Browse Forums Building A New House Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 181Mar 24, 2010 9:48 am What were they thinking when they painted that sidelight??? Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 182Mar 24, 2010 12:16 pm kek ::hyst:: What were they thinking when they painted that sidelight??? The problem is I dont think they were thinking I checked my colour selection sheet last night and it was pretty clear so I am not sure where the breakdown occured but the SS has assured me it will be fixed, I said F$%&(&^%^%&# it sure as hell will be fixed because it looks F$%&(&^%^%&# at the moment Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 183Mar 24, 2010 5:23 pm End of 2nd last wk in April so around the 23rd or so will be handover if all goes to plan. Not long. Need to organise the mess here as I have promised myself the junk won't be coming with us. Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 184Mar 24, 2010 5:29 pm maxyb kek ::hyst:: What were they thinking when they painted that sidelight??? The problem is I dont think they were thinking I checked my colour selection sheet last night and it was pretty clear so I am not sure where the breakdown occured but the SS has assured me it will be fixed, I said F$%&(&^%^%&# it sure as hell will be fixed because it looks F$%&(&^%^%&# at the moment Hehehe did you really say it like that Maxyb? That cracked me up! and now I have finally spoken to Adrian I can imagine what he would say to that in his voice over the phone! He sounds a lot younger than I expected! Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 185Mar 24, 2010 7:30 pm Kelly_girl maxyb kek ::hyst:: What were they thinking when they painted that sidelight??? The problem is I dont think they were thinking I checked my colour selection sheet last night and it was pretty clear so I am not sure where the breakdown occured but the SS has assured me it will be fixed, I said F$%&(&^%^%&# it sure as hell will be fixed because it looks F$%&(&^%^%&# at the moment Hehehe did you really say it like that Maxyb? That cracked me up! and now I have finally spoken to Adrian I can imagine what he would say to that in his voice over the phone! He sounds a lot younger than I expected! I didnt swear I may have exagerated slightly there I didnt have too but the way I said it left Adrian in no doubt that I wasnt happy and credit to him, he straight away said no problem we will give it another coat. I got an email off Hazel and she said Adrian had spoken to the painters passed on my feedback as well as some things he found upon his inspection. I must say to date the quality control has been good. I just make sure I point things out I have issues with, document them and they have been sorted every time no fuss. Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- Painting finished, well sort of 186Mar 24, 2010 8:59 pm Haha Yes I must say they are pretty good with stuff like that! They have put the wrong fretwork (without the tulips) on our house and Adrian rang me to tell me that but I already knew cos I go there every day Lucky for him Ryan likes it better - I am undecided but I can never make up my mind so we are going to keep it but it seemed like no drama if we wanted to change it which is good Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 187Mar 30, 2010 9:00 pm Last week I made a list of the things I had to do and what the builder had to do & we both have ticked some items off the list. The tiling is complete and I must say I am happy about it I am not so sure Mrs B is . You see she wanted our tiles in the kitchen to be laid in a “Brick” style but I wanted the traditional one on to of the other style and after the tiler said the brick style would look odd with such a large rectangular tile I was on a winner and in the end I got my way. The decorative tiles in the shower look good and the floor tiles are understated as we wanted. I don’t have photos as I didn’t have the camera on me when I snuck in, but I will sort something out in the next couple of weeks. The AirCon condenser has been installed and the toilet window replaced and that’s about it. I still don’t have the quote for the driveway and the sparkie has not started his fit off. It looks like twice weekly phone calls and emails are on the cards yet again as I feel a more “active” approach from myself is necessary , especially if we are to make the PCI date of April 19. I on the other hand have been busy and I have purchased my home entertainment “kit” and I have organised Telstra & Foxtel. I was right and I only have one choice of ISP and its Telstra Wireless, at least they have dropped their prices a bit The whole program relies on hand over occurring no later than April 30 as I have organised the removalist, the bed delivery, the blinds to be installed and my home entertainment “kit” & unit to be delivered all on Saturday the 1st of May. I will try and get the antenna guy also but I won’t be too fussed if this doesn’t happen. The dishwasher and microwave will arrive on Monday the 3rd as does the Telstra technician and brining up the rear on Tuesday the 4th is the Foxtel man. All I need now is the keys Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 188Mar 30, 2010 10:43 pm Hi Maxyb, Yes I am worried too as my cut off date is 4th June and no one has been onsite this week. In fact last week all they did is clean the bricks and put square ends on the pipes for the down pipes to be installed! so my cut off date is only 5 weeks after yours but looking at your blog I am about 8 weeks behind! I still thought it was achievable but when they are not on site everyday you can only think So maybe the last few things dont take long for you and they will meet the date but this week so far seems that they are enjoying an easter break which is what I expected to be honest - If they give me a late handover I will be expressing how dissapointed I am considering I have been a good customer so far I rarely call them or anything. I will definately be demanding my $250 per week as they have not communicated any delays with me! Anyway I hope they are busy working on your place this week as with easter they dont have too many working days left till April 19. Is the quote for the driveway from them or separate? Kel Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 189Mar 31, 2010 7:54 am Kelly_girl Hi Maxyb, Yes I am worried too as my cut off date is 4th June and no one has been onsite this week. In fact last week all they did is clean the bricks and put square ends on the pipes for the down pipes to be installed! so my cut off date is only 5 weeks after yours but looking at your blog I am about 8 weeks behind! I still thought it was achievable but when they are not on site everyday you can only think So maybe the last few things dont take long for you and they will meet the date but this week so far seems that they are enjoying an easter break which is what I expected to be honest - If they give me a late handover I will be expressing how dissapointed I am considering I have been a good customer so far I rarely call them or anything. I will definately be demanding my $250 per week as they have not communicated any delays with me! Anyway I hope they are busy working on your place this week as with easter they dont have too many working days left till April 19. Is the quote for the driveway from them or separate? Kel Hi Kel, Firstly you would be suprised what they can achieve when they have a concerted effort and I do believe they can hit the April 19 target. From what I understand the oven and gas hotplates wont be installed by then and its at the PCI that I will hand over the shower shelves and towel ladders etc for installation. I have every intention of claiming the $250 pw if they are late as I have no official notices about delays and it would really *** me off if they missed the deadline considering they finished fixing on feb 22. I think you will find now that your plastering is done you will get to fixing real soon but I wouldnt bet on getting in early. As for the driveway we have to move the cross over and after reading my contract anything above the driveway allowance I have to pay for, I dont think I get stung the builders margin as i didnt ask for it. I would suspect they need my approval before going ahead so I cant approve if I dont know how much its going to cost me so they better hurry up and give me my quote I plan to ring both Hazel & Adrian today to speed things up. In the end I am sure it will work out as all people I have spoke to that had their homes built by them got it on time with no dramas Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 190Mar 31, 2010 9:00 am Do you have to pay for them to install the towel rails? I thought it was something we had to do ourselves? But if they are offering Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 191Mar 31, 2010 10:35 am Kelly_girl Do you have to pay for them to install the towel rails? I thought it was something we had to do ourselves? But if they are offering Not as far as I am concerned. I have always just thought we purchase them, they installed them and when i have mentioned this to Adrian he hasnt told me I am wrong. I will be ** if they do want to charge me considering all other builders off that sort of stuff for free, its the least they can do as far as I am concerned I suggest you just act if its the done thing and I think they did it for our other friends Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 192Mar 31, 2010 10:48 am maxyb Kelly_girl Do you have to pay for them to install the towel rails? I thought it was something we had to do ourselves? But if they are offering Not as far as I am concerned. I have always just thought we purchase them, they installed them and when i have mentioned this to Adrian he hasnt told me I am wrong. I will be ** if they do want to charge me considering all other builders off that sort of stuff for free, its the least they can do as far as I am concerned I suggest you just act if its the done thing and I think they did it for our other friends hmmm I love that idea! I will do that! Ill just say "when you would you like me to drop the air con, outdoor light, ceiling fan and towell rails etc off for you to install?" (the other things I am paying for except the outdoor light that was in a letter they sent us) hahaha! Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 193Mar 31, 2010 11:02 am Kelly_girl maxyb Kelly_girl Do you have to pay for them to install the towel rails? I thought it was something we had to do ourselves? But if they are offering Not as far as I am concerned. I have always just thought we purchase them, they installed them and when i have mentioned this to Adrian he hasnt told me I am wrong. I will be ** if they do want to charge me considering all other builders off that sort of stuff for free, its the least they can do as far as I am concerned I suggest you just act if its the done thing and I think they did it for our other friends hmmm I love that idea! I will do that! Ill just say "when you would you like me to drop the air con, outdoor light, ceiling fan and towell rails etc off for you to install?" (the other things I am paying for except the outdoor light that was in a letter they sent us) hahaha! It might work. I just spoke with Hazel 7 Adrian & I should have my quote tomorrow and he confirmed his timetable and the aim for the inspection on the 16th of April. I confirmed again thats when I would give him the towell ladders, toilet roll holders and shower shelves and they would be installed by handover. so the sparkie fit off should be next week as well as the plumbing fit off. the floors are being delivered next week as is the carpet. the ceiling is being patched from a stuff up from the air con dude and the painting touchups occur & we are done well hopefully Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- some things done, some not 194Mar 31, 2010 12:39 pm So PCI on 16th April - 3 days early Thats only 2.5 weeks away Yay Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- Bl**dy Builders 195Apr 01, 2010 11:53 am It would appear there is a lot of progress planed for our place. The sparkie is there today completing his fitoff, the plumber is due next week. I finally got my quote for the modified cross over & drivewayand it came to a total, inc the builders 20% variation margin , of $5150 I had budgeted $2000 but to come up with an additional $3000 in a week or so is not easy, especially at this stage of the build. I did argue the fairness of the builders margin especially when this issue should have been picked up at the start when they surveyed the site to calculate the driveway allowance but the builder is sticking fast to the terms of the contract so I dont have any recourse & must pay if I want a functional driveway All I can do is look towards the end result & that I get a double driveway and I will be in my house at the end of the month. Now I have to ring my bank manager and renegotiate my mortgage Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- Bl**dy Builders 196Apr 01, 2010 4:46 pm maxyb It would appear there is a lot of progress planed for our place. The sparkie is there today completing his fitoff, the plumber is due next week. I finally got my quote for the modified cross over & drivewayand it came to a total, inc the builders 20% variation margin , of $5150 I had budgeted $2000 but to come up with an additional $3000 in a week or so is not easy, especially at this stage of the build. I did argue the fairness of the builders margin especially when this issue should have been picked up at the start when they surveyed the site to calculate the driveway allowance but the builder is sticking fast to the terms of the contract so I dont have any recourse & must pay if I want a functional driveway All I can do is look towards the end result & that I get a double driveway and I will be in my house at the end of the month. Now I have to ring my bank manager and renegotiate my mortgage OMG that is really really expensive!! I dunno if I would be happy with that... Have you tried pricing doing the driveway and crossover yourself with someone independant? Maybe the builder can refund your driveway? They should do since they should have picked this up ages ago! Alan assured me the best reason to build with this builder is they dont have hidden costs at the end ..... Surely someone else could do this cheaper might be a pain for a week or so while you wait for them but if it saves you money and bigger loans? Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- Bl**dy Builders 197Apr 01, 2010 8:07 pm Kelly_girl maxyb It would appear there is a lot of progress planed for our place. The sparkie is there today completing his fitoff, the plumber is due next week. I finally got my quote for the modified cross over & drivewayand it came to a total, inc the builders 20% variation margin , of $5150 I had budgeted $2000 but to come up with an additional $3000 in a week or so is not easy, especially at this stage of the build. I did argue the fairness of the builders margin especially when this issue should have been picked up at the start when they surveyed the site to calculate the driveway allowance but the builder is sticking fast to the terms of the contract so I dont have any recourse & must pay if I want a functional driveway All I can do is look towards the end result & that I get a double driveway and I will be in my house at the end of the month. Now I have to ring my bank manager and renegotiate my mortgage OMG that is really really expensive!! I dunno if I would be happy with that... Have you tried pricing doing the driveway and crossover yourself with someone independant? Maybe the builder can refund your driveway? They should do since they should have picked this up ages ago! Alan assured me the best reason to build with this builder is they dont have hidden costs at the end ..... Surely someone else could do this cheaper might be a pain for a week or so while you wait for them but if it saves you money and bigger loans? I thought about it but talking to my BIL who is a chippy who has a mate who is a concreter and my step dad the price is close to the mark except for the 20% marin. The issue is they have to take away a drain and put a grate in. There are council permits involved and quite frankly with a change to the contract and the hassel involved its not worth the at most $1000 I could save I want to move in and I equally want to have a funtional driveway. I also like the fact that the one company is on the hook for everything in terms of warrantees etc. Adrian has pointed out the issues but Ken didnt ensure it was checked when they surveyed the block, slack really and I will probably contact Alan so that he can either warn customers or demand Ken actually thinks of these kind of things when he is doing the build & site costs. I am ** about it and it really runs us close to the edge in terms of cash flow but we will manage and I am sure in 6 to 12 months time I will be over it while my guests park on a double driveway Also I was always going to change my loan I will just need a little more. With a favourable revaluation I shouldnt go over the 80% mark and I still shouldnt breach 45% of net income in repayments so we should be ok. Also once MrsB starts doing a little work it will help also. As they say, she'll be right mate Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- Bl**dy Builders :-( 198Apr 03, 2010 7:04 pm Exactly I think its a great idea to contact Alan cos it was one of his selling points to us that there would be no extra "suprise site costs" at the end and that they would be upfront with those from day one. In saying that mine were about 17k and your block looks a lot flatter than mine in your photos so you probably dont need retaining walls etc as we do so yours probably ends up cheaper than mine Oh and the 80% LVR well we are more like 90% but being first home buyers it would be hard to be any better than that! We were allowed to go that high just because we already had a personal loan and a credit card with the CBA and then they let you borrow more because of that! so you get in even more debt which is strange... The good thing about building is the whole process takes nearly a year and in that time the value of houses has gone up well in my estate it has anyway - single storey houses are selling for like $550k and we paid less that $450 all up for this! So a revaluation should go well basing on the current market I finally went back to the carpet place today and am still choosing between 2 carpets one being standard and one an upgrade of about 1k. I am definately going to upgrade the underlay as that is what makes the carpet feel nice to walk on this will be about $300. Anyway while we were there we met another couple building with our builder. Not so good a storey from them though they signed up in July same time as us and so far they have had no site start at all until just now. They didnt seem happy at all. I was very suprised Kel Building in Mooroolbark! Building permit: 21.10.09 Site Start: 12.11.09 Slab 23.11.09 Frame completed 18.12.09 Roof completed 15.01.10 Lock up 05.03.10 Fixing : 30.04.10 Handover: 11.06.10 Blog: http://kelnryan.blogspot.com Re: MaxyB Family Home- Bl**dy Builders :-( 199Apr 05, 2010 9:43 pm Kelly_girl Exactly I think its a great idea to contact Alan cos it was one of his selling points to us that there would be no extra "suprise site costs" at the end and that they would be upfront with those from day one. In saying that mine were about 17k and your block looks a lot flatter than mine in your photos so you probably dont need retaining walls etc as we do so yours probably ends up cheaper than mine Oh and the 80% LVR well we are more like 90% but being first home buyers it would be hard to be any better than that! We were allowed to go that high just because we already had a personal loan and a credit card with the CBA and then they let you borrow more because of that! so you get in even more debt which is strange... The good thing about building is the whole process takes nearly a year and in that time the value of houses has gone up well in my estate it has anyway - single storey houses are selling for like $550k and we paid less that $450 all up for this! So a revaluation should go well basing on the current market I finally went back to the carpet place today and am still choosing between 2 carpets one being standard and one an upgrade of about 1k. I am definately going to upgrade the underlay as that is what makes the carpet feel nice to walk on this will be about $300. Anyway while we were there we met another couple building with our builder. Not so good a storey from them though they signed up in July same time as us and so far they have had no site start at all until just now. They didnt seem happy at all. I was very suprised Kel That does seem suprising on a late start, I wouldnt be happy either. I am pretty confident of getting an acceptable revaluation and as this is our second home we obviously walk in with a bit more of a deposit comparred to our first place so yes you are doing very well to have 90%. I disnt think about upgrading the underlay, they didnt even mention it and for $300 we might have done it, but now I am short of cash so its bog standard for us now Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Re: MaxyB Family Home- A Month To Go 200Apr 05, 2010 9:50 pm Well its Easter and a few months ago, well even late Jan I thought we would be in by now but no We have had more progress in that the electrical fit off is almost complete and the showers are in. We also got our quote to move our crossover. Now thanks to the council stipulating certain concrete thicknesses etc and the builder whacking on his 20% margin our quote came to an additional $5,150 To say I was shocked was an understatement and the builder & I spent half an hour debating the “fairness” in the 20% margin when he stuffed up the original driveway allowance and they have had other crossover issues in the estate and our street. In the end he stuck to his contract and for the sake of having one person on the hook for the whole house and to have a functional driveway and handover date of the 30th of April I have accepted the hit and will somehow come up with the additional $3000 after I had budgeted $2000. I guess its swings & roundabouts because now I want that 10 cent sized dent in the toilet window fixed. I don’t care that he may have to replace the whole window frame and remove bricks to get it out, my contract states a house with no defects and that’s what I expect. I have also been mentioning it for the last few months so they cant say I haven’t warned them. They also have to patch the ceiling so I will be very keen to ensure the paint work is spot on. Below are some pics and there are more on my blog Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Blog: http://funmore-residence.blogspot.com/ Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=21109 Construction Start - 19/09/09 Slab Poured - 21/10/09 Frame Completed - 25/11/09 Lockup - 22/12/09 Fixing - 22/02/10 Handover & Moved In 30/04/2010 Joe, it depends on your certifier but we are noticing the ones we deal with are really cracking down. So i would recommend you follow your approved landscaping plans to… 4 10915 Hi Simeon, Thank you for laying it down for us. Makes sense. Appreciate it very much. Have a nice day. Cheers 2 8957 Hi everyone, Newbie renovator here, after some advice for combining our family room in the picture and the alfresco and make a larger family room. There is a flush sill… 0 4843 |