Porter Davis homes

tlblhayward · Jul 01, 2014 7:41 pm

Jackula

Tiles are in: http://waldorf44oakleigh.blogspot.com.au/

The tiles look amazing!!!

tlblhayward · Jul 01, 2014 8:12 pm

Should I be worried about broken waffle pods? The ones that are sitting on my block waiting to be laid have broken because the strapping holding them to the ground has crushed them.

emily05 · Jul 01, 2014 10:56 pm

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are building with Porter Davis the Bermuda 23 square home. Our land has just settled and we are ready to start building.
However, i have forgotten to add in pot draws for my kitchen and really want just a couple in. I asked my BC about this and she said to email it to her. However, do you think that this will delay our building start date. We have already been delayed with our land and just want to start.
Also wanting to know the rough build time frame with porter davis. I know they say 18 weeks but just thought i would ask those that have completed or are in the process of building?
Thanks for your help

dk1ngjul1en · Jul 02, 2014 9:01 am

emily05

Also wanting to know the rough build time frame with porter davis. I know they say 18 weeks but just thought i would ask those that have completed or are in the process of building?
Thanks for your help

Congratulations. We built Bermuda with alfresco and took only around 17 weeks.

tlblhayward · Jul 02, 2014 10:57 am

If anyone is interested, I've uploaded an article that I found about slab cracking and whether waffle/raft slabs are less likely to crack...

http://bendigowaldorf.blogspot.com/2014 ... slabs.html

joea · Jul 02, 2014 2:59 pm

tlblhayward

If anyone is interested, I've uploaded an article that I found about slab cracking and whether waffle/raft slabs are less likely to crack...

http://bendigowaldorf.blogspot.com/2014 ... slabs.html

That has got some good information in it. I too am concerned about Slab heave with a waffle slab but don't think we have much of a choice with PD.

Cheers

Mali02 · Jul 02, 2014 5:51 pm

Just got the call that our frame is starting tomorrow. Our slab was only poured on Monday! Is that enough time for it to cure? I was expecting a week or so!!

RedHotMike · Jul 02, 2014 6:54 pm

Jackula

tlblhayward

I think that this whole situation is ridiculous... they stuffed up, they did it, they foot the bill.

PD just got back to me, they said they now won't even hide their mistake because the costs are too high and re-plumbing would damage the slab. They said their decision is final and it cannot be negotiated.

If they would just entertain our "fix" solution, it would be a cheaper fix with no damage to the slab. They also don't seem to care we have accepted to wear the cost.

Ummm.... Wow..... If it's so cut and dried as you say, then put your complaint in writing and also include the outcome you are wanting. You need to do this now and give them 7 days to respond. From there you need to decide if you want to take it further.

RedHotMike · Jul 02, 2014 8:28 pm

dk1ngjul1en

Here is something interesting to all the readers out there

Most subdivision construction is done by one developer / builder. In order to ensure easy access for their carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. All of these workers have what is called a BUILDER’S KEY or CONSTRUCTION KEY. The locks are usually ordered in sets for each house and usually specified so that each house has a different key and the BUILDER’S KEY will open all of the houses. The locks are made so that the first use of the home owner’s key will lock out the BUILDER’S KEY, BUT, what they may not tell you is that the lock is still stuffed with master pins. The builder may also have specified that the locks be delivered with a master key that will work after the builder's key is locked out.

More info: http://www.locksmithcharley.com/builderkey.html

Just as general advice - whenever you buy a new or existing house it's good practice to have all the locks changed. Small cost but it's impossible to know how many copies of keys to your house are floating around the community.

Mali02

Just got the call that our frame is starting tomorrow. Our slab was only poured on Monday! Is that enough time for it to cure? I was expecting a week or so!!

Should be ok as long as they don't load the roof before the slab is at least 3 weeks old (particularly for a tile roof). I've seen hundreds of frames poured on Friday and erected on Monday with no ill effects.

Wateman · Jul 03, 2014 1:44 pm

Man I know I'm the idiot for not listening to the one bit of advise that is posted on here constantly - don't take handover until everything is done - but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!
I thought I would be okay, as I had dealt with my SS before and believed that he would get any issues fixed up, and also my bank made the final payment before I was ready, but boy I was wrong.

Now a month after handover I still have; a dent in my gutter, a pile of bricks in my backyard, the rangehood still not caulked in, extremely poor paint job and cabinet work (laundry has laminate peeling, and bathroom has a chip in the cabinet) and various other cleanup jobs still pending (scraping concrete in alfresco that has all sorts of crap stuck on it).

All a bit frustrating considering I had asked a few times that everything be done before handover as I wouldn’t be able to take time off work to let people in while things get fixed. Of course this isn’t something they worry about, it’s all about meeting quotas for the months.

Also, be aware that the quality and care has definitely gone done quite a bit. This is the second time I’ve built with PD – first was about 2.5 years ago (had to sell after a break up). That house was great quality, and we had numerous people comment on the quality. This time those same people didn’t believe that this was a PD house. Scratches on window frames, poor paint jobs, chips on cabinets, dents on gutters, ugly black rubber used for infill around windows (last time was aluminum cut to cover gaps between windws and bricks). My parents house is 25years old and they don’t have chips in cabinets or dents in gutters.
My friend just finished a house by a cheaper builder around the corner, and the quality is so much better!

Tip – get as many eyes as possible to help check everything before handover, and spend less time talking to the SS and more time checking everything. The chip in my bathroom is on the bath side of the cabinet, so I would never have spotted it unless I had a bath(I haven’t even used that bathroom yet) as it was it was only when I was wiping things down that I caught it.

joea · Jul 03, 2014 2:56 pm

Wateman

Man I know I'm the idiot for not listening to the one bit of advise that is posted on here constantly - don't take handover until everything is done - but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!
I thought I would be okay, as I had dealt with my SS before and believed that he would get any issues fixed up, and also my bank made the final payment before I was ready, but boy I was wrong.

Now a month after handover I still have; a dent in my gutter, a pile of bricks in my backyard, the rangehood still not caulked in, extremely poor paint job and cabinet work (laundry has laminate peeling, and bathroom has a chip in the cabinet) and various other cleanup jobs still pending (scraping concrete in alfresco that has all sorts of crap stuck on it).

All a bit frustrating considering I had asked a few times that everything be done before handover as I wouldn’t be able to take time off work to let people in while things get fixed. Of course this isn’t something they worry about, it’s all about meeting quotas for the months.

Also, be aware that the quality and care has definitely gone done quite a bit. This is the second time I’ve built with PD – first was about 2.5 years ago (had to sell after a break up). That house was great quality, and we had numerous people comment on the quality. This time those same people didn’t believe that this was a PD house. Scratches on window frames, poor paint jobs, chips on cabinets, dents on gutters, ugly black rubber used for infill around windows (last time was aluminum cut to cover gaps between windws and bricks). My parents house is 25years old and they don’t have chips in cabinets or dents in gutters.
My friend just finished a house by a cheaper builder around the corner, and the quality is so much better!

Tip – get as many eyes as possible to help check everything before handover, and spend less time talking to the SS and more time checking everything. The chip in my bathroom is on the bath side of the cabinet, so I would never have spotted it unless I had a bath(I haven’t even used that bathroom yet) as it was it was only when I was wiping things down that I caught it.

Wateman,

It is really sad to hear you are going through this. It is also quite concerning for our upcoming build, as we based our judgement on the build quality of PD homes by checking out friends, colleagues and family members houses built by PD. Even being a few years old the build quality and finish is still superb.

Hearing now that you have had these issues especially as a comparison with the same builder a few years back, throws all that we based our decision on to go with PD out of the water.

I will be making sure I check and monitor the build as much as possible and I'm taking this comment "but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!" very seriously!

I hope that you get your issues sorted ASAP and thank you for your post.

Cheers.

Team PD · Jul 03, 2014 4:08 pm

joea

Wateman

Man I know I'm the idiot for not listening to the one bit of advise that is posted on here constantly - don't take handover until everything is done - but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!
I thought I would be okay, as I had dealt with my SS before and believed that he would get any issues fixed up, and also my bank made the final payment before I was ready, but boy I was wrong.

Now a month after handover I still have; a dent in my gutter, a pile of bricks in my backyard, the rangehood still not caulked in, extremely poor paint job and cabinet work (laundry has laminate peeling, and bathroom has a chip in the cabinet) and various other cleanup jobs still pending (scraping concrete in alfresco that has all sorts of crap stuck on it).

All a bit frustrating considering I had asked a few times that everything be done before handover as I wouldn’t be able to take time off work to let people in while things get fixed. Of course this isn’t something they worry about, it’s all about meeting quotas for the months.

Also, be aware that the quality and care has definitely gone done quite a bit. This is the second time I’ve built with PD – first was about 2.5 years ago (had to sell after a break up). That house was great quality, and we had numerous people comment on the quality. This time those same people didn’t believe that this was a PD house. Scratches on window frames, poor paint jobs, chips on cabinets, dents on gutters, ugly black rubber used for infill around windows (last time was aluminum cut to cover gaps between windws and bricks). My parents house is 25years old and they don’t have chips in cabinets or dents in gutters.
My friend just finished a house by a cheaper builder around the corner, and the quality is so much better!

Tip – get as many eyes as possible to help check everything before handover, and spend less time talking to the SS and more time checking everything. The chip in my bathroom is on the bath side of the cabinet, so I would never have spotted it unless I had a bath(I haven’t even used that bathroom yet) as it was it was only when I was wiping things down that I caught it.

Wateman,

It is really sad to hear you are going through this. It is also quite concerning for our upcoming build, as we based our judgement on the build quality of PD homes by checking out friends, colleagues and family members houses built by PD. Even being a few years old the build quality and finish is still superb.

Hearing now that you have had these issues especially as a comparison with the same builder a few years back, throws all that we based our decision on to go with PD out of the water.

I will be making sure I check and monitor the build as much as possible and I'm taking this comment "but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!" very seriously!

I hope that you get your issues sorted ASAP and thank you for your post.

Cheers.

Hi Wateman, your concerns have been forwarded to the relevant department we will be in touch with you ASAP. Regards Joanne.

BuildingInBallarat · Jul 04, 2014 12:24 pm

We made the same mistake as you wateman. Our bank paid the final payment by bank transfer as they would not issue a cheque. The handover was already 3 weeks past the final completion date. We had the moving van and annual leave booked and took the keys before everything was done. We spent 6 days without hot water, heating or any cooking appliances, and the SS was ignoring our calls. As a make good he was going to give us a couple of hundred dollars worth of Bunnings vouchers.

I'll add that in that 6 days out SS ignored our calls and texts, and when we did catch him, gave us vague promises which he continually broke.

Fast forward a month, we still don't have the vouchers or our white folder we were meant to get at PCI. A ceiling dumper and ensuite basin are leaking. We only just had a powerpoint fixed which was reported At PCI. The painter hasn't come back for touch ups which was going to be done before handover. We have paint on the carpet in the hallway which we didn't see until we vacuumed. The alfresco which has additional drainage installed, is actually pooling water against the house. We have doors that don't close properly, plaster 'pimples' and terrible plaster/painting touch ups on the roof.

On top of all this, they ripped us off for damages. Final completion date was meant to be the 21st of May. We had PCI on the 28th of May. Handover on the 6th of June and appliances on the 12th of June. We received a variation for $250 of damages in the post. I called the BC with a "WTF??" Who advised me damages were only payable till PCI. I said "not effing good enough, as the contract states till 100% completion as per the building contract, meaning we were actually entitled to 22 days, up until the appliances went in". She came back to me 3 days later and had approved damages up until handover. We were too tired of fighting to go back to her for the other $250 owing.

PD are a joke. I'm sure all builders are terrible. But I feel like PD are a special kind of stupid. Apart from the floorplan that we love, most of this process has been a nightmare, and I sit here wasting my annual leave writing this message on my phone, as internet hasn't been connected to the house yet, waiting for the plumbers to arrive, and SS to drop off the folder and vouchers, as he has promised to do today. (Mind you, no one sets appointments in this company. They just rock up to your house and let themselves in) Let's see if he finally comes through with the goods.

Mali02 · Jul 04, 2014 12:46 pm

Oh dear

Sorry you've had such bad experiences post handover BuildingInBallarat and Wateman.
So the moral of the story is no handover until everything is fixed and a-ok as per the contract. Do you have a legal leg to stand on if you say no handover until everything is fixed? :th:

Team PD · Jul 04, 2014 2:27 pm

BuildingInBallarat

We made the same mistake as you wateman. Our bank paid the final payment by bank transfer as they would not issue a cheque. The handover was already 3 weeks past the final completion date. We had the moving van and annual leave booked and took the keys before everything was done. We spent 6 days without hot water, heating or any cooking appliances, and the SS was ignoring our calls. As a make good he was going to give us a couple of hundred dollars worth of Bunnings vouchers.

I'll add that in that 6 days out SS ignored our calls and texts, and when we did catch him, gave us vague promises which he continually broke.

Fast forward a month, we still don't have the vouchers or our white folder we were meant to get at PCI. A ceiling dumper and ensuite basin are leaking. We only just had a powerpoint fixed which was reported At PCI. The painter hasn't come back for touch ups which was going to be done before handover. We have paint on the carpet in the hallway which we didn't see until we vacuumed. The alfresco which has additional drainage installed, is actually pooling water against the house. We have doors that don't close properly, plaster 'pimples' and terrible plaster/painting touch ups on the roof.

On top of all this, they ripped us off for damages. Final completion date was meant to be the 21st of May. We had PCI on the 28th of May. Handover on the 6th of June and appliances on the 12th of June. We received a variation for $250 of damages in the post. I called the BC with a "WTF??" Who advised me damages were only payable till PCI. I said "not effing good enough, as the contract states till 100% completion as per the building contract, meaning we were actually entitled to 22 days, up until the appliances went in". She came back to me 3 days later and had approved damages up until handover. We were too tired of fighting to go back to her for the other $250 owing.

PD are a joke. I'm sure all builders are terrible. But I feel like PD are a special kind of stupid. Apart from the floorplan that we love, most of this process has been a nightmare, and I sit here wasting my annual leave writing this message on my phone, as internet hasn't been connected to the house yet, waiting for the plumbers to arrive, and SS to drop off the folder and vouchers, as he has promised to do today. (Mind you, no one sets appointments in this company. They just rock up to your house and let themselves in) Let's see if he finally comes through with the goods.

Hi Building In Ballarat, thank you for sharing your experience with Porter Davis, although it is dissapointing to hear of your feelings during your journey with us. I would appreciate the oppurtunity to assist you where possible with any items that you feel outstanding with your home. Please provide me with the details of your build so that I may follow up with the relevant Porter Davis parties. I will follow up with you on a PM. Hoping we can have you enjoying your new home as soon as possible. Regards Joanne, Porter Davis Homes.

Joshcunno · Jul 04, 2014 3:00 pm

Team PD

BuildingInBallarat

We made the same mistake as you wateman. Our bank paid the final payment by bank transfer as they would not issue a cheque. The handover was already 3 weeks past the final completion date. We had the moving van and annual leave booked and took the keys before everything was done. We spent 6 days without hot water, heating or any cooking appliances, and the SS was ignoring our calls. As a make good he was going to give us a couple of hundred dollars worth of Bunnings vouchers.

I'll add that in that 6 days out SS ignored our calls and texts, and when we did catch him, gave us vague promises which he continually broke.

Fast forward a month, we still don't have the vouchers or our white folder we were meant to get at PCI. A ceiling dumper and ensuite basin are leaking. We only just had a powerpoint fixed which was reported At PCI. The painter hasn't come back for touch ups which was going to be done before handover. We have paint on the carpet in the hallway which we didn't see until we vacuumed. The alfresco which has additional drainage installed, is actually pooling water against the house. We have doors that don't close properly, plaster 'pimples' and terrible plaster/painting touch ups on the roof.

On top of all this, they ripped us off for damages. Final completion date was meant to be the 21st of May. We had PCI on the 28th of May. Handover on the 6th of June and appliances on the 12th of June. We received a variation for $250 of damages in the post. I called the BC with a "WTF??" Who advised me damages were only payable till PCI. I said "not effing good enough, as the contract states till 100% completion as per the building contract, meaning we were actually entitled to 22 days, up until the appliances went in". She came back to me 3 days later and had approved damages up until handover. We were too tired of fighting to go back to her for the other $250 owing.

PD are a joke. I'm sure all builders are terrible. But I feel like PD are a special kind of stupid. Apart from the floorplan that we love, most of this process has been a nightmare, and I sit here wasting my annual leave writing this message on my phone, as internet hasn't been connected to the house yet, waiting for the plumbers to arrive, and SS to drop off the folder and vouchers, as he has promised to do today. (Mind you, no one sets appointments in this company. They just rock up to your house and let themselves in) Let's see if he finally comes through with the goods.

Hi Building In Ballarat, thank you for sharing your experience with Porter Davis, although it is dissapointing to hear of your feelings during your journey with us. I would appreciate the oppurtunity to assist you where possible with any items that you feel outstanding with your home. Please provide me with the details of your build so that I may follow up with the relevant Porter Davis parties. I will follow up with you on a PM. Hoping we can have you enjoying your new home as soon as possible. Regards Joanne, Porter Davis Homes.

That is terrible! Thanks for sharing your story, I hope it helps everyone who is currently building with PD to be very careful at that final handover stage! I guess it's hard as commitments and emotions get in the way as everyone has been waiting so long and so excited to get into your new house. But really all you have to negotiate with is that final payment and it seems the second you give them that then everything goes SOUTH very quickly. As much as I want to move in the first chance we get there is noway we will be making payment and taking the keys until everything is 100% correct. However I must say up until this point ( completion in about 5 weeks) PD have been really good to deal with and our SS has been nothing but helpful and has fixed every little thing we have found to be incorrect. It pays to be a little switched on when building we go past every couple of days and check what's going on and if anything is incorrect just a simple friendly txt to the SS sees it fixed within a few days! Fingers crossed everything stays the same for the painting/tiles and final electrical

BuildingInBallarat · Jul 04, 2014 3:46 pm

Well, our SS actually dropped off the folder today, surprisingly enough. He said that if the plumbers didn't call by 4 to let him know. And if the basin and ceiling dumper wasn't fixed by today he would get them to do it on a weekend.

The plumbers just called me trying to book for Tuesday morning, and were very unhappy when I told them the organise it for a Saturday. They are calling the SS angrily by the sounds of it, but not my problem... This should have been fixed a month ago when the issue was reported, as I have a job to do, and can't take days off to sit around at home waiting for trades.

I hope other people have better experiences than us, but unfortunately because the final payment was already paid by handover, there were no cards left on the table for us but to take keys.

RedHotMike · Jul 04, 2014 7:37 pm

Wateman

Man I know I'm the idiot for not listening to the one bit of advise that is posted on here constantly - don't take handover until everything is done - but boy should you NOT take handover unless everything is done!
I thought I would be okay, as I had dealt with my SS before and believed that he would get any issues fixed up, and also my bank made the final payment before I was ready, but boy I was wrong.

Now a month after handover I still have; a dent in my gutter, a pile of bricks in my backyard, the rangehood still not caulked in, extremely poor paint job and cabinet work (laundry has laminate peeling, and bathroom has a chip in the cabinet) and various other cleanup jobs still pending (scraping concrete in alfresco that has all sorts of crap stuck on it).

All a bit frustrating considering I had asked a few times that everything be done before handover as I wouldn’t be able to take time off work to let people in while things get fixed. Of course this isn’t something they worry about, it’s all about meeting quotas for the months.

Also, be aware that the quality and care has definitely gone done quite a bit. This is the second time I’ve built with PD – first was about 2.5 years ago (had to sell after a break up). That house was great quality, and we had numerous people comment on the quality. This time those same people didn’t believe that this was a PD house. Scratches on window frames, poor paint jobs, chips on cabinets, dents on gutters, ugly black rubber used for infill around windows (last time was aluminum cut to cover gaps between windws and bricks). My parents house is 25years old and they don’t have chips in cabinets or dents in gutters.
My friend just finished a house by a cheaper builder around the corner, and the quality is so much better!

Tip – get as many eyes as possible to help check everything before handover, and spend less time talking to the SS and more time checking everything. The chip in my bathroom is on the bath side of the cabinet, so I would never have spotted it unless I had a bath(I haven’t even used that bathroom yet) as it was it was only when I was wiping things down that I caught it.

I've seen many builds from a variety of builders (including PD) and have come to the conclusion that much if it is up to the calibre of the SS. Get a good one and you will be wrapt with your house. Get a dud and yeah - be prepared for disappointment

tlblhayward · Jul 04, 2014 9:03 pm

Check out our fountain...

http://bendigowaldorf.blogspot.com/2014 ... ntain.html

RU22 · Jul 04, 2014 11:54 pm

Hi Guys, i am pleased to annouce we will be building our new home soon. Finally Thanks to bank of melbourne as they came up with correct valuation. All finances are through, just waiting for construction drawings.