Browse Forums Building A New House Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 621Jan 17, 2011 8:55 am Building the Monte Carlo with side activities in Mt Annan MY BLOG: http://gavsfirstbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 624Jan 17, 2011 2:59 pm gavmer1 Hi all, Hold the phone! I posted a moment ago that we had blown budget and needed drop edge beams and all was over BUT......there is a silver lining and we are going ahead. Turns out the money spent on drop edge beams saves my need for a big retaining wall and also, improves my backyard. All seems ok actually!! So phew, away we go. gimme that construction cert....... Gav Good to hear Gav Good luck riccathome Building:Bronte Grand Manor Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 625Jan 19, 2011 8:00 am taki Hi all, Could anyone please tell me which company do MDJ use for tiles. There was not much choice for bathroom tiles, probably 10 or less from standard range and only one that is grey (going for grey/white theme). We had to choose the tiles at colour selection appointment at Norwest Baulkham Hills. From what I've seen, tile appointment should be separate and actually done at the tile place. taki Hi Taki Head office at Thornton, Newcastle area (My Choice Colour Selection), have an extremely poor colour selection for tiles. If you want and like a nondescript beige, white or grey overall effect you will be advised of their suggestions from the few on display and your ideas discounted. I agree; if you could select from a tile shop where MJD source their tiles, pay the difference between the allowance and whatever tile you choose if required, that would be preferable. This however reduces their control of your selections. No tiles have a price displayed like other builders showrooms, so the tiles they have on display may cost any amount less than the allowance (or am I being too critical?) Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 626Jan 19, 2011 8:45 am Hi Muscovy and others, I agree that the choice is very poor and without the price it's hard to ascertain the quality of the tile. We had Laminex colour in mind, however none of the tiles they had (probably around 8 choices or less) would suit it. Then we chose the tile first, and Laminex colour followed, but have since found out that this Laminex Vicuna Storm has a bit of purple in there, so that's out. We'll be choosing bathroom colours again in the next few days, and I have already expressed my dissapointment in tile choice, both at the time of appointment and later via e-mail, when telling them we'll need to do it again. I wish we can go to a tile shop, like others do and tiles have stickers or prices, would make it heaps easier. On the building front, we are no closer to the plans, it's been just over 2 months since deposit. We might be looking at 'splitting' the house to reduce site costs and make site prep easier. We'll se what is the proposal. These are the selections so far: Roof tiles-Boral Linea Charcoal Grey Gutters, fascia, downpipes and rainwater tank-Woodland Grey Eaves, entrance door, garage door (front and backyard), laundry door-Surfmist Window frames-Pearl white gloss Bricks-Austral Symmetry Asphalt with off white ironed mortar Driveway will be done by external company-Storm Grey coloured concrete Internal walls-Taubmans Martini Ceiling, internal doors and architraves-Taubmans Illusive White (apparently no choice here as they said only 2 internal colours allowed-not how I interpreted this section in the colour folder) Kitchen Benchtop-Essastone New Crystal Salt Lower cupboards and bar backing-Laminex New Graphite Upper cupboards-Formica Warm White Splashback-White 300x600mm porceilan tiles with ultra white grout-horizontal Bathroom/Ensuite Benchtop-Caesarstone Nougat (probably) Wall tiles-330x500 White-horizontal Floor tiles ???330x330 Cupboards???-we liked Laminex Moose but no tile avaiable to complement it Upgrades so far: entrance door handle, all internal doors, set of draws to bathroom/ensuite vanities, water purifier handle (now this one is tricky, they say original one has a plastic bit-not shown anywhere and to change this plastic bit to normal is $70-almost 100% upgrade by anyone I beleive) That's it so far. Any comments appreciated. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 627Jan 21, 2011 8:34 pm Hi Bon, Have you got a PCI date yet? Hopefully you will be in soon and there will be no more stress, We have a slightly better timeline than you had but things are going from bad to worse for us. Constant holdups with building due to wrong ordering of doors, doors not supplied in correct sizes and type etc, All this is holding up the gyprock, now the tiles were delivered short and another holdup, This is after the disaster with the bricks that we are still not happy with, The bricklayer was dreadful. Today we received the next Progress invoice for work that is not yet completed, We are very unhappy with the wording in the contract regarding what must be completed before they can claim. The Progress payment in the MJH contract is not the standard HIA schedule but one changed to suit MJH. They basically can ask for payment of 95% of the contract price when they have only done 70% of the work. I gather everyone who builds with them gets the same raw deal. We can only hope that our building gets finished soon as I am tired of pointing out their mistakes and having to complain to get things done correctly. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 628Jan 22, 2011 11:39 am HI everyone I've been lurking here for a while reading and learning all that I can about the whole building journey. We are building the Monte carlo grand elite with some modifications. We have flipped the front of the house so that the study and garage is on the alfresco side, and have split the house so you step down into the the family/kitchen area. Up until present we have been quite happy and all has been very professional and helpful in getting he house right to suit our block. However we had our colour appointment on Tuesday....... We feel very dissappointed with the lack of information regarding prices on upgrades given to us prior to this point. We are now in the process of "compromising" on what we can and cant afford before we hand the contracts in next week. It would have been so much easier if we were aware of prices before hand, we expected to pay a bit extra for some things but not as much as we were quoted. At least if we knew we could have worked out clearly what we could and couldnt get. Very misleading. Anyway hope to be more of a regular here now as we officially start our journey Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 629Jan 22, 2011 12:06 pm Hi everyone There certainly seems to be continued issues with communication and delays for most of us. It's a real shame given we have all obviously chosen this particular builder after loving one of their houses. I do believe they build a great house but the process from start to finish is in great need of improvement. Gav - have you got a site start date yet? I bet you can't wait! Taki - the builder referred us to Tile Power at Warratah in Newcastle when I asked for samples of our tiles. This was after our selections so I'm not sure if you have a choice of all tiles in that shop or whether they just supplied the ones we chose? Also, if you want any additional painting (ie feauture walls) you could talk to the painter. Our painter was happy to put wallpaper up for us - great fellow he was. Our CSO left a while ago so we wouldn't have the same one. Fletcher 21 - we do need to see photos!! Our brickies didn't drink beer either - certainly not the stereotypical tradie. Dtechstr - good work on getting a blog up and running. I just had a look and I LOVE your facade. The alfresco extension is a great idea too!! 1115 - I can't believe all the troubles you're having. I hope they sort them out soon! How is your SS dealing with the issues? It might be worth contacting the Construction Manager if you haven't already. The timing of progress payments was not something I paid much attention to at the start but I agree that it's totally rubbish. We paid all of our invoices as soon as they were issued and looking back we should have held off and ensured all items in each stage were completed. Partriot - welcome! Great house selection! Looking forward to hearing about your selections and watching your build My progress - PCI was on Thurs 20 Jan. A few things need fixing and a few things haven't been done as yet - - brick pointing and cleaning because mortar was blasted out when they did they brick clean and the acid has made some of the bricks a green colour - painting touch ups - flyscreens to be installed - tank pump I forgot to take my camera so now photos yet No handover date however we are told we will have one on Monday afternoon. I'll keep you all posted. Building the Monte Carlo with McD Jones View my building thread @ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37255 Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 630Jan 22, 2011 1:14 pm Hi everyone, In regards to bathroom selections, we kep the tile, which is Augusta Charcoal 33x33 and will go for Formica Warm White vanities instead. Wakk tiles remain white. We had to choose the tile at the colour office, not sure why, maybe there is no such tile place in Sydney... We have beem proposed with split level as well, so 2 steps down at the end of hallway, left to the 'cinema room' and right to family room. However, we would have to have standard ceiling height in the front part of house (main bedroom/ensuite, study and entrance) and the rest would be 2.7m ceilings. We are still thinking about it, main reason being 1700mm drop in land front to back, so probably and easier option in terms of site prep and land levelling Patriot, I've seen yours is split, would ceiling height be similar to above? And did you want the split or was it offered as alternative to you. Also anyone who has choosen coffered ceilings, would you mind sharing the price? I suppose communication is the main problem, hopefully, the build will be better then the paperwork process. Good luck everyone. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 631Jan 22, 2011 1:30 pm We did coffered ceilings in 3 places, Entry $1300.00, Home Theatre $1500.00 and Master Bed $1500.00. Our supplier of tiles in Sydney was Colortile at Wentworthville - we had to go there when the tiles for the kitchen were discontinued. Our tiler turned up again today so maybe my complaint got some response. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 632Jan 22, 2011 1:45 pm Patriot, Just be aware of electrical pricing. We had $8000.00 put in the contract as an estimate as well as $2300 for telstra velocity in Stonecutter Ridge. It ended up costing us $15,000 in total as we got them to put in all our downlights which are $140.00 per light. A lot of people spend all their money at colours and then cannot afford the electrical they need/want. The sales guy said he has had people in tears when they find this out - to be warned is to be informed. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 633Jan 22, 2011 2:50 pm Hi Folks, It seems not many of us have good news this week! I wish I could say I have but we have had major dramas with the bricking this week which has resulted in work stopping and an as yet unknown time delay. I went up to the site after the brickies had been working for a day and found they were bricking totally wrong! We had chosen a 'blend', which is actually 3 diffrent bricks blended together. For some reason the idiot brickie decided on his own to brick with two bricks and use the third as a 'feature' around the windows. The two bricks they used wern't even blended right. By the time I had got up there to realised their mistake (not that they would take my word for it on site, what would I know I'm just a woman, don't get me started!) and notified the Site Supervisor who told them to stop they had done about 30% of the house. After meetings with the Site Supervisor and brick company rep on site it has been determined that it is entirely the brickies fault and that the walls they have done will be pulled down, more bricks ordered and started again. I'm just so frustrated that we would have had almost our whole house bricked by this weekend if it wasn't for this stuff up! Having said that, we have nothing but praise for our Site Supervisor who handled the situation extremly well and sorting everything out very quickly. Here's hoping for a better outcome next week. Thank god I only work part time and was able to keep an eye on things on my day off. I hate to think what would have happened if they had all week! Thats my advice people, visit your site as often as you can, every day is not an overkill! Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 634Jan 22, 2011 2:59 pm Taki, we initially had a choice of importing a huge amount of fill with drop edge beams which was very expensive. It also meant the front of the house would've required a deeper cut and the overall profile front the front wouldn't have been as good (our block slopes back). My husband actually suggested the possibility of the split and it came out about $10 k cheaper. We had to have standard 2.4 ceiling height in the front, home theatre, study and entrance(we got the home theatre coffered to add a bit more height) but then it goes to 3 metres which should be stunning as you walk into the family kitchen. Thanks for the tips on electrical Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 635Jan 22, 2011 3:16 pm taki Hi everyone, In regards to bathroom selections, we kep the tile, which is Augusta Charcoal 33x33 and will go for Formica Warm White vanities instead. Wakk tiles remain white. We had to choose the tile at the colour office, not sure why, maybe there is no such tile place in Sydney... We have beem proposed with split level as well, so 2 steps down at the end of hallway, left to the 'cinema room' and right to family room. However, we would have to have standard ceiling height in the front part of house (main bedroom/ensuite, study and entrance) and the rest would be 2.7m ceilings. We are still thinking about it, main reason being 1700mm drop in land front to back, so probably and easier option in terms of site prep and land levelling Patriot, I've seen yours is split, would ceiling height be similar to above? And did you want the split or was it offered as alternative to you. Also anyone who has choosen coffered ceilings, would you mind sharing the price? I suppose communication is the main problem, hopefully, the build will be better then the paperwork process. Good luck everyone. $1300 for coffered ceilings Have you done your eletrical?? Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 636Jan 22, 2011 4:48 pm Thanks for sharing the prices of coffered ceilings, it's more expensive then I thought. We haven't done electrical yet as dpn't have a plan drawn yet. Still going through interim consolidated tenders, as these haven't been correct so far. And also had some discusssions regarding rainwater tank position, with a positive outcome. I suppose we just need to keep on top of it and research and then question a lot of things, so they can be done right the first time. Vpeewee, good on you for resolving the brick issue. This will be me when we start building, will be checking the building site often I think. 1155, sorry to hear your brick issue is still an issue.Thanks for the electrical tip. We spent around 6.5 K on colours, most of which is brick upgrade 2.9K. Will probably allow 5K for electrical. Now to decide if we are going with 'split' house or not. Reason being that it will be around the same price as site costs for flat due to having to import the fill as well. I'm just worried about 2.4 ceilings making the front part of the house look small. Went to a few displays today to see the difference, but all of them had higher ceilings. We have them in our unit, but third floor makes a difference I think. We originally chose 2.55m ceilings thoughout. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 637Jan 22, 2011 9:01 pm Still heaps of activity. The plasters have been there and are sheeting were there today and will finish tomorrow ready for the setters Monday. The TV guy had been and put in the reinforcement to hang the 4 tv's and ran the speaker cable for the speakers under entertainment area and the main living and dining. The solar hot water uy has also been and that has been installed. Communication at the start is very poor i agree. an dthe wholw colour selction process is a little disappointing with the tile selctions especially, MDJ need to remember that all though they need a process in place to make their business sucessful they need to keep their customers happy, we built with Huxley homes six years ago and we did our tile selection at the tile shop and our kitchen slection at the kitchen manufacturer. The slections process needs to be improved , the slections need to be greater in tile nay way and the price of upgrdaes should be given long before the selctions and electrical selections. We spent 20k on electrical and about 20 k on upgrade s to the kitchen, door handles, ceiling heights ect Can any on etell me how to post photos on here Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 639Jan 23, 2011 11:55 am taki Now to decide if we are going with 'split' house or not. Reason being that it will be around the same price as site costs for flat due to having to import the fill as well. I'm just worried about 2.4 ceilings making the front part of the house look small. Went to a few displays today to see the difference, but all of them had higher ceilings. We have them in our unit, but third floor makes a difference I think. We originally chose 2.55m ceilings thoughout. Taki not sure which way your block slopes but when we chose to split we thought of a couple of benefits. One the house would sit better on the block and have better appeal from the road (it wouldn't sit down like rabbit hutch) and you'd see more than just lovely tiles. Secondly at the back of the house where the alfresco is, the drop would be reduced. With 3 young children didn't want them falling off (lol) or have to put up railings. Lastly thought it would give the house a nicer flow and give a wow factor when you walked into the family kitchen and add value as split level houses generally cost more if you went out of your way to build. Re: McDonald Jones Homes - The new thread 640Jan 23, 2011 12:26 pm Hi Patriot, thanks for your info. My block slopes fron to back downhill, so from the street down, and it's 1.7 m slope. Block is 33m deep. I'm looking at the split the same way as you. We looked at the house being built a bit further away from us but same street and slope and it sits lower then street level and driveway will slop towards it. I think we will be going with split, ours shoud be 34.3 cm, so 2 stairs down. Could you tell me if this would have any impact on having to have, or not have retaining walls. We would still need the fill at the back but less then if building flat. Building Havana Elite with side HT with MJD 20/04/11 DA approved by council 06/06/11 cut/fill 08/06/11 piering 20/6/11 slab 11/8/11 frame complete 18/9/11 lock up 28/11/11 handover booked Hi AKG, We had a base tender of $592 for 31 squares from MC Donald Jones. It looks relatively cheaper than other builders. But I assume there are many hidden things that… 1 16848 Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 11123 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23504 |