Porter Davis homes

sinbox · May 27, 2017 7:55 pm

OneMoreForsyth

Thanks Sinbox. We had the colorbond steel room promotion but decided to go with tiles. Hope colorbond sarking pricing remains similar to tiled roof as well.

Btw looks like you got the whirlybird for free, we may have to provision for that as well...the list is never ending... :roll:

It's all a mystery and a black box. I can assure you that a lot of the items costs are literally 'made-up' on the go as they try to protect their profit margins...

OneMoreForsyth · May 27, 2017 8:09 pm

sinbox

OneMoreForsyth

Thanks Sinbox. We had the colorbond steel room promotion but decided to go with tiles. Hope colorbond sarking pricing remains similar to tiled roof as well.

Btw looks like you got the whirlybird for free, we may have to provision for that as well...the list is never ending... :roll:

It's all a mystery and a black box. I can assure you that a lot of the items costs are literally 'made-up' on the go as they try to protect their profit margins...

'made-up' - that term actually worries me :shock:

:shock::shock:

Waldorf_Grange_Build · May 27, 2017 8:16 pm

sinbox

OneMoreForsyth

Hi Guys,

Good information on roof sarking. How much does it cost if anyone has done it. I think it's better to have it for tiled roof because if the tile cracks the only way to know it is when water starts leaking inside the house, that would be a big mess ..

We had the colorbond steel room promotion, but it specifically said sarking was not included in the promotion. We added sarking as an addon:

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Wish I knew this earlier. I would have added this option on too.

- View my blog at www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

Hurrow · May 29, 2017 10:55 am

Waldorf_Grange_Build

sinbox

We had the colorbond steel room promotion, but it specifically said sarking was not included in the promotion. We added sarking as an addon:

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Wish I knew this earlier. I would have added this option on too.

- View my blog at http://www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

It's annoying when there are options like that which you don't even get told about. Stuff like sarking and insulation wouldn't have even been brought up if we hadn't asked about them, same with data points and noggings etc. There seems to be an expectation that you as the home buyer are an expert and already know all the options, whereas I feel like most of us don't know a huge amount about it and really need help with being told about what we can and can't do.

Waldorf_Grange_Build · May 29, 2017 9:57 pm

Hurrow

Waldorf_Grange_Build

sinbox

We had the colorbond steel room promotion, but it specifically said sarking was not included in the promotion. We added sarking as an addon:

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

Wish I knew this earlier. I would have added this option on too.

- View my blog at http://www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

It's annoying when there are options like that which you don't even get told about. Stuff like sarking and insulation wouldn't have even been brought up if we hadn't asked about them, same with data points and noggings etc. There seems to be an expectation that you as the home buyer are an expert and already know all the options, whereas I feel like most of us don't know a huge amount about it and really need help with being told about what we can and can't do.

Agree. I wonder what other possibilities there were that we don't even know about.

- View my blog at www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

Renman · May 29, 2017 11:57 pm

That's why forum like these are great.

Hurrow · May 30, 2017 7:52 am

Renman

That's why forum like these are great.

This forum has definitely been a massive help, but really the building company should be telling us about all the options. As WGB says we don't know about what other possibilities there are that none of us know about and that PD (and presumably most building companies) aren't telling us about for whatever reason. Maybe we'd want them, maybe we wouldn't, but without knowing what they might be it's impossible to make that decision.

Waldorf_Grange_Build · May 30, 2017 7:55 am

Hurrow

Renman

That's why forum like these are great.

This forum has definitely been a massive help, but really the building company should be telling us about all the options. As WGB says we don't know about what other possibilities there are that none of us know about and that PD (and presumably most building companies) aren't telling us about for whatever reason. Maybe we'd want them, maybe we wouldn't, but without knowing what they might be it's impossible to make that decision.

You would think they would want to offer clients more add ons to make more $.

Although perhaps the more things we add the longer it takes to build the house and they fear going over their contract build time and having to pay the client their weekly amount? Who knows.

- View my blog at www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

Hurrow · May 30, 2017 9:20 am

Waldorf_Grange_Build

Hurrow

This forum has definitely been a massive help, but really the building company should be telling us about all the options. As WGB says we don't know about what other possibilities there are that none of us know about and that PD (and presumably most building companies) aren't telling us about for whatever reason. Maybe we'd want them, maybe we wouldn't, but without knowing what they might be it's impossible to make that decision.

You would think they would want to offer clients more add ons to make more $.

Although perhaps the more things we add the longer it takes to build the house and they fear going over their contract build time and having to pay the client their weekly amount? Who knows.

- View my blog at http://www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

Exactly, the more stuff we add on the more profit they make presumably. And I would have thought that if we add on things for the house then PD simply extend the amount of time they give themselves to build the house?

AnnPerkins · May 30, 2017 12:29 pm

sinbox

No Hurrow that's not the one. I got confused initially too and had assumed that's the same as domestic building insurance. From the read of it however, the Certificate of Currency is for Construction Insurance and Public liability - think of it as their insurance cover if they destroy your neighbors property by mistake during construction.

The one I'm talking about is the Domestic Building Insurance which I received over mail a couple of days back. By law, (atleast in VIC), builders are also required to take out Domestic Building Insurance for any activities costing over $16K, which covers you as a client for the insolvency and other scenarios I mentioned previously. Think of it as insurance for the standard 6 yr building warranty...

Checking in again...anyone who has started building should have received the DBI certificate. What is the limit of the insurance?

Ours is the same as yours - $300,000 maximum policy limit, 20% of the contract price for a contract price of $370,000.

sinbox · May 30, 2017 1:38 pm

AnnPerkins

sinbox

No Hurrow that's not the one. I got confused initially too and had assumed that's the same as domestic building insurance. From the read of it however, the Certificate of Currency is for Construction Insurance and Public liability - think of it as their insurance cover if they destroy your neighbors property by mistake during construction.

The one I'm talking about is the Domestic Building Insurance which I received over mail a couple of days back. By law, (atleast in VIC), builders are also required to take out Domestic Building Insurance for any activities costing over $16K, which covers you as a client for the insolvency and other scenarios I mentioned previously. Think of it as insurance for the standard 6 yr building warranty...

Checking in again...anyone who has started building should have received the DBI certificate. What is the limit of the insurance?

Ours is the same as yours - $300,000 maximum policy limit, 20% of the contract price for a contract price of $370,000.

Right... but that make sense though? It looks like a standard insurance package. My worry is that it does not even cover the value of the house you are building. Have you considered topping it up?

lizbf85 · May 30, 2017 3:22 pm

Waldorf_Grange_Build

You would think they would want to offer clients more add ons to make more $.

Although perhaps the more things we add the longer it takes to build the house and they fear going over their contract build time and having to pay the client their weekly amount? Who knows.

- View my blog at http://www.waldorfgrangebuild.wordpress.com

They dont tell you about alot of things unfortunately!

Naama! wow that's a crazy outcome, but glad your trying to see the positive side for the furture and ur future babies

We too had asbestos, luckily for us it was in the home we were pulling down and not burried like some builds ive seen. Scary stuff! I have heard so many stories of late working for the bank, of customers having to pay thousands for this type of removal.

If its any comfort knowing your not the only one out there going through the same thing.

Nikil

what buggers! i would of thought speaking to the council would have given you the facts. i hope everything goes smoothly from here and they don't hold things up too much.

lizbf85 · May 30, 2017 3:33 pm

Naama

Hey Hurrow.
I hope everything will be sorted for you soon and you'll start building

We've ended up paying 45k for the asbestos soil removal. they ended up needing to remove 238 tons of soil

I contacted a lawyer who thinks I have a nice chance of getting it from the person who sold us the land, but lawyer will cost us extra and there are no guarantees. now we are waiting for pd to send someone over to reassess our lot and let us know if we need to bring in more soil to top the soil that we removed before we are given a new site start. I don't know if they'll do another soil test... we removed a lot of soil and it might effect it. our current slab is very upgraded, cost us about 20k just the slab... I hope they do another test and it ends up in our favor. we are due a bit of good news.

from memory the fill they need is charged to you to ensure slab level is correct, if you have taken away that much soil, i would defiantly expect some extra costs to backfill that.

This happened to another member a year back when i first joined. Just thought id give you the heads up.

lizbf85 · May 30, 2017 3:34 pm

ps: anyone looking to do fireplace after handover, dont bother using sneddons in footscray!

Hurrow · May 30, 2017 3:35 pm

lizbf85

ps: anyone looking to do fireplace after handover, dont bother using sneddons in footscray!

That doesn't sound good...

How is the rest of the house going post handover Liz?

lizbf85 · May 30, 2017 3:50 pm

Hurrow

lizbf85

ps: anyone looking to do fireplace after handover, dont bother using sneddons in footscray!

That doesn't sound good...

How is the rest of the house going post handover Liz?

Yeah pretty good thanks for asking.
We have had the boys complete our back fence over the weekend, its amazing & high. byebye neighbors
Security screens and front door look great, finally been able to air the house

didnt think we were going to be able to get them on our stacker for a while, due to it being the commercial, but all done.

We've picked up alot of crappy paint work and plaster joins that need to be fixed at our 3 month check.
And notice a few of our bedroom doors don't close, they have put the latch higher than the join. (little fixes) Other than that really enjoying it. The heating is great and nice and toasty in the am!

The last of the furniture has finally arrived and our fireplace is going in today. After a few stuff arounds by them and their installers basically just not showing up. Hopefully itll all be sorted today.

Here are a few more pics. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

fademan · May 30, 2017 7:53 pm

Did anyone building with PD come across the 50% site coverage rule? We were planning on building a Vancouver but the site coverage was going to be 55% so they wouldn't do it, had to look at a double storey instead. Any way of getting them to try to obtain council approval?

Hurrow · May 31, 2017 9:58 am

lizbf85

Hurrow

lizbf85

ps: anyone looking to do fireplace after handover, dont bother using sneddons in footscray!

That doesn't sound good...

How is the rest of the house going post handover Liz?

Yeah pretty good thanks for asking.
We have had the boys complete our back fence over the weekend, its amazing & high. byebye neighbors
Security screens and front door look great, finally been able to air the house

didnt think we were going to be able to get them on our stacker for a while, due to it being the commercial, but all done.

We've picked up alot of crappy paint work and plaster joins that need to be fixed at our 3 month check.
And notice a few of our bedroom doors don't close, they have put the latch higher than the join. (little fixes) Other than that really enjoying it. The heating is great and nice and toasty in the am!

The last of the furniture has finally arrived and our fireplace is going in today. After a few stuff arounds by them and their installers basically just not showing up. Hopefully itll all be sorted today.

Here are a few more pics. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

Sounds like things are going fairly smoothly then with the exception of the fireplace, hopefully sometime soon you'll be all settled in and you can put all the trauma of the build behind you!

lizbf85 · May 31, 2017 12:45 pm

fademan

Did anyone building with PD come across the 50% site coverage rule? We were planning on building a Vancouver but the site coverage was going to be 55% so they wouldn't do it, had to look at a double storey instead. Any way of getting them to try to obtain council approval?

we certainly didn't run into this building our Vancouver. And im fairly certain our coverage was defiantly more than 55%

OneMoreForsyth · May 31, 2017 12:52 pm

Hi Guys,

Are anyone doing massive ethernet pre-wiring for their entire home ? I was thinking of putting a single ports to each room, but going through some of the links, its suggested to have 30+ ports to make it future-proof. Not sure i would need it, but just wanted to see what's others views:

https://reckoner.com.au/2015/07/wiring- ... k-through/
https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/structured_home_cabling

How much PD charges for a single data port these days ?

Thanks.