Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Boutique Homes 1501Sep 20, 2015 7:20 am So, my electrician was in the roof running a foxtel cable on Friday, and says "oh, while I've pulled the roof off, do you want me to connect your TV antenna?". (flat roof - the only way to get into the roof cavity is by pulling the metal sheeting off) Imagine my surprise to find out the antenna I paid Boutique for, wasn't even connected to the point in the wall! Add that to the missing telephone line cable to outside the house, and this has turned into an unnecessarily expensive exercise.... again. Also, the missing kitchen panels weren't installed last Friday, apparently the delivery truck didn't get to our house. It was also supposed to be done a week prior to us moving in... nope. Instead, now, I'm told it's next week. Joy... And we've just signed the last variation. (The $2,500 refund for being 10 weeks past the 260 build days.) Re: Boutique Homes 1502Sep 24, 2015 8:12 pm Thanks thefarmers for the electrical heads up. I've just asked our SS to get the electricians to check the connection! Re: Boutique Homes 1503Sep 26, 2015 5:04 pm Argh! Just when I thought this whole miserable mess was behind me. The kitchen people finally got someone in this morning to fix the integrated fridge (new doors) and put the panels for the integrated dishwasher. From the installer after fitting the new fridge panels: "are the doors supposed to stick out like this?" Me: "no" Installer: "Oh, I can't push the fridge back any more because of the powerpoint" Me: "OK" Installer: "I don't know what to do" Me: "..." Installer: "Are there any more plastics fixtures for the fridge panels?" Me: "Only what your company delivered in that sealed box you have in your hands" Installer: "Have you seen another piece that looks like this?" Me: "No" Installer: "It's missing a piece then" Me: "..." So, the fridge is basically no closer to being finished, and the installer had no clue about what was going on or how to get the job done. After a while he said "oh, you'll have to get Metricon to move the powerpoint so I can push the fridge in further". ... Yes, he really said Metricon. Back that up with the kickboard under the dishwasher not fitting flush, and it' just another Boutique balls-up from start to finish. *sigh* *sigh* *sigh* Re: Boutique Homes 1504Sep 29, 2015 6:39 pm omg i feel your pain the farmers but I think this would be more due to the contractors? i dont know whether the claim i am about to make is correct but it seems to me that most volume builders out there employ the same contractors. with people leaving jobs and joining, who knows, you could have had the bad luck of dealing with rookies who doesn't know how to do their job properly. i would have had the same reaction if the guy had ask me whether there was a missing piece or it looks right. it proves the person doesn't have a clue at all! i hope boutique homes has a way of making it up to you though... what a horrible experience. Re: Boutique Homes 1506Sep 30, 2015 2:37 pm frenchwontons omg i feel your pain the farmers but I think this would be more due to the contractors? i dont know whether the claim i am about to make is correct but it seems to me that most volume builders out there employ the same contractors. with people leaving jobs and joining, who knows, you could have had the bad luck of dealing with rookies who doesn't know how to do their job properly. i would have had the same reaction if the guy had ask me whether there was a missing piece or it looks right. it proves the person doesn't have a clue at all! i hope boutique homes has a way of making it up to you though... what a horrible experience. Thanks. What I find frustrating is that no-one seems to be managing things. Why was the power point point in the wrong place in the first-place? Why didn't someone realize 2 months ago (when the fridge and doors were in, and ill-fitting) that there was a problem and tell someone? Why can't the electrician do the powerpoint move in the morning, and then the cabinet maker come in later the same day? The electricians who called to book the powerpoint tried to trick me into accepting a "cover plate" over the old power point, rather than patching the hole in the wall. (why does everyone keep insisting on taking shortcuts?!?!?) So, I've got an electrician on Thursday, patching and painting might be next week (maybe) and the kitchen cabinetry probably two weeks after that. I also called my SS on Saturday and said "we have a leak in our toilet, water is on the floor". While I was told a plumber would be booked ASAP, so far, nothing has happened. And the 2.5K of liquidated damages that we signed off on 2 1/2 weeks ago still hasn't been paid to us. For a few brief moments I thought I'd be rid of this awful company once we got the keys.... Sadly we are still stuck with their lack of communication and organisation for some time yet. Re: Boutique Homes 1507Sep 30, 2015 10:31 pm Sorry to hear your pains thefarmers. at least you are in your house and it is only a minor fix, even though it will take, frustratingly, over two weeks to fix. I hope they do get it right! We have our new home inspection booked for next week and are getting really excited. They still have a bit to do to finish the house, but hopefully they can get everything sorted soon! Bloody public holiday this Friday.... How have people found picking up keys, did you just bring a cheque from the bank, or did the bank send the money and you had to wait until it clears? Just trying to organise moving timing etc... Also, did most people sign off with a few minor fixes to go, or did you have them fix everything before you signed off? Re: Boutique Homes 1508Sep 30, 2015 10:59 pm That sucks Thefarmers - I do hope it is sorted soon so you can enjoy your new home stress free. I'd love to see your wardrobe fit out - any photos???? Szep - how exciting, and I'm sorry I can't help with the answer to your key questions but I'm keen to see the response, although we are ages off. We came back from overseas with a roof - yeah!!! So exciting - but still not running to the shops. Blog: www.dapplegrey.com.au Re: Boutique Homes 1510Oct 07, 2015 10:09 am Gosh. I haven't visited this thread in a couple of months... some of the stories you guys are telling are deplorable... We've had a few little issues since going into construction, too. Mostly to do with the trades. Our initial concrete pour was delayed by 5 weeks by the stupid concreters, but now it seems to be moving along OK again. There are FIVE boutique houses going up in our estate - The Range in Croydon. Are any of you guys one of the other 4? Our big issue at the moment is a steel beam they seem to have put into the wrong place while doing the framing. We had a private inspector from New Home Inspections come through and highlight this was a serious structural issue, and requested an official sign off by an engineer for approval. So far, 5 weeks, no approval. A number of phone calls have indicated they've had 'verbal signoff' by the engineer, but I said no way, I need written approval in a formal letter with calculations from the engineer. I've held off payment for the frame stage because of this, but STILL no letter. It's pretty ridiculous. I think the point of any build, with any builder, is that there are going to be loads of mistakes. But as long as you put stuff in writing, and make people accountable for their actions, they have to fix them. I'm sure that once we hit lockup, there's going to be a whole heap of extra drama, but we'll just have to push through that stuff as well. Airlie 33 here as well, btw. Looks to be a nice popular layout! We went with the study option downstairs, but not too many other structural changes other than to change some doors to sliders and what not. Re: Boutique Homes 1511Oct 08, 2015 9:22 am Hi digitalnash, sorry to hear about your misfortunes with the builders. seems to be always them, isn't it? recently signed HIA with Boutique and drafting team now says sound batts 3.0 too big for depth of theatre walls, therefore reduced it to 2.5 instead with no credit because i was charged the wrong amount in the first place. my question is, why can't the walls be re-positioned so that there's enough depth for the 3.0 sound batts when this is done for shower niches. luckily, it's not a really big deal so i'm happy to let this one go although i've enquired about, but that was a bit disappointing. @digitalnash something i've seen home owners do is hold off payment during stages of build. didn't know that this can actually be done because as far as i know, there is a clause in the contract that says this cannot be done or will be liable to pay for damages, like $250 a week? any ideas on this guys, for those of you who are building with boutique. great that you seem to have a good inspector looking after your build issues though digitalnash! Re: Boutique Homes 1512Oct 08, 2015 10:15 am frenchwontons @digitalnash something i've seen home owners do is hold off payment during stages of build. didn't know that this can actually be done because as far as i know, there is a clause in the contract that says this cannot be done or will be liable to pay for damages, like $250 a week? any ideas on this guys, for those of you who are building with boutique. great that you seem to have a good inspector looking after your build issues though digitalnash! (obviously, I am only an internet armchair warrior so this is not legal advice) I think you will find this comes under reasonableness. They need to actually complete a stage in order to be able to invoice for it, and (in this case) major structural defects outstanding would be cause for this otherwise, there is nothing to stop the builder claiming that they have completed everything one week after beginning and requesting payment within 7 days for all stages. In this instance, it appears that the plans for the frame were not followed and while they claimed that a variation to this was done, it is completely fair to request it be signed off by an engineer and get things formalised before claiming the stage is completed. On a positive note - I've been in my house now for the past two weeks, and while there are still some outstanding defects, on the whole I'm pretty happy with the result. Re: Boutique Homes 1513Oct 08, 2015 3:43 pm Yeah we have the inspection report from New Home Inspections to back us up. The steel beam does not meet Victorian Building Code, so we have every right to not pay for the frame stage until they have the defect fixed, or signed off officially by an Engineer. Pretty lucky in that regard. I couldn't recommend highly enough getting a private inspector for every stage of your build. There are things they will know about that you'd never notice, and could cause serious issues later on. For instance, just before the concrete was poured for our slab, the inspector noticed that they'd punched holes with star pickets straight through the plastic vapour layer that sits underneath the slab. This wouldn't have been fixed if nobody had inspected right before they'd poured the concrete. If we'd left this, then 10 years down the track, moisture may have been seeping into the slab below the surface, unbeknownst to anyone, and we might be looking at a cracked slab or something serious like that. Of course, this is unlikely, but unchecked, these guys would have just poured and reported that everything was fine. It's pretty bad. They have no responsibility for their work. I feel sorry for anyone who goes through the process a little starry-eyed, and has serious problems down the track. It would be very easy to just believe everything they say. Re: Boutique Homes 1514Oct 08, 2015 8:22 pm QuarumNibblet frenchwontons @digitalnash something i've seen home owners do is hold off payment during stages of build. didn't know that this can actually be done because as far as i know, there is a clause in the contract that says this cannot be done or will be liable to pay for damages, like $250 a week? any ideas on this guys, for those of you who are building with boutique. great that you seem to have a good inspector looking after your build issues though digitalnash! (obviously, I am only an internet armchair warrior so this is not legal advice) I think you will find this comes under reasonableness. They need to actually complete a stage in order to be able to invoice for it, and (in this case) major structural defects outstanding would be cause for this otherwise, there is nothing to stop the builder claiming that they have completed everything one week after beginning and requesting payment within 7 days for all stages. In this instance, it appears that the plans for the frame were not followed and while they claimed that a variation to this was done, it is completely fair to request it be signed off by an engineer and get things formalised before claiming the stage is completed. On a positive note - I've been in my house now for the past two weeks, and while there are still some outstanding defects, on the whole I'm pretty happy with the result. Another armchair warrior here with over 15yrs exp so, this isn't legal advice either BUT: In relation to the structural beam being incorrect and the builder requesting payment, here is our take. a) When reviewing contracts and plans, we make our clients aware that the builder must not make a claim for frame payment until the frame has been certified by the registered surveyor who has issued the building permit. b) If the plans and engineering has not been followed and the surveyor has in fact certified the frame, there is a bigger issue here. If this is the case, I would be questioning both the builder as to why the claim has been made and the surveyor as to why the frame has been certified. It sounds like critical issues aren't being addressed and claiming payment being made the priority. regards, John CR Partners Re: Boutique Homes 1515Oct 12, 2015 11:56 am Hi everyone, Thanks for your replies. I went over the contract again and I agree with most of you here in that the 'building works' aren't complete, which would give the owner the right to hold off payment; and of course, this is not legal advice, but just my understanding of the terms and conditions of the contract. Glad that you're happy with your Build so far QuarumNibblet! Re: Boutique Homes 1516Oct 14, 2015 6:28 am Exactly right. Ultimately, the only thing that talks is money. You withhold it for *legitimate* reasons, and watch them all of a sudden start to care about getting things right. Trust me, when invoices don't get paid, it's gets escalated internally and things start to happen. As I've said here a few times, pay for a completed stage only when it's actually *complete* - and not one second before. New Home Inspections are fantastic - we used them for 4 stages, I think. We've now been a month since we moved in - and we still have a leaking toilet and an integrated fridge that's not finished. And something you only realise after you move in - conduct *ALL* of your paint inspections / final walkthrough inspections in the afternoon. I don't know what it is, but the number of paint mistakes you can't see in our house in the morning is insane. In the afternoon, it's like they magically spring to life. Maybe it has to do with the colour of the ilght as the sun sets, but you can't hide anything in that light. Re: Boutique Homes 1517Oct 15, 2015 12:29 pm Hi TheFarmers, I think you actually nailed it on that point. When push comes to shove, and don't get what you're supposed to get, I guess that's our only option. So far, up until signing the HIA contract, I am pretty satisfied in terms of things I did not forget to specify before PWC and HIA. I thought I had everything covered, but looking back now, one thing I am unsure of is the matt tiles I have chosen in living/dining/kitchen instead of glossy tiles, their layout (straight-joint vs staggered), and my electrical which I cut down to $3k. I hope there's going to be sufficient lighting as I think I could have added 4-5 additional downlights here and there that could have made a big difference. I currently have my tiles layout as staggered and been wondering whether I should have made them straight-joint, which apparently gives a more modern look. It's funny how all of a sudden, these things just pops into your head and then, doh! I am also planning to get all the stages inspected too - better be sure than sorry; and I think the good thing with Boutique is the 1 year cool-off period after hand over to fix things instead of the average 3-6 months. The only thing I guess would be their response time in following up and how they deal with issues raised. Hope you get your issues sorted soon TheFarmers. Re: Boutique Homes 1518Oct 15, 2015 1:10 pm Our SS arranged for us to go out & meet the tiler & go over our tile choices & laying patterns. I don't think it would've been too hard to change a laying pattern although the tilers had already started when we turned up. We didn't change anything and the tiler was on his game but it was nice to do, I imagine redoing tiling would a PITA if something wasn't right. We just did an inspection for fixing, although we aren't paying the invoice yet because there is one sink missing that should be part of the fixing stage as per the contract. I think we're only a month or so away from handover. It's annoying that they can't give us a specific date right now - after all we have to give a month's notice on our rental, and we need to organise a driveway to be poured, and movers! etc. BUT we're clearly going to be well within the contract timeframe of 20th Feb. THREE MONTHS within. And a dream come true that we will be in before Christmas. I'm so happy with the way it all looks so far, the kitchen is totes amazeballs, I'm glad we spent the money on upgrading kitchen cabinetry, on the wood look tiles in the bathrooms, and on the massive stairwell window. Re: Boutique Homes 1519Oct 16, 2015 6:10 pm Hi peeps, I wonder if someone can answer me. We at the end of our preconstruction. So all they need is a copy of the land title. We settled the land on the 27th Aug. Should I have my 'land title' by now. i assuming its a certificate? 10 15745 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74708 |