Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 10, 2009 12:01 pm Hi everyone, am new to the forum. My partner and I are starting to look at building a house out in Doreen or Mernda. We're not too fussy on what we want in a house, but we're concerned about the quality of it being built. We've read blogs and posts about many many horror stories and problems with builders from Simonds to Porter Davis to Metricn. Are there any builders that have consistent good quality of the final product? We of course want to minimise the chance of things going wrong. The whole thing is really off putting. The stories we read are horrible. Any builders that you recommend out in Doreen and Mernda? Happy to deal with whatever as long as the quality of the house is actually good with few problems. Any advice? The stories we read make it off putting to look at display homes from either Simonds, PD, or Metrcon. Are all these big builders the same?? Are there any stand out good ones? bad ones? 1 week ago I would never have thought I'd build, let alone be able to afford a house, but here we are and I'm getting a bit overwhelmed, but excited. I just don't want the house to be made poorly. Thanks everyone Looking forward to sharing our journey with you all. Oze. Life is; then you tell yourself a story. Re: Building Fears 2Jul 10, 2009 12:14 pm Welcome ! I can't add anything to who is a good builder or not, as I am currently building my own home. I can say however as a new member of this forum that people around here are very helpful. I would say however that no matter who you talk to, every builder would have happy clients and unhappy clients. It unfortunately is the nature of the industry. No matter who you choose just make sure you conduct regular inspections of your house, and if anything needs to be said, always say it in writing to the builder. Good luck ! Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: Building Fears 3Jul 10, 2009 3:40 pm Hi, We are going to build next year for the 4th time and we had problems with our current home but that hasn't put us off doing it all again. Sure there can be problems but they get sorted out in the end. There are good and bad amongst most builders but you will mostly remember the bad reports that people give. It will depend on the tradies used on your house compared to another and how good the supervisor is. Just keep an eye on things and make sure they rectify any problem asap. A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands. Melbourne West Our build viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34169 Landscaping viewtopic.php?f=19&t=51147 Re: Building Fears 4Jul 11, 2009 4:01 pm Hi oze, We're just starting our first build and struggled with a lot of the same issues that you have. The major builders seem to be very inconsistent. I guess it all depends on whether you get the A team or the C team The only good advice that I can give is to read this forum religiously, ask lots of questions and make sure you give the builder more trouble than they are giving you Trying this building gig one more time. Re: Building Fears 5Jul 11, 2009 4:41 pm Hi Oze, congrats on building soon. We also had your concerns and were worried about building with a volume builder. We are building with M and then after we signed our contract I was worried about all the bad reports I was reading on the forum. But as others have mentioned it all depends on the tradies you get allocated, your SS and how often you check what's going on. I go to the house every day, talk to the tradies, give out beers to them if they are doing a good job etc. So far our tradies have so far done a very good job, we are at fixing stage so hoping things continue to go well. Our SS has been excellent allowing us to do things through the tradies themselves and doesn't mind us going onsite. There has been a few mistakes-but if you mention them early they seem to get rectified. Hope this helps. Re: Building Fears 6Jul 11, 2009 4:54 pm Welcome oze, you will find this forum a wealth of knowledge, info and laughs. It's great. I think that every build experience will be different, depends on company, tradies, staff, supplies etc. etc. At least you know that you may be able to avoid some of the not so nice elements by reading about them on H1, as others have experienced. Good Luck, I look forward to following yur story. www.themaxbuild.blogspot.com forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20717&start=300 www.leahspaperpassion.blogspot.com Re: Building Fears 7Jul 11, 2009 4:59 pm Hi Oze, and welcome to the forum. Congrats on on the decision to build. Have you got land already or still looking in the Doreen/Mernda area? Firstly, in my opinion you're going about this the wrong way. Why is the house no so important to you? Not fussy about design etc? The house should be the most important thing, unless you're just building an investment property and wont make this your home? Personally I think you should find the home, the perfect home, the design that suits your lifestyle and you can see youselves living in and being happy. Pick the home, regardless of the builder. Each builder, big or small has horror stories, if you're going off other people's experience, then you'll probably never find the "perfect" builder. Good luck with your journey, I really hope you find someone you're comfortable dealing with. Cheers Re: Building Fears 8Jul 11, 2009 8:27 pm jspitz give out beers to them if they are doing a good job etc. LOL Perhaps this would be "self-correcting". As soon as the drinking on the job starts the quality will go down again. Trying this building gig one more time. Re: Building Fears 9Jul 11, 2009 9:34 pm Hi Oze... My partner and I are building in Doreen with Henley and are having a great build so far... I agree with everyone in regards to having good and bad builds.... it does essentially come down to your SS and tradies.... ours have been great thank god.... I also agree with Erin you need to find a house to you that feels like home and suits your needs... there is no point building a house just because its built by a certain builder... we picked our house because it suited our needs and felt like home.... Have you bought land yet??? or found anything in particular you are looking at..... as the block may limit what house you can put on due to position of cross over, size of block, easements etc.... 2nd build here we come in Whittlesea! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=92617 1st Build - Henley - Cooper in Doreen! (2009) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17354 Re: Building Fears 10Jul 11, 2009 9:40 pm Hi Oze I too have building fears but was lucky enough to find this site and start chatting with some of the great people on here who really put my mind at ease (as much as that was possible as always concerns). We found the house that we wanted but were concerned about the builders and yes everyone is right there is always good and bad stories but I am educating myself through this forum on each process and what to look out for. Good luck with whatever you decide and look forward to hearing about your decision and your progress. We are hoping to find land soon so we can get the ball rollling. We could then compare notes. Re: Building Fears 11Jul 11, 2009 10:35 pm All builders will have a problem or two at some stage. If you're researching problems, focus on the type of problem that seems common to that builder (ie structual problems v's wrong vanity delivered - you don't want to go with someone who always seems to have major problems. Little ones you can live with are annoying but not devestating). Then try and find out how well they resolve the problems. I've heard of builders that will flat out deny that their is a problem when it's blatantly obvious, others will be in the process of fixing it before you've noticed it yourself. Also be aware that often posters here will not be completely open or explicit about major problems with their builders for obvious reasons. This site is great to get a feel for what your builder is like, but shouldn't be your primary source. Good luck. Re: Building Fears 13Jul 13, 2009 1:25 pm Thanks everyone for your warm welcomes and messages. We spent the weekend checking out heaps fo display homes and found one we like with Porter Davis. Also found some nice land out in Doreen. Next step is deposit and then taking a breath to get a clear head as it's all really overwhelming. 1 week ago we didn't even realise we were in the market for a house. We've been approved for finance and so forth too. It's really exciting but nerve-wracking as well. Things will be tight but manageable. Got heaps and heaps we have to learn so I'll be on here often Life is; then you tell yourself a story. Re: Building Fears 14Jul 13, 2009 4:17 pm Lol, building must be a bit like child birth, if you have a painful experience you swear you never want to do that again, but as time wears on a little you probably want to give it another go? And is building addictive? Sort of like once you've done it, you're more likely to do it again? Oze I'm sure it will be an adventure and hopefully a good one. Just about having finished building for the first time I think our experience was good overall, certainly learn things from the experience. And I'm in two minds as to weather I'd want to build again. I was pretty happy with the quality and all, it's just how long the whole process takes, and could have taken that annoys me. Ahhh if only my Husband could schedule it all, it would probably have been done in like 6 months! Re: Building Fears 15Jul 13, 2009 5:33 pm oze Thanks everyone for your warm welcomes and messages. We spent the weekend checking out heaps fo display homes and found one we like with Porter Davis. Also found some nice land out in Doreen. Next step is deposit and then taking a breath to get a clear head as it's all really overwhelming. 1 week ago we didn't even realise we were in the market for a house. We've been approved for finance and so forth too. It's really exciting but nerve-wracking as well. Things will be tight but manageable. Got heaps and heaps we have to learn so I'll be on here often Congrats on finding a house plan and block that you like We are building with PD Prestige in the outer south east, and so far we are one of the happy customers Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Building Fears 16Jul 13, 2009 9:32 pm Land is truly the biggest problem out in Mernda/Doreen at the moment - if you see a block you like that will fit the house you want put the holding deposit on it immediately. It won't be there if you wait. Re: Building Fears 17Jul 13, 2009 10:37 pm Congratulations on making the decision. I agree with all the above. This forum is fantastic for getting loads of information about the building process. We bought land in Doreen on a whim - we bought within days of seeing it and asked for a short settlement. (banks drew this out to 6 weeks) Best thing we did. (actually I bought my last car on a whim too, when I went grocery shopping - the dealer was next door! sometimes you have to go on instinct) Anyway, like you, we have been agonising over which company to build with. I have been dreaming of plans/people/display homes for months. In the end, I think it really depends on the tradies, the house design you really want and any special offers. We finally decided to go with NBG and paid our $1000 only yesterday arvo. We realised that most companies are the same and was really persuaded by the special offer they have going at the moment. We also knocked on the neighbours doors who had built with DFH and NBG to ask what their experiences were. Both couldn't recommend their builders more highly - so I agree with above, you are always going to find degrees of satisfaction or not, with every company. .....and the beers.....no wonder there are so many tradies in detox! 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