Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Porter Davis homes 1401Mar 16, 2011 6:15 pm George, I agree, they are tied into their PCV's - you shouldnt have to pay for their mistakes Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1402Mar 16, 2011 6:18 pm Question: what happens when the air conditioning duct is in one place on the plans and another in the house??? The duct is about 3 to 4 meters in the wrong spot, in the right room but along the wrong wall...... really curious ........... Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1403Mar 17, 2011 10:19 am Hi fingers crossed, I understand you have some questions about the location of your air conditioning ducts. Have you brought this up with your Customer Service Administrator (CSA) or Site Supervisor (SS) to see if they assist with your question? Sometimes onsite there are roof obstructions that prevent installing a roof item (lighting, air conditioning ducts) to the exact location on the plans. In that instance the installer nominates the best possible alternate location that still meets the design and functionality as originally intended. I hope this helps! If you have any more questions regarding your air conditioning, your CSA will be able to provide you with more information. Cheers, Jess. Porter Davis Homes Questions? Call 1800PORTER Mon - Fri 9am-8pm Sat - Sun 10am-4pm info@porterdavis.com.au http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/ http://www.porterdavishomes.com.au Re: Porter Davis homes 1404Mar 17, 2011 10:26 am Hi fingers crossed, My Evaporative Cooling & some of the heating & cooling vents were not put as per drawings & I spoke to the SS & the installer, they told me sometimes they have to move it to the best location they can because there may not be enough space as per drawing or it may not be the optimal position. The evaporative cooling was moved something like 6-7 metres from the original location as per drawing & some of the vents were a metre away from the drawings. It will be good if they at least inform us before moving them around. __________________________________________ Built Camberwell 29 with PD - Hand Over was on 22/12/10 http://ssazcamberwell29.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1405Mar 17, 2011 2:37 pm Team PD Hi fingers crossed, I understand you have some questions about the location of your air conditioning ducts. Have you brought this up with your Customer Service Administrator (CSA) or Site Supervisor (SS) to see if they assist with your question? Sometimes onsite there are roof obstructions that prevent installing a roof item (lighting, air conditioning ducts) to the exact location on the plans. In that instance the installer nominates the best possible alternate location that still meets the design and functionality as originally intended. I hope this helps! If you have any more questions regarding your air conditioning, your CSA will be able to provide you with more information. Cheers, Jess. Hi Jess NO i havent bought this up with anyone from PD will have to wait for PCI I suppose. Ta FC Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1406Mar 17, 2011 2:54 pm SSAZ Hi fingers crossed, My Evaporative Cooling & some of the heating & cooling vents were not put as per drawings & I spoke to the SS & the installer, they told me sometimes they have to move it to the best location they can because there may not be enough space as per drawing or it may not be the optimal position. The evaporative cooling was moved something like 6-7 metres from the original location as per drawing & some of the vents were a metre away from the drawings. It will be good if they at least inform us before moving them around. Hi S I agree, it would be nice if there was more communication with PD staff- Jess asks if we have mentioned this to their staff - why cant they be proacive for a change and talk to us, rather than feeling tricked and * to as Luch time was with the handover of the house. Ta FC Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1407Mar 17, 2011 3:28 pm To be devils advocate here, remember that you only have one house that you have to remember things about. The SS probably has 3 or 4 houses and sometimes can not be on top of everything (i know we all wish this to be the case) but remember they are only human. I don't think that your SS or builders were acting in any deceiving or ****** manner in not telling you about the relocation of the ducting, they had to deal with the situation as they came across it and being the qualified tradesman, completed the work the next best way. There's not much you would be able to do if you get a call saying that they can't put the duct where they need to... You're probably thinking, well they still could have called to say that they were moving it but can you imagine how slowly the build would progress if the tradies had to stop to call at every thing that they had to adjust? I'd just be happy that the duct is in and working and not left out altogether! Building Waldorf 44 with PD Feel free to follow our build progress - http://melnrobsknockdownrebuild.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1408Mar 17, 2011 3:57 pm remember that you only have one house that you have to remember things about. The SS probably has 3 or 4 houses and sometimes can not be on top of everything (i know we all wish this to be the case) but remember they are only human. Hi Mel I agree I am not the only one that is having her house build, but I am the one paying for it - when we first approached PD they told us clearly that we needed to sign up quickly b/c they only build 20 homes per month , a fat lie I know that now... its not that I expect a phone call everytime there is a change, but its the stupid advise from Jess saying have you called PD to let them know, I emailed them a while back letting them know of a list of issues which we found accompanied by photos and havent heard back since.... so my issue is more in the lack of communication which PD tend to get away with .... am I angry -- yeap you betcha! Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1409Mar 17, 2011 4:39 pm fingers crossed SSAZ Hi fingers crossed, My Evaporative Cooling & some of the heating & cooling vents were not put as per drawings & I spoke to the SS & the installer, they told me sometimes they have to move it to the best location they can because there may not be enough space as per drawing or it may not be the optimal position. The evaporative cooling was moved something like 6-7 metres from the original location as per drawing & some of the vents were a metre away from the drawings. It will be good if they at least inform us before moving them around. Hi S I agree, it would be nice if there was more communication with PD staff- Jess asks if we have mentioned this to their staff - why cant they be proacive for a change and talk to us, rather than feeling tricked and * to as Luch time was with the handover of the house. Ta FC I agree with you totally, their job is to know the status of our builds.. but I find most times I know more than my CSA.. My SS never calls me for updates. I know they are busy but it is their jobs. In my job I give 100% and give everyone updates to where their queries are within a day maximum but if not I let them know what I'm doing to help them. Re: Porter Davis homes 1410Mar 17, 2011 5:36 pm tstr1a JPZ Yes, modwood is a plastic composite. Meant to last longer. Didn't realise it is cheaper. Nice of my CSC not to refund the difference. Well, I paid for Merbau, contract says Merbau. When the drawings came 2 months later, it says modwood on some drawings and Merbau on the others. After I queried it, I was then told that PD only does Modwood now as they have had complaints with Merbau. You never know, they might just give you Modwood without telling you anyway, MelnRob... They seem to be fond of that... Ask them to refund you money. Plus I think you will be happier with modwood in the long run as it last longer and low maintenance. Wait a minute......... you have signed a contract and if they are giving you something different then they are in breach of the contract. This is my CSC's reply. Can anyone verify? "In relation to the modwood screening I can confirm that it is actually a more expensive produce than the merbau. As it was a business decision to now use this product instead of the merbau we certainly would not pass on the additional costs to you, however no credit would apply. Without knowing the exact job number or address of the other client you are referring to it is not possible to advise why their price was at a lower cost. You do have the screening on both sides, does the other client also have the same amount of screening?" Re: Porter Davis homes 1411Mar 17, 2011 6:21 pm Hi JP what has happened re the loss of 10sq of land lost to your neighbors - sorry to change subject - sorry cant help you with the costs b/w merbau and modwood we went with a rendered wall rather than a screen Site cut: 2 June 2010 Slab Poured: 2 Oct 2010 Frame Stage: 12 Oct 2010 Lock up: Dec 2010 Fixing Stage: March 2011 http://karasdreamhome.blogspot.com/ Re: Porter Davis homes 1412Mar 17, 2011 7:43 pm fingers crossed Hi JP what has happened re the loss of 10sq of land lost to your neighbors - sorry to change subject - sorry cant help you with the costs b/w merbau and modwood we went with a rendered wall rather than a screen The law states that if the fence has been there for >15yrs and it has never been contested, then we've 'lost' the land. Its a deceased estate so I will never know. The fence looks old enough. My contention is that PD has to date still not provided any valid explanation or apology for why the land surveyor picked up the discrepancy in land dimensions (in retrospect, the pink ribbons should have flagged something to me if I had built before) but the draftsmen did not take it into consideration when drawing the plans. It would have been nice to have a 2 months notice on this issue (and seek legal advice and proper discussions with the neighbour) rather than have a haphazard solution and a 2.5 week delay to the building. Re: Porter Davis homes 1413Mar 17, 2011 9:19 pm Hi everyone, I am starting to get peeved with my build & it hasn't really started! Thought I'd have a rant! Lol My site was cut & filled on feb 15th and due to changes in my site & my neighbours sites changing they had to re-do the engineering & drawings had to be re-done, etc! as we r both building with pd! Pain in the ***!! My csa has been promising me every wk that they would know costs for my site, as I assumed & felt that my tendered site costs would come down due to my neighbors & I having one retaining wall between us versus one each on near our boundaries! So from two walls its now one! They have told me that they can't tell me cost variations until after the wall is built?? Ahhhrghhh very odd. I thought by law someone had to quote u before u agreed upon a job. Does not make sense! My site costs in my contract are 50k, roughly 20k is just for the retaining wall! Arrhhgg It's looking like I saved porter Davis money advising them to do our sites together (mine & my neighbors) and I prob won't see a penny! Really annoys me actually. Feel like I've been taken for a ride with these site costs really! Especially when at tender I was * to & told they didn't know who my neighbors were building with, as when I had to sign off there retaining wall in saw on their plans that they had signed up 4 months prior to me! However my csa has been really apologetic & efficient in returning my calls. I don't blame them at all. But feel pd is not being fair in giving me a credit where I see fit! Mel Just wanted to rant & share with everyone! Re: Porter Davis homes 1414Mar 17, 2011 9:40 pm Team PD.. On our contract appointment, we were give two type of contracts to sign; the HIA contract and the Porter Davis specific contract containing the drawings, tender variations, soil tests etc. We had already gone through the HIA contract at home as a blank copy was provided to us during tender appointment. But the Porter Davis contract needed to be read and the drawings checked thoroughly. So, when I asked my admin if we could take them home to read, she said that it's the policy to not let the customers take the documents without signing the contract. It was mentioned to us that there’s a 5 day cooling-off period if something’s wrong. But, I think it’s much easier to get things rectified earlier rather than later. In the end, we had to come back home without signing the contract as there wasn't much time left to check everything and will have to go back again.. adding to the frustration It’s completely unfair if PD has a policy like this.. Can you please comment on this? And is this even legal? Saying that, I must add that our admin has been the most co-operative, to which I’m very thankful, but this time she wouldn’t budge (I tried ... a lot!). Re: Porter Davis homes 1415Mar 17, 2011 9:45 pm Baronx - apparently that's the case! Arrhgghh We had an appointment from 9am until 1pm to check everything & then sign away. They won't let you take the contract until you sign Meln Re: Porter Davis homes 1416Mar 17, 2011 10:30 pm baronx Team PD.. On our contract appointment, we were give two type of contracts to sign; the HIA contract and the Porter Davis specific contract containing the drawings, tender variations, soil tests etc. We had already gone through the HIA contract at home as a blank copy was provided to us during tender appointment. But the Porter Davis contract needed to be read and the drawings checked thoroughly. So, when I asked my admin if we could take them home to read, she said that it's the policy to not let the customers take the documents without signing the contract. It was mentioned to us that there’s a 5 day cooling-off period if something’s wrong. But, I think it’s much easier to get things rectified earlier rather than later. In the end, we had to come back home without signing the contract as there wasn't much time left to check everything and will have to go back again.. adding to the frustration It’s completely unfair if PD has a policy like this.. Can you please comment on this? And is this even legal? Saying that, I must add that our admin has been the most co-operative, to which I’m very thankful, but this time she wouldn’t budge (I tried ... a lot!). Yep this is CRAZY. Team PD, this is bullying tactics. you should refuse to sign contracts if you are not allowed to take them home to review. The only reason why PD get away within is because most people don’t know any better. This is what PD thrive on... PD… ‘the most unprofessional builder’ Re: Porter Davis homes 1417Mar 17, 2011 11:21 pm Agreed, its not a good way to do business. When we signed off on our plans PD had made changes to the kitchen and shrunk the island bench considerably. We believed that we were getting what was shown at the display home and were disapointed when we saw the 'new spec' kitchen. By providing your clients with these contracts and give them time to consider what is in front of them would be far more professional To their credit, PD did rectify the kitchen bench but we paid extra for it (around $900). Felt it was very unfair Re: Porter Davis homes 1418Mar 18, 2011 7:32 am Couldn't agree more, I asked for a copy of the contract to be emailed to me so i could ensure everything was included and all selections were correct, I was happy for no prices to be included if that was the issue but was told it could not be done. In fact, our contract signing is on Monday and we have been told some prices will not even be known until the day of signing. This screams out to me that we won't be happy with the prices and they will just hope we will be so over it we will sign on the day. I will not be signing anything until the plans are correct and all inclusions are in writing as I don't trust their ability to get it right in a PCV, too many stories of the left hand not talking to the right so I want to make sure its all correct from the get go. It would have been easier if I could sight the contract and let the CSA know before the contract signing of any mistakes. Re: Porter Davis homes 1419Mar 18, 2011 7:40 am Lunchtime Agreed, its not a good way to do business. When we signed off on our plans PD had made changes to the kitchen and shrunk the island bench considerably. We believed that we were getting what was shown at the display home and were disapointed when we saw the 'new spec' kitchen. By providing your clients with these contracts and give them time to consider what is in front of them would be far more professional To their credit, PD did rectify the kitchen bench but we paid extra for it (around $900). Felt it was very unfair That is no credit to PD at all if you had to pay!!! I know one case where the client did not want to include the floor tiles in the contract as they wanted to procure their own flooring. PD gave them in return $140 to not do the tiles. THIS IS BS!!! the cost of tiles and labour would easily have been 3k. the floor they put in cost them 4k... $140 is an insult to the client. i would have gotten a quote to supply and install the tiles and demand a percentage of that quote. With my builder i swapped a 5 x 4m section of tiles for carpet. I got $300 back!!! PD SUCK!!! Re: Porter Davis homes 1420Mar 18, 2011 7:47 am Titch101 Couldn't agree more, I asked for a copy of the contract to be emailed to me so i could ensure everything was included and all selections were correct, I was happy for no prices to be included if that was the issue but was told it could not be done. In fact, our contract signing is on Monday and we have been told some prices will not even be known until the day of signing. This screams out to me that we won't be happy with the prices and they will just hope we will be so over it we will sign on the day. I will not be signing anything until the plans are correct and all inclusions are in writing as I don't trust their ability to get it right in a PCV, too many stories of the left hand not talking to the right so I want to make sure its all correct from the get go. It would have been easier if I could sight the contract and let the CSA know before the contract signing of any mistakes. With my builder I was given the chance to check the contract for mistakes (two weeks) actually their process is the following: - Sales deposit - Colour browse with a staff member - Colour/hardware Selection - Tender appointment. At this appointment the drawings and colour documents are presented and handed over. You are then given time to check over and change things if required. i also obtained to contract at this stage - Contract signing appointment. I did not sign the contract at this appointment as i wanted to ensure all my finances were fully un conditional. This process took 2 weeks. i did not have any issues with the builder. Builders do try to say that there is a clause in the contract that says if finance falls through you can get out of the contract. This is pressure tactics again. Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 12338 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74708 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105564 |