Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 01, 2009 10:20 am Hey All, Just was curious as to how many variations you've made after you've signed your contract? I'm asking because every time I look at the plans I want to change something. I want to add power points / upgrade to quads / move them, I've added internal wall insulation and then I think all the electrical that was planned for after hand over may now be too hard to do with insulation in the walls so it makes me want to just do it now and have it in the contract.. My CSA (Is that the right abbreviation ) has given us until the 5th of May for any variations we want after that I think there'll be an admin fee for variations? So just wanted to put the question out there and see how many variations people have made, Last thing I want is the CSA to hate dealing with us making any issues down the line harder to resolve. ---------------------------------------- Building the PD Lisbon 24 http://www.porterdavis.com.au/#homeviewer/lisbon/24 Blog of our progress. http://lisbon24.blogspot.com/ Homeone build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28665 Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 2May 01, 2009 10:25 am I have had one. It has a lot of things on it though. They were things that were added changed at contract, but because my CSC knew there would be more issues concerning the kitchen cabinetry, she left the PCV open so it would all go through as one. I'm going to have to review our electrical though, but I am going to ask for a quick revised appointment. Our appointment was pushed back an hour because the morning appointment ran over time.... then they gave us a different consultant who hadn't prepared our job and we had to rush through it in order to be home to pick up a child from school. So it was a bit of a disaster and there is a few minor issues. So that will be two! I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 3May 01, 2009 11:20 am We are up to 9, soon to be 10. The reason for the large'ish count is with our builder, each Variation cannot be modified in any way once issued for client authorisation. If the Variation is incorrect then to correct it they need to create a new Variation with a new numner to correct the previous Variation. For example - it took 3 PCV's for them to clearly understand the specs of what entrance door I actually wanted. Aparently it's to ensure the finacial side of the variations does not get out of wack and to provide a trackable lifecycle of all varations requested. Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 4May 01, 2009 2:23 pm We are only up to frame and are on variation no.7. We have however only been charged once a variation fee because we asked for something structurally to be completed after the house was almost started. Any time our builder does something - ie piering / retaining etc they raise a variation at no charge. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 5May 01, 2009 2:37 pm We did not do any - once we made up our mind we stuck with it - helped by the fact we live 4 hours from the city and couldnt go back to browse through showrooms again 2 variations were done by the builder - one to modify the house to fit on the block, that was after contract signed but before selections. The other was a change of tiles as the ones we picked were no longer available when they came to do the tiling 6 months later - no charge for that, it was hardly our fault. But they do charge a fee of $50 for every change of mind variation after selections - we were told this fee is negotiable in practice and not always enforced, its more to discourage people from umpteen times just changing their minds. We never tested this out though. Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 6May 01, 2009 3:05 pm We have only done 2, although due to the many mistakes, it's actually up to number 5! Thankfully, we were not charged any variation fees for any of them, as Henley had to do them to add in mistakes in the contract drawings, and to redesign the slab after the old house was demo'ed and the soil tested again. We added in as much as we could think of in the 'free' variations! We were pretty lucky, yet still there are a few things I'd like to add... 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: How many Post-Contract Variations 7May 01, 2009 7:30 pm I signed off on the 7th set of PCV's due to the builder's mistakes and then added some extras Just today though I have finally heard from my CSO about down lights over the bench not being centred over the bench as per contract and not being on a seperate switch from the other kitchen light, I had missed this one as I was too busy checking their mistakes. Got an email today that this shall be done with me having to pay for the extra switch and thankfully not the $1000 cost that can be included for changes... Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 8May 01, 2009 8:10 pm Umm ..... we are up to 28! but some of ours are mistakes too, no cost variations because something we had chosen was not available, extra tiling we decided on at color selection, extra electricals, or just things we had forgotten or things that this forum lead me to believe I can't be without eg ducted vacuuming! Is 28 alot? Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 9May 01, 2009 8:29 pm We have just finished CV2 and are thinking about CV3. If I go ahead with CV3 it is going to cost us $1600 admin fee. I'm a tad annoyed with this as we don't even have council approval yet! 2011 Home Sweet Home Handover 03 September 2010 PCI 27August 2010 Plumber 20August 2010 Electrician 19August 2010 Painting 04 August 2010 Cabinets 13Jul2010 Lockup 23June Frame 20April slab 1Mar10 Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 10May 01, 2009 10:00 pm We had one with several things on it, our CSC gave us a week to email through any changes. There were 2 more after that but they were at the builder's hand due to some changes that needed to be make to meet regulations. We have also had 2 so far since construction (although we are still waiting for them), one being a credit for unused temporary fencing and one to move the light switches higher up the wall. (Toddlers and lower light switches do not mix lol). Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 11May 01, 2009 10:07 pm We've had about 3 post contract variations - extra light points, video intercom wiring & external vent for the rangehood. We were charged $150 admin fee which we questioned. However, the builder advised that as long as all changes were on 1 variation sheet it would be a flat fee of $150 for admin. We were glad that we weren't being charged $150 per amendment. Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 12May 02, 2009 1:11 am Weve done about 7. Most stuff that was picked up as errors post contract. Like wrong rangehood, wrong model of oven,wrong cupboards around this. At JG King you do your colour selection after Contract so we just added this with a variation. We then werent happy with our brick colour and felt rushed during selections so were allowed to change with no charge, although she moaned a bit. We changed the showers to a tiled ones, after we heard they had this as standard inclusions in their current range and of course we had to pay extra but worth it. But no admin fee. We then had tile selection, that was another variation. Oh and the local builder decided to dump rubbish on our block so we got temp fencing. But all the way along I kept saying "of course I know you won't charge me extra for the variations as you are a lovely builder! And they didnt charge which is good. We also too have a great SS so I speak to him once or twice a week and he is flexible where he can be. But he also does the right thing by his company. ie. we wanted a switch changed, we told him the week the electrician came in and it was done. we are selling and moving to the coast, if you know someone who wishes to buy in Mernda Villages, please visit this link http://www.realestate.com.au/property-h ... -107083288 Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 13May 02, 2009 9:43 am We have had about 6 or 7 I think. Some of them were variations put forward by the builder, eg because of the siteworks they changed some footings. Others were things I thought of after we signed the contract - like doing the skirtings ourselves, changing the limestone wall out the front to rendered masonry. We haven't been charged any fees for the variations which is great - and most of them have resulted in credits back (even better ). Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 14May 04, 2009 9:35 am Wow, I'm glad it's not just me then Do variations generally add a lot of time to the build? Our variation for internal wall insulation has a note on it that it will add 119 days to the build time! Is that normal? ---------------------------------------- Building the PD Lisbon 24 http://www.porterdavis.com.au/#homeviewer/lisbon/24 Blog of our progress. http://lisbon24.blogspot.com/ Homeone build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28665 Re: How many Post-Contract Variations 15May 04, 2009 11:54 am TimmyDunlop Wow, I'm glad it's not just me then Do variations generally add a lot of time to the build? Our variation for internal wall insulation has a note on it that it will add 119 days to the build time! Is that normal? I think PD actually take advantage of variations to stretch out their build time, most likely to avoid paying the late penalty. I have seen a pattern on these forums to confirm this theory. With our house they have added a further 8-10 weeks to the standard build time and most of that is from variations. They also added 4 weeks for Xmas and we are not even building at that time of year, a bit cheeky me thinks Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." It seems very clear to me that your contract states that a security account does NOT need to be established so the answer to the builder is NO. If in doubt find a contract… 1 8505 So AFAIk the outcomes of the BAL ratings form part of a clause that allows them to pass these costs on to you. However the more relevant detail is how did it go from 19… 1 9164 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8706 |