Clarend0n 2 story Build - opinions?

Hi Guys,

Finally decided on a builder and plan, yet to put in a deposit though but just wanted some opinions and ideas on how our build is.
Our block is just over 500 meters sq. Front of house is west facing.
Below is my own modified plan from the original: IV27 (27sq)


Facade - Comtempary


upgraded items:
- 1m extension to garage $3.6k
- extra alfresco area by ~3x3m with 2 brick columns $6.3k
- wider and thicker (40mm) kitchen stonetop $2.5k
- extra pantry window $250
- High ceilings in 1st level 2750mm (included - probably in base price)
- ducted aircon (probable included in base price) - Daikin Hybrid Inverter 20.0KW-22.4KW (included - probably in base price)
- cantilevered staircase with storage room $4k
- timber lining to the alfresco ceiling $2.2k
- removal of open corner between kitchen and alfresco $7.2k
- colourbond with 50mm anticon $4k (standard insulation is R3.5 to ceiling and R1.5 to all others)
- tiles/carpets to all areas not otherwise included $9k

Provisional costs
- electrical provision $3k
- driveway 55m2 $5.8k
- site costs to H1 $5k
- watertank 5000L colourbond $5k

Other provisions (this is just my estimates)
turf.. $2000
fencing.. $1500


I'm not too clear about how good the upgrades are in terms of the price but would like to get it all financed..
Any opinions/suggestions/recommendations is appreciated!

I think you also need to think about provisions for screen doors, blinds, fly screens, light fittings.

Does Clarendon include the render and cladding costs for that facade... The builders I looked at, that was additional.

House design looks good, I like doors on WIR and to ensuite. Just because if I don't have to get up early, I don't want to be waken by the ensuite or robe lights going on.
Good luck with your build!

If I had my choice again I would not go with Clarend0n, their build quality for me has been a nightmare.

As for your estimates this is what you should be aware of:

electricals:
$53 per extra light point
$132 per cat6 cable.
$58 per single power point additional
$68 per double power point additional

every 7 double power points will need an extra power circuit cost $250
$70 per tv point
$50 per 2 way switch

etc...

remember tiles as well unless you go all standard which is what I would recommend.

Kitchen again go standard they are a major rip off, they wanted like $5k to upgrade to gloss poly. extra if you want glass doors installed so go standard.

does not include carpet or floor tiles so remember that.

and Most of all get your own private inspector trust me on this, although I wouldn't have gone Clarend0n if i was doing it again.

Hey

thanks.for your input, we are mostly going for the standard ones.
what issues did you have with the build ? which location did you build ?
we have also considered plantations madison but like clard0ns design...

cheers

This has been your experience to date (since i suspect it to be similar to mine), the initial planing phase has been quite simple, outlining what design your want and what changes you would like to change. My experience has been after this phase:

1.) check and recheck and recheck and recheck plans as every plan that was sent to me had errors, every revision that was sent was wrong and needed to be fixed and pointed out. Where the hell was the quality control and I was paying these guys to provide me a plan that I could rely on.

2.) When plans went to council there was a problem that council didn't accept and clarend0n simply said well can't be done because council said so. Instead of trying to work through the problem with council they threw up their hands and said can't be done from which point I had to handle everything, and what do you know, council accepted my requests after I dealt with every concern of theirs on 3 different occasions and alone mind you without Clarend0n (what is the point of having a builder if they aren't willing to do do what they are paid to). This was the cliff notes btw.

3.) when it came to construction they have been rude, not at all willing to address my concerns without me fighting with them and being heavy handed, they simply think a patch up job is good enough rather than doing the job properly to begin with from the start. They just want to finish the stage and do a patch fix after all is done rather than fix the problem before continuing. If there is a problem they will simply place a bit of putty here and a patch here so to speak and in everything is fine. They simply want to get tradies in and out and patch issues after all is said and done (if brought to their attention or forced to ). Even in some cases they refused to fix issues that they caused and only relented when I didn't pay. This has been a great experience for me and it has opened my eyes to how people are in the world. I tell you what my character has changed considerably after going through all this.

It's quite easy to cover up issues once everything is erected, plaster boards, bricks, floors you wouldn't even notice things such as frame overhanging, blown out slab edges and the like so keep a keen eye on your builder whoever it is. To me it seems they're only interested in doing it the quickest possible to get to the next job and not actually build a high quality home in my eyes.

seriously I paid Clarend0n to be my builder but I was actually doing their work (checking plans every time finding major errors and changes in plans that were not requested there was no quality control with the plans drawn, it seemed that they were not even checked when released). I had to point out major issues with the construction, when dealing with electrical I was told that essentially I had to actually double check their height measurements of lighting and the like because they were worried that they may measure wrong and didn't want to be blamed... seriously???

If I was doing it again I would do it the owner builder path.

That is a handful of issues to go through..

Well i'm certainly not experienced enough to do it as a owner-builder (as this is our first build), but it is certainly a steep learning curve.

Other than (i guess) doing extra work for the builder and going through some of the recheckings, was the final result ok in your opinion?

the stupidity of it all is that the site super didn't want to be notified of the issues but only wanted it to be left with him to find and then only possibly fix in his opinion at the end of the stage not when the issue is best suited to be fixed and only doing a patch fix. It wasn't something I was going to accept maybe a lesser person but not me.

Lesson of the story for me Stay away from Clarend0n.

Krillic... Where did you build as I think poohbear is thinking of building with Clarendon in queensland.

Krillic I hate to say it but it sounds to me like you are unaware that you actually had a good building experience. If you read the posts on here properly you will find with other builders you may end up with a total dud of a house and will spend a lot more of your time and money dragging the builder through tribunal/court hearings or worse, the builder may end up in Liquidation as many have in the last 2 years leaving people with uncertainty and lots of time lost.

A few patches here and there and having to ask them to fix things is annoying but not the end of the world. Having pipes flood your whole home 2 weeks after you move in or many other similar disasters I have heard about from other builders is the real nightmare. There is no such thing as a perfectly built home. Things always need to be fixed here and there.

I am building with Clarendon also and there has been a lot of homes in my suburb built by Clarendon and i have really only heard good things about the quality. i have had issues with 1 staff member there that has lost us a fair bit of time but they have done a lot better than Masterton who actually presented plans to us that would never ever pass at council as the home was too big for the block. Following this we paid for a tender with Wisdom and a week later paid for a tender with Clarendon. Well Wisdom failed big time losing our job and presenting 1st tender 6 weeks later. By this stage we had signed with clarendon and already had plans drawn.

In regards to the council issues...everyone has them. They have their own set of rules any maybe you were lucky to have made them change their mind but i have friends who have fought council to the death trying to have them change a decision and absolutely no chance! lots of time and money wasted in doing so also.

No matter which builder you go with, you generally get similar inclusions. Extra power points, light points, are always extra money and they more or less charge the same amounts. With kitchens you can always get a slightly better price if you have reason to believe they are overcharging and you can prove this in a way. For example... i got quoted $3100 for full Gloss kitchen (createc) however by other people posts i could could see that the average charge was $1500 - $2000 depending on kitchen size. I brought this up with them and they reduced the price to $1890. Don't be afraid to ask for a better price!

This is the extreme case. I don't consider the fact that I have to do all the work and do their job for them as acceptable just because others have to take builders to court. It tells you more about the industry that the customer isn't being looked after and the fact that you think that this is quite ok and with what I have experienced, it truly speaks volumes.

Seriously every plan submitted were incorrect (and this is the minor problems), if I hadn't caught the errors then no doubt there would have been problems with council either for myself or the build with other revisions.



we are not just talking about patching here i've used the phrase loosely to be nice. When things are to be fixed they should be fixed the right way not just a slap together methods and she'll be right approach.



interesting it took me 5 weeks to hear from Clarendon about my tender to begin with, I wonder how that would have gone down with you then, for me I wasn't to bothered this is nothing in my eyes, but for you it seems an issue which begs the question as to how you would cope with their build as i have.



Sure of course there are council issues no arguments there, the problem is as you employ a builder you would like them to work through the problems not simply go 'ok I've been told it isn't accepted and that's it'. The fact that I could get all the issues resolved without any changes on my end tells you how well they worked through the problems with council. All they were interested in was to submit plans and start as quick as possible so if council said to change something they simply complied without question even when it wasn't consistent with their planing codes (which was one of the issues I had to deal with).



you really think I didn't challenge them on every price..lol if only you knew the kitchen quote was outrageous, the air conditioning was overpriced, the tiles...well all i have to say there must be some good builders margin in there or else the supply is ripping people off.

My advice to anyone going with any project builder don't go super on floor tiles or carpets or aircon etc, just get the bar minimum of what you need and do the rest after handover. The other advice would be to visit your site daily if you can (when you have tradies there) and stand your ground don't be bullied by anyone from the company if you feel you need your concerns addressed.

Personally I would avoid project builders and go the owner builder route, hell I've done half the work already the only thing I haven't done was to simply employ the tradies which I would love to do and have a say as to who does what and at the same time save money in my pocket.

Edit: To the op I hope your build goes well with Clarendon better than mine all I know is the experience I have had I would not go with any off the plan builder these days. Good luck with the build again.