Any experiences with Firstyle homes

Yeah, exactly right, it's going to be expensive regardless, just nice to have some idea of what to expect.

Hmm, I'd be interested to know if anyone here had their flooring completed separately outside of Firstyle.. when I spoke to the sales guy at Gregory Hills he mentioned that floors weren't included in base price, so surely (hopefully!) it would be an option, I'm happy to go that way if needed.

Have you been in to do colour selections etc, I'm wondering what their standard range is like for bricks and bathroom tiles, etc... ?

have only been to external colours, which was at Austral Bricks.

It was amazing, we were done in 20 mins. It helps that we knew what we were after before heading in.

As for bricks, there are a fair few to choose from that come for free, just depends if they suit your style... We picked a brick that will cost, however, I think it will be less than 2k.

No idea on tiles etc, but from reading the threads here they are expensive and not that big of a range. we may opt to tile after handover, however, we will see what they come up with when we get to that part.

Hey KSM,
Congratulations on getting the process underway!
We've just finished building with FS & moved in a month ago.

Have you received your colours pack from FS yet? They'll call you in for a colours appointment where you select all your internal finishes. Take your time in this appointment and have a good idea of what you're after, colour themes etc.

In regard to bathroom tiles, you won't select this until your build is well underway to avoid your selection becoming out of stock, end of line etc if you select them too early.

Hi KSM

Currently in construction on my second Firstyle home and both times have opted to complete flooring after handover. Both times are doing laminate flooring

Hey Wazza,

any issues with going with flooring after handover? What are your plans re skirting etc?

I asked them to install skirting in carpeted areas(upstairs) then they will provide skirting and paint and it will be on me to install after laminate is laid. No dramas last time I did this. It’s the best way to do it when going with laminate.

Nice, cheers man

I think it'smore and more likely we will be doing floors after handover

Sorry if this is a stupid question - this is our first home build - is it possible to have my own trades come in and complete the flooring before handover - or is that not an option with Firstyle??

Not an option will have to wait to handover

I think all builders are like this

Can anyone give me a realistic time line to complete a 2 story house 34squares? Already have the slab down and doing flooring after handover. I know the contract is 9 months and a lot of people say 12 months, but I’m just after some honest time frames from experiences.

We just found these forums.Its been so helpful to read through them.Our build with them is about to start soon and weve been told the site will be padlocked and fenced.I see people have photos of their progress(wish we were at that stage).Is there a tip for getting access to the site.I dont think I can wait til walkthroughs.Do you ask the supervisor for a key or code?

Congrats on starting your build first_build!
Yes your site will have security fencing up once the process starts. Just ask your SS when you'd like to visit once you get into lockup stage, they're usually good about it. You have an allocation 5 walkthroughs but they're usually good about letting you in for a visit outside of those. You'll also notice there will be times during the process where the fence will be left open by contractors who haven't bothered to lock after finishing work.

Thanks for the tip Ravsingh21.I take it your building with FS?How is your build going?

We've just finished our build with FS last month. Its our first home so it was a very steep learning curve for my wife and I but enjoying the new home (and moving out of the in-law's ha!)

Hi All,

My wife and I have are building with FS, and land is due to be registered in June 2018 pending any issues with council. We are building a 2 storey home (Waterhouse Sherrard Facade) which is approximately 29sq. I have allowed for 7% contingency for extra's, landscaping, retaining wall etc


First question, what is everyone's contingency figure they used? I have read 5-10% is a good range, which in our case equates to 67k. We are hoping we don't have to tap into this entire balance and keep the money in our pockets.

Secondly, when is land stamp duty usually payable and is this done via your solicitor?

Apologies for the questions, this is my first venture into building our dream home!

Hi triquee79
Congrats on starting your journey! Where are you building?

Our contingency will be approximately 7-8% once we get landscaping done and the last of our electrical work so I think you're in a good range.

Stamp duty is indeed paid through your solicitor via bank cheque and due when your land is registered.

@ravsingh21 we are building at Edmondson Park, closer to Ardennes ave. We were hoping to be able to walk to the station instead of the crazy parking situation at the moment! Really hope they fix this issue before we move in.

We haven't got much more wiggle room beyond this 7%, so it better be enough haha

Great, thanks for confirming both points.

How have you found FS so far with the build and their communication?

Good stuff, we were looking around the Ardennes area initially as well, its a great area.

We've just finished building in EP just over a month ago. Generally FS has been ok, the quality of their work is very good, they have room for improvement in regard to communication & timeliness (which seems to be a common issue across builders at the moment) but we're enjoying our new home which is the main thing.

Hi everyone,

This thread has been so helpful. We are building our first home with Firstyle, literally just signed the tender and paid the $15k on the weekend.

We are getting a H&L package (the Willow which I've been told is a custom plan for a narrow block). Sat down and went through the changes we want made which to be honest was a stressful experience. I'll keep my opinions to myself on how accommodating the salesman was but it's done now and hopefully we hear back soon in regards to the new plans (although having read how slow they are in responding in this post I'm a bit worried!)

I received my colour pack but it didn't have any info in there on the tile supplier. Can anyone tell me the name of the floor coverings supplier? I want to get the timber laminate in lieu of floor tiles, is it the same supplier? I've seen the name Abruzzi tiles used in this thread, are they still the supplier and does anyone know if they do the timber laminate as well?

I know that picking the floor coverings should come at a later date but I want to have a look at the kinds of things available now because this will effect my pantry benchtop choices.

Any help would be great!

I'll probably have a million more questions as our build progresses so I feel lucky that this little Firstyle community exists!

Thanks everyone