Browse Forums Building A New House Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1041Aug 03, 2011 10:15 pm Hi All Just thought I would give a quick update on our build. We finally have a frame after a bit of a delay (apparently some machinery broke down at the frame factory to cause this delay). Trusses went on today which we knew was happening but also found windows installed which was an added bonus we werent expecting. The only problem we have is that all of the plumbing in our ensuite has been installed in the wrong spot to the point where the drain for the shower is partially under the wall frame! Have notified the SS and are awaiting a reply. Has anyone else had this problem and how was it fixed? My brother in law had a similar problem but it got tiled around before the problem was realised so we are happy that we picked it up early on but still a little worried as to whether it will be fixed sufficiently. Also had a bit of an issue with the hot water system that we picked but were happy with how MDJ managed to resolve that one! Also not happy to hear of the delays that others on here are experiencing...hoping that things pick up for you guys soon!! Bronte 4 Bedroom by McDonald Jones Homes Country Pavillion 'B' Facade Council Approval 06.05.11 Site Cut 17.06.11 Slab Poured 05.07.11 Frame and Windows 03.08.11 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1042Aug 04, 2011 1:33 pm Hi all, Haven't had time to post due to moving in with my parents as we sold our unit recently. Regardless, not much to report as not much is happening. Finally it looks like the roof frame issue has been resolved and carpenters should return next week to finish it off. It has been a very slow process since frame was deleivered on 30/6 and after a bit of fuss, communication with MJD improved. As a result, windows and sliding door have been put in, bricks and sand delivered. Bricking is expected to start tomorrow. Our neighbour's house is being plastered at the moment and we started at the same time. Makes me angry that we encountered such problems and slow resolution meant that a lot of nice sunny days have been wasted. Anyway, moving along now and hopefully we are still on track to December finish. I haven't read many of the previous posts as I stopped receiving notifications. Hope everyone is going well. One photo-looking at alfresco Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ taki Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1043Aug 05, 2011 8:24 am Hey all, We've found a MJH we like and are thinking of building with them. How have you guys found the process with them? What's their workmanship like? Is everyone using steel frames? What does everyone think of the Alfresco areas? How much $ above the base price should we budget for? We have a block of land and settle in 5 weeks, we've asked MJH to do a free quote on site costs for us and were impressed w got a txt msg that day saying they are looking at it next week! It's our first build, so have plenty of questions! Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1044Aug 05, 2011 8:42 am Jekyl Does anyone know how you go about the occupation certificate at the end of the build and how long it takes? Four months in and we are up to kitchen/bathroom cupboards. Painters/Tilers nxt! I would love a tank to catch some Rain!! Anyone upgrade paint to 3 coat low sheen? Were you happy? How much for a double drive and fences avg? Trying to budget coming into the festive end of the year! Anyone add a pool? How long does it take to organize that? Can I organise before handover? Sorry, the brain is going 100 miles an hour again! Hi,Just contact your local council and tell them you have moved into a newly built house and need a occupation certificate. They will send out a inspector and he will write a list of what needs to be fixed/changed to make him happy and hand you the list. The council will send you out a interim certificate in the mail saying you have 72 days? to fix up the things on the list.(they are lenient and will re-issue after another inspection if you havent got it all done in time) Once done they will re inspect and mail you out a full occupation certificate. Found this out the hard way,builder just gave us the keys after PCI and final payment, we thought that was that. But you have to handle the certificate side your selves and get the builder to rectify anything to do with the house side of things,everything they dont do like landscaping,fences etc is your problem. Your not susposed to habitate a house without a interim cert too apparantly,says the council man. Hope that helps. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1045Aug 05, 2011 11:13 am Hi All, Just wanted to get some advice from those who have recently completed their electrical appointment, as our will be coming up very soon YAY!… how easy is the process; is it all done on computer, in terms of measuring the exact distance of where each power point will be placed and each light fitting will be placed, or they just work off the hardcopy of the plans and do it all roughly? Does anyone know if there are any external light points included as standard? For those who have included the ducted vacuum; what are the dimensions of the motor that will be located in the garage I presume? Any advice or feedback would be good Built the Havana 3 by McDonald Jones Homes Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1046Aug 05, 2011 11:16 am taki Hi all, Haven't had time to post due to moving in with my parents as we sold our unit recently. Regardless, not much to report as not much is happening. Finally it looks like the roof frame issue has been resolved and carpenters should return next week to finish it off. It has been a very slow process since frame was deleivered on 30/6 and after a bit of fuss, communication with MJD improved. As a result, windows and sliding door have been put in, bricks and sand delivered. Bricking is expected to start tomorrow. Our neighbour's house is being plastered at the moment and we started at the same time. Makes me angry that we encountered such problems and slow resolution meant that a lot of nice sunny days have been wasted. Anyway, moving along now and hopefully we are still on track to December finish. I haven't read many of the previous posts as I stopped receiving notifications. Hope everyone is going well. One photo-looking at alfresco Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ taki Glad its picked back up again for you Taki Built the Havana 3 by McDonald Jones Homes Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1047Aug 06, 2011 6:56 pm Hi all, A little update, however not all positive. Visited the site today to discover some bricks laid. Looks good, apart from some orange side of bricks being used. Also, sample bricks of PGH Mild Steel we took home a while ago did not have any orange, but this batch obviously looks a bit different. Regardless, brickies would have plenty to chose from to avoid orange bits being exposed. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Yet another concern with the frame..there is significant overhang of the frame over the slab at the front wall of master bedroom as seen below. Now I expect further hold ups as this needs to be rectified. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kopite1892, our electrical was finished in an hour. It's all done roughly on the computer with no exact measurements. Outdoor light points are not included. I'll post again when above issues are resolved, hopefully much quicker this time around. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1048Aug 10, 2011 4:34 pm hi all taki how is everything going? we received our contracts on monday! just wondering if anyone had a solicitor look over it and try to change anything? Timeline Land deposit 14.9.10 Land settled 16.6.11 DA submitted 13.3.12 DA appoved 17.5.12 Construction cert 6.7.12 Site scrape 23.7.12 Lock up 29.11.12 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1050Aug 10, 2011 8:51 pm Em.Russ hi all taki how is everything going? we received our contracts on monday! just wondering if anyone had a solicitor look over it and try to change anything? As a minimum read and re-read every page of it. We found a few small issues which were easily rectified. We didn't bother attempting to change any of the clauses in the contract as we had heard of other that tried and failed. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------- Monte Carlo Grande Elite with McDonald Jones http://mdjatvermont.blogspot.com/ Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1051Aug 10, 2011 9:03 pm We are near completion of our new home on the Central Coast and are building the Santorini. We are so pleased with the progression of our home and have nothing but praise for our SS. We commenced construction in the beginning of May and due for handover in the next few weeks. Our SS has taken on board all of our queries, followed up each Friday and given us a run down of the progression to take place each week. We have just finished painting and very pleased with the job. Air con installed today so we are definately on the home stretch. It has been a very pleasant and smooth sailing experience and would definately re build with MJH in the future. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1053Aug 11, 2011 10:32 am Hey all, Its been a while but, we appear to be a couple of weeks off handover. Tiling is now done along with painting and alot of other bits and pieces. A few bits to finish up now and we are at the end of the road....then let the landscaping, etc begin! If you check out my blog, ill have some pics up in about 30 minutes. Ill follow that up on the weekend with soem finished tiling pics. Let me know what you think or have any questions! Cheers! Building the Monte Carlo with side activities in Mt Annan MY BLOG: http://gavsfirstbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1054Aug 11, 2011 5:59 pm Hi all, Well, I can report that things have been sorted out and I'm being more optimistic. Brick issue has been sorted, not that I was too worried about that as it's an easy solution to pick and choose more carefully to avoid orange bits being exposed. Brickies have continued on and are doing a great job. MJH have been on the ball to fix the overhang and more concrete was poured to extend that area. I'm now awaiting an engineer's certificate, so it should be structuraly sound. Bricks are expected to be laid in this place when concrete cures a bit. Hopefully we are now back on track and things will go as smooth as possible. Will update more with brick photos on the weekend. Gavmer1, glad you updated and you are nearing the end, your place loos great. Can you tell me if you have explored driveway options yet and if you have found someone local to do it? Molly2007, great to hear about your positive exeperience. I would love to see some photos when you get a chance to post them. Em.Russ, how are you progressing with you paperwork process. Which house are you building and where if you don't mind me asking? Forgot to add that our frame is finally complete, roof truss issue has been sorted. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1055Aug 12, 2011 1:27 pm Hey Taki, Thanks for the feedback! I am literally looking into driveways now as well as blinds, landscaping and decking the alfresco. Ill let you know what we do but, would welcome any suggestions?? Cheers!!! gav Building the Monte Carlo with side activities in Mt Annan MY BLOG: http://gavsfirstbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1056Aug 12, 2011 3:28 pm thanks scott, contracts have now been signed and just delivered to mjh, yay! taki, our paperwork process has been fairly smooth. the only real delay was caused by the developer as they wouldnt allow borehole tests to be done until after settlement. we are building a split and slightly modified beachside executive grande at voyager point (liverpool council). gav your place is looking great. good to hear you and molly are close to completion. molly, would love to see some photos if you have some... very exciting times for you both, i cant wait to be in your positions. Timeline Land deposit 14.9.10 Land settled 16.6.11 DA submitted 13.3.12 DA appoved 17.5.12 Construction cert 6.7.12 Site scrape 23.7.12 Lock up 29.11.12 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1057Aug 12, 2011 7:03 pm Finally we have turned earth, scraped Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Fenced, Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and piered! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ All things being equal, slab should be done by Wednesday. ----------------------------------------------------------- Monte Carlo Grande Elite with McDonald Jones http://mdjatvermont.blogspot.com/ Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1058Aug 12, 2011 7:22 pm Gavmer1, not really a recommendation, but I did e-mail a local landscaper and communication was really good. I will e-mail him again towards end of the month to meet on site and have a look if we need any retaining. We can't budget for the professional landscape for the whole lot, so we plan to do most of it ourselves. Not sure what his work is like, but out of 4 I contacted, this was an only one with a decent response. You can search for locals on home improvement pages. scotta_74, glad you had a start, very exciting. Em.Russ, not long for you now as well. taki Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1059Aug 13, 2011 8:11 pm hi guys... anyone here is using a dark shade of bricks which is almost black? we went to the ponds today to check some of the houses there. I think we saw around 4-5 houses which has a dark shade of bricks (like black). Just wanted to ask if you guys know the name of the bricks???? as of the moment, we are considering the following : blackstone (austral) precision black (austral) black angus (austral) espresso (pgh) boral steel blue. any idea how much to upgrade to the these bricks? we are only building a single story house. thanks Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 1060Aug 15, 2011 4:18 pm another question guys... we need to sign off our plans during our color selection, what do we need to check on the preliminary plans? I know we are sure about the orientation of the plans... please help.. Hi AKG, We had a base tender of $592 for 31 squares from MC Donald Jones. It looks relatively cheaper than other builders. But I assume there are many hidden things that… 1 17559 Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 12633 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 26690 |