Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 03, 2010 12:30 pm Hi All, I am currently building the Carinya in Point Cook with Henley, we are a first time builder and have been getting great advise and tips for our build though this forum.. I don’t want to drag on to much but basically we are starting to feel very disillusioned with our builder. Since out start date, at the end of November we have only had one call from our SS to introduce himself, every deadline they have given us , either over the phone or via email has been extended by at least a few weeks. My partner and I have been out to the site over 15 times during work hrs and have only ever seen our builder onsite twice. Before I start asking questions with our admin lady I wanted to check if anyone else has had this issue with their builder. Is this a normal process? For some reason I was under the impression we would have constant contact to the SS and have inspections after each stage of building but apparently he only calls to introduce him self to us at the start of the build and we have two inspections at the end of the build.. Anyways it would be great to hear if this has happened to anyone else biddy Re: Building with Henley - Question 3Feb 03, 2010 12:55 pm Dont hold your breath, it took about 5-6 weeks for our SS to contact us to introduce himself apparently our first SS left Henley before xmas. well it's comforting to have someone else in the same boat. Re: Building with Henley - Question 4Feb 03, 2010 1:10 pm If you started in November, don't forget things tend to wind down over the Christmas/New Year period, so that may be the reason not much has been going on. Also suppliers shut down too, so they may have difficulty getting building materials so hence the delays. I would be ringing your CSA and asking her to arrange an 'official' onsite meeting with your SS to discuss any concerns and to go through the site. Your CSA 'should' really be giving you weekly updates via phone or email. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you feel. It is your house!! You've invested a lot of time and money into it. I had several 'official' meetings with my SS to discuss things, and I did catch him onsite several other times where we would chat, but I had the luxury of visiting my site up to 4 times a day. I ended up building up a great relationship with him and also my CSA. I asked many questions and they were both upfront about giving me the answers and I made sure I was not having the wool pulled over my eyes! There will inevitably be delays with any build project. Tradies may have too much on and be very busy, supplies might be low, and people can get sick/injured and have to take time off. That's life! But stay in regular touch with your CSA and ask many questions!! My brickies began one day, then went to finish another job and take extended leave over Easter. They were back onsite 3 weeks later! 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: Building with Henley - Question 5Feb 03, 2010 7:20 pm Hi Stormy, Thanks, That's great advice and i will definitely request from our CSA for an "official" site visit. sometimes i spend to much time looking at the people building around us and how quickly they all seem to be going up rather than my own home's progress. i suppose its all the ups and downs of building, in the end it will be well worth it... Re: Building with Henley - Question 6Feb 03, 2010 8:38 pm biddy .....in the end it will be well worth it... This is exactly what you have to keep in mind! Think of the end product. All that planning will become a reality soon. I don't think there is one member on this forum who will say that they have had a completely smooth and stress free build. I had a pretty good one, but, yes, there were times when I was sooo frustrated. But, you do get over it, and it becomes a distant memory. I've been in my house now for almost 5 months, and I just love it! Time flies, though, I still have boxes around the place!! Good luck!! Keep those lines of communication open with your CSA. 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: Building with Henley - Question 7Feb 04, 2010 9:51 pm Once you meet up with the SS if you ask nice enough for his mobile (make sure to promise not to bother him for every little things and DON'T break your promise). SS is the one that knows what happens on site CSA usually only get told every now and then and some won't even give you an update unless prompted (this is based on our own experience). It helps if you can 'run' into the SS every now and then for a few 'quick' question! Then there is the official site meeting every now and then or when you have major concern. We 'notice' most issue and always alert the SS to it from regular site visits and talking to some of the tradies on site. Keep in mind that your SS looks after many house at any one time not just yours (something like 15 I've been told). Building with a volume there are some trade off you must keep in mind. If you are loud enough (when required) then you will get notice... Remember if the thing is not a big issue, save it for the next meeting else you risk breaking the relationship which will not be beneficial to you. Just imagine if you were called up for every little thing how annoyed you would be. Would any one know if Henley Homes is a good Builder to use I seen many reasonable but also many poor reviews With so many builder going bust I thought they would be a… 0 184 thank you! do we need to get this or our builder before we commence new build on the block? 2 4395 You can really use anything you want the main consideration would be how it looks once painted/finished - or the look you want. Cabinetmakers use MDF because its cheap… 2 6401 |