Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jun 17, 2010 10:19 am Every time I tell someone we're building we get the obligatory 'oh how exciting...but I know <insert perfect stranger> who built and it was a nightmare from start to finish...good luck <insert chortle>' Is it really that stressful? How would you rate the overall experience out of ten (or so far if you're not finished yet). Obviously it's all relative, but that's okay Re: Rate your build... 2Jun 17, 2010 10:22 am So far I would rate mine a 6/10. There haven't been any major stuff ups but I think that it could have been managed much better. The communication is average at best. There have been a few problems along the way, and we are now at the final stages of the build with some problems yet to be rectified. Now things just seem to be dragging on. We've just passed the 6 month mark and I think realistically it's got to be another month before we're in the house. Our house thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=18335 Re: Rate your build... 3Jun 17, 2010 10:30 am Some things went better than planned for our build, but I still rated ours a 9 because 10 would be perfect and I dont think anything's perfect! We went a bit over the estimated build time as well, but I was all happy as everything was getting done well and we dont have to wait for any major stuff ups to be fixed. Re: Rate your build... 4Jun 17, 2010 10:31 am I would have to say so far (we are at fit out stage), our build has been fantastic. We have a great builder, communication is excellent. We have had a few minor hiccups along the way, but no where near as many as I was expecting... and a couple of these have been due to the architect/design. It definitely makes me want to build again with the same builder. I realise we have been very lucky, and really feel for those who are not having a positive experience building Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: Rate your build... 5Jun 17, 2010 11:44 am I am only at the footing stage (although I have been at this stage for 2 months with no further progress). I gave them a 4 out of 10 due to poor communication, extremely poor documentation and very long time frames. Communication has now greatly improved however I am not being told any good news, however at least I am getting the bad news early. Hopefully by the time I have finished I may bring them up to a 5 out of 10. The funny thing is though with all of the above, I am already thinking about my next build, I would just love to know where I can get the money for it from. I think building is a learning experience and I think I have just graduated from primary school and by the time the house is finished I will have finished high school. I want to get to tertiary level eventually though.... View our blog at: http://room4acubby.blogspot.com/ Re: Rate your build... 6Jun 17, 2010 11:48 am I rated ours 9/10. . .no real problems.We had a great builder and communication was excellent as we dealt direct with the builders. Apart from the Christmas shutdown there was something constantly happening at the house & the only real delay was the tiler being stuck on another job. Their after sales service is good too. Loretta Built The Jenmark with Cavalier Homes Macarthur. http://camdenacres.blogspot.com/ Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17870 We are in - front landscaping begins Re: Rate your build... 7Jun 17, 2010 11:57 am 8/10 for me. There were problems pre site start due to admin error, so that delayed us by a few months (Christmas then got in the way...), but once construction started it was pretty smooth sailing. I had a fabulous SS who was willing to answer any questions I had, and a wonderful CSA who kept me well informed during the process. There were no major stuff ups, and construction finished 3 months ahead of schedule. It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good. Yes, it was the most stressful thing I have ever done. The highs are high, but the lows can be very low. An awful lot of time, money and emotion is poured into building a house...yes, it is stressful! It does tend to balance out in the end. Take the good with the bad, be well prepared and know your stuff...it helps! With me there were our living arrangments (basically a 2 bedroom box with up to 6 people, 3 days a week), our neighbours (established area) and council hurdles. I think the hardest part is waiting!! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Rate your build... 8Jun 17, 2010 4:11 pm Well besides the following:- * Taking 2yrs for the design stage alone * Fighting council every stage due to being in a 1 in 100 flood zone * Having to obtain permission from a neighbour to extinguish an unused easement on our block AND THE BIGGIE... * Our builder going bankrupt...... Our actual build went relatively smoothly. We had wonderful tradies. We designed the house to suit our needs and it more then fulfills the requirements. The house is very well built. Even the builder going bankrupt was not a major major hassle since we had an inkling and came to an agreement to cancel the contract and take over the completion of the house using all the tradies. So for us probably a 9/10 Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Rate your build... 9Jun 17, 2010 9:06 pm 7/10 for us with the Big M, but I could have easily rated it 4/10 or 9/10! I'd better explain... The process itself was good and we were always aware of hiccups that could occur. We never expected a perfect package delivered in record time like some clients seem to demand, so we were quite forgiving of minor setbacks. Our problems stemmed from the fact that our site supervisor was new and from out of the area and he was free to employ who he liked to do the build. Some of these tradies were nothing more than his mates from his home town and clearly not up to scratch, but to M's credit everything that we asked to be rectified, was. An example was the laying of the floor tiles, where the wet area rooms were laid first and trimmed off at the doorways. When the rest of the tiles were laid they obviously did not meet, so the bathroom/laundry/toilet floor tiles had to be ripped up and relaid to match the connecting hallway. It was a stuff-up that should never have occurred but it was fixed with a minimum of fuss. We still have issues; there is a crack in the driveway (part of our package) that you can drop a coin in, and our showers still produce puddles on the floor. Stay tuned! Geoff - Decophile. Re: Rate your build... 10Jun 18, 2010 10:25 am I rated the building experience 7/10 for the sole reason it took a long time However, if I rated the quality, tradies, design and the builder as a person I would all give them 10/10 Unfortunately, all the stress was caused through taking forever and being in limbo in a rental property YUK and paying more in rent than what we now do for our house loan Mrs B Re: Rate your build... 11Jun 18, 2010 10:58 pm I would give ours a 9/10 appart from a couple of cosmetic fixes and it going over time a little, the builder was great we he always answered our phone calls and email, and if there was a problem it was dealt with straight away so at the end of the build there was really nothing much to be sorted. Would def build with them again. Cheers Lou http://take2-customdesigndownslope.blogspot.com 07-10-09 omg they have cut the block 14-05-10 we finally have the keys Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17602 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39719 Broker here - legislation says that every true broker must put the clients best interests before theirs so in theory they must offer you the best options for you on their… 2 46013 |