Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 20, 2011 9:28 pm Hi All, been lurking for a while and I thought now would be a good time to make a decent post. I have built many times before through project builders, but these have been for sale, so you could say I have plenty of experience. June 2009 we were looking for a new house and found a rather nice one in Trinity Gardens which i was very keen on BUT the agent decided to be a smart alec and tell me "you cant build for less than what this house would cost to buy" so I was determined to prove her wrong. The next day I was on the phone to a few agents I know, told them the area and size block I wanted with the intent of putting up 2 luxury houses. One agent had just what I wanted and so I bought sight unseen - after all, I was going to once again build to sell. Then my partner put a spanner in the works and said "lets build for ourselves" So, July 2009 we contracted an architect with a brief of what we wanted and a timeline leading to us starting to build in August 2010 ( thats when the tenants were to vacate). We finally got our approvals in Oct 2010 but made some last minute tweaks and had the last revision of drawings in Nov 2010. In the meantime my cousins father in law offered his services as the builder, he's had plenty of experience and did a good job on her house. So documentation was given to him in October hoping that we'll have demolition in Nov and a slab in Dec. Didnt quite go according to plan. Disconnection of electricity took ages and he suggested that to save time we just turn the gas off at the tap on the meter. The demolition crew arrived and said they wont start till the gas is disconnected correctly. We had delays over the christmas breaks and a alot of promised dates by the gas retailer, but the ombudsman finally helped us get the gas disconnected early Feb 2011. So now we are ready for the slab but the 'builder' still hasnt organised quotes. Finally we get a slab late March. Our builder then tells us we cant get the timber frame done as no take off list was supplied ( remember he got all documentation in Oct 2010). So we then wait for him to get a take off organised, but he decides I should do it, which I did, 4 weeks lost. So now with timber take off in hand I push him to get quotes and after waiting 3 weeks with no quotes arranged for timber supply, I decided to do it myself. A week later I had 5 quotes and he had none. Anyway, time for the carpenter - nothing arranged, but he was onto it, after 3 weeks and still nothing, I arranged a carpenter and whilst I was at it I organised the structural steel as he still didnt have anything definitive. So finally July 2010 we are ready to start, I went to the site and found it covered with fill from someone elses building site. It turned out to be his concreter friend who he told he can plant in on my site. Anyway, arguments started and he blamed me for delays and said it's hard to work with me and we decided to call it quits. As part of the "contractual agreement" aka handshake he wanted a rather large sum of money up front, so I ask to have a refund of most of it. He went through the roof and said as it was I that stopped the agreement he was to keep the lot. The following day I call consumer affairs and was told that the "builder" never had a licence to build to sell and so obviously unlicenced. Lots of family arguments occurred and legal action was about to commence when his son decided to step in and offered to refund me the money. I dont think any of the refund came from his father at all. We now we have a new builder ( Alberrie building - big thanks to Lino) doing a sensational job and getting things moving very quickly while still allowing me to be very much hands on with regards to having a final say on which tradespeople we use making as many changes as I want and always being up front with communication. I'll post pics and plans later when I have more time. Re: Building in Magill SA 4Sep 21, 2011 10:21 am what a drama for you. I guess you learnt a lot though, and it is fun being involved with the build, I was with mine..chose my own kitchen people, carpet people etc and builder just went along with everything! all the best, and let's hope it will be easy sailing for ya this time, like the last builds you have done. Re: Building in Magill SA 5Sep 21, 2011 10:56 am Cool design.. if you need any quotes on services feel free to contact me.. Kodiak Data Cabling onFaceBook Consult*, Design and Installation Data, TV, Home Theatre/ AV Cabling, Multi Room Audio, IP CCTV and Door Intercoms Ask for a Quote. *DIY DATA Cabling Is Ilegal Re: Building in Magill SA 6Sep 21, 2011 12:56 pm All previous builds have been done with Eastern Building and were effortless, however they were with the intent of selling and were done with budgets in mind. For this project as it will be my residence for 2-3 years I'm having alot more input and attention to detail. I am quite time poor hence the reason for using a builder. If I had time up my sleeve I'll be doing it on my own. Some progress photos thus far: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building in Magill SA 7Sep 21, 2011 1:03 pm kiwi what a drama for you. I guess you learnt a lot though, and it is fun being involved with the build, I was with mine..chose my own kitchen people, carpet people etc and builder just went along with everything! all the best, and let's hope it will be easy sailing for ya this time, like the last builds you have done. I've chosen all my own trades except for the walling people and renderers. My saving on using people I know and have used so before versus the builders tradespeople savings on roof $5k savings on tiles/marble $6k approx savings on carpentry $4k savings on structural steel $6k brick work 10c a brick cheaper than others savings on joinery $12k and more savings to come Re: Building in Magill SA 8Nov 07, 2011 6:07 pm Just an update on our build thus far. All going smoothly, few hiccups with window install going painfully slow and first fix not quite finished yet but we're getting there. Scaffold was removed today so i took a couple of pics Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Roofing should be finished this week and all cabling will be complete next week. Gyprock will be done in 2-3 weeks Re: Building in Magill SA 10Nov 09, 2011 6:23 pm Roofing all done but data cabling may be delayed for a day or two. Seems someone wanted to help themselves to a box of 305m of cat6 cable and some angle lines. These are kept in a locked shipping container which is unlocked every morning when the tradespeople arrive and locked at the end of each day. Re: Building in Magill SA 11Nov 09, 2011 10:13 pm outside looks great.....cant wait to see inside when its done Re: Building in Magill SA 12Nov 10, 2011 8:51 am thanks for the nice comments, the inside is just timber and wires at this stage so no point taking pictures. I probably should post some pics of our selections and colour schemes - I'll try to get to that on the weekend Re: Building in Magill SA 13Nov 14, 2011 7:37 pm aircon ducting going in - these guys are earning their money on this job as with such a tight ( almost non-existant) ceiling space there's not much room to place the ducts. Cabling should be finished Saturday, in-wall toilets being installed Thursday, alarm and cctv wiring hopefully this week and cabling for solar done today. Does anyone know what type of cables I need to lay for automation of the aircon and motorized blinds? Next Monday gyprocking begins Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building in Magill SA 14Nov 29, 2011 1:24 am amgsl55 ............Does anyone know what type of cables I need to lay for automation of the aircon and motorized blinds Two questions 1) Did you get an answer on cables for "automating" your A/C 2) If you are doing that, what sort of A/C you going for ? Cheers, P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: Building in Magill SA 15Nov 29, 2011 7:03 am Pepsi_Drinker amgsl55 ............Does anyone know what type of cables I need to lay for automation of the aircon and motorized blinds Two questions 1) Did you get an answer on cables for "automating" your A/C 2) If you are doing that, what sort of A/C you going for ? Cheers, P_D I didnt get any answers regarding automation, even the aircon installers couldnt answer my questions with regards to what is needed, they did however direct me to a third party to discuss it at the last minute - about 3 days before gyprocking, it became too hard in such a short space of time to arrange so i canned the idea. We are having 2 aircons installed, an actron and a mitsubishi. Apparently from the little I worked out the actron can only be switched on or off with automation ( ie not zoning or temp controlling) whereas the mitsubishi is better for automation Re: Building in Magill SA 16Jan 12, 2012 11:27 pm Some updated pics: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ powder room Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ laundry Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ one of the upstairs bedrooms Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ upstairs bathroom Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ upstairs looking out Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ upstairs looking in Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building in Magill SA 17Jan 12, 2012 11:35 pm study Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ master bedroom ( downstairs) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ our heater Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ view looking upstairs Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ looking upstairs - different angle Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ pantry Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ living/dining/kitchen area Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ screeding starts tomorrow. next week we should see stairs being done and tiling to be completed next week. stairs should be going in, painting starts tomorrow and hopefully some of our timber floor should be put in Re: Building in Magill SA 18Jan 12, 2012 11:54 pm I grew up in Magill sorry to hear about all your frustrations... Glad it's all happening for you now! 5.5m Terrace House - Lightsview (Northgate SA) Moved in!! - 22 February 2013 /viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53455 Re: Building in Magill SA 20Jan 13, 2012 8:54 am Oooohhh I love it It's so light and airy inside and looks so big - very jealous of your fireplace - that will be a lovely focal point ..... For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! I’m curious about how you went with this. We are planning a KDRB and considering Plantation Homes as a builder. I’m aware that after the demolition another soil test… 1 6326 i wouldn't be worried, you'll definitely miss something, no matter how many times you review. we've spent close to 5 months ensuring everything got reflected in the… 5 9453 Thanks for your reply. I will just wait and see I guess. Trying to get some more information from our builder. 9 11735 |