Porter Davis homes

eastla · Jan 19, 2015 9:27 am

joea

eastla

Thanks,
Either way, it seems nothing is approved until after I sign a contract.
The fact that they already have a major part of the deposit at tender means you have a pretty large commitment financially even before you have seen a contract and then who knows what happens after signing the contract and paying the remainder of the 5 percent when the plans go for approval.
Feels quite risky to me and the more I investigate PD competitors it seems this is an unusual way of doing business.

I understand your concern and I agree with you. The way I see it you have two options:

1. Walk way, now is the time to do so. The more time you invest with this builder the more attached you are to the house and the more money you will loose.

2. Talk to management about slightly modifying the process to suit your needs. They might request payment for the drawing creation and approval process instead of a X% deposit.

I am arranging to visit my solicitor and get his advice on how to proceed.
Once I have the facts and advice I will speak with PD management and ask if they are able to help satisfy my solicitors suggestions.
If not I will walk away.
I personally am not emotionally attached to the house; it is far more important that I am comfortable with the process and the contracts I need to sign. I have a nice enough house now that I can live in until I find the right builder who can provide the service and house I will be happy with. My only gripes if I need to walk are that I will lose the 2k I have put up already and the enormous amount of hours I have put into the process with PD thus far. I will put it down to a learning experience if it comes to that.
I am spending approx half a million on building the house and I refuse to sign anything without doing due diligence.
Losing 2k now could save a lot of money in the long run if things go astray.

joea · Jan 19, 2015 10:12 am

eastla

joea

eastla

Thanks,
Either way, it seems nothing is approved until after I sign a contract.
The fact that they already have a major part of the deposit at tender means you have a pretty large commitment financially even before you have seen a contract and then who knows what happens after signing the contract and paying the remainder of the 5 percent when the plans go for approval.
Feels quite risky to me and the more I investigate PD competitors it seems this is an unusual way of doing business.

I understand your concern and I agree with you. The way I see it you have two options:

1. Walk way, now is the time to do so. The more time you invest with this builder the more attached you are to the house and the more money you will loose.

2. Talk to management about slightly modifying the process to suit your needs. They might request payment for the drawing creation and approval process instead of a X% deposit.

I am arranging to visit my solicitor and get his advice on how to proceed.
Once I have the facts and advice I will speak with PD management and ask if they are able to help satisfy my solicitors suggestions.
If not I will walk away.
I personally am not emotionally attached to the house; it is far more important that I am comfortable with the process and the contracts I need to sign. I have a nice enough house now that I can live in until I find the right builder who can provide the service and house I will be happy with. My only gripes if I need to walk are that I will lose the 2k I have put up already and the enormous amount of hours I have put into the process with PD thus far. I will put it down to a learning experience if it comes to that.
I am spending approx half a million on building the house and I refuse to sign anything without doing due diligence.
Losing 2k now could save a lot of money in the long run if things go astray.

Wise decision. Good luck with it all and please let us know what the outcome is!

Mali02 · Jan 19, 2015 10:56 am

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

joea · Jan 19, 2015 11:03 am

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

My parents had the same issue when they built their home with Simonds.

They worked out that the plumber had forgotten to install an s-shaped pipe (not sure the name for it). They were told that it's purpose is to provide an 'air lock' from the sewers.

Not sure if that helps your situation. hope you get it sorted soon though!

Mali02 · Jan 19, 2015 11:08 am

joea

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

My parents had the same issue when they built their home with Simonds.

They worked out that the plumber had forgotten to install an s-shaped pipe (not sure the name for it). They were told that it's purpose is to provide an 'air lock' from the sewers.

Not sure if that helps your situation. hope you get it sorted soon though!

Ahhhhh! Intersting, thank you! Where does the S shaped pipe need to be?

I know we have a kink in the toilet pipe very close to the tile level (I looked in there when the plumber was unblocking it)... But it isn't an s-shape from the looks of it as I could pretty much see right into the pipe.

How did your parents get their toilet issue fixed?

joea · Jan 19, 2015 11:14 am

Mali02

Ahhhhh! Intersting, thank you! Where does the S shaped pipe need to be?

I know we have a kink in the toilet pipe very close to the tile level (I looked in there when the plumber was unblocking it)... But it isn't an s-shape from the looks of it as I could pretty much see right into the pipe.

How did your parents get their toilet issue fixed?

They ripped out the brickwork behind the toilet and added a piece of piping in there. The plumber found out it was missing by using a camera.

Since you had a plumber out already maybe this is not the root cause? They should have noticed if anything was missing.

Sorry I'm not very experienced with this, just know of this issue my parents had. Maybe someone that's in the trade can provide more info?

Mali02 · Jan 19, 2015 11:18 am

joea

They ripped out the brickwork behind the toilet and added a piece of piping in there. The plumber found out it was missing by using a camera.

Since you had a plumber out already maybe this is not the root cause? They should have noticed if anything was missing.

Sorry I'm not very experienced with this, just know of this issue my parents had. Maybe someone that's in the trade can provide more info?

I see. The plumbers who came out were pretty young and had to call their boss over the phone for ideas as to what it could be. They were great and friendly etc but I think maybe this is beyond what they usually deal with.

Thanks for your response though, at least we have an idea to go with!

Will wait to her back from New Home Care!

joea · Jan 19, 2015 11:19 am

Mali02

joea

They ripped out the brickwork behind the toilet and added a piece of piping in there. The plumber found out it was missing by using a camera.

Since you had a plumber out already maybe this is not the root cause? They should have noticed if anything was missing.

Sorry I'm not very experienced with this, just know of this issue my parents had. Maybe someone that's in the trade can provide more info?

I see. The plumbers who came out were pretty young and had to call their boss over the phone for ideas as to what it could be. They were great and friendly etc but I think maybe this is beyond what they usually deal with.

Thanks for your response though, at least we have an idea to go with!

Will wait to her back from New Home Care!

No problem

Let us know what the root cause/outcome is.

Team PD · Jan 19, 2015 1:12 pm

joea

eastla

I will get in touch with the regional manager shortly.
At this stage it is looking unlikely that I will bother going to tender.
Seems to be too many obstacles being thrown in front of me.
If I can't show a solicitor the tender/contract docs and make suitable amendments it will likely be a deal breaker.
The sour taste in my mouth from the very poor service I'm experiencing from my BC is pushing me to the door.

When I asked if I can take home tender docs and show solicitor she said "no".
She said if you don't like what is on the tender docs don't sign, don't pay and just walk away.
How pathetic a response!
All the hours I've soent with the sakes man who was excellent getting to this point.
I'm talking 3-4 weekends in the office and many phone calls and visits to World of Style.

Apparently it is not common with all builders to expect contract sign off without approved plan either. My friend who is very experienced with this stuff and is a builder himself spat the dummy when he saw the PD procedure I signed when I handed over the original 2k deposit.

Sounds like you need to complain about your BC and get a new one ASAP.

Good luck with it all and I hope it becomes a more positive experience for you!

Hi Eastla, I am sorry to read of the confidence you have lost in Porter Davis and our process from the lack of customer service you have received from you building coordinator. Can you please PM with your build address so that I am able to look into the matter, and have a member of senior management contact you to discuss your concerns.

Regards, Joanne

Team PD · Jan 19, 2015 1:19 pm

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

Hi Mali02, can you please PM your build address and I will follow up with NHC on the difficulties you are having to determine what is causing the smell from the toilet.

Regards, Joanne

Mali02 · Jan 19, 2015 1:23 pm

Team PD

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

Hi Mali02, can you please PM your build address and I will follow up with NHC on the difficulties you are having to determine what is causing the smell from the toilet.

Regards, Joanne

Hi Joanne,

I received a response from NHC and they have sent my email to the plumber to get them to come out again, so I am happy to wait for them to come out again and see what happens but I will PM you my details just in case someone can think of any other ideas!!

Thanks.

RedHotMike · Jan 19, 2015 7:48 pm

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

Is there a J trap between the sewer and the toilet? If there isn't then you are always going to have a problem with all sorts of smells.

Mali02 · Jan 19, 2015 9:09 pm

RedHotMike

Mali02

Hi everyone

We have moved in (been in almost 12 weeks) but we are having issues with a toilet and I am posting to see if anyone else has had the same issue?

We have a WC down near bedrooms 2 & 3 and there is a bathroom next to it. When we were doing a few inspections prior to getting the keys (as in weeks before) we noticed the toilet had a smell. I thought it was because the tradies had used them and hadn't flushed as the taps weren't turned on.

When we moved in it still had a smell and assumed it was the toilet itself so I cleaned it within an inch of its life. No change. We then had the plumbers out because it was leaking, then blocked and we thought maybe the smell was to do with that but no, a month later it was still smelling.

We can't leave the window closed and the door closed as you walk in and you are hit in the face with this horrendous smell. We had the plumbers out for a 3rd time a few days before Christmas, they took the toilet out to check the seals, they were all fine and then they put an extra ventilation pipe in the bathroom sink pipe to see if that helped.

It has helped a little but the smell is still there. It is like a stale water smell, not so much a sewerage smell. We have to open the window all the time when we are home and if it rains or we are away, we need to close it and close the toilet door. If the window is closed when we are home the smell drifts out into the living area.

I've contacted New Home Care to hopefully get a plumber out again but I wanted to see if anyone had some advice or could point us in the right direction? I am a bit over (and embarrassed about) having to say to people "Sorry about the toilet smell" when they ask where the toilet is!

Thanks!

Is there a J trap between the sewer and the toilet? If there isn't then you are always going to have a problem with all sorts of smells.

What's a J trap?! (I'm new to all this stuff!)

thewoodies · Jan 19, 2015 9:14 pm

My husband and I are looking at building a Livingstone 23 home in the Mayfield estate in Cranbourne North and are meeting with a sales rep on Sunday. We've already been on a drive by through a number of estates in the area and seen the display home at Mayfield. Our current question list is at around 30 (we're determined to prevent him pulling the wool over our eyes) but I thought it might be useful to ask those with experience if there's anything you think is a must-ask?

We're aware that most of what's in the display homes are upgrades so we already have a collection of "what is the cost of x, y, z" questions but I'd love to know if there's anything that jumps to mind that we may be missing...

sim_r32 · Jan 19, 2015 9:23 pm

thewoodies

My husband and I are looking at building a Livingstone 23 home in the Mayfield estate in Cranbourne North and are meeting with a sales rep on Sunday. We've already been on a drive by through a number of estates in the area and seen the display home at Mayfield. Our current question list is at around 30 (we're determined to prevent him pulling the wool over our eyes) but I thought it might be useful to ask those with experience if there's anything you think is a must-ask?

We're aware that most of what's in the display homes are upgrades so we already have a collection of "what is the cost of x, y, z" questions but I'd love to know if there's anything that jumps to mind that we may be missing...

Is that with jaime?

thewoodies · Jan 19, 2015 9:31 pm

sim_r32

thewoodies

My husband and I are looking at building a Livingstone 23 home in the Mayfield estate in Cranbourne North and are meeting with a sales rep on Sunday. We've already been on a drive by through a number of estates in the area and seen the display home at Mayfield. Our current question list is at around 30 (we're determined to prevent him pulling the wool over our eyes) but I thought it might be useful to ask those with experience if there's anything you think is a must-ask?

We're aware that most of what's in the display homes are upgrades so we already have a collection of "what is the cost of x, y, z" questions but I'd love to know if there's anything that jumps to mind that we may be missing...

Is that with jaime?

Yes. Is that a good thing? Bad thing? :wink:

sim_r32 · Jan 19, 2015 9:43 pm

Good thing! He's a typical sales guy, but very helpful. I thought he went beyond his call. Really nice guy.
Mayfield looks like a very nice Estste, only thing I didn't like was the exit out onto the highway. I'm not too sure if they'll be changing that down the track?

thewoodies · Jan 19, 2015 10:13 pm

sim_r32

Good thing! He's a typical sales guy, but very helpful. I thought he went beyond his call. Really nice guy.
Mayfield looks like a very nice Estste, only thing I didn't like was the exit out onto the highway. I'm not too sure if they'll be changing that down the track?

It's not ideal but they're going to be building a road which will connect it to the Livingston estate and Casey RACE and the library. Small term pain I guess! Glad to hear that about Jaime. Fingers crossed all goes well.

sim_r32 · Jan 20, 2015 10:12 am

thewoodies

sim_r32

Good thing! He's a typical sales guy, but very helpful. I thought he went beyond his call. Really nice guy.
Mayfield looks like a very nice Estste, only thing I didn't like was the exit out onto the highway. I'm not too sure if they'll be changing that down the track?

It's not ideal but they're going to be building a road which will connect it to the Livingston estate and Casey RACE and the library. Small term pain I guess! Glad to hear that about Jaime. Fingers crossed all goes well.

That will make it a lot better, when I looked through the PD displays there you can see all the livingston estate from the 2 story house on the end. Good luck with your build.

SRP · Jan 21, 2015 8:24 am

Hi There,
We are building with porter davis, however it is been a nightmare after the initial part of the build. Things were stolen 6 to 7 times from construction site, and porter davis taking this very lightly and delaying the remaining stages. It is not the problem with the estate, because my friend has his keys handed a month ago, next street by another builder. He didnt have any such incidents. The burglary happens when there are some works being done. We have seen the doors are kept open, the next day SS tells us that some thing is taken.
We are near to the PCI, we saw one door was stained and finished perfectly, next day it is taken. It looks like it is not mere unfortunate, it is due to their tradies. Is it common with PD, Can we do anything on this.
Also, one weird thing happened was, my SS booked for final inspection, I went to the site previous night, saw lot of issues, doors and windows are not finished, render not complete, site is not clean, downpipes are not installed completely etc.. And house was filled with water, and the water was coming out through the bottom of the doors, bottom of render .. and all the skirting, cup board kick boards etc is soaked in water. I managed to close the metre box tap, but not sure how long it was like that. Even the frames could be wet now, I am scarred and worried about its durability. Could any body suggest me what I can do now?