Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Coral Homes 21May 07, 2013 7:49 pm Moved in about 2 month ago to a Noosa 25 near Morisset. We are delighted with our new home. Only problem during building was a bench top not what we ordered - it was quickly replaced. Following moving in we had 3 leaking hand basins - took nearly 6 weeks to get them fixed which was very frustrating. Obviously an installation problem (to get 3!!) but they were finally resolved. We were VERY frustrated trying to get it fixed. However it didn't spoil the fact we love our new home and were very impressed with Coral during the process. I agree you MUST allow extra money for the variety of 'extras' including retaining walls, fence, turf (if needed) plus stuff like curtains, light fittings etc. By the way we started in September 2012 and moved in early March 2013. We are very 'happy campers' - just that niggling problem with the hand basins - waiting 6 weeks for 2 hours work! Re: Building with Coral Homes 24May 16, 2013 8:29 am Hi Tanga, I can't remember exact dates but we started serious looking in Jan 2012 and initial sign up late Jan/early Feb and we got the tender about the end of April. It did seem a bit slow but was very comprehensive when we got it. It did seem to be worth the wait. Our site costs about $25,000. There was cut about 1.5 mtre at the highest point and fill about 1 mtre at the lowest point. Had a friend through work who helped with retaining walls - approx $10,000. I found the Coral insistance on retaining walls a bit frustrating but I can now see the advantages of them. For various reasons we started the actual build in September (2012) and moved in in March 2013. Hope that helps. Re: Building with Coral Homes 25Jul 10, 2013 12:13 pm Did anyone who has finished building with Coral find they had issues towards the end? Our house flew along up to painting. Once the painting was finished the house has pretty much completely stopped. We are lucky to see 2 changes a week and this has been going on for 5 weeks. I noticed thattime seemed to slow down at the end as well. I am wondering if this is a common problem with Coral or have we just been unlucky? We were expecting to be in weeks ago and now I am doubtful we will even be in by August. Re: Building with Coral Homes 26Jul 10, 2013 6:16 pm jasons girl Did anyone who has finished building with Coral find they had issues towards the end? Our house flew along up to painting. Once the painting was finished the house has pretty much completely stopped. We are lucky to see 2 changes a week and this has been going on for 5 weeks. I noticed thattime seemed to slow down at the end as well. I am wondering if this is a common problem with Coral or have we just been unlucky? We were expecting to be in weeks ago and now I am doubtful we will even be in by August. Hi Jason's girl, just wondering where you are counting 15 weeks from for your finish date? I was under the impression that Coral takes 15-16 weeks from slab pour to finish! We have been watching your build with vested interest through your blog & it's really disappointing that you are getting poor service & thus growing frustration with your builders. I would have contacted head office as soon as you were unhappy with the response of your SS & construction manager & told them to get the dates sorted & sort the rest of the s*%t out at the same time or else threaten to take it further but only once you had confirmation of the guaranteed build times, etc. I hope we don't have the same construction manager but he told us that his area went down as far as Byron Bay & as our SS has been on holidays since our house started we have been lucky enough to have the construction manager being SS for our build thus far & are really happy with the results (as you were when you were at the same construction stage as us). Chin up lovey . The end is in sight for you (albeit just out of reach but nearly there). Re: Building with Coral Homes 27Dec 12, 2013 8:22 am Hi everyone, We have been in our Coral Noosa 25 for 9 months and have been very happy. Coral followed up 6 months after we moved in and came to do a few minor repairs - mainly painting with no delay or problems. The thing we have found is that there have been quite a few extras - fencing, more retaining walls, landscaping, turf, gutter guard etc. Could wait years to do it but we really wanted it done sooner. We have been very happy with our Coral expreince despite some trepidation (which we would ahve had with any builder, I guess). Re: Building with Coral Homes 28Jan 20, 2014 9:51 am Hi everyone Does anyone know the cost to upgrade to a steel frame through coral? Also, did anyone have troubles with coral saying their site was a different soil clas to their developers? I have heard of this happening a few times and people had to fork out extra $. Little bit nervous about that aspect of things Thanks Re: Building with Coral Homes 29Jan 20, 2014 3:29 pm Not sure about steel frames. I think they were offering free upgrades at one stage. Steel is better for termites etc but could be an issue near water (rust). Soil class would be worth getting some independent advice but am aware it can be an issue. By the way, discovered our termite Kordon barrier needs an annual inspect to be carried out for the warranty to be maintained (yes, it is in the small print). That is an extra $245 each year although they do offer a reasonable price for addict pest treatment (total $350). For us, another 'surprise'. Re: Building with Coral Homes 30Jan 20, 2014 10:59 pm jono13 Not sure about steel frames. I think they were offering free upgrades at one stage. Steel is better for termites etc but could be an issue near water (rust). Soil class would be worth getting some independent advice but am aware it can be an issue. By the way, discovered our termite Kordon barrier needs an annual inspect to be carried out for the warranty to be maintained (yes, it is in the small print). That is an extra $245 each year although they do offer a reasonable price for addict pest treatment (total $350). For us, another 'surprise'. Oh wow that's interesting. We are in Macquarie Hills so not sure the water would be an issue? Jono13 do you have a blog or pictures from your noosa25?(I think it was you who built it, forgive me if I'm wrong) We are really keen on the noosa25 but nervous having not seen a display or any pictures What would you change if anything to the design? Thanks a lot Re: Building with Coral Homes 31Jan 21, 2014 9:35 am Hi, yes we built the Noosa 25 and are very happy with it. There is/was a display Noosa 25 at Chisholm (near Thornton/Maitland at Homeworld Newcastle) so we had a chance to have a look. I have tried posting photos at one stage but wasn't able to do it. I will try again. Re: Building with Coral Homes 32Jan 21, 2014 10:11 am jono13 Hi, yes we built the Noosa 25 and are very happy with it. There is/was a display Noosa 25 at Chisholm (near Thornton/Maitland at Homeworld Newcastle) so we had a chance to have a look. I have tried posting photos at one stage but wasn't able to do it. I will try again. Oh okay, I knew there was a noosa 29 which is similar I should go and see that one Photos would be awesome I could on you my email if that would be easier ? Thanks Re: Building with Coral Homes 33Jan 21, 2014 5:35 pm There is a display of a Noosa23 (modified, similar to 25 just smaller in size) in North Lakes QLD, if your up for a road trip I have a whole bunch of pictures i took at the display if you otherwise want them, PM me. Noosa25 mk2 was what i was after as well but budget and then land size made it too hard - so i'm going with the 23 instead. My Noosa 23 Build - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72782 Re: Building with Coral Homes 34Jan 21, 2014 7:04 pm whzzz28 There is a display of a Noosa23 (modified, similar to 25 just smaller in size) in North Lakes QLD, if your up for a road trip I have a whole bunch of pictures i took at the display if you otherwise want them, PM me. Noosa25 mk2 was what i was after as well but budget and then land size made it too hard - so i'm going with the 23 instead. We don't have the 23 available for build in NSW I'd love some pictures though! I'll PM you Re: Building with Coral Homes 35Jan 23, 2014 8:55 pm HerMacquarieBuild Hi everyone Does anyone know the cost to upgrade to a steel frame through coral? Hi! We built a Noosa with Coral and changed from timber to steel frames when we found out they were available. The price for the frame change was $2,257 , this was for a modified Noosa 29 design that came in at 295m2. This cost is from August 2012. I'd expect that price to be better for any smaller Noosa floor plans - knowing Coral I'd say they calculated it per m2. Unfortunately for us because we made this change so late in the tender and design process Coral pinged us the the $750 admin charge to cover their time redoing the designs and logistics. Was it worth it? You bet. HerMacquarieBuild Also, did anyone have troubles with coral saying their site was a different soil clas to their developers? I have heard of this happening a few times and people had to fork out extra $. Little bit nervous about that aspect of things Thanks We knocked down and rebuilt, our site classification was always a P (H1/clay) and we always knew it was going to cost us. This type of classification adds on thousands in site costs. The big ticket item is the slab, and there's another few thousand in upgraded drainage and plumbing components to deal with the volatile soil conditions. The price is rough but Coral takes this stuff a bit more seriously than other builders we dealt with. I like that approach. My Build Thread: Coral Homes Noosa 279 Re: Building with Coral Homes 36Jan 23, 2014 9:31 pm That's good to know I actually contacted coral and they are doing free upgrades to steel frames at the moment which is great! We think our land has sandstone in it. This will cost us a fortune won't it? (Please give me good news) Re: Building with Coral Homes 37Jan 23, 2014 9:34 pm jono13 Not sure about steel frames. I think they were offering free upgrades at one stage. Steel is better for termites etc but could be an issue near water (rust). You're right, when they first offered steel it was an option in their Eclipse package. You could simply choose treated timber or steel. For me the main benefit of steel is structural soundness - it stays exactly where it's put. We had our 6 month maintenance inspection on our home recently and the guy doing it was surprised that we didn't have any cornice mouldings needing to be reset or gaps filled etc. That's a classic thing with timber frames, especially early in it's life when they're drying out and hardening immediately after the house is built. The termite angle is another big plus. The steel naysayers will tell you that termites can still attack items like the front door frame, eaves and such where timber is still used. All valid points but I'm more concerned about places like walls and roof trusses. jono13 By the way, discovered our termite Kordon barrier needs an annual inspect to be carried out for the warranty to be maintained (yes, it is in the small print). That is an extra $245 each year although they do offer a reasonable price for addict pest treatment (total $350). For us, another 'surprise'. We got that letter too, thanks for reminding me to follow up on it and see if it's relevant to our place, or just a standard thing they send everyone. I can say the odds aren't good for us paying for a termite inspection for a steel framed house ... but I am planning on a simpler pest treatment for the usual cockroaches and spiders that want to move into the house with us. I feel for the people that get the plastic pesticide piping around their house as the termite barrier. I'm sure it works but the idea of having that in the ground around my house doesn't sit well with me, and the price of recharging it adds up too. $600 ish per annum? Talking termites, I think one of the underrated benefits of Coral builds is the 70mm addition they make to their concrete slabs as a termite inspection strip. Doing that meets the Australian Standard for a termite barrier (but more a termite detection method) and negates the need for the ring of pesticides around the house. Coral were the only builder we found that did that and we had a few comments from tradies and our property inspector that they haven't seen it done before either. It's a simple solution, cheaper and safer - more builders should do it. My Build Thread: Coral Homes Noosa 279 Re: Building with Coral Homes 38Jan 23, 2014 9:42 pm HerMacquarieBuild That's good to know I actually contacted coral and they are doing free upgrades to steel frames at the moment which is great! We think our land has sandstone in it. This will cost us a fortune won't it? (Please give me good news) Great news on the frame. I have heard they are selling a few of them so the deal must be good. Good news on the stone? Well, I think sandstone sells well if you quarry it and shape it up nicely. Cheap sandstone pavers for your landscaping later? I'm no expert on site costs but I wouldn't automatically say the stone is a bad thing. It might come down to how far down it is? Will they hit it while benching your site to build the house pad? I guess it'll be costly if you need a peered slab - they'll have to drill through it if it's shallow. My Build Thread: Coral Homes Noosa 279 Re: Building with Coral Homes 39Jan 24, 2014 10:48 am What would we change? - sorry missed this question. We put in heaps more power points and still think we could have put more in. Behind the TV is a jumble of power boards. The other things we might change - in the dining area we would probably change the full length window to the same as the front lounge (brick at the bottom) - this may be just a personal taste thing and relates to our land. I would also put a light at the end of the hall near the toilet as there is a dark spot there. We chose wooden floor in living areas with tiles in kitchen and carpet in bedrooms - arranged through coral Re: Building with Coral Homes 40Jan 24, 2014 11:20 am jono13 What would we change? - sorry missed this question. We put in heaps more power points and still think we could have put more in. Behind the TV is a jumble of power boards. The other things we might change - in the dining area we would probably change the full length window to the same as the front lounge (brick at the bottom) - this may be just a personal taste thing and relates to our land. I would also put a light at the end of the hall near the toilet as there is a dark spot there. We chose wooden floor in living areas with tiles in kitchen and carpet in bedrooms - arranged through coral This helps us a lot! Good to know about lighting, we think we'll go Downlights throughout so we'll be sure to put one in to avoid the dark spot I didn't know the dining had a full length I'll keep that in mind Thanks a lot Ask the council if there is a chance of getting build over easement exemption. Sometimes easements are unused and 24cm is not all that much. Good luck. And yes any builder… 2 13723 In Qld it is a requirement that a builder must have a cost breakdown, for building a home to the same specification, with the same inclusions and the same finish. So ask… 1 1691 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74219 |