Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 16, 2009 11:33 am I know there are many people on this forum who are building with Porter Davis in Victoria. I'm one of them. We started building our Windsor 47 on 6th June 2008 in Crystal Waters / Keys Estate in Keysborough (SE suburbs of Melbourne) with Porter Davis Prestige Eastern Region. For the first few months, everything seemed to be going smoothly - or perhaps we just weren't looking closely enough. Once we got to the brickwork, it all turned pear-shaped. We'd take one step forward and 2 steps back. Now it's become 1 step forward, 10 steps back. I don't want this thread to be a "builder bashing" but I am so frustrated to read sugar-coated versions on blogs (my blog started off that way too) and people not speaking up and telling it how it really is. And yes, I withheld much of the detail of our experience, until I couldn't stay silent any longer. Our current situation is that we had our second Pre-Handover Inspection yesterday (Monday 15th June 2009) and we are waiting on that report to come through. We already have a huge list of disputed items of our own. I would like to share our story on this forum and hope that others will share theirs. I am really keen to hear what issues and problems other Porter Davis customers (past and current) have had and whether you have been able to satisfactorily resolve your issues or if you are still living the nightmare ... like we are. Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 2Jun 16, 2009 11:42 am I'm really sorry you have had to go through this ordeal but unfortunately there are good and bad builds with every company. You were one of the extremely unlucky ones and I agree it's not good enough, but many people have had good builds with the same company. I'm in no way affiliated with them, I'm in Perth and haven't really heard of them. All I'm saying is it happens everywhere. I hope you end up with the house you dreamed of Building with Blueprint homes, Perth WA Prestart complete, settlement 14/08/09 Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 3Jun 16, 2009 11:45 am My heart goes out to you and your family, Liana. I have been reading your blog for many months, and been completely gobsmacked at watching everything unfold. I honestly do not have words for what I have been reading and seeing, and cannot begin to fathom just what you and your family are going through, and have gone through. It is totally unacceptable. I have been thinking of you, and will continue to do so. My very best wishes for an end to this horrific nightmare. 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: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 4Jun 16, 2009 11:48 am Hi Alisgirl, Oh I know it happens everywhere ... and probably with just about every builder known to man. I would just really like to hear from others who have been battling their way through a Porter Davis build, if for no other reason than to compare notes, share experiences and see if we can all learn something and hopefully get satisfactory resolutions. Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 5Jun 16, 2009 11:54 am Stormy My heart goes out to you and your family, Liana. I have been reading your blog for many months, and been completely gobsmacked at watching everything unfold. I honestly do not have words for what I have been reading and seeing, and cannot begin to fathom just what you and your family are going through, and have gone through. It is totally unacceptable. I have been thinking of you, and will continue to do so. My very best wishes for an end to this horrific nightmare. Hey Stormy! Thank you for your kind words and your comments on our blog. I haven't updated it for quite a while. It's even worse now, since the last blog post. Yes ... it DID get worse. I'm trying to find the time to upload all the recent photos. Hope to do this by the weekend. We have really struggled to stay positive in the past few months, but we're determined to finish what we started and get what we paid for. Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 6Jun 16, 2009 11:54 am Liana, I've read your blog and it's . It is absolutely astounding that one build can have so much go so very wrong. And as a lot of us say, it's not so much things going wrong, it's how they fix them...... and this is where PD just went even further to sh*t in your case. I really believe it comes down to the SS. Kek and Petal started with a crappy SS... but then got someone clued in on the job and their builds were put back on track and rectified. Unfortunately, a crap SS won't know the difference between a good and bad trade..... the difference between good and bad workmanship.... and they sure as hell won't know how to fix it when things do go wrong. The problem in your case seems to be.... no-one in the company seems to want to say, "That's it. The buck stops here, I take responsibilty for this and I'll personally see to it that it is rectified." I cannot imagine going through what you've been through. And it does seem to be luck of draw with all companies. It astounds me how they can get it so very wrong on one build, and so very right on another. But that "luck of the draw" scenario is of little comfort to families such as yours who get the sh*tty end of the bargain. I hope that you can come to some conclusion with this that will satisfy you and at least return you to some degree of normalcy and happiness..... and also make PD (and other builders) realise that in the long run.... it's not worth trying to smooth over mistakes. Just fix the bloody things and give all owners the home they pay good money for. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 7Jun 16, 2009 12:05 pm joles I really believe it comes down to the SS. Kek and Petal started with a crappy SS... but then got someone clued in on the job and their builds were put back on track and rectified. Unfortunately, a crap SS won't know the difference between a good and bad trade..... the difference between good and bad workmanship.... and they sure as hell won't know how to fix it when things do go wrong. The problem in your case seems to be.... no-one in the company seems to want to say, "That's it. The buck stops here, I take responsibilty for this and I'll personally see to it that it is rectified." Hi Joles, We don't even have an SS anymore. In November last year, we elevated our build to the Construction Manager. That was during our bricks n mortar saga. Got very little joy there, so we elevated it to the Regional Manager ... straight to the top. Our build has been managed by the Building Manager and Regional Manager since January 2009. You'd think that when you're dealing with the suits at the top of the food chain and having weekly site inspections with them, that things would improve. Nope! Our weekly site inspections became US walking THEM through the house and dictating the list of issues to them. I had to lend them pen and paper each time. In fact, we gave them 4 boxes of dots over the past month because they never had any. Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 8Jun 16, 2009 12:13 pm Sorry, I guess I was meaning initially, before January, what got you into this mess. And the thing is, it's not your mess is it? You did nothing to cause it. It's PD's mess, unfortunately you are just stuck in the middle of it. It's just beyond words, it really is. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 9Jun 16, 2009 12:21 pm Hi Liana, I thought we were having a bad run with M3tricon, however what has been done at your house has left me gobsmacked. I have been dealing with the problem solver from M. Her title is a "Customer Advocate" and she has been very helpful in having our issues addressed at a higher level. It may be helpful if PD has a similar person. We took handover after four attempts. I stopped posting after out third separate water leak into the dining room ceiling, as I am just over our new house. Hang in there as at the end of the day you will get a great house and time will fade the memories of all the hassles you had getting there. Good luck PP Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 10Jun 16, 2009 12:34 pm joles Sorry, I guess I was meaning initially, before January, what got you into this mess. And the thing is, it's not your mess is it? You did nothing to cause it. It's PD's mess, unfortunately you are just stuck in the middle of it. It's just beyond words, it really is. You've got nothing to apologise for, Joles. We wanted to have faith in our SS and the Construction Manager - you know ... give them a fair go to get it right. But then it just became a bloody circus and I was running out of vodka! Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nighmare of a Build with Porter Davis 11Jun 16, 2009 1:14 pm Can't believe the ** workmanship. How could your ss allow any of those things through. We're due to sign our contract in July, but are having second thoughts after seeing the problems you've had. I would seriously lose it and end up getting myself into trouble. Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 12Jun 16, 2009 1:26 pm Porter Davis is not the only nightmare I am building with Henl3y and I physically can't cope its a constant battle. I will continue to read Liana's blog... i just had to comment. Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 13Jun 16, 2009 1:29 pm I'm in the slide show still in the pictures of the spa and my heart is bleeding for you. Our handover has been very exciting and I can see that yours if full of tears and frustration and that sucks. Very poor form Porter Davis. Fi has moved in!! Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 14Jun 16, 2009 2:22 pm Hi Liana - I followed your blog for quite some time, but haven't really been following blogs since we finished our build. First, as everyone else has said, I was (and still am) constantly amazed at your incredibly positive outlook - to you for that - I think I would have fallen in a heap, but you have done so well to get on with the job and look towards getting everything rectified, then finished! And, your posts, although filled with angst-ridden incidents, were a constant source of laughter for me - your witty, pithy, incredibly clever writing is just fantastic!!! I don't know if you remember, but as Jo said, we had an absolutely useless SS (who was the THIRD one allocated to us) who was basically never there, and pretty much uncontactable - by us, and the tradies working on our job, as well as others. The last one we had was fantastic, and we felt like he was actually working for us, but if he hadn't taken over...welll, I shudder to think what would have happened. I'm sure all of us wish we could wave a magic wand for you. I don't know what to say - other than my absolute best thoughts go out to you, and I just hope everything is fixed to perfection, and that you end up with a wonderful family home that you love ....and make sure you send PD the invoice for the vodka and red wine Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 15Jun 16, 2009 2:30 pm I've browsed your blog and just shocked with what you guys are going through. I'm curious to know though if you hired an idependent inspector. I've seen some posts where people witheld payment during a particular stage until all the issues got fixed. Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 16Jun 16, 2009 2:45 pm Wow Liana, Just went through your blog, what a terrible ordeal you've been though. I must say how calm you've been till now is amazing. Have you thought about escalating this to VCAT? Even going to the press about this. I bit of public exposure would make get in line. ---------------------------------------- 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: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 17Jun 16, 2009 2:54 pm Firstly Liana, I looked at your photos and I can not understand how the builders don't see any problems with their work! I really feel for you!! Secondly, and this is a generalisation, it seems most of the horry stories of PD clients seem to come from those building the bigger houses. Yourself, Kek, Petal and another blog I have read building the Brookvale have all had a rough patch (yours is still going) but most of the smaller houses seem to go up pretty quickly and of a much better build quality. (Having said that Beejay's bricks on his 21sq house are pretty crappy) As I said thats my perception and I haven't read everyone's blog so I could be completely wrong! I just hope our build with PD goes well and some of your issues get resolved asap Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 18Jun 16, 2009 3:09 pm Oh wow! Thanks everyone for your kind words of support. I know the photos on my blog depict a fairly tragic standard of workmanship, but I hope I still managed to raise a chuckle or two - at least with the captions. I can't afford to lose my sense of humour yet. I'm gonna need a whole day (and a bottle of vodka) to reply to everyone. But I'll give it a damn good shot, but I'll have to do it one by one, so bear with me, I'm still a Junior Is there a "reply to all" button on here somewhere? Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 19Jun 16, 2009 3:36 pm started reading your blog at 1.15pm (just text no slideshows)... still reading ... two cups of coffee later and unable to move off the seat... up to March and speechless... Re: Nightmare of a Build with Porter Davis 20Jun 16, 2009 3:40 pm me,he&little she started reading your blog at 1.15pm (just text no slideshows)... still reading ... two cups of coffee later and unable to move off the seat... up to March and speechless... Oh no. You'll be reading forever ... there's 12 months worth of typing in there. Do what all the blokes do ... look at the pictures. They have captions and will tell the story much quicker. Pass the wine and 2 glasses please ... Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 12320 of course there are legal avenues. You've already mentioned it. Sue them. I find it odd that lawyers wouldnt be willing to take on the case, given CCT evidence and… 1 23758 "Losers" "humanity" "off time" "your" "top notch" "love symbol" Sounds like ponzo is done using other people's toilets 36 23837 |