Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1041May 27, 2013 8:07 pm oh and natasha I did speak up and I am extremely impressed at how they handled it. Helen took my details straight away. That is also something that impressed me in my research. I would see people venting about an issue. Helen would pop up and a few days later they would be thanking her for the help. Now that is service. I still do feel they could do better on Hopetoun though. Their display homes are insanely detailed and gorgeous. Maybe coco republic should redo hopetoun. Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1042May 27, 2013 10:52 pm ![]() I still do feel they could do better on Hopetoun though. Their display homes are insanely detailed and gorgeous. Maybe coco republic should redo hopetoun. Given how expensive Coco Republic is I suspect that would just lead to a whole new thread of complaints. Just ditch the access/lifestyle/prestige boundary on upgrades, open up the entire Tradelink catalog instead of just a handful of options, lose the inaccurate electrical pricing in the showroom, and make it possible to get at least rough pricing before your selection day. Sounds hard, but if they want to stop the frustrated customers from shouting at least pick one or two and start from there. Oh, and get rid of giggles. HD Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1043May 28, 2013 8:49 am ![]() ![]() I still do feel they could do better on Hopetoun though. Their display homes are insanely detailed and gorgeous. Maybe coco republic should redo hopetoun. Given how expensive Coco Republic is I suspect that would just lead to a whole new thread of complaints. Just ditch the access/lifestyle/prestige boundary on upgrades, open up the entire Tradelink catalog instead of just a handful of options, lose the inaccurate electrical pricing in the showroom, and make it possible to get at least rough pricing before your selection day. Sounds hard, but if they want to stop the frustrated customers from shouting at least pick one or two and start from there. Oh, and get rid of giggles. HD It would be a great competitive advantage from other builders if PD opened up their entire selection catalogue to selections across all ranges. PD has thousands of selections; you just need to ask the right person. Also at the end of the day, your furniture and accessories is really what makes the house standout. I’ve seen houses with cheap fittings and decorated to perfection and the result is a jaw dropping house. Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1044May 28, 2013 10:48 am For our top cupboard ones we didn't get handles! We got soft cloes I guess it's each to their own, what we might have issues with ie fridge space, a wall up stairs where the rumpus room is. But for someone else it could be other items ![]() Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1045May 28, 2013 8:24 pm [/quote] It would be a great competitive advantage from other builders if PD opened up their entire selection catalogue to selections across all ranges. PD has thousands of selections; you just need to ask the right person. Also at the end of the day, your furniture and accessories is really what makes the house standout. I’ve seen houses with cheap fittings and decorated to perfection and the result is a jaw dropping house.[/quote] You are absolutely correct. The manager from Hopetoun got back to me and after apologizing profusely for not getting back to me sooner ![]() That's customer service. I wanted to hug her. I didn't realize the scope of their choices. I don't know why they don't just provide catalogs and say have at it for a price. Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1046May 28, 2013 8:37 pm Natasha, Do you have a picture of your plans. My partner was concerned about how the extra two rooms on the back would look and your the only person I have found doing that. But when I tried to show her for frame of reference I had difficulty trying to figure out what was what lol . One side i figured was the extended family where the old alfresco was but on the other picture i couldnt figure out if you had a sliding door on the garage of if i was seeing it all wrong. Your build is going to be our benchmark at this point. Are you concerned at all about the flow. Originally I loved how the dining room and living opened to the alfresco which is the only reason I didn't close in the original Alfresco but i'm wondering how the back two rooms will affect the flow and light. I have a wall placed in between the living and the family rooms with a door and i am hoping the light from the dining and alfresco area brightens up the place. Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1047May 28, 2013 9:21 pm Sure inbox me ur email if u like ill send it to you, that sliding door is our extended lounge, not worried about flow maybe heating and air con as no unit is big enough to cover a 60 sq home!!! And it's so open!! Zoning makes it alittle hard!! But still do able I upgraded our heating to Bravis 35xi I think and getting two units for air, however check where they will put the vents down stairs!! The back rooms and extended lounge they told us they can't put ant vents!! ![]() Where are you guys building? Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1048May 28, 2013 9:43 pm Does anybody have a colorbond roof? Just want to check with people we have three whirlybirds on the house, seems to be overkill to me and thinking PD may of done this to make the 6 star energy rating. BC said they due to the bushfires couple years ago it become law that you need a whirlybird on every roof space if they are not joined together?? Has anybody else heard of this? I notice the Waldorf garage roof is separate but don't see any whirlybirds:/ Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1049May 28, 2013 9:45 pm ![]() oh and natasha I did speak up and I am extremely impressed at how they handled it. Helen took my details straight away. That is also something that impressed me in my research. I would see people venting about an issue. Helen would pop up and a few days later they would be thanking her for the help. Now that is service. I still do feel they could do better on Hopetoun though. Their display homes are insanely detailed and gorgeous. Maybe coco republic should redo hopetoun. i vented alittle here, i wish i hadnt because over all the service from EVERYONE was over and beyond what i could ever expect, it was just one person which was my first b/c that i felt didnt care, and neglected us, and im not one to ring and complain to someone. and i felt i had no where to turn and i was stressed and scared! but im so happy i found the forum and so happy i had our sales consaltant esther at williams landing, without her i wouldnt have made it this far!! she has been truely amazing! i still touch base with her, and she even has drove past our block on her way home to see how its all comming along! im truly happy with the service i have had from porter davis over all! anyway this is the back of the house left hand side is a sliding door from the extended lounge room, where the alfresco should have been!! and then a sliding door at the back of the extra family room! ive tried to upload the plan but its pdf and im not sure how to do that, so message me a email and id be happy to help you guys out Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ this is inside from the extended lounge where the alfresco would have been Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and the extra back family room (might be different then what you want as we got a guest room and a family room not two family rooms at the back. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and this is from the front door you can see the back sliding door.. think it flows good enough for us anyway ![]() Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1050May 28, 2013 9:49 pm ![]() Does anybody have a colorbond roof? Just want to check with people we have three whirlybirds on the house, seems to be overkill to me and thinking PD may of done this to make the 6 star energy rating. BC said they due to the bushfires couple years ago it become law that you need a whirlybird on every roof space if they are not joined together?? Has anybody else heard of this? I notice the Waldorf garage roof is separate but don't see any whirlybirds:/ we got colour bond and have them also! im wraped we got them! our place is 60sq's and we got two.... Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1051May 28, 2013 10:09 pm ![]() Sure inbox me ur email if u like ill send it to you, that sliding door is our extended lounge, not worried about flow maybe heating and air con as no unit is big enough to cover a 60 sq home!!! And it's so open!! Zoning makes it alittle hard!! But still do able I upgraded our heating to Bravis 35xi I think and getting two units for air, however check where they will put the vents down stairs!! The back rooms and extended lounge they told us they can't put ant vents!! ![]() Where are you guys building? I'll send you a PM I actually like yours better and I'm thinking I might not close the wall between the lounge and the family room it looks so much more open. I was iffy about the grand alfresco but now im rethinking it. We are building in Ballarat got an amazing deal on 2600 sqm and even though I wanted to originally move to Daylesford I'm happy with Ballarat. It's 30 mins give or take from Daylesford and I can catch the V line and be to work in an hour and 10 mins. I work a few mins from Southern cross. So they cant put heating vents or is it just cooling they cant put back there. I'll scan my plans for you to have a look we are taking half the games area to make a fur babies room and having a grand family room. Sometimes I think I have too many rooms but i dont think i want to worry about extending. plus we closed the rumpus for a 5th bedroom. Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1052May 28, 2013 10:29 pm Hi Natasha8850, Just wanted to say I'm amazed at how quickly your very large home ![]() Looking forward to seeing more updates from you but I must say, I’m glad its' you doing the vacuuming, not me! Cheers, Helen Porter Davis Homes Questions? Call 1800PORTER Mon - Fri 9am-8pm Sat - Sun 10am-4pm info@porterdavis.com.au http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/ http://www.porterdavishomes.com.au Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1053May 28, 2013 10:44 pm ![]() It would be a great competitive advantage from other builders if PD opened up their entire selection catalogue to selections across all ranges. PD has thousands of selections; you just need to ask the right person. Also at the end of the day, your furniture and accessories is really what makes the house standout. I’ve seen houses with cheap fittings and decorated to perfection and the result is a jaw dropping house.[/quote] You are absolutely correct. The manager from Hopetoun got back to me and after apologizing profusely for not getting back to me sooner ![]() That's customer service. I wanted to hug her. I didn't realize the scope of their choices. I don't know why they don't just provide catalogs and say have at it for a price.[/quote] Hi BellaButterfly. Pleased to hear all is back on track. Hope all runs smoothly with your build but if you ever feel in need of additional assistance moving forward, please just PM me. Cheers, Helen Porter Davis Homes Questions? Call 1800PORTER Mon - Fri 9am-8pm Sat - Sun 10am-4pm info@porterdavis.com.au http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/ http://www.porterdavishomes.com.au Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1054May 28, 2013 10:48 pm ![]() Hi Natasha8850, Just wanted to say I'm amazed at how quickly your very large home ![]() Looking forward to seeing more updates from you but I must say, I’m glad its' you doing the vacuuming, not me! Cheers, Helen i am more then happy thankyou to you and the guys at porter davis its been amazing!! yes im not looking forward to the cleaning!! and im not allowed a house cleaner EVER! not even when we have another baby ![]() i just cant wait to be in our house! think i will get more excited once it starts to look like a real house inside!! Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1055May 28, 2013 11:10 pm I have a cleaning schedule for my townhouse hopefully I can work that out in my Waldorf. Granted its about 5 times the size of my house now. But it has a dishwasher. Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1056May 28, 2013 11:23 pm I'll have to do something like that, I'm staying at my mums two bedroom unit with hubby and 3 and half year old daughter think its maybe 12 sqs? Lol I've become lazy so hard to keep a small house tidy with our stuff here! Most our stuff is in storage luckily! Still hard! I found it easier to keep a 30 sq house clean! How strange am I! Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1057May 28, 2013 11:28 pm ![]() ![]() ![]() So I finally made it out to Hopetoun Interiors and let me tell you it was extremely disappointing. [snip] If they can do it for M I don't see why they cant for PD. I want to know what all people did after handover because my list is getting extensive. Flooring, Fireplaces, Carrara Marble back splash ( giggles was appalled I turned by back on the glass splash back.... how dare I ). I need to keep visiting the Greenvale Waldorf to keep my sanity. My mantra is becoming "it can be changed, it can be changed" let us pray ![]() Hi BellaButterfly, I'm very concerned about your description of the service levels you received at Hopetoun. Would you be able to Private Message me, via this forum, with your contact and build details and the Hopetoun Manager will follow up and get back to you? Cheers, Helen Helen, if only this was an unusual thing, but to be honest this is how the Hopetoun experience works... hope gets taken away. Surely you've responded to enough of these by now to notice that anybody wanting more than a rubber-stamp configuration feels this way? It's a pretty typical response from what I can tell, to walk out of there unhappy. The range is minimal, the weekend staff simply will not help you (no prices, no selection guidance beyond the writing on the labels, nothing) and when you do your colour and electrical appointment be prepared to be rushed through the process and not get anywhere near the time you need. The whole Hopetoun experience nearly turned us off our build. There were serious discussions about sacrificing our deposit and walking away. In the end we went back and re-did one of our appointments because it was so badly botched. To answer your question though... - we opted for one level above the standard handles. While their range is ridiculous (it's essentially three styles in a range of widths) they're easily replaced but we wanted something we could live with for a year or two since handles are a low priority - you can't do much about their splashback range. It's glass or tiles, and that's it - their carpet range seemed OK, but their flooring was very limited. We were lucky to find what we actually wanted in that area - I wouldn't even consider doing fireplaces through PD, do that later - lighting and cabling ends up being similar to our handles situation - get what you need to survive the first year or two then add on later - kitchen customisation was a nightmare, we ended up rolling back a huge number of things that were important to us during tender because the prices were outrageous. In particular the choice of ovens drove me insane (the sales people give you the Blanco brochure and say you can have whatever you want. They're wrong. You get one oven choice, and one only) There were a few things that they did quite smoothly for us - double glazing was pretty cost effective - insulation upgrades weren't a big ticket item either - the new bench surfaces (essastone) seemed a bit nicer than the older range, with the Category 1 styles appearing equivalent to the old Cat2 Wait until you get there on the final day and find out the odd rules. You're lucky to be building a Prestige house... I'm building a "Lifestyle" which means I don't even have the choice of the "Access" level fittings, despite them being better in many cases! My dissatisfaction with this phase of the sales process has been pretty well documented though. It's an area that all builders need to improve, because this is where the customer actually "spends" their money. It's the show-room part of the project, and if it isn't handled right you walk away very frustrated. Mind you, once construction starts you work with an entirely different team, most of whom are really good. Our build is moving fairly quickly I'll be interested in seeing how you go with this. Couldn't agree more! We chose to cut our losses and move on. It's such a shame the same effort can't be put in to Hopetoun as is put in to displays Building the Porter Davis Dunedin 29 maybe, thinking of forfeiting deposit and going with CH or UE Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1058May 28, 2013 11:30 pm ![]() I have a cleaning schedule for my townhouse hopefully I can work that out in my Waldorf. Granted its about 5 times the size of my house now. But it has a dishwasher. Buy a Roomba iRobot vacuum cleaner, that's what we did. Set a schedule and it deals with 90% of the floors. Costs a bit up front but it pays for itself pretty quickly. HD Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1059May 28, 2013 11:36 pm I was think about getting one of thoses are they any good? I was going to get two to cover down stairs ![]() Re: Building a Waldorf by Porter Davis 1060May 28, 2013 11:44 pm Bigger houses are easier to clean more space to organize and store. We own a 2 bedroom townhouse now and without constantly cleaning it becomes a mess Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is. MY BUILD THREAD https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65479&p=1035832#p1035832 Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 14152 ![]() Elvis has left the building... The site supervisor quit after 2 month on the project. I guess he was just instructed to bark at people, but didn't like when he was… 26 22293 Following these simple steps will help you mitigate unwanted costs, have your expectations met and give… 0 4977 ![]() |