Porter Davis homes

Well we did build with them, the PCV us 4 times.. so I dont see why you cant. And I would struggle with the excuse its already ordered.. the door doesnt go on until the end of lockup. Which would be a while away.

Be polite, but enforce the change, you will pay for it however. Deal with the BC in writing.

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice. We are selling and re-building and Porter Davis is who we are leaning towards at this early stage however I do have a few concerns. We owner built last time and pretty much got everything we wanted and had complete control of the project however we do not have the time to do it this time round. We like some of the Porter Davis designs(Kallara 29 our preferred at this stage) however I realise that with volume builders like PD there is almost no flexibility and that you need to make quite a few concessions.
One thing we do not want to conceed is our polished hard wood floors. Personally we are not big fans of floating timber floors. My concern with PD is speaking to there consultants they pretty much do not under any circumstances do any of the following- Let the flooring people come in prior to skirts being put on, soft nail or not put the skirts on at all and the thing that baffles me the most is that they don't contract anyone who has polished hard wood floors. I flat out asked the consultant what options they give and she said other than do it after handover there are no options which means you need a quad which is not the end of the world but not the finish we would be looking for. She said they used to do it but received an email earlier in the year saying that in no way can they do this anymore. I know they may have the odd drama but thats business isn't it? Surely its about giving the customer what they want within reason? If anyone has had any luck in recent times with this issue I'd love to hear how you got around it.

Also we live in Gisborne which is approx 60kms from the cbd and they have a 4k build surcharge. It was explained to be that this is for extra costs for deliveries. Based on my Owner building experience that seems massively over the top. We paid and extra $80 here and there but most suppliers charged the same and I would imagine a huge company like porter davis would be able to negotiate better rates than I could. They are not charging location costs in Ballarat and that is twice as far from the Melbourne CBD. I keep getting told its a buyers market but based on the research I have done so far I am supprised about the policies of some builders. As anyone had any luck getting this surchaged removed?

If we can get these 2 issues resolved we will most likely go with them.

Ant, I would push them, they either want the business or not.. and we all know how the building game is going at the moment.

LOWEST VOLUME OF SITE STARTS IN 16 YEARS.

We have a Kallara 29.

My BC got the reply from porgammed the landscape contractor

Unfortunately we are unable to carry out works directly through to residence. I have passed on the email sent from Michael a couple of weeks ago to one of our existing employees that now runs his own business. Please find below details.
!!!!!

I believe PD should take some more ownership if they want to offer landscaping

Thanks Humble , they were my thoughts exactly. The consultant tried telling me they are flat out but speaking to an ex porter davis employee I am told they are slower than they have been in a long time like everyone else.

No surprise there. Stand your ground, I am sure you will get what you want.

Been a bit quiet in here lately! I hope everyone is traveling well I'm happy to be seeing a few positive updates on the blogs I am following.

I have updated our blog for those interested. Just 1.5 weeks to PCI

For those with completed houses (we were 2nd in our street) how have you found your neighbours, especially 'copying'

We were the first in with shades of brown (bricks, render, garage door)

We have seen houses go up, and then once moved in people have changed render colours or done complete render's and then painted them similar to us.

We are doing our front yard now, and its quite extensive, we are really worried about people copying our design.

Without being intentionally flippant, I think you just have to take it as a compliment. I mean, if they are copying then it really is a compliment and the alternative is to stew over something you can't control which achieves nothing and is generally unpleasant for you.

Easier said than done though - I know, sorry!

yep happens all the time, not much you can do about it.....

i've just updated our blog for those that may be interested

http://lisajacksfirstbuild.blogspot.com.au/

Some has even been blantant.. 'oh what colour is your render, we want the same'

wtf!

I just know once we are done everyone in the street will copy (we will be frontyard number 3 completed)

Your place seem like its travelling along very quick!
Seems like they'll have to put on the OHS safety barriers before they lay the tiles!

Good luck!

Yay, a frame! This stage is sooo exciting! Fingers crossed that you make some good progress this week, the forecast is definitely on your side!

I noticed the barriers are already up - it seems like we're both at similar stages gabster

Hi Monkeypantz,
I've just had a look at your blog - your new home is really coming together now and looking great. It's a very exciting time and I hope your PCI goes smoothly.
Cheers
Helen

Hi Lisjac,
The progress on your blog is looking good. Hopefully the weather holds out so you can get your roof covers in place this week. Good luck with it all.
Cheers,
Helen

Hi J&C
I noticed this post and hopefully you have had a chance to talk to your SS to sort this out by now. Just to clarify, you would have been asked at your electrical selections appointment if you would like to have the wires pulled through the wall (there is an additional cost to do this). If people are not 100% sure where they are going to set up their entertainment systems they often leave this until after they move in and PD can then provide your selected installer with a floorplan so they can quickly locate the wiring. Your electrical job order (which your SS will be working to) outlines all of the things you will have agreed to at your electrical selections appointment. If you haven’t already sorted this out with your SS, your next best option is to e-mail or call Hopetoun Interiors and ask to speak to the electrical consultant.
I hope this helps
Cheers,
Helen

Thanks Helen,

We were very clear we wanted all the pre-wires pulled out and have also mentioned this to our SS and have also specified the height...but at the moment he has other bigger issues to resolve. I will sort it with the SS.

[quote="humble"]For those with completed houses (we were 2nd in our street) how have you found your neighbours, especially 'copying'

We were the first in with shades of brown (bricks, render, garage door)

We have seen houses go up, and then once moved in people have changed render colours or done complete render's and then painted them similar to us.

We are doing our front yard now, and its quite extensive, we are really worried about people copying our design. /quote]
I dont want to sound rude but i think you have to expect that in a new estate. Take it as a compliment and not a insult!

We have people stopping and asking what colour we have chosen for our render and i am only to happy to tell them the colour, thats why i started a blog to help out others as they have helped me in there blogs, thats why we do get on here.