Building with PD Homes, Recommendations?

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to build with PD and I would like to know your experiences with them; good & bad, I know no builder is perfect but I don't want to get trapped either.

Thanks Heaps

They're no worse than any other major builder, and better than some. A good or bad experience usually depends on the site supervisor and customer service person you're allocated, and you don't get to choose....but that's the same with any builder.

Use the search function, and you'll turn up plenty of threads with more detail than you probably ever wanted.

Thanks for that, I will do a search

Hi Victoria,

We are building with PD and really can't fault the product. As Kek said, it depends on who your SS is and then your CSC. We have been allocated a new CSC and she is............ well lets just say she is a little 'Green' and not up to the mark, esp since we are just about to go to build. Having said that, we were warned by my sister-in-law they can be terribly hard to get a hold of or get answers from at times. Then again we also have friends building with PD in the same Estate and only weeks ahead of us who have the most fantastic CSC's. At the end of the day we've noticed, and found the admin side with any builder can be like walking on thin ice and is just luck of the draw.

One thing I can say of what I've seen, PD's build quality and attention to detail is very very good. For example, so far PD have been the only builder at our estate to remove all the excess soil from the site scrape the very same day, as well as provide cross-over protection throughout the entire build.

Hope this helps.

We built with PD Prestige, have a look at the blog link in my siggie as it has more than enough info about our experience

Over all, we love our house and don't regret building it but it wasn't all smooth sailing.

Thank you for replying I suppose you can't really tell until you start, sort of like hitting rock
I agree with you about their quality, from their website photos to display homes they do look very nice

You're bound to come across some problems with any builder. It's just how the builder deals with the problem that makes the difference.

We started the process with PD however we weren't happy with the constant surprises as to what wasn't included in our quote (thanks to this forum I knew what to ask for). We were also shocked at the lack of flexibility with the changes that we wanted to make. Everything just seemed to be so difficult. Had we signed the contract with PD we would have then had to spend an additional 50k or more to finish the house. Nothing seemed to be a standard inclusion and the story of what was included seemed to change. We're now building a bigger and better house with more inclusions through Inspired Homes (contract out to Hermitage Homes)

My tip: ask alot of questions!

I also built with PD and as others have said they have good and bad stories. I built from the Access range and my admin chick was a bit frustrating to deal with at times but I had a fantastic SS and a pretty smooth build and would definitely build with them again.

We are building with PD and are about 3/4 of the way through. I loved the house design more than any other I saw and friends had built with PD and had no issues. We have had a few probs and delays but nothing that we probably would not have had with any other builder. As said before it depends on your CSC and SS. We had a lousy SS to begin with and there was no communication. Now we have a new SS and we are updated every week with either a phone call or email with the progress. We are also finding things are moving a bit faster now as well so it shows how much of a difference 1 person can make.

We also have some tradies who are friends that we have taken through the house to check the work and the product used and work completed has been top notch and one of our friends is extremely picky with materials etc.

Friends who have built with PD who are in their houses had minor maintenance issues and all were fixed with no problems.

I shall say nothing about our personal experience.....

.

I have our practical completion inspection on Friday so I'll let you know after that!

Actually, we have had a good experience so far. The slab was poured in the first week of November and we are looking like moving in by the end of this month which is a very quick build when I see what some other people go through.

Our SS has let us talk with sub contractors directly and the one issue that we have had with some work he did, an email to our admin contact and the construction manager agreed with us and instructed the work to be fixed (exposed holes in bricks over lintels).

This is with a PD East - Prestige.

A work colleague has had a lot of arguments with PD over his house however. He is very particular and knows a lot about building so it may be a case of "ignorance is bliss" on my behalf.

We are building with PD in Access.
We expirenced all sorts of things with them at all levels before and after putting down the deposit.
Building has not started as yet. Admin was frustrating, there is not much alterations allowed and all selection, colour, tiles etc etc ... comes with a price tag .... much bigger than you expect.

So far its not at all been good dealing with them, hoping the house comes up alrite.
If you are building your first home .... plenty of homework is needed ... as to what you would need and changes you could make.

If you want to include something as an addon .... Solar panels, antena, evap cooler, etc etc .... do check with others ... you may be surprised with costings.

We are 7/8 of the way through our build with PD, building an Access Stanford 24 in Tarneit.
Speaking from personal experience, it really pays to be on top of what is happening on site and don't be afraid to take photos, make phone calls and pester your SS and CSC.

Based on information on this site, we employed an independent inspector. I'm glad we did, they found major structural issues which the SS at the time (he has now been moved on) ignored or outright * and said had been "fixed". In the end, I had to threaten the director of PD with legal action before anything was properly actioned.

As a result, every wall of our house has had holes opened to tie the walls together properly, large strips were taken out of multiple walls to install extra studs and to add insult to injury, our build is now delayed by 6-8 weeks.

It is a result of a ******* DILLIGAF SS as opposed to PD's problem as a company perse but in my opinion, a mark of a good company is how they respond to mistakes, not only being able to make flashy websites and great display homes. Unfortunately, the corporate culture there with the "front line" staff is to avoid giving a clear answer to anything, remain noncommittal at all times, avoid putting anything in writing and refer every issue to mysterious "management" (who never get back to you).

I now have the area construction manager as my SS in addition to his boss looking over the remainder of the build. My wife and I are now over the whole building experience and just want them to deliver the house, as it should be, without making any further mistakes.

We'll see how the finished product is but at this point, I wouldn't recommend them to friends or family.

really reaaly depends on your site supervisor! ours was great and so is our house!

Wow, the building industry doesn't have much customer service standards.. it's so hard to pick one and hope for the right Consultant to help you ..

I agree we are in the final stages of our build we have been very lucky, excellent ss, excellent CSC and excellent tradies.

It does appear to be the luck of the draw

@GraveDilute:
Its sad that though we are customers paying so much still have to go thru things like this.

I am a bit worried about the whole thing.
Are the appointed SS from PD itself or are they generally independent?

I am thinking of getting one independently all thru. Costings and suggestions if any please do let me know.

With all your major builders (ie. PD) the SS will work for the company.

The SS is employed by the builder and depending on their experience and confidence level, you will have a good build or a poor build.


The building surveyor is also "independent", however, I question how independent a company can be if the majority of its work comes from a single customer.

I highly recommend you use an independent building inspector, it is an extra cost but well worth it.
A search on this site will bring up plenty of threads with recommendations.