Browse Forums Building A New House Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12821Dec 08, 2015 10:58 am We are very happy so far. Our build is moving along at a great pace, our SS is a good bloke and is on top of things, we haven't had a single hold up with anything at all. There is pretty much something being done every day on site. We should be finished prior to our expected completion date. Obviously we are still in the process of building so I can't comment on the finished product but from speaking to others who have built with various builders, and currently living in a 1 year old Eden Brae house that has some VERY crappy workmanship done, I just think it is important to be firm about anything you see that is wrong once the build is done. Go over every thing with a fine tooth comb - this applies to every single building company in the industry though. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12822Dec 08, 2015 4:45 pm MartinsHarmony Hello Everyone, We are thinking of switching builders - to bring our business to McDonald Jones Homes. We have not yet signed contracts with current builders, there has been a hold up with plans. Are you all reasonably happy with MJH? I've been on our current builders page, and there appears to be A LOT of unhappy clients, but just a skim read of these pages and you all seem happier. What is the ball-park build time MJH are offering for a 4 bed single story home? Thanks! Our house has just started building with the frame going up now and in my honest opinion, I have been most disappointed with the lack of communication from the CLO and SS. We have had to get our Site Supervisor's boss involved a couple of times to try to sort out some issues and he's been great so far, we are still in the process of sorting out, hopefully our last issue (in regards to electricity charges) now. It seems to us that they don't do too many builds 'outside the square' and by that I mean when a build is a little bit out of the ordinary, like if you are building on acreage, or if you are on tank water and septic and there's none of the normal utilities (electricity, sewage, mains water) available. And it doesn't seem like there's any communication going on within the office as to what's happening on site. But I think it also depends on your CLO and SS as well. We have built a couple of houses now and despite this all in all I have found MDJH to be very professional and the whole process from tender stage to colour selections and up until the start of the build has been awesome and almost faultless. And it would be unreasonable to expect any build of this size to go 100% smoothly and perfectly but the communication from the CLO and SS has been the only frustration we have been having especially when we have certain items in our contract that we needed to organise ourselves such as water tanks and septic systems and you can't get in contact with your SS to coordinate their installation with him. Would I build we MDJH again??? Yes I would cause lets face it, their designs are bloody awesome. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12823Dec 08, 2015 4:52 pm MartinsHarmony Hello Everyone, We are thinking of switching builders - to bring our business to McDonald Jones Homes. We have not yet signed contracts with current builders, there has been a hold up with plans. Are you all reasonably happy with MJH? I've been on our current builders page, and there appears to be A LOT of unhappy clients, but just a skim read of these pages and you all seem happier. What is the ball-park build time MJH are offering for a 4 bed single story home? Thanks! Hi we moved in maybe six weeks ago. We were maybe 1-2 weeks early before contract date. Still little faults we have found here and there and things getting fixed after you get keys is a total pain . For example I have had stegbar out maybe four or five times and nothing got fixed hahaha. One guy even punched holes in the wall.... So stuff like that we just accept and say younknow what it's not worth the hassle anymore chasing stuff up. But overall the house is pretty good. Painters were crap but the other trades seem to be fine. From talking to neighbours who used wisdom and Eden brae they all seem to have issues no matter who u build with. We didn't have too many issues and yeah I would build with them again provided I had a different ss! Best of luck to you. Mjh were more expensive than the other builders we looked at so you should expect a bit more I would think. But in the end the house is lovely and we are happy with what we built. Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12824Dec 08, 2015 6:54 pm scsc11111111 MartinsHarmony Hello Everyone, We are thinking of switching builders - to bring our business to McDonald Jones Homes. We have not yet signed contracts with current builders, there has been a hold up with plans. Are you all reasonably happy with MJH? I've been on our current builders page, and there appears to be A LOT of unhappy clients, but just a skim read of these pages and you all seem happier. What is the ball-park build time MJH are offering for a 4 bed single story home? Thanks! Hi we moved in maybe six weeks ago. We were maybe 1-2 weeks early before contract date. Still little faults we have found here and there and things getting fixed after you get keys is a total pain . For example I have had stegbar out maybe four or five times and nothing got fixed hahaha. One guy even punched holes in the wall.... So stuff like that we just accept and say younknow what it's not worth the hassle anymore chasing stuff up. But overall the house is pretty good. Painters were crap but the other trades seem to be fine. From talking to neighbours who used wisdom and Eden brae they all seem to have issues no matter who u build with. We didn't have too many issues and yeah I would build with them again provided I had a different ss! Best of luck to you. Mjh were more expensive than the other builders we looked at so you should expect a bit more I would think. But in the end the house is lovely and we are happy with what we built. Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au Hi Sarah I hope you guys have nearly finished all that decking. Will look awesome when it is finished. I love spotted gum! We finally had the painters on site today which is great news for us. Maybe there is a chance the painting will be finished by Christmas. You mentioned earlier that you got the cool downlights which we are getting also. Are you able to post some photos with the cool downlights. Thanks. CathyLeigh Building the Monte Carlo Executive with rear activities with Balinese Resort Facade, Salt Water Beach Estate, Wallabi Point Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12825Dec 08, 2015 7:16 pm Hi Sarah I hope you guys have nearly finished all that decking. Will look awesome when it is finished. I love spotted gum! We finally had the painters on site today which is great news for us. Maybe there is a chance the painting will be finished by Christmas. You mentioned earlier that you got the cool downlights which we are getting also. Are you able to post some photos with the cool downlights. Thanks.[/quote] Hi Cathy Leigh I really hope they move things along for you. Once painters are done it should be pretty quick from there. I hope your partner is ok after the accident ? Well the never ending deck is almost done . We can finish the boys off but a small section needs framing so my brother might need to come help with that. The Pool fence got certified last Thursday so just waiting for pool company to come and finish the interior but it's not looking good to finish before Xmas. We have so many 90% finished jobs but feels like nothing is completely finished. There are teeny bits of decking to be finished everywhere So except for the pool none if it is stained. Would just rather finish something. Laundry glass splash back will be installed tomorrow. Laundry will be finished then . We Still have tools ****** all through the house and No garden still. I Can recommend a good pool fence guy if anyone needs one. Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12826Dec 08, 2015 7:30 pm Hi all, With the new celebrations package, we can chose between tiles or colorbond roof. Has anyone chosen tiles (flat profile from monier horizon range) instead of colorbond and did you have had to pay extra for that? Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12827Dec 08, 2015 8:37 pm MH_H1 Hi all, With the new celebrations package, we can chose between tiles or colorbond roof. Has anyone chosen tiles (flat profile from monier horizon range) instead of colorbond and did you have had to pay extra for that? Hi MH_H1 We got the Celebrations package also and could choose between colorbond or tiles. We chose colorbond because this is our third build and we have always had tiles and wanted a change so we went with colorbond this time. From memory though I think if you chose tiles you had to build with a timber frame. I think you could still build with a steel frame if you really wanted to but they charge extra because they have to put a lot more support in the roof with the steel frame to support the weight of the tiles. Hope this helps. There is always a catch! CathyLeigh Building the Monte Carlo Executive with rear activities with Balinese Resort Facade, Salt Water Beach Estate, Wallabi Point Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12828Dec 08, 2015 8:43 pm Thank you for your reply CathyLeigh. Re-reading the brochure, i think what you said makes sense. With flat profile tiles, its treated pine termite resistant blue frames and roof trusses Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12829Dec 09, 2015 8:29 am scsc11111111 Hi Cathy Leigh I really hope they move things along for you. Once painters are done it should be pretty quick from there. I hope your partner is ok after the accident ? Well the never ending deck is almost done . We can finish the boys off but a small section needs framing so my brother might need to come help with that. The Pool fence got certified last Thursday so just waiting for pool company to come and finish the interior but it's not looking good to finish before Xmas. We have so many 90% finished jobs but feels like nothing is completely finished. There are teeny bits of decking to be finished everywhere So except for the pool none if it is stained. Would just rather finish something. Laundry glass splash back will be installed tomorrow. Laundry will be finished then . We Still have tools ****** all through the house and No garden still. I Can recommend a good pool fence guy if anyone needs one. Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au I'd love the details of your pool fence guy please Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12830Dec 09, 2015 11:35 am hi everyone been in the house for 17 months and wopuld like to share my experience with Mcdonald jones still have outstanding issues which im sure they will ignore. don't bother putting a comment down the bottom McDonald Jones to contact Warranty etc. they just ignore you ANYONE RECOMMEND A GOOD BUILDING INPSECTOR TO DO A REPORT FOR FAIR TRADING???? because that is the only way to get McDonald Jones to do something Firstly, I was quite the advocate for the company. Everything went fairly smoothly and no problems till we paid out final monies and moved in. A lot of it is little things which is more annoying than anything. Still haven't sorted out the step near the laundry. etc The biggest issue is the Bamboo flooring After only 6 months started peeling and cracking. FOund there is excessive moisture under the floor. the company blamed that we mopped it a few times. McDonald Jones have told me not there problem as there is no evidence of structural issues. Well they haven't even looked at it so if you dont look you cant find a problem. Anyway fair trading is required as they don't want anything to do with it Another issue which took 15 months to solve was the simple installation of blinds. pre handover I looked at the place and saw they had put in verticals instead of roller blinds. contrary to contract. Well it took 15 months and plenty of fighting between the builder and contractor to fix. not a good look to your clients, to hear that 2 CEO's are arguing about paying for $2470 worth of blinds. they still haven't come to fix up the screw marks from moving the blinds. Well done McDonald Jones you have lost a customer for life over a few silly things that could of been sorted easily and cheaply If you are building with McDonald Jones get a building inspector to look at everything before you hand them the final cheque. In my case it was more about the flooring issue that was evident after. Make sure everything is fixed before hand over. Because it might not get done after or take forever Good luck with the builds everyone Building Milano 4 16m at North Kellyville Deposit paid 5/2013 Colours 7/9/13 Contract Signed 4/09/14 Land settled 13/10/13 CDC approval 26/11/13 Electricals 04/12/13 Construction list 11/12/13 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12831Dec 09, 2015 3:56 pm romishem hi everyone been in the house for 17 months and wopuld like to share my experience with Mcdonald jones still have outstanding issues which im sure they will ignore. don't bother putting a comment down the bottom McDonald Jones to contact Warranty etc. they just ignore you ANYONE RECOMMEND A GOOD BUILDING INPSECTOR TO DO A REPORT FOR FAIR TRADING???? because that is the only way to get McDonald Jones to do something Firstly, I was quite the advocate for the company. Everything went fairly smoothly and no problems till we paid out final monies and moved in. A lot of it is little things which is more annoying than anything. Still haven't sorted out the step near the laundry. etc The biggest issue is the Bamboo flooring After only 6 months started peeling and cracking. FOund there is excessive moisture under the floor. the company blamed that we mopped it a few times. McDonald Jones have told me not there problem as there is no evidence of structural issues. Well they haven't even looked at it so if you dont look you cant find a problem. Anyway fair trading is required as they don't want anything to do with it Another issue which took 15 months to solve was the simple installation of blinds. pre handover I looked at the place and saw they had put in verticals instead of roller blinds. contrary to contract. Well it took 15 months and plenty of fighting between the builder and contractor to fix. not a good look to your clients, to hear that 2 CEO's are arguing about paying for $2470 worth of blinds. they still haven't come to fix up the screw marks from moving the blinds. Well done McDonald Jones you have lost a customer for life over a few silly things that could of been sorted easily and cheaply If you are building with McDonald Jones get a building inspector to look at everything before you hand them the final cheque. In my case it was more about the flooring issue that was evident after. Make sure everything is fixed before hand over. Because it might not get done after or take forever Good luck with the builds everyone Romishem, We have been in for 18 months. I confirm our experience is the same. Different issues to yours obv, (ours are currently lights and driveway with a bunch of other items they refuse to correct). Your post reminded me, I have to send ANOTHER email to followup outstanding items. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12832Dec 09, 2015 8:04 pm bradk romishem hi everyone been in the house for 17 months and wopuld like to share my experience with Mcdonald jones still have outstanding issues which im sure they will ignore. don't bother putting a comment down the bottom McDonald Jones to contact Warranty etc. they just ignore you ANYONE RECOMMEND A GOOD BUILDING INPSECTOR TO DO A REPORT FOR FAIR TRADING???? because that is the only way to get McDonald Jones to do something Firstly, I was quite the advocate for the company. Everything went fairly smoothly and no problems till we paid out final monies and moved in. A lot of it is little things which is more annoying than anything. Still haven't sorted out the step near the laundry. etc The biggest issue is the Bamboo flooring After only 6 months started peeling and cracking. FOund there is excessive moisture under the floor. the company blamed that we mopped it a few times. McDonald Jones have told me not there problem as there is no evidence of structural issues. Well they haven't even looked at it so if you dont look you cant find a problem. Anyway fair trading is required as they don't want anything to do with it Another issue which took 15 months to solve was the simple installation of blinds. pre handover I looked at the place and saw they had put in verticals instead of roller blinds. contrary to contract. Well it took 15 months and plenty of fighting between the builder and contractor to fix. not a good look to your clients, to hear that 2 CEO's are arguing about paying for $2470 worth of blinds. they still haven't come to fix up the screw marks from moving the blinds. Well done McDonald Jones you have lost a customer for life over a few silly things that could of been sorted easily and cheaply If you are building with McDonald Jones get a building inspector to look at everything before you hand them the final cheque. In my case it was more about the flooring issue that was evident after. Make sure everything is fixed before hand over. Because it might not get done after or take forever Good luck with the builds everyone Romishem, We have been in for 18 months. I confirm our experience is the same. Different issues to yours obv, (ours are currently lights and driveway with a bunch of other items they refuse to correct). Your post reminded me, I have to send ANOTHER email to followup outstanding items. Hi Brad and Romishem, Sorry to hear you are having so much trouble with maintenance issues and follow up. I've had friends who had to get fair trading involved and apparently things happened from that point (shouldn't come to that though!). We have been in for 18 months as well and no huge issues that would compare with yours. We did have all the paint peel off the ensuite roof and walls which was attributed to steam (weird in a bathroom with no door, big window and fan). I sent an email maybe a month ago and the painters repainted it yesterday which I was very pleasantly surprised with. I still think the two coat paint system is a bit crappy for bathrooms though. I must be in a different maintenance area to you guys (mid north coast). We are in the midst of putting in a pool and that is a whole other stressful experience haha! Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12833Dec 10, 2015 9:24 am Rach_C scsc11111111 Hi Cathy Leigh I really hope they move things along for you. Once painters are done it should be pretty quick from there. I hope your partner is ok after the accident ? Well the never ending deck is almost done . We can finish the boys off but a small section needs framing so my brother might need to come help with that. The Pool fence got certified last Thursday so just waiting for pool company to come and finish the interior but it's not looking good to finish before Xmas. We have so many 90% finished jobs but feels like nothing is completely finished. There are teeny bits of decking to be finished everywhere So except for the pool none if it is stained. Would just rather finish something. Laundry glass splash back will be installed tomorrow. Laundry will be finished then . We Still have tools ****** all through the house and No garden still. I Can recommend a good pool fence guy if anyone needs one. Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au I'd love the details of your pool fence guy please Hi, McNamara & sons fencing Phil 0416082686 Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12834Dec 10, 2015 9:32 am A bit hard to get in one shot but the laundry is finished. The bench and splash back are 3 metres long . Spoke to wisdom to say thank you for digging down to the footings (and beyond) of our retaining wall. Wisdom do not give a crap and say bring it up with the owner and not their responsibility. Might be time to get on their forum hahaha We also have a letterbox which is great! Just to quick tip for anyone needing taubmans moroka paint for any extra bits after handover. The base is $216 and the paint $216 (trade prices) and you can only buy a huge drum 15litres so if the painters leave any for you grab it! Since we hate the colour of our moroka anyway we got a different paint and will do it a different colour . Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12836Dec 10, 2015 7:32 pm scsc11111111 A bit hard to get in one shot but the laundry is finished. The bench and splash back are 3 metres long . Spoke to wisdom to say thank you for digging down to the footings (and beyond) of our retaining wall. Wisdom do not give a crap and say bring it up with the owner and not their responsibility. Might be time to get on their forum hahaha We also have a letterbox which is great! Just to quick tip for anyone needing taubmans moroka paint for any extra bits after handover. The base is $216 and the paint $216 (trade prices) and you can only buy a huge drum 15litres so if the painters leave any for you grab it! Since we hate the colour of our moroka anyway we got a different paint and will do it a different colour . Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au It looks so nice!!! Are you heading to 'The Block' ?! Love your splashback colour! Is that glass splashback in White ( normal glass)? Our build with MJH http://ganilton.blogspot.com.au/?m=1 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12837Dec 10, 2015 9:27 pm romishem hi everyone been in the house for 17 months and wopuld like to share my experience with Mcdonald jones still have outstanding issues which im sure they will ignore. don't bother putting a comment down the bottom McDonald Jones to contact Warranty etc. they just ignore you ANYONE RECOMMEND A GOOD BUILDING INPSECTOR TO DO A REPORT FOR FAIR TRADING???? because that is the only way to get McDonald Jones to do something Firstly, I was quite the advocate for the company. Everything went fairly smoothly and no problems till we paid out final monies and moved in. A lot of it is little things which is more annoying than anything. Still haven't sorted out the step near the laundry. etc The biggest issue is the Bamboo flooring After only 6 months started peeling and cracking. FOund there is excessive moisture under the floor. the company blamed that we mopped it a few times. McDonald Jones have told me not there problem as there is no evidence of structural issues. Well they haven't even looked at it so if you dont look you cant find a problem. Anyway fair trading is required as they don't want anything to do with it Another issue which took 15 months to solve was the simple installation of blinds. pre handover I looked at the place and saw they had put in verticals instead of roller blinds. contrary to contract. Well it took 15 months and plenty of fighting between the builder and contractor to fix. not a good look to your clients, to hear that 2 CEO's are arguing about paying for $2470 worth of blinds. they still haven't come to fix up the screw marks from moving the blinds. Well done McDonald Jones you have lost a customer for life over a few silly things that could of been sorted easily and cheaply If you are building with McDonald Jones get a building inspector to look at everything before you hand them the final cheque. In my case it was more about the flooring issue that was evident after. Make sure everything is fixed before hand over. Because it might not get done after or take forever Good luck with the builds everyone Hey romishem, Dont worry your not the only one. I have found mcdonald jones absolutely ridiculous in the canberra region. When it came to paperwork and advice they seemed to cluster everything. The build went reasonably well but we seem to have a number of issues still outstanding that have resulted in fair trading. You know when you have bad experience with something you usually tell 10 people and they tell 10 people and so on. Well i will make it my mission to tell at least a 100 people and hope they tell 10 times that. Even the CEOs dont care really. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 12838Dec 11, 2015 12:04 pm Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au[/quote] It looks so nice!!! Are you heading to 'The Block' ?! Love your splashback colour! Is that glass splashback in White ( normal glass)? Our build with MJH http://ganilton.blogspot.com.au/?m=1[/quote] Hi, It is glass (star phire) and I was told to pick any paint colour to match . So I picked dulux sea foam half I think. No block . Never building again after this. Been here six weeks at least and we still can't go outside for the mess ha ha Sarah Buildingthegardenretreat.blogspot.com.au 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 17424 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 12556 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 26587 |