Porter Davis homes

sogg · Aug 02, 2014 6:52 pm

Jasdan

Hi all ... just a query for those whose homes are in a Bushfire Attack Level 12.5 zone.

Was anybody else told by Porter Davis that getting the glass glazed on your front entry voids the BAL requirements? We didn't want to choose a solid timber door because we wanted some natural light to flow through the hallway. The door we chose is the BAL version of this one: PMAD 104 http://www.corinthian.com.au/Products/Doors/Entry/Madison-External-Range/Madison-PMAD-104 However, we were told that the glass had to be clear to pass the BAL requirements.

tlblhayward, I noticed on your blog that your front door has Spotswood glazing and you're also in a BAL 12.5 zone. Did you have any trouble pushing that through?

Has anyone else in a BAL 12.5 zone had issues getting their front door glazed?

We are bal 12.5 and were told the glass on the front door and the laundry door had to be clear, I questioned it and got nowhere. Not sure how it effects the bal rating?

joea · Aug 02, 2014 8:02 pm

sogg

Jasdan

Hi all ... just a query for those whose homes are in a Bushfire Attack Level 12.5 zone.

Was anybody else told by Porter Davis that getting the glass glazed on your front entry voids the BAL requirements? We didn't want to choose a solid timber door because we wanted some natural light to flow through the hallway. The door we chose is the BAL version of this one: PMAD 104 http://www.corinthian.com.au/Products/Doors/Entry/Madison-External-Range/Madison-PMAD-104 However, we were told that the glass had to be clear to pass the BAL requirements.

tlblhayward, I noticed on your blog that your front door has Spotswood glazing and you're also in a BAL 12.5 zone. Did you have any trouble pushing that through?

Has anyone else in a BAL 12.5 zone had issues getting their front door glazed?

We are bal 12.5 and were told the glass on the front door and the laundry door had to be clear, I questioned it and got nowhere. Not sure how it effects the bal rating?

Ah man that sucks! Means people will be able to see straight through from the street.

No idea why this is a requirement though...?

Filthyfil · Aug 02, 2014 8:16 pm

Hey guys

There's really no stopping you putting a heavy tint on the glass after handover.

tlblhayward · Aug 02, 2014 9:54 pm

It says Spotswood in my contract so that's the way it's going to stay!

CourtneyB · Aug 02, 2014 10:44 pm

We were originally building in BAL 12.5 zone and were told the front door and laundry door needed to be clear glass only - no exceptions. The reason we were told was that you need to be able to look out of clear glass if there is a fire so you can safely leave your home... Or something along those lines. Nothing to do with the fact that you could look out numerous windows or other external doors in alfresco etc.
Luckily, the BAL was lifted in our area before we went to build so we changed back to the original doors we wanted.

Jasdan · Aug 02, 2014 10:58 pm

Hmm, OK, thanks guys. You might've got lucky on that one tlblhayward! I'll query it with our BC as well, dragonchild, see if we get anywhere. A grand total of 2% of our block falls within the bushfire zone, very frustrating! I'm hoping when they reassess the zones in a couple of months time that our block is no longer in it and we can squeeze in a PCV with Porter Davis just in time! They'll love us. :lol:

Yeah Filthyfil, that's pretty much what they told us to do too. And what we're probably going to have to wind up doing. We'll just add it to the list of all the other stuff to do the second we move in!

PD said we wouldn't get our occupancy certificate if it didn't meet the BAL requirements so that was enough to scare us into pushing it further. Will let you guys know if we have any luck getting it changed.

CourtneyB, hope the same thing happens to us! Did PD reimburse you the extra charges you paid for the BAL requirements?

joea · Aug 02, 2014 11:07 pm

CourtneyB

We were originally building in BAL 12.5 zone and were told the front door and laundry door needed to be clear glass only - no exceptions. The reason we were told was that you need to be able to look out of clear glass if there is a fire so you can safely leave your home... Or something along those lines. Nothing to do with the fact that you could look out numerous windows or other external doors in alfresco etc.
Luckily, the BAL was lifted in our area before we went to build so we changed back to the original doors we wanted.

I thought that was the reason too, but how is a solid door better than a door with frosted glass?

That way you couldn't see a thing! At least frosted glass would let some light through.

Hopefully the BAL is lifted in our area too, I just found out it has been reviewed again for our area and Trillium in mickleham is no longer considered a bush fire prone area....

CourtneyB · Aug 02, 2014 11:12 pm

Hi Jasdan - yep got all of the 12k back which was a nice bonus!
Totally agree Joea - completely silly having a solid door you can't see through at all. We are building in Aston, Craigieburn, which was mostly all BAL when we bought the land and now the majority of it has been removed. The BAL website with maps is good, it has the review dates of each area so we just kept a close eye on that.

Fingers crossed for you both!

Jasdan · Aug 02, 2014 11:25 pm

CourtneyB

Hi Jasdan - yep got all of the 12k back which was a nice bonus!

Nice!

tlblhayward · Aug 03, 2014 12:59 am

You can find out if your block is in a bushfire prone are at...

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/bushfire.jsp

joea · Aug 03, 2014 8:02 am

CourtneyB

Hi Jasdan - yep got all of the 12k back which was a nice bonus!
Totally agree Joea - completely silly having a solid door you can't see through at all. We are building in Aston, Craigieburn, which was mostly all BAL when we bought the land and now the majority of it has been removed. The BAL website with maps is good, it has the review dates of each area so we just kept a close eye on that.

Fingers crossed for you both!

Yea, I've been checking that website and it says that we are still in a bush fire prone zone. Having said that, I just checked trillium which is down the road and that also says the same thing, even though I know for a fact they no longer are in a bush fire zone....

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong report.

deefeez46waldorf · Aug 03, 2014 9:16 am

my brother is having this issue atm bc says no but there is 2 other pd homes across from him and a simmonds next to him all in bushfire zone with translucent glass on doors and side windows

CourtneyB · Aug 03, 2014 7:09 pm

Hi guys,

Popped into our house today and the tiling had been done.

What do you think of the images below in the main bathroom - the shower niche's tiles are off centre? But the aligns with the main tiles? Thoughts?

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

RedHotMike · Aug 03, 2014 7:29 pm

CourtneyB

Hi guys,

Popped into our house today and the tiling had been done.

What do you think of the images below in the main bathroom - the shower niche's tiles are off centre? But the aligns with the main tiles? Thoughts?

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

Yeah - well at least they aligned it horizontally. Hard to see from the pics what other options there were for the vertical join but that would drive me batty!

tlblhayward · Aug 03, 2014 9:38 pm

The framers have been working on the weekend... it's the first time any work has been done on a weekend.

A huge photo update...

http://bendigowaldorf.blogspot.com/2014/08/heaps-more-second-floor-framing-done.html

tlblhayward · Aug 03, 2014 9:39 pm

Having the vertical join off-centre would drive me insane initially, but I reckon that I would forget it quickly.

bramsy · Aug 03, 2014 9:45 pm

CourtneyB

Hi guys,

Popped into our house today and the tiling had been done.

What do you think of the images below in the main bathroom - the shower niche's tiles are off centre? But the aligns with the main tiles? Thoughts?

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

You won't notice it once you put shampoo bottles in.

tlblhayward · Aug 03, 2014 9:56 pm

Quote:

You won't notice it once you put shampoo bottles in.

So true...

joea · Aug 04, 2014 9:11 am

CourtneyB

Hi guys,

Popped into our house today and the tiling had been done.

What do you think of the images below in the main bathroom - the shower niche's tiles are off centre? But the aligns with the main tiles? Thoughts?

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [/URL]

I'm a little OCD when it comes to stuff like that, however I do know that the niche location is depicted by the frame behind it. So even though its annoying to have it off center at least; 1. It's aligned with the tiles 2. you won't see it once you have bottles in there (As others have said).

Love the colour of the tile by the way. What tile is that?

Cheers

CourtneyB · Aug 04, 2014 11:38 am

Thanks for all your replies! I do agree that you won't notice it once you have shampoo etc in there, and while it is annoying the hell out of me at the moment, a) I don't know what the option is if I really hated it and b) i'll be using the ensuite bathroom anyway where the niche is perfectly straight!

@joea - the tile is just a standard, light grey. We figured the only people who will really be using this bathroom is our kids (we only have a 3 month old now) so just went standard in this bathroom.