Anyone built with format or dechellis in sa?

As the thread title says. Lots of reviews online, less so for format, and both seem pretty reasonable. Looks like format is slightly more expensive. I'm planning on a knock down and rebuild in Adelaide.

Can anyone else share their experiences?

We are building with Format.
Paperwork stage was 10 months due to a useless 'Project Concierge' and useless council (god their new ad really pisses me off).
Slab poured two weeks ago. haven't heard from anyone since.
Communication is abysmal. Ive seen larger builders with apps etc that track progress, I had to beg for an a4 list of items that comprise the build (IE slab, frames, walls etc)
Price wise I think we did pretty well, required barely any upgrades and the footings quote was pretty accurate.
Im desperately hoping that now the build has begun, its smooth sailing from here.

Thanks, saw your thread. It seems that they're pretty slow on the build. Still, i guess the upside is that hopefully they're focusing on getting it right rather than fast. The communication sounds frustrating however.

Yeah, thats what they say...
Slab was poured two weeks ago, frames to be delivered end of this week, windows the week after, and construction of frames to start in 1-2 weeks after this. So potentially 4 weeks of nothing....

I really wish we had known we could have pushed for over-contract date compensation.

Yeah. Noticed that wasn't in their standard contracts. Not necessarily sure it's a good idea rushing them however. Apparently there was some sickness in the family of the group who did the pour which slowed everything down. Still, while i appreciate they have preferred builders who presumably are of a good standard, they really should have a secondary option.

Oh boy.

I could have written this exact post. We too have a useless concierge (cough) and encumberance issues, though council approval was the standard 30 days.

Communication is like pulling teeth, which is very disappointing, given part of their sell was how involved we would be, given they are a small company with more time to personalise service.

We have our frame and windows up now, hope the same happens for you very soon.

So sounds like you'd have rather chosen somebody else?

Hard to say.

There are some very firm reasons why we went with Format over the many others, including the steel frame.The finishes in their display homes were superior, and their standard inclusions were excellent.

If the house turns out beautifully, all will be forgiven. But I think they could improve their communication a lot.

Does your concierge's name start with an I?

How long did you wait between slab and frame?

How did you know??? Ha ha. Yes. 'I'.

Hmmm. Slab to frame was 2.5 weeks. That beautiful blue steel goes up fast when they start.

Here is to ending up with gorgeous homes in the end. I do still have faith that Format are a good builder, but there are some elements of the customer experience they must improve.

Hahahahah... everyone knows!!

Fingers crossed they start framing soon.... Im so sick of waiting!!!

But yes - I dont doubt the quality will be there

where abouts are you building?

Hiya,

We are building with Dechellis and happy so far. We have found they care about quality over quantity so they take their time and have done a great job with everything so far. So as frustrating as the waiting is sometimes we know when things are getting done they are doing it well. We don't get updates from our SS unless I ring him but when I do he's happy to tell me the things he has booked for our house.

We fell in love with their display houses and it made our decision easy to pick them.

Hi Hiya...we are in process of choosing the builder...good to hear positive feedback I know its early days ..but..

We are also building with Format homes - Wish i had seen this thread before, we signed in October 2018 and still haven't gone to council. Our consultant is completely useless and yes starts with an "I" . I seem to constantly be complaining to the manager about his inability to remember requests or even respond to emails. I'm hoping the finished product is far superior to the communication . Seeing as we haven't yet gone to council we are currently contemplating shopping around for another builder. Can anyone tell me if they were happy with their completed homes?

Hi,

We are basically at lock up with Format. The paperwork process extended to 10 months for us, slab was poured first week of March. We are on track for the 6 month build time.
Im very happy with everything so far, no real mistakes have been made, brick work is immaculate. Communication is still pretty pathetic, but Im just banking on it will be worth it in the end!

What area are you building in?

Hi,

Thanks for that sounds like you are happy with the final product. Makes me feel a bit better. How exciting that you will be in soon.

We are doing a knockdown/ rebuild on our acreage near McLaren Vale. They have said we will get our final house costing today but I'm not holding my breath!

Like Monkey55 we are at lock up with Format and have been very pleased with the build so far. There have been a couple of issues, but genuinely no huge deal.

Look, I don't blame you for considering looking at other builders, there was a time where if we weren't so invested we would have ran.... but I really have hope that the final product will be worthwhile.