Double power points and batten light points as per standard electric layout
o Safety switches (earth leakage detector)
o Smoke detectors
o Telephone point to kitchen
o 1 No. TV point
o 1 No. external light point outside laundry
· Connection Costs
o Connection of services - water, gas, electricity, sewer, telephone conduit and stormwater based on 650m2 blocks with 300mm fall and 5m setback. Does not include electricity and telephone consumer account opening fees
o 2 No. external taps
very nice plan. It will be a lovely home when it is completed.
is your block not very deep?
is your block not very deep?
yes not very deep. i believe it is what is referred to as a "cottage block" but we like the location so we decided to compromise on block size (depth) and build up hence double storey is our only option really...
In regards to the post about things you might forget, the last updated post is here:
viewtopic.php?p=705220#p705220
Print it off, it has some good things in it that you may wish to understand before agreeing to move forward (with any builder)
viewtopic.php?p=705220#p705220
Print it off, it has some good things in it that you may wish to understand before agreeing to move forward (with any builder)
My advise will be " not to build with them" you have plenty of other builders in the market -- they have 95% unhappy and 5% happy customers and thats the reason you hear a lot of negativity
humble - thank you so much. that list certainly is extensive. lots in there i probably wouldn't have thought of.
abraham - thanks for your advice and i agree with your logic but no other builder seems to be any different on the internet. they all have negative feedback. it goes by the old saying that 10 people will give you a bad story for every 1 good story. people love to pass on bad news. even if it didn't happen to them but it happened to their friend's friend. how often do you hear good news stories on the news? maybe one little tidbit at the end of some panda bear that made friends with a monkey? the rest is war, famine, death, aids, carbon tax....
we found a nice reputable family builder and we were going to build with them but they don't do double storey and everyone else we can't afford. when we showed them the simonds plans they advised us to go ahead but be very careful. we have no choice but to go to a volume builder we just have to make sure they do a good job.
i spoke about our concerns re volume builders with our lawyer / conveyancer (who is very good btw if you need these services in the eastern melbourne metro area) she put it in perspective. why would this company intentionally set out to build ** houses if they want to be building houses in 10-20 years time. it doesn't make very good business sense. you're destroying your brand your name. i think if we are smart about it we will be ok. she mentioned something about a 25 year guarantee. apparently your house comes with a 10 year guarantee of workmanship but you can ask to extend to 25 years. does anyone know anything about that?
abraham - thanks for your advice and i agree with your logic but no other builder seems to be any different on the internet. they all have negative feedback. it goes by the old saying that 10 people will give you a bad story for every 1 good story. people love to pass on bad news. even if it didn't happen to them but it happened to their friend's friend. how often do you hear good news stories on the news? maybe one little tidbit at the end of some panda bear that made friends with a monkey? the rest is war, famine, death, aids, carbon tax....
we found a nice reputable family builder and we were going to build with them but they don't do double storey and everyone else we can't afford. when we showed them the simonds plans they advised us to go ahead but be very careful. we have no choice but to go to a volume builder we just have to make sure they do a good job.
i spoke about our concerns re volume builders with our lawyer / conveyancer (who is very good btw if you need these services in the eastern melbourne metro area) she put it in perspective. why would this company intentionally set out to build ** houses if they want to be building houses in 10-20 years time. it doesn't make very good business sense. you're destroying your brand your name. i think if we are smart about it we will be ok. she mentioned something about a 25 year guarantee. apparently your house comes with a 10 year guarantee of workmanship but you can ask to extend to 25 years. does anyone know anything about that?
There are many people who have been happy with the build by Simonds. I am following one link http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45132 on here and a blog http://waitingforlife2begin.blogspot.com/
I am in the s.e. Melbourne suburbs and we have different tradies to what other regions have and also there is currently lots tradies seeking work in our area as one of the estates in Cranbourne can't proceed yet as the estate has problems with the business side of things.
Just when you start your build have an independent inspector at all steps from contract onwards , we are using New Home Inspections, and just like you said be on site often. You sound pretty level headed and know what you are in for.
Simonds can produce some lovely homes. But like every other builder there can be some homes that are not finished to perfection, and these homes are the homes that we hear about.
Don't let people on here get you down about the house you would like to build. Make it a fun adventure for you and your partner, and start a blog to document everything. our is http://www.dscml.com/
Also be aware that the base cost of the house you need to add between $50k to $80k on top of that again.
When you are ready to start your build, start a new thread so we can all follow your build, can't wait to see.
I am in the s.e. Melbourne suburbs and we have different tradies to what other regions have and also there is currently lots tradies seeking work in our area as one of the estates in Cranbourne can't proceed yet as the estate has problems with the business side of things.
Just when you start your build have an independent inspector at all steps from contract onwards , we are using New Home Inspections, and just like you said be on site often. You sound pretty level headed and know what you are in for.
Simonds can produce some lovely homes. But like every other builder there can be some homes that are not finished to perfection, and these homes are the homes that we hear about.
Don't let people on here get you down about the house you would like to build. Make it a fun adventure for you and your partner, and start a blog to document everything. our is http://www.dscml.com/
Also be aware that the base cost of the house you need to add between $50k to $80k on top of that again.
When you are ready to start your build, start a new thread so we can all follow your build, can't wait to see.
hey edscl which estate are you building?
Hi Matt,
SherWin is a very experienced person, he will definitely help you if gonna proceed
SherWin is a very experienced person, he will definitely help you if gonna proceed
Also be aware that the base cost of the house you need to add between $50k to $80k on top of that again.
we have money set aside on top but what does your estimate of 50k - 80k include? everything? like flooring / blinds / furnishing / landscaping / driveway / pavings etc?
the good thing about having a small and level block and a reasonably compact house is we may be able to save on that aspect we thinks...
Also be aware that the base cost of the house you need to add between $50k to $80k on top of that again.
we have money set aside on top but what does your estimate of 50k - 80k include? everything? like flooring / blinds / furnishing / landscaping / driveway / pavings etc?
the good thing about having a small and level block and a reasonably compact house is we may be able to save on that aspect we thinks...
With the base price you get nothing other than standard inclusion.
The 50-80 include the upgrades - things what u hav mentioned plus colours(bricks etc), electrical
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