Porter Davis homes

Eve Dweller · Oct 24, 2010 2:04 pm

Only have a single render colour atm which is to the balcony. Like you it is the Illinois facade. Will choose another for front face later.

excitednewhomeowner · Oct 24, 2010 7:25 pm

Thanks for your help regarding the bricks above the garage.

Also we have not been to national tiles yet but were wondering are the standard colours/tiles any good or if not what are the costs to upgrade?

We are building the Camberwell 29 if that helps.

Thanks

Eve Dweller · Oct 24, 2010 7:27 pm

The selection is quite small, nearly everything thats nice-ish is and upgrade to cat 2 or 3. The cost per square meter shoots up quite quickly. There is certianly not a broad range as seen in the display homes.

SSAZ · Oct 24, 2010 7:35 pm

excitednewhomeowner

We are building the Camberwell 29 if that helps.

We are building Camberwell 29 as well. $1,425 for brick above garage door.

excitednewhomeowner · Oct 24, 2010 10:28 pm

Eve Dweller

The selection is quite small, nearly everything thats nice-ish is and upgrade to cat 2 or 3. The cost per square meter shoots up quite quickly. There is certianly not a broad range as seen in the display homes.

Ok Thanks.

SSAZ

We are building Camberwell 29 as well. $1,425 for brick above garage door.

Ive seen your blog and your house looks great. Did you upgrade your tiles? How much would we need to put aside for the tiles if we did decide to upgrade?

flagstaffIV · Oct 24, 2010 10:50 pm

excitednewhomeowner

Thanks for your help regarding the bricks above the garage.

Also we have not been to national tiles yet but were wondering are the standard colours/tiles any good or if not what are the costs to upgrade?

We are building the Camberwell 29 if that helps.

Thanks

Hi Excited,

I added standard tiles to a part of my hallway, lounge/dining area and that cost me $2800. Yes my house is heaps smaller than yours so I think if you went with standard tiles it would probably cost double what mine has.
If you like the colour of standard range but would prefer a larger tile you can pay for the larger sizes such as 50cm x 50cm.
Also, when I changed my splashback tile to porcelain 30cm x 60cm (It's actually a floor tile but I liked it sooo much put it on my wall - have a look in my thread) it cost me an extra $50 per sq. metre approx.

If I was building a house your size (I wish! :lol:

) I would probably estimate anywhere between $8-10k including feature tiles etc.

I hope that helps you a little

building1 · Oct 25, 2010 1:45 am

excitednewhomeowner

Also we have not been to national tiles yet but were wondering are the standard colours/tiles any good or if not what are the costs to upgrade?
Thanks

Go into any National Tiles store, the Portofino range is the standard floor tile, and you will find all the standard tiles on display with the Portofino (all one wall from what i've seen).

The colours all seem to be browns and beiges, they're ok just not what we wanted.

SSAZ · Oct 25, 2010 7:06 am

excitednewhomeowner

Did you upgrade your tiles? How much would we need to put aside for the tiles if we did decide to upgrade?

The only upgrade we did to the tiles is to do a shower strip above & below the niches in ensuite & bathroom for $94.
We changed the tiles in living, dining & corridor to floorboard.

Team PD · Oct 25, 2010 9:58 am

wizard

I think the mistake a lot of people make is they don’t go to Hopetoun before their appointment, there is no way you can pick everything on the day. Our colour appointment lasted about 20 minutes. We sat down with our person she asked what we wanted and we told her. Didn’t need to see anything on the day as it was all decided long before then. I understand the pricing frustration but like I said, we just added everything we wanted and then just removed anything on the day we signed our contract, actually I think our contract appointment went longer than our colour appointment which was good because there was a greater amount of time allocated in our contract appointment anyway. As for electrical, once again, we knew what we wanted and where we wanted it to be, the time spent on electricals was less than the colours. But then again we didn’t add much, just changed positions on a few things so ours was easy anyway.

All I can say to anyone yet to have their appointments, do your research! And that goes for everyone, not just people building with PD

Wizard has made a good point,

It's difficult to pick everything in one day and a visit to Hopetoun before colour appointment allows you to plan ahead and hopefully makes the whole process a lot smoother. It's great to see that everyone here is doing their research beforehand, despite this there will most likely be changes along the way, it is a back and forth process. I hear your frustrations with the lack of final prices at Hopetoun. We are constantly working towards making the Hopetoun experience better and appreciate your feedback. In the end we want our clients to be happy, and across working with different suppliers and accommodating for regular changes in pricing, we can only provide price point estimates throughout your appointment to help with decision making on the day. If you can get information from other forum members for what they ended up paying for materials and upgrades, then that's a great resource to go by for a rough idea. In the end, the best person to highlight this to is your CSA, they know you and your build and can give you the best up to date help and advice on such matters. This is good discussion though guys, its good to hear your thoughts.

Chorlton · Oct 25, 2010 8:28 pm

Hello All,

Excellent thread Guys & Girls !!

We've recently paid the $1000 deposit with PD and hopefully intend to build the Foxley home assuming site costs come in within budget.

In the meantime, in an attempt to try to manage our budget going forward, can anyone offer any indication of upgrade costs that they paid for the following items.

1. Upgrade Ceremic floor tiles from the standard 300x300 to either 450x450, 500x500 or 600x600 (ceramic not porcelain) Cost per m2?
2. Upgrade from Cat 1 to Cat 2 / Cat 3 bricks (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)?
3. Upgrade to Carpet Underlay (Cost per m2?)
4. Upgrade from standard carpet to better quality one
5. Wall Insulation [R2 Batts] (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)??
6. Any other obvious items which should be upgraded, and their associated cost?

Any help much appreciated,

Thanks,
Chorlton

SSAZ · Oct 25, 2010 8:41 pm

Chorlton

Hello All,

Excellent thread Guys & Girls !!

We've recently paid the $1000 deposit with PD and hopefully intend to build the Foxley home assuming site costs come in within budget.

In the meantime, in an attempt to try to manage our budget going forward, can anyone offer any indication of upgrade costs that they paid for the following items.

1. Upgrade Ceremic floor tiles from the standard 300x300 to either 450x450, 500x500 or 600x600 (ceramic not porcelain) Cost per m2?
2. Upgrade from Cat 1 to Cat 2 / Cat 3 bricks (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)?
3. Upgrade to Carpet Underlay (Cost per m2?)
4. Upgrade from standard carpet to better quality one
5. Wall Insulation [R2 Batts] (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)??
6. Any other obvious items which should be upgraded, and their associated cost?

Any help much appreciated,

Thanks,
Chorlton

Hi Chorlton,

Are you building foxley 26 or 29? We like the design, however it doesn't fit our block, so we went with Camberwell 29.

I upgraded the brick to Cat 4 for $1,898.
Carpet underlay was upgraded to Supreme Underlay (mid range) for $264, didn't upgrade the carpet as I was told the underlay is the important one.
Wall insulation was upgraded to R2 Batts for $1,102. Roof insulation was upgraded to R3.5 Batts for $1,342.
Brickwork over garage door $1,425.
Off White Mortar $529.
Overhead Cabinets to either side of Canopy Rangehood $811.
Timber Flooring to Entry, Family and Meals $5,320.
Overhead Cabinets to Laundry $528.

Chorlton · Oct 25, 2010 8:49 pm

SSAZ

Chorlton

Hello All,

Excellent thread Guys & Girls !!

We've recently paid the $1000 deposit with PD and hopefully intend to build the Foxley home assuming site costs come in within budget.

In the meantime, in an attempt to try to manage our budget going forward, can anyone offer any indication of upgrade costs that they paid for the following items.

1. Upgrade Ceremic floor tiles from the standard 300x300 to either 450x450, 500x500 or 600x600 (ceramic not porcelain) Cost per m2?
2. Upgrade from Cat 1 to Cat 2 / Cat 3 bricks (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)?
3. Upgrade to Carpet Underlay (Cost per m2?)
4. Upgrade from standard carpet to better quality one
5. Wall Insulation [R2 Batts] (Cost based on single storey home, if possible)??
6. Any other obvious items which should be upgraded, and their associated cost?

Any help much appreciated,

Thanks,
Chorlton

Hi Chorlton,

Are you building foxley 26 or 29? We like the design, however it doesn't fit our block, so we went with Camberwell 29.

I upgraded the brick to Cat 4 for $1,898.
Carpet underlay was upgraded to Supreme Underlay (mid range) for $264, didn't upgrade the carpet as I was told the underlay is the important one.
Wall insulation was upgraded to R2 Batts for $1,102. Roof insulation was upgraded to R3.5 Batts for $1,342.
Brickwork over garage door $1,425.
Off White Mortar $529.
Overhead Cabinets to either side of Canopy Rangehood $811.
Timber Flooring to Entry, Family and Meals $5,320.
Overhead Cabinets to Laundry $528.

Hi SSAZ,

Many Thanks for the prompt reply!!!

The plan is to build the Foxley 29 as it fits really well on the plot....

The prices you've posted will come in really handy. Out of interest, even though you obviously are going with timber flooring, did you ever inquire as to the cost of upgraded tiles? I ask, as this is the type of flooring we have decided on (just not sure on size yet... although bigger the better if we can afford it!)

Also, I've noticed that a lot of people on here have gone for brickwork above the garage door. Does it make such a difference, and is the difference just a visual or structual thing??

SSAZ · Oct 25, 2010 8:59 pm

Chorlton

The prices you've posted will come in really handy. Out of interest, even though you obviously are going with timber flooring, did you ever inquire as to the cost of upgraded tiles? I ask, as this is the type of flooring we have decided on (just not sure on size yet... although bigger the better if we can afford it!)

Also, I've noticed that a lot of people on here have gone for brickwork above the garage door. Does it make such a difference, and is the difference just a visual or structual thing??

No, we didn't consider tiles upgrade, it was either the standard tiles or timber floor. We like timber floor because it's not as cold in winter, especially when the kids are playing on the floor. Heated floor would be nice but just too expensive.

Structual wise I believe brickwork above garage or the standard timber doesn't make any different, brickwork more cosmetic treatment for a house, the concrete slab (& any piers) & frame work & roof trusses are the more important one structural wise. I always like the look of brick over the garage door, that's the reason we upgraded ours.

Chorlton · Oct 25, 2010 9:07 pm

SSAZ

Chorlton

The prices you've posted will come in really handy. Out of interest, even though you obviously are going with timber flooring, did you ever inquire as to the cost of upgraded tiles? I ask, as this is the type of flooring we have decided on (just not sure on size yet... although bigger the better if we can afford it!)

Also, I've noticed that a lot of people on here have gone for brickwork above the garage door. Does it make such a difference, and is the difference just a visual or structual thing??

No, we didn't consider tiles upgrade, it was either the standard tiles or timber floor. We like timber floor because it's not as cold in winter, especially when the kids are playing on the floor. Heated floor would be nice but just too expensive.

Structual wise I believe brickwork above garage or the standard timber doesn't make any different, brickwork more cosmetic treatment for a house, the concrete slab (& any piers) & frame work & roof trusses are the more important one structural wise. I always like the look of brick over the garage door, that's the reason we upgraded ours.

Thanks again

Out of interest, do you know where I can find out what the standard inclusions are throughout the PD homes? For example, we want R2 batts in the walls but from what I've read on here so far, they are an upgrade.
But how would we find this out otherwise? I'd rather not wait til contract stage to read the spec as it may mean that we need to add more upgrades (to give us what we would need or initially expect!!) which could put us over budget resulting in us from potentially not proceeding

SSAZ · Oct 25, 2010 9:13 pm

Chorlton

Out of interest, do you know where I can find out what the standard inclusions are throughout the PD homes? For example, we want R2 batts in the walls but from what I've read on here so far, they are an upgrade.
But how would we find this out otherwise? I'd rather not wait til contract stage to read the spec as it may mean that we need to add more upgrades (to give us what we would need or initially expect!!) which could put us over budget resulting in us from potentially not proceeding

I found out what's standard & what's not by talking to the sales person & the CSC. Ask as many questions as possible, go through the house with the sales person & ask him/her whether every single item is standard or optional extra. Email or call your CSC as well. Make sure when you go to tender, you have a list of your upgrades because they didn't do half of ours & have to tell them to amend the tender.

A lot of people in this forum will be able to tell you as well whether the item you want is standard or upgrade, so don't hesitate to post your questions in the forum.

Don't assume that something is standard, most things are not.

Chorlton · Oct 25, 2010 9:22 pm

SSAZ

Chorlton

Out of interest, do you know where I can find out what the standard inclusions are throughout the PD homes? For example, we want R2 batts in the walls but from what I've read on here so far, they are an upgrade.
But how would we find this out otherwise? I'd rather not wait til contract stage to read the spec as it may mean that we need to add more upgrades (to give us what we would need or initially expect!!) which could put us over budget resulting in us from potentially not proceeding

I found out what's standard & what's not by talking to the sales person & the CSC. Ask as many questions as possible, go through the house with the sales person & ask him/her whether every single item is standard or optional extra. Email or call your CSC as well. Make sure when you go to tender, you have a list of your upgrades because they didn't do half of ours & have to tell them to amend the tender.

A lot of people in this forum will be able to tell you as well whether the item you want is standard or upgrade, so don't hesitate to post your questions in the forum.

Don't assume that something is standard, most things are not.

Thanks again SSAZ.... I will definately take your advice and post my questions here

Kind Regards........

Chorlton · Oct 25, 2010 9:28 pm

Hello Again,

We've just received a quote for Render to the front facade of the Foxley 29. The facade we've chosen is the Oakland.

The figure quoted is $3758 !!!!! Does that sound reasonable to others as it seems quite steep to us!!

Also, those who have chosen to have render to the front, have you let PD do it or did you do it after handover? If its the former, how much were you charged and if its the latter were you recommended someone to use and how did they compare from a cost perspective?

Many Thanks in advance,
Chorlton

mel_mox · Oct 25, 2010 10:53 pm

Hey charlatan,
We are only having our portico rendered & quote was about 2.5k!!!
And it's a small balcony!

Mel

Yellow · Oct 25, 2010 11:13 pm

Hi

PD gave us at sales time a copy of procedure of purchase and told us that they will do BSS independent quality inspections through out the build. Has anyone noticed that these inspections does get carried out at your property? How do you know that these did get carried out? Do you get a copy of the report from PD once it has been completed?

thanks

Regards
Yellow

cjm · Oct 25, 2010 11:59 pm

Yellow

PD gave us at sales time a copy of procedure of purchase and told us that they will do BSS independent quality inspections through out the build. Has anyone noticed that these inspections does get carried out at your property? How do you know that these did get carried out? Do you get a copy of the report from PD once it has been completed?

You don't get a copy of the inspector's report. I recommend you hire your own independent inspector for each stage.