Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 26, 2009 5:51 pm hi all, anyone experiencing delays with getting started building with Dennis Family homes? We signed contract late sept, and they said they won't start building until late Jan? is this normal ? also has anyone in a semi-rural area got a Bushfire Attack level on their house? any changes needed? Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 2Nov 26, 2009 6:57 pm I'm not semi-rural but do have to prepare a bushfire assessment report. What state you are in will determine some issues but http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/dsp_content.cfm?CAT_ID=900 is the information for NSW. The surrounding vegetation up to 140 metres, any asset protection zone and then the building standards required depending on those factors as well as slope of the land will all determine whether you need changes. We are probably building to level 2 standard even though we will only be level 1 required. Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 3Nov 26, 2009 7:30 pm I am building with Dennis. My contract was signed 2nd November 2008 and building didn't commence until 20th July this year. Main reason for such a big delay was land settlement, but my settlement on the land was June 9th so they still took about 6 weeks to start. Once they started, everything was going fast until I made my progress payment for fixing stage. The finishing stage is dragging - very little happened in 4 weeks so I am finding them a little slow now. Current build Porter Davis Brookwater 49, Eucalypt Wollert Build: 24th Jul 2015 - Approx Mar 2016 Previous build DFH Columbia 21, Lyndarum Epping North Build:20th Jul 2009 - 18th Dec 2009 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 4Nov 26, 2009 7:42 pm We are in Victoria and our house was originally assessed by the builder as BAL 12.5. The main changes we had to make were: - add ember guards to all the weepholes, vents etc, - add "EmbaSeal" to the garage - use 4 mm safety glass in all windows that are within 400 mm of the ground and in sliding glass doors. - use KDH Hardwood for our windows rather than cedar or meranti - have metal mesh screens on windows and metal mesh screen doors on all doors (including sliding doors). Then, when the plans went to council, the site was rated at BAL 19 instead of 12.5. The only change this required was to upgrade the glass in windows and sliding doors to 5 mm toughened glass instead of 4mm safety glass. There are various other construction requirements, but our brick veneer design met those anyway. Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 5Nov 27, 2009 11:19 am JLC, We are also building with DFH and we signed our contract first week of June and didn't have commencement of our house until first week of September, in that time there was a 3 week delay for developer approval though. I think you will find with the other DFH people on H1 that there is a bit of time between contract signing and commencement. Building with Dennis Family Homes - Hartley 280 Location: Settlers Run, Botanic Ridge Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 7Feb 25, 2010 9:10 am Hi we are building with DFH (we are when they get their act together) we were classified as a bal 40 which added quite a bit to our house cost wise around 18,500 dollars a huge amount when you have a budget . But i guess that we are going to be safe although if a fire comes we are out of there if you want to know what we get for that money just let us know soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 8Mar 26, 2010 8:58 am We are building with DFH in Kinglake - we originally had the BAL-40 as well but this was downgraded and now we have the mid-rating which puts us at about $10,000 extra for building. We signed our contract August 31st and we only just got a start date of Feb 7 - so far it is now March26 and we have a site cut, meter box and the beginnings of our P-class slab. We're going up this weekend to see if the concrete has been poured yet but we certainly haven't heard anything. So it seems delays are characteristic of the company...... Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 9Mar 26, 2010 10:04 am hey maymatt great to see your house has started it is a long haul with DFH I think if you are anywhere out of the central cbd and surounding areas it seems a little longer than the norm.. Wow I kind of wish our bal was reduced how did you do that? we do have many many trees around us so I guess that is why we are a 40 .. A guy down the road from us wants to put in an extention and he was classed as a FZ so I count myself lucky, although ours was a 29 and went up to the 40. What house are you building? Keep us in touch with your build along the way its great to see them all go up Soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 10Mar 26, 2010 10:23 am Thank you - we were actually originally rated FZ then we cleared all the dead trees within 20m of our build site and suddenly we were Bal29 - But I am still not sure why that is - there are some other houses in Kinglake with less trees around and they have higher ratings so who knows.... We are building the Murchison with some internal changes - I will upload my plan when I get around to scanning it!! We are also having the old facade which you can't get anymore. I'm glad we didn't get FZ rating because we are also having to pay for a P-Class slab. We also have a 70m setback from the road - but have found an electrician to do the 3-phase cabling for a 1/5 of the price of what DFH wanted to charge (same as we did our own water tanks and septic). Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 11Mar 26, 2010 11:37 am cool yes put up your plan and photos when you get them done along the way, we also have a 87 metre setback for power and a p class slab we had 39 peirs in our slab but it was then reduced to 23 due to the site being wrong and they had to redo it, mind you we didnt get much of a credit back for the 16 peirs hmmmm strange that we are also doing our own water tanks and septic (sounds like a similar build) I hope when you go up for your drive that you have more to report viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 12Apr 13, 2010 7:40 pm kes1984 I am building with Dennis. My contract was signed 2nd November 2008 and building didn't commence until 20th July this year. Main reason for such a big delay was land settlement, but my settlement on the land was June 9th so they still took about 6 weeks to start. Once they started, everything was going fast until I made my progress payment for fixing stage. The finishing stage is dragging - very little happened in 4 weeks so I am finding them a little slow now. Hey guys, We are also building with DFH and the wait is starting to annoy me. We settled our land last Feb. 10, 2010. April is almost over and still nothing is happening to our land! Everytime they send me variations or final drawings, there is always some minor mistake - and I can't be bothered anymore otherwise if I raise it up it will only extend everything else. I've just been very understanding of their mistakes because I want a site start already It's very easy for them to come up with excuses like "we're setting up the site files, or we're getting the building permit, blah, blah, blah...." Just do your job already! Bella Site Scrape 27/04/10 Slab 7/5/10 Frame 11/5/10 Lock up - June Fix up - July Build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32389 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 13Apr 13, 2010 10:58 pm Hi dearhouse we had the same problem with our variations there was always some minor mistakes that you had to phone up to get it sorted out which then took extra time .. When we got our building permit there was a mistake in there on paperwork that we didnt even sign so they had changed plans after we had signed the final variations hmmm not sure if this is leagal or not but you feel you dont want to kick up a fuss and delay it any longer I know how you feel I think from what I have heard its the office staff but once you get to site then its all go lets cross our fingers on this one Keep us up to date with your build what home are you building? soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 14Apr 14, 2010 8:46 pm Hi Soots, I agree. Our SC has been wonderful and very effecient but when it comes to the office staff in Malvern, shocking! I mean, this is a house... not a pair of shoes. You would want everything right and accurate if it means mortgage for the next 20-30 years of your life! I was in a hurry to settle the land because I thought it was go go go from there. Got full approval from bank ages ago and basically signed and returned all documents needed. They told us forecasted site start 23rd of April, but that's already next week and the e-mail I got from them yesterday was "they are in the process of setting up site files which will take a week, building permit within 48 hours, then files given to SS who will then contact us within 5 days". Wow, I really don't think I will be getting any call next week or maybe a site cut on the 23rd. Feels like they only work on our files when I e-mail them. I have to wake them up or something. Anyway, thanks Soots...we are building Princeton in Hunt Club. Bella Site Scrape 27/04/10 Slab 7/5/10 Frame 11/5/10 Lock up - June Fix up - July Build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32389 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 15Apr 14, 2010 11:37 pm Hi Bella sounds like we will both be on the same time line with out builds that will be fun to keep up with each others builds.. There are a couple of people at Malvern that are ok but I think that they dont work well together or dont comunicate well with one another, we received a letter last week from head office saying congratulations on your building commencment, i would be expecting to get a call from the SS this week but nothing yet our site start was meant to be March but im thinking positive Hunt Club is in Cranbourne many many years ago my friend used to live in a small farm house on the hunt club land i bet it has changed heaps now heheh keep us up to date Soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 16Apr 15, 2010 10:44 am Hi Soots, Where are you building, if you don't mind me asking. At least you got a letter of commencement already - howcome we didn't get one? Oooh I better check this. I know what you mean about those people not communicating effectively. It's like I tell one thing to this girl and the other doesn't know anything and you would think they'd all know being in one office and all... Or when I asked this girl did you get the document and she tells me, "Oh this person from this department did not give me anything..." talk about lack of communication. Told myself last night I would not stress about any of this. I'm grateful for all the wonderful things that has come and will come our way Enjoy your build Soots and post photos if you can Bella Site Scrape 27/04/10 Slab 7/5/10 Frame 11/5/10 Lock up - June Fix up - July Build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32389 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 17Apr 15, 2010 5:43 pm Hi Dearhouse I dont mind you asking at all we live in woodend vic and we are building on the same block as we are on at the moment so we will be able to see our progress everyday which I dont know if thats a good thing or a bad thing LOL You sound like me I was stressing out over everything and would tell myself stop it its not worth it it will all work out in the end but being very impatient i still stressed about most things hopefully the builds will go without any problems at all I have posted some pics in other posts of our site cut and that so will keep you posted here with pics too Soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 18Apr 15, 2010 7:59 pm Hi All, We're building with DFH in Mernda Villages. We also experienced huge delays with plans / variations etc but also had delays with land settlement so weren't chasing them. Our land settled two weeks ago and we've still had issues with the accuracy of the plans - DFH were intent on building our house with garage on wrong side, despite raising this issue on three previous occasions. I finally contacted an Area Manager, since then DFH have been in regular communication with us, they finalised the siting yesterday and have resubmitted the plans to developer. DFH are hoping to get to site this month, realistically we expect to start in May - hoping to be in for Xmas! Neil and Rachel Finally completed the Hartley 361 with Dennis Family Homes in Mernda Villages..... Now for the Landscaping Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 19Apr 15, 2010 9:42 pm @ Soots So I asked them about the letter of commencement and office staff said they will send me one soon as work begins. Also told them about 23 April which is next week already and this girl from head office said they are still planning to go to site on the 23rd, if they can go earlier they will. She said she spoke to the Construction Manager and made our job a priority and if they can go to site on the 23rd, we might get site cut Monday or Tuesday (27th). Sounds too good...hope it comes true Do you have a slab already? @ neilandrach With all the delays, we might also be looking at starting in May, who knows Enjoy your build! Bella Site Scrape 27/04/10 Slab 7/5/10 Frame 11/5/10 Lock up - June Fix up - July Build thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32389 Re: Dennis Family Homes -delays? also bushfire attack level 20Apr 15, 2010 11:45 pm Welcome Neil and Rachel we also had trouble with the siting of our home it was almost place into next doors block with a fence running straight thru the centre, they did eventually fix things up but I had christmas in between so was not on their backs too much although in the end i had to phone them almost every day, good luck with it all seems the three of us will be building almost together will be great to see all the pics added along the way, Hi bella I hope you do go to site on the 27th that would be great I emailed the office today asking them if I needed to phone the SS or he would phone us for the appointment with him hmmmm no reply so i guess if I dont receive a reply tomorrow ill ring the office again..We have not gone to site but I still have my letter saying we comenced heheh well i guess my time is ticking away, we did our own site cut so that is where we are at at the moment will post a pic below of the cut but alas no slab yet soon i hope. our site cut with our retaining wall all ready to go Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ soots viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31037 harvard 27 DFH signed contract 16th March 2010 slab down 1st June 2010 frame started 8th June 2010 trusses and frame finished 24th June 2010 tiles almost done 14th July 2010 Bricks started 14th July 2010 Plaster started 28th July 2010 Paint 25th August 2010 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73086 Just to makea point about this, an approach that some people have found sucessful in negotiating these rises down, Is to provide some workings to the builder, specifying… 4 81561 While i was across this behavior's pre appointing my (the builders) surveyor, I did tell the builder i was aware what they were doing and while i disagreed with it, they… 13 14509 |