Porter Davis homes

Sammyjane31 · Jan 31, 2012 9:57 am

Good suggestion Alpal!

I am meeting our SS today to see what is next now that we are at lock up. We also noticed our final floor plan doesnt have draws on the island! I hope it is something that can add as we need to put our cutlery in there.

JLD · Jan 31, 2012 10:53 am

Email your BC Sammyjane and get a variation raised. They mucked up the end where we were having a cupboard on our Island (it had mysteriously changed from one end to the other from contract drawings to final) and we got it changed. Best to do it before they order kitchen.

Speaking of meetings with SS's when did you guys first meet yours on site?

Team PD · Jan 31, 2012 10:54 am

eli-kay123

For those who are interested in the temporary blinds REDISHADE, I got onto Redishade in the USA this is the email I sent and recieved.

Me: "Do you ship or have a distributor in Australia. I've been ringing everywhere but the Bunnings stores that you distribute to don't sell them don't anymore. Thanks in advance."

Redishade replied:"Thank you for your interest in our product. We have a couple of local options for you to try. We received word from a customer who contacted the Bunnings in Tuggeranong (Canberra) and found they had a few of our shades in stock. They're shipping them to the Bunnings near her in Sydney. You could try contacting the Tuggeranong Bunnings store first.

We have also established a new distributor relationship in Australia. Their contact information is:

Damon De Angelis
Hometec Plantation Shutters
Ringwood Vic Aus
Ph: 0408 335 973
Fax: 9879 3379
e: info@htfa.com.au
w: http://www.htfa.com.au/

If either of these options do not work out, we would be happy to work with you directly from here in the States. Please contact us via email at sales@redishade.com so we can review your specific needs.

I hope this info will help the people interested in this product and save them from ringing every Bunnings store in Melbourne.

But this email did come too late for me. I got desparate and I actually found a similar shade on ebay (melbourne seller) http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Home-Garden- ... ary+blinds

Also by looking Hometec Plantation Shutters website ( http://www.htfa.com.au ) they seem to be a wholesaler. They do shutters, various types of blinds, sell wicker furniture so they may be cheaper than purchasing from retailers. I have yet to contact them though.

Hi eli-kay123,

It’s really great of you to share all the research you’ve done with the community, I’m sure so many clients appreciate your recommendations. Also don’t forget that you are eligible for privilege pricing via the PD Rewards membership at The Blind Factory and Kreative Design. We’ve posted up some tips and ideas for blinds and window covering for each room on blog - http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/index.php/2011-11/mix-and-match-your-blinds-for-style/ Cheers, Ebony

Sammyjane31 · Jan 31, 2012 1:18 pm

JLD

Email your BC Sammyjane and get a variation raised. They mucked up the end where we were having a cupboard on our Island (it had mysteriously changed from one end to the other from contract drawings to final) and we got it changed. Best to do it before they order kitchen.

Speaking of meetings with SS's when did you guys first meet yours on site?

Hi JLD,

I sent an email to my BC on Sunday and still haven't to hear from her! Looks like communication problems have no fully started and won't go away! Did you have to pay for the post variation???

We met our 1st SS in December when framing was being finsihed and he was retranched a week later. So basically for a month and a half we haven't really had any formal updates. That is why i said we need to meet and i wont pay our Lock up invoice until we do.

JLD · Jan 31, 2012 5:27 pm

Nope no variation fee as they'd changed the drawings from one set to the next for no reason. Although yet to see if the variation has been followed considering they haven't followed the brick variation. Time will tell

Thanks for letting me know about the SS, I just wanted to make sure we aren't being unreasonable expecting a meeting. Hope yours gets worked out.

Alpal · Jan 31, 2012 6:45 pm

JLD

Nope no variation fee as they'd changed the drawings from one set to the next for no reason. Although yet to see if the variation has been followed considering they haven't followed the brick variation. Time will tell

Thanks for letting me know about the SS, I just wanted to make sure we aren't being unreasonable expecting a meeting. Hope yours gets worked out.

JLD - I meet my SS straight after slab pour - I insisted we meet. I now meet him when its required - mostly at the end of each stage. Rest of the coresspondance with him is through email and phone. Seems to work fairly well.

SJ31 - It does not surprise me that your SS has been retrenched.. PD work is very slow atm (at least in the East). My SS currently has only 4 jobs on the go, he indicates that the usual number of houses is 12-20. Would not be surprised if more are to follow. Hope mine is not targeted - hes been great.

J & C · Jan 31, 2012 7:53 pm

Has anyone got PD to do their driveway and front landscaping ?

Wateman · Jan 31, 2012 8:04 pm

We enquired about it with our house.. We were told $6000 for colored concrete driveway an basic landscaping to the front.. This was for a small 12.5m frontage so that might differ..

J & C · Jan 31, 2012 8:06 pm

Can someone that has opted for Cat 4 brick let me know how much you have been charged ? We have paid $3700 for a 30 sq home. I just came across a 36 sq house that has been charged $2700.

J & C · Jan 31, 2012 8:08 pm

Wateman

We enquired about it with our house.. We were told $6000 for colored concrete driveway an basic landscaping to the front.. This was for a small 12.5m frontage so that might differ..

Thanks Wateman, I am very keen on knowing the quality of the final output and if the money we paid is well spent...

JLD · Jan 31, 2012 8:40 pm

J & C

Can someone that has opted for Cat 4 brick let me know how much you have been charged ? We have paid $3700 for a 30 sq home. I just came across a 36 sq house that has been charged $2700.

Just keep in mind when comparing that there's a difference in number of bricks between facades, window sizes, boral vs austral (so lifestyle vs prestige), bricking over windows and garage, height of ceilings etc so make sure you're comparing apples with apples.

Alpal

JLD - I meet my SS straight after slab pour - I insisted we meet. I now meet him when its required - mostly at the end of each stage. Rest of the coresspondance with him is through email and phone. Seems to work fairly well.

SJ31 - It does not surprise me that your SS has been retrenched.. PD work is very slow atm (at least in the East). My SS currently has only 4 jobs on the go, he indicates that the usual number of houses is 12-20. Would not be surprised if more are to follow. Hope mine is not targeted - hes been great.

Thanks Alpal, I didn't think I was being too annoying asking to meet so I'll push for a meeting. Interesting about the job numbers with your SS, he should have no excuse not to see you!

mimi23 · Jan 31, 2012 11:51 pm

JLD

J & C

Can someone that has opted for Cat 4 brick let me know how much you have been charged ? We have paid $3700 for a 30 sq home. I just came across a 36 sq house that has been charged $2700.

Just keep in mind when comparing that there's a difference in number of bricks between facades, window sizes, boral vs austral (so lifestyle vs prestige), bricking over windows and garage, height of ceilings etc so make sure you're comparing apples with apples.

Hi J & C,

We were charged $3840 for cat. 4 Boral bricks.

The house is 41 sqs with 2740mm ceilings downstairs, 2590mm ceilings upstairs, bricks above all windows including the garage.

We also extended the garage by 1.2m and added a princess bedroom with ensuite and alfresco, so in total it's just under 46 sqs.

cattycatcat · Feb 01, 2012 8:12 am

Just a quick question..

We are building an Optima house, do they brick over the tops of the windows or is this something we should of asked for?

Thanks

Sent from my iPhone so please excuse my spelling mist cakes

thebigbuild · Feb 01, 2012 8:40 am

An extra Cat. I have it quoted, a few thousand from the top of my head. We cut it out.

Sammyjane31 · Feb 01, 2012 11:46 am

@ Cat - We aren't having bricks over our windows either- we didn't look into it as we have large eaves and i think it great so far.

@J&C- ours sales lady said to have our fencing and driveway done after hadnover as they charge way too much and to get it for a fraction of what they charge from someone else!

We also looked at their garden package, showed my Mum who is a garden freak and said they would be probably provide low grade plants and the 3 catergories they offered were really appealing to me.

@ Alpal and JLD - Met with SS last night whcih was good and went over a few questions i had and what is the next process. Our kitchen/bathroom cabinets were due to be delivered on Monday but will arrive possibly mid week because of the mix up with the kitchen draws. Our cornices should be finsihed this week and he said painting was after the cabinets are installed. We can't wait to move in:)

Team PD · Feb 01, 2012 12:07 pm

Sammyjane31

JLD

Email your BC Sammyjane and get a variation raised. They mucked up the end where we were having a cupboard on our Island (it had mysteriously changed from one end to the other from contract drawings to final) and we got it changed. Best to do it before they order kitchen.

Speaking of meetings with SS's when did you guys first meet yours on site?

Hi JLD,

I sent an email to my BC on Sunday and still haven't to hear from her! Looks like communication problems have no fully started and won't go away! Did you have to pay for the post variation???

We met our 1st SS in December when framing was being finsihed and he was retranched a week later. So basically for a month and a half we haven't really had any formal updates. That is why i said we need to meet and i wont pay our Lock up invoice until we do.

Hi Sammyjane31,

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had difficulties getting a response for your BC. Have you heard from them yet? If not I’d like to help you, there could be a number of reasons that can be swiftly resolved. If you like, you can send me a private message with your full name, lot address and the best number for PD to reach you on so I can follow this up for you. Cheers Ebony

Wateman · Feb 01, 2012 1:41 pm

Sammyjane31

@J&C- ours sales lady said to have our fencing and driveway done after hadnover as they charge way too much and to get it for a fraction of what they charge from someone else!

We also looked at their garden package, showed my Mum who is a garden freak and said they would be probably provide low grade plants and the 3 catergories they offered were really appealing to me.

Our sales guy said the same thing to us.. explained it to us saying they charge more for the things they don't really want to do..

As for bricks over windows.. we were told this is a standard inclusion (this is for Access) only brick over the garage was not standard, but was a developer requirement in our estate so they included that in our package price.

baronx · Feb 01, 2012 1:42 pm

eli-kay123

For those who are interested in the temporary blinds REDISHADE, I got onto Redishade in the USA this is the email I sent and recieved.

Me: "Do you ship or have a distributor in Australia. I've been ringing everywhere but the Bunnings stores that you distribute to don't sell them don't anymore. Thanks in advance."

Redishade replied:"Thank you for your interest in our product. We have a couple of local options for you to try. We received word from a customer who contacted the Bunnings in Tuggeranong (Canberra) and found they had a few of our shades in stock. They're shipping them to the Bunnings near her in Sydney. You could try contacting the Tuggeranong Bunnings store first.

We have also established a new distributor relationship in Australia. Their contact information is:

Damon De Angelis
Hometec Plantation Shutters
Ringwood Vic Aus
Ph: 0408 335 973
Fax: 9879 3379
e: info@htfa.com.au
w: http://www.htfa.com.au/

If either of these options do not work out, we would be happy to work with you directly from here in the States. Please contact us via email at sales@redishade.com so we can review your specific needs.

I hope this info will help the people interested in this product and save them from ringing every Bunnings store in Melbourne.

But this email did come too late for me. I got desparate and I actually found a similar shade on ebay (melbourne seller) http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Home-Garden- ... ary+blinds

Also by looking Hometec Plantation Shutters website ( http://www.htfa.com.au ) they seem to be a wholesaler. They do shutters, various types of blinds, sell wicker furniture so they may be cheaper than purchasing from retailers. I have yet to contact them though.

Hi eli-kay123.. I ordered 10 of these last week only from Amazon US after trying to find these locally. Order was delivered in a week via DHL, strangely enough they shipped each blind in a separate package and so my card was charged for each blind separately. Final cost per item was around $18.50 AU including shipping.

Product: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041HYB9E/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details

Amazon International Shipping Site: http://www.amazon.com/International-Shi ... =230659011

baronx · Feb 01, 2012 2:00 pm

Team PD

Hi eli-kay123,

It’s really great of you to share all the research you’ve done with the community, I’m sure so many clients appreciate your recommendations. Also don’t forget that you are eligible for privilege pricing via the PD Rewards membership at The Blind Factory and Kreative Design. We’ve posted up some tips and ideas for blinds and window covering for each room on blog - http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/index.php/2011-11/mix-and-match-your-blinds-for-style/ Cheers, Ebony

Hi Ebony, got a few questions for you regarding PD Rewards as I couldn't find much info on the same..
- What's the procedure for getting PD Rewards discounts ? Do we get a card at handover ?
- Can we avail these discounts during construction ?
- Is there a list of places where we can avail the benefits of PD Rewards?

Thanks in advance..

Sammyjane31 · Feb 01, 2012 2:03 pm

Team PD

Sammyjane31

JLD

Email your BC Sammyjane and get a variation raised. They mucked up the end where we were having a cupboard on our Island (it had mysteriously changed from one end to the other from contract drawings to final) and we got it changed. Best to do it before they order kitchen.

Speaking of meetings with SS's when did you guys first meet yours on site?

Hi JLD,

I sent an email to my BC on Sunday and still haven't to hear from her! Looks like communication problems have no fully started and won't go away! Did you have to pay for the post variation???

We met our 1st SS in December when framing was being finsihed and he was retranched a week later. So basically for a month and a half we haven't really had any formal updates. That is why i said we need to meet and i wont pay our Lock up invoice until we do.

Hi Sammyjane31,

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had difficulties getting a response for your BC. Have you heard from them yet? If not I’d like to help you, there could be a number of reasons that can be swiftly resolved. If you like, you can send me a private message with your full name, lot address and the best number for PD to reach you on so I can follow this up for you. Cheers Ebony

Hi Ebony,

Thank you for your response! Fortunately my BC has responded she advised her was very busy on Monday and was unable to respond and noted that our model includes a set of draws. The kitchen draws issue is now being recitifed and thankfully the cupboards weren't built yet.

Thanks again for responding
Sammyjane31