Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Fairhaven Homes Review - Ongoing 36Aug 05, 2014 5:55 pm So it's been almost 3 years and overdue for me to finalise my house building experience with Fairhaven Homes. There are a few things I remember from the end of the construction time which are worth noting. During one of the final inspections we realised that the cable conduits (for mounting TV’s on the wall) that were in the plans had been forgotten. The electrician came back and drilled holes through the studs which ended up working fine but if I ever build again I’ll pay more attention to the finer details. Sometime near the end of construction we worked out a handover date which I mistakenly assumed was fairly solid. Unfortunately this date came and went and I’d organised a range of contractors (Aircon, driveway, TV antennae etc.) who I changed once and didn’t have the heart to do a second time. We agreed to move in even though handover wasn’t complete which I hoped wasn’t going to be a mistake. Advice to everyone else would be not to organise moving in and contractors until you have the keys in hand. The only item that dragged on for ages after moving in was an island bench which they had issues getting the contractor to make up for them. In the end we gave up and received a credit but we regret this now as the bench space is too small. We would have increased the bench length if we knew we weren’t going to get the island bench. On handover, the section about damaged road guttering was conveniently skipped over which there was some of and is still damaged to this day. The contractor who came to install our bamboo floors was fairly unhappy about the unevenness of our concrete slab. He spent quite a few hours grinding the floor so the boards would sit evenly. On the 3 month inspection we had a list longer than the page allowed of around 32 issues of generally minor consequence. Things like roof gutter loose, cupboard draw not closing properly, room doors too low and rubbing on carpet etc. After a couple visits these were all corrected without any delays so fairly happy with this aspect of the process. Thumbs up to the maintenance division at Fairhaven. The roof in the main living area clearly shows the plaster joins at night and at times during the day but we were told it’s within the building code so I assume fairly normal practice. Paint job is fairly average at spots around the house. Drip lines in the home theatre and only single coats in some less obvious places. As far as how the house is going now 3 year down the track, generally really well. We had a window crack but this was around when there was an earthquake in Moe so possibly due to that. Small gaps have appeared between the cornice and the plaster in our ensuite. That’s really it. Advice for anyone else about to build a house, hire an independent inspector at your own cost. One of my neighbours had the builder knock down a whole wall because it wasn’t straight. I wonder how often this is ignored… Also pay close attention during inspections to make sure everything is as per your expectations. The house should be built to the standard of the display home so don’t let them befuddle you with talk of building codes and standards. Don’t organise anything until handover is complete! I would recommend Fairhaven Homes to anyone looking to build as we love the layout of our house and the staff were all friendly and courteous. With no major issues to date we are happy and would build again. I've had plenty of good (and some bad) experiences with different contractors so if you're looking for a contractor for anything around the house feel free to message me and I'll let you know. We are looking to do a KDR with fairhaven homes, Have seen plenty of good reviews about them pre construction and plenty of negative reviews about them during contruction… 0 14368 i thought the flipped plan initially but bec i want narrow pathway from entry to dining (dont like bend), also cannot fit the… 7 12872 It is true that a builder can ignore your independent inspection report as it is not part of the contractual arrangement but that is stupid because he cannot avoid fixing… 9 40135 |