Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 26, 2013 1:28 pm There are a few of us thinking about building with Kurmond Homes at the moment, so I thought I would start this thread so we can all share our building experiences...
Building a home is a bit of a roller coaster ride, so let's help & support of each other on the road to a new home and a new life. http://www.kurmondhomes.com.au/ Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 2Apr 26, 2013 1:44 pm Great to see the thread start, hopefully we'll make our decision soon. I think we are close just waiting for some final costings. Couldn't help, myself and had to email D to see how his progress is going. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 3Apr 26, 2013 2:39 pm Great to hear UpsizeTime a scary but exciting time ahead. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 4Apr 26, 2013 4:54 pm If you are new to the HomeOne Forum and not sure how to upload photo's this is what I do. Sign up to http://www.photobucket.com. Go to upload, select your photo that you have saved onto your computer (or on your phone if you are really smart and know how to do that phone stuff and your not old and boring like me). Click on the IMG Code on the Image Link's section on the right hand side - this will copy the link for you. Go to where ever you want the photo in your comment, press paste and your done. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 5Apr 28, 2013 8:20 pm Thanks for setting up this new Kurmond Homes thread carak777 ~ it will be great to place all the bits and pieces in the one place and hopefully many others will come along and join in the ride Let me start with a quick acknowledgement : there is some history on the web (this forum included) about Kurmond Homes - much of it great, but a number of posts where there has been obvious frustration with pre-sales experiences, and - in some instances - post-sales experience is out there. I can only say that we spend an incredible amount of time (some say 'too much'!) researching all our options - and when we tally up the pros and cons, it seems to us that Kurmond Homes has moved on from those early tiring days when there was a focus on expansion at all costs (sadly, for some, to the critical function of customer service). As we read it, things have moved on - it seems that the team behind the Directors at Kurmond are a well-oiled machine now, and the bugs have been ironed out. That said, we aren't naïve - and anticipate that issues will crop up - just as they do with any builder. So anticipating the hiccups, we are happy with where we are at the moment in our tender-gathering process! Okay - now that little bit is out of the way, onwards and upwards - and I look forward to following your progress carak777 and UpsizeTime (and lots of others who may turn to the Kurmond guys and girls for their new home) In summary for us: * 3 weeks ago (6/4/13) - met with Kurmond, looked at many of their designs and decided a custom-build based on the shell of their Glenleigh 39 was for us. This particular footprint provides for soooo many options, and it suited our block really well because we have captivating mountain views. The original plan is here (and is great in its own right) http://tinyurl.com/cgzpa5p - but we have moved things and extended things and added things. * We have the luxury of a large 1,375m2 block - just found that out yesterday (!) - first measurements told us it was 1174m2, but suddenly the boundaries change now things are registered. We are building in the Southern Highlands of NSW, with all the good things that Berrima, Bowral and Mittagong have to offer. We live here now - so for us, it's more about moving a few doors (suburbs, in reality) to continue enjoying this great part of the world! * In less than 10 days we received preliminary (version A) plans from Kurmond to draw all over (which we've been scribbling enhancements all over them!) and hope to have version B plans within the next 3 weeks or so. Photo : this one is looking up from the street from my iPhone. There's a 1.5m rise from front to back. Next time I'm there, I'll actually take one from the top so you can see the views Oh - and note the maple tree starting to take - typical Southern Highlands autumn colours! Thanks for the PhotoBucket tip, too, carak777 - much easier PS: special thanks to Lilac (also from the HomeOne forums) who was our first inspiration on what Kurmond Homes can actually do. Her blog is here for those who haven't already stumbled across it - http://tinyurl.com/bmaaqq6 Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 6Apr 29, 2013 11:03 am Unrealhome love your block of land, amazing size block and even bigger now that it is registered. With that size block the 1.5 metre rise wouldn’t be too big an issue – would it? Love the Southern Tablelands, so fresh and clean yet really close to Sydney, if you ever wanted or needed to go to the ‘big smoke’. Looking forward to seeing the ‘views’ photo bet it will be incredible. Also looking forward to seeing your B version plans. I just hope the bank approves our application so that I don’t look stupid setting up a thread about building with Kurmond Homes. We have the tender and the bank has ‘advised’ us to wait until everything is approved. So we sit and wait and wait and wait. We had also heard about the ‘bad history’ of Kurmond Homes and we were very unsure and I mean VERY unsure about contacting them. There were 3 reasons we changed our minds – 1. The Real Estate agent that sold us our knock down and rebuild house told us he was also doing a KDRB (townhouses) and he was looking at building with Kurmond and they had been very, very helpful. 2. We contacted Kurmond after checking out their design and spoke to salesperson D. He was very encouraging and told us cost’s quickly and when we asked could we have the bottom of one design and the top of one design he was back with the answer and cost in less than 24 hours. 3. About this same time Lilac started her thread Lilac's Build-Custom W/Kurmond Homes. I sent Lilac a PM and asked questions, she was so helpful & supportive – she suggested that we have a meeting with P, one of the owners/directors and see what he could offer us. When we met with P we had changed our mind about what design, we looked at the Glenleigh and realised that we only need to make minor changes. We walked out of P office in less than an hour – we had the changes made that we wanted (amazing what a little whiteout and black pen can do), we had a base price plus the cost for BAL inclusions, site cost and pricing for a few other ‘bit’s & pieces’. Walking out of that office it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off our shoulders, even though we have a very tight budget, we realised that it was possible to build a home. Quite an amazing feeling. Before we contacted Kurmond we had made enquired with other builders. Some would say yes we can do that and then say no we can’t. Some would organise a tender for us and then we would have to chase them up to get the tender. Some didn’t want to know us at all. Some were just too expensive. Building a home, as many, many people on HomeOne have said, is like a rollercoaster, up one day and the next day you come crashing down. We have had many, many downs when looking into builders. So far so good with Kurmond - we have a plan that we love (thanks to P and his whiteout), we have a price that we can nearly afford – may have to cut back on a few upgrades that are wants not needs but most importantly we have the help and support from all the Kurmond team. I am trying really hard not to get too excited about building because the bank has not said yes, yet. Plus I know that there is a lot to do even before we can knock down the old house but we (both DH & myself – 14 year old daughter find’s building ‘boring’) have done a lot of research for bricks, colours for external & internal, flooring – do we leave it in or do we take it out and do it ourselves after hand over, same with kitchen’s – them or us – decisions, decisions. Anyway none of this will happen if the bank doesn’t say yes. I will keep updating here and on my thread of any 'action'. If you would like to see ‘our’ Glenleigh design it is on page 34 of my tread (see link below) Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 7Apr 29, 2013 6:39 pm Hi my Glenleigh buddies, funny how we are all doing versions of the Glenleigh. I'm very glad I found you all on the H1 forum and will be able share this whole building journey with you. DH & I received our long spreadsheet of questions and prices back from D and have looked at the different tenders from others. We still have a few more questions for D re pricing and what we will include but I think we have made the decision the Kurmond - Glenleigh is the house for us. Over all the designs we looked at the Glenleigh with our minor changes is best suited to us. The overall costing and inclusions are what we are after. I found the inclusions offered are exactly what I am after, including the blanco appliances and not Westinghouse. Like you both have said I product reviewed every builder and they all have good and bad. I think you have to expect some bumps along the way like any project. I have run many IT Projects and from experience there are hiccups along any project no matter how well planned. It is how the Manager and there team deal with these hiccups. So, hopefully I and DH have a good open discussion with Kurmond (or any builder) and our eventual SS so we can manage all building pluses and any minuses along the way. So, our plan from here is I need to speak to D this week but if we can organise babysitters for this weekend we will go and speak to D in person. Very difficult with 3 very energetic kids. Also, we want to go and check out the tiles from there supplier also, we need to look at some show homes and stat looking at design ideas for kitchens, bathrooms and flooring. We want to figure out if we should go tiles vs laminated timber flooring. Exciting times ahead. Unreal, love the block and size, look forward to seeing your views. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 9Apr 29, 2013 8:41 pm carak777 Unrealhome love your block of land, amazing size block and even bigger now that it is registered. With that size block the 1.5 metre rise wouldn’t be too big an issue – would it? Love the Southern Tablelands, so fresh and clean yet really close to Sydney, if you ever wanted or needed to go to the ‘big smoke’. Looking forward to seeing the ‘views’ photo bet it will be incredible. Also looking forward to seeing your B version plans. I just hope the bank approves our application so that I don’t look stupid setting up a thread about building with Kurmond Homes. We have the tender and the bank has ‘advised’ us to wait until everything is approved. So we sit and wait and wait and wait. If you would like to see ‘our’ Glenleigh design it is on page 34 of my tread (see link below) - Thanks carak777 : I agree, the 1.5m rise shouldn't be too much of an issue, however my fault, there will be a house behind us, so the photo shows a double block; ours stretches across, so effectively a 35m frontage and about 50m depth. Yes bank (yours, ours, everyones!) must help us folk who haven't won lotto !! Like you, my DW and I are trying hard to contain the excitement and we are only at preliminary planning stage! You've got a great design on your other thread! Glenleigh design offers so many options Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 10Apr 29, 2013 8:47 pm UpsizeTime Hi my Glenleigh buddies, funny how we are all doing versions of the Glenleigh. I'm very glad I found you all on the H1 forum and will be able share this whole building journey with you. DH & I received our long spreadsheet of questions and prices back from D and have looked at the different tenders from others. We still have a few more questions for D re pricing and what we will include but I think we have made the decision the Kurmond - Glenleigh is the house for us. Over all the designs we looked at the Glenleigh with our minor changes is best suited to us. The overall costing and inclusions are what we are after. I found the inclusions offered are exactly what I am after, including the blanco appliances and not Westinghouse. - Our UpsizeTime buddy ... "long spreadsheet" - now you're talking! Clearly you have an IT background .. what I can do with spreadsheets you could write on the back of a postage stamp! So, we have to stick with boring old Microsoft Word tables - clearly I need training! Let's exchange questions and spreadsheet sometimes! Hahaha. - I think you hit the mark: DW and I thought the same thing. Kurmond's inclusions surpass many others. We looked at a few builders and one in particular who stated they were "fearless" (direct salesperson quote!) to get our business and "would do anything!" - sounded too good to be true, and it was! There tender didn't include site fencing or even the concrete for the alfresco. I mean, Kurmond even do the driveways! - Great gates on that block! Let's get together and break them down! Hope you get to "really" feel the joy of walking over your block soon Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 11Apr 30, 2013 12:27 pm UpsizeTime Hi my Glenleigh buddies, funny how we are all doing versions of the Glenleigh. I'm very glad I found you all on the H1 forum and will be able share this whole building journey with you. DH & I received our long spreadsheet of questions and prices back from D and have looked at the different tenders from others. We still have a few more questions for D re pricing and what we will include but I think we have made the decision the Kurmond - Glenleigh is the house for us. Over all the designs we looked at the Glenleigh with our minor changes is best suited to us. The overall costing and inclusions are what we are after. I found the inclusions offered are exactly what I am after, including the blanco appliances and not Westinghouse. Like you both have said I product reviewed every builder and they all have good and bad. I think you have to expect some bumps along the way like any project. I have run many IT Projects and from experience there are hiccups along any project no matter how well planned. It is how the Manager and there team deal with these hiccups. So, hopefully I and DH have a good open discussion with Kurmond (or any builder) and our eventual SS so we can manage all building pluses and any minuses along the way. So, our plan from here is I need to speak to D this week but if we can organise babysitters for this weekend we will go and speak to D in person. Very difficult with 3 very energetic kids. Also, we want to go and check out the tiles from there supplier also, we need to look at some show homes and stat looking at design ideas for kitchens, bathrooms and flooring. We want to figure out if we should go tiles vs laminated timber flooring. Exciting times ahead. Unreal, love the block and size, look forward to seeing your views. Hi UpsizeTime, agree funny how Kurmond have so many design's get we are all looking at the Glenleigh - great design the way it is but it is so adaptable to your own personal needs & wants. The inclusions in the Kurmond Diamond package http://www.kurmondhomes.com.au/diamond-inclusions.pdf are very, very good (even their standard inclusions are above some other builders). I personally don't think there is one builder out there that hasn't had a few 'problems' or 'bad reviews'. Not everything is going to go smoothly - life doesn't go smoothly - we have to take the good with the bad, it is how you cope with it and how you communicate with the SS and builder that matters. If you have a problem going on to social media isn't going to solve the problem, talk to the SS or the manager, let them know there is a problem. It's not about the problem, it is about the builder fixing the problem. If your builder can't or won't fix the problem, then you have a problem. Love how you have spreadsheets UpsizeTime, a great way to see what is happening and where it is happening. Hope you can arrange a babysitter, we found it really important and a lot easier to speak to someone face to face. I have checked out the preferred tiles supplier, the tile selection is amazing. I will put up some photo's later of some of the tiles that are in the Kurmond range (well they were in the range a few weeks ago), really nice people at the tile supplier, very helpful. Have you checked out bricks yet? PGH isn't too far, Austral is o.k. but we found that Boral was woop, woop... (We live in the northern suburbs). We have checked out flooring, still can't decide if we want tiles downstairs or go with bamboo By the way love the photo of your block... must be difficult not being able to get through the fence - just have to keep pressing your little nose up against the wiring for a little bit longer. Do you know how much longer? Can't wait to hear any more progress. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 12Apr 30, 2013 6:20 pm Just wanted people to know that Kurmond don't just do 'new estate's' or new land, they also do KDR plus heaps of other types of building. We are doing a KDR in the Hornsby area (northern suburb of Sydney) Our block is 1271sqm and over looks the Berowra Valley Regional Park. At the bottom of the block there is a bit of a fall so all up we probably have about 1,000 sqm of 'usable' land. view from the bottom of the block view from the cloths line my favourite view Great location close to every thing, quite.... only problems are the slight slope and the bushfire rating... can't have everything Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 13Apr 30, 2013 8:34 pm carak777 - you have great bush views!!! I can just see you and the family sitting by the shade of those trees on a warm sunny day, glass of wine or soft drink in hand and enjoying the serenity of it all! Wow. Really, really nice. Thanks for sharing such a great block with us! Now - all you need is to have your bank to get its act together! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 14Apr 30, 2013 8:50 pm We've been dabbling (and taking advice from H1 friends!) on bricks of late. Just about fallen head over heals with this brick (is it possible to fall in love with a brick?) - and on good advice by carak777 - it's as glorious in real life as it is in this image : If only that PowerBall win happens I haven't even looked at Kurmond Homes'other suppliers yet (PGH & Boral), but I do like AustralBrick's 3D visualiser : http://australbricks.com.au/nsw/3d-visualiser/ We can't wait to get out to see the PGH display room, too. Do we have to use the one recommended by Kurmond, or any of the brick supplier's display centres? Last one from me : kitchen sinks. We like the idea of an under bench sink like this: .. but, what about the dishes? We still do the old fashion thing and actually wash and wipe up instead of using the dishwasher! So - would you go "under-bench" or ?? As we have the luxury of a butler's pantry (scullery) - perhaps we will have a traditional sink in there, and an under-bench in the kitchen? Yes, we will be doing a sink in both - it just feels 'right' - and opens up the options! Anyway, been a long day at work so apologies in advance if none of what I've written tonight makes sense!! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 15Apr 30, 2013 9:26 pm Evening all - also had to add these two photos - one is super (horribly) dark photo, but is from the developer's website and gives a (slight) indication of what the views are to the north (at street level) from our block. I'm also adding one of the nearby lake. Will get some "proper" ones for those interested when I next visit the block Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 16May 01, 2013 12:28 am I'm jealous, love the views. We definitely will not have views in Glenwood. Our last house looked over the top of Glenwood from our bedroom window, but didn't find myself standing at that window for long periods of time. Have to create our own views. We pan to plan some nice flowering gum trees, they are lovely trees and bring in the native birds which are far and few between. We has them in our old block and. The lorikeets started to come morning and night, love watching and hear wildlife. Well I spoke to D today's and told him we are happy to progress to drafting stage. So, we pay our initial deposit and progress from there. Plans drafted with all what we talked about will be exciting. Unreal, have to get a quote on the sink in the pantry but if we do do it, I would definitely do that old style, I.e above bench so you can drip dry the dishes. Have to be practical and nice as well. How much did they quote you for the sink in the WIP. Forgot to ask D today. Like those brics they have a tinge of brown in them which will blend nicely if ou combine colours. We are thinking of only using bricks, no bag & painting on the front. Thinking of the using a two one effect. Have to check out the bricks and see if it will work. Is that brick in the standard range? Talk soon Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 17May 01, 2013 9:57 am unrealhome carak777 - you have great bush views!!! I can just see you and the family sitting by the shade of those trees on a warm sunny day, glass of wine or soft drink in hand and enjoying the serenity of it all! Wow. Really, really nice. Thanks for sharing such a great block with us! Now - all you need is to have your bank to get its act together! Yes unrealhome really looking forward to the serenity of the bush - as long as the snakes don't want to come and join us under the trees we should be o.k unrealhome We've been dabbling (and taking advice from H1 friends!) on bricks of late. Just about fallen head over heals with this brick (is it possible to fall in love with a brick?) - and on good advice by carak777 - it's as glorious in real life as it is in this image : http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r784/unrealhome/Bowrl-blue_zpsa60b804d.jpg If only that PowerBall win happens I haven't even looked at Kurmond Homes'other suppliers yet (PGH & Boral), but I do like AustralBrick's 3D visualiser : http://australbricks.com.au/nsw/3d-visualiser/ We can't wait to get out to see the PGH display room, too. Do we have to use the one recommended by Kurmond, or any of the brick supplier's display centres? Last one from me : kitchen sinks. We like the idea of an under bench sink like this: http://i1367.photobucket.com/albums/r784/unrealhome/oliverisinkqe6_zps17051434.jpg .. but, what about the dishes? We still do the old fashion thing and actually wash and wipe up instead of using the dishwasher! So - would you go "under-bench" or ?? As we have the luxury of a butler's pantry (scullery) - perhaps we will have a traditional sink in there, and an under-bench in the kitchen? Yes, we will be doing a sink in both - it just feels 'right' - and opens up the options! Anyway, been a long day at work so apologies in advance if none of what I've written tonight makes sense!! Yes you can fall in love with a brick and you can be very disappointed when you find out that it is such an expensive upgrade - been there, done that..... So nice to see that we are not the only 'old fashioned' people out there - we wash up in the sink and don't use the dishwasher - there is only 3 of us, so not a lot to wash up. We have also been wondering about the 'draining area' for the undermount sinks (I have heard that you can get a 'drainer' cut into the stone).... still researching sinks Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 18May 01, 2013 10:19 am Quote: So nice to see that we are not the only 'old fashioned' people out there - we wash up in the sink and don't use the dishwasher - there is only 3 of us, so not a lot to wash up. We have also been wondering about the 'draining area' for the undermount sinks (I have heard that you can get a 'drainer' cut into the stone).... still researching sinks Join the dark side carak and use the dishwasher. I wash nothing by hand and anything that says it cant go in the dishwasher still goes in just to check. This is the sink we are having Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I deliberately went with one without a draining board so there was no excuse for me to washup. If I had to go with one with a draining board we were going to have this one. It is a clark sink and comes with lots of attachments including a chopping and draining board. Modified Fernside 38 Rawson Homes Blog: http://www.thehousethatmatandjenbuilt.blogspot.com Build Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=60501 Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 19May 01, 2013 10:31 am Thanks Jen, love your sink also love the one with the draining area must research, research and research some more Yes I am afraid we live in the stoneage and don't use the dishwasher but with only 3 plates and not much else just seems a waste. Plus I always remember when I was little washing & drying up with my sister and it was a great way to grumble about having to do it, find out what we had been doing during the day (she is older than me) plus the occasional tea towel flicks. Now it is DH and I communicating over the washing up but I do try to control the tea towel flicks but you know what men are like they just can't resist sometimes Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 20May 01, 2013 10:40 am UpsizeTime I'm jealous, love the views. We definitely will not have views in Glenwood. Our last house looked over the top of Glenwood from our bedroom window, but didn't find myself standing at that window for long periods of time. Have to create our own views. We pan to plan some nice flowering gum trees, they are lovely trees and bring in the native birds which are far and few between. We has them in our old block and. The lorikeets started to come morning and night, love watching and hear wildlife. Well I spoke to D today's and told him we are happy to progress to drafting stage. So, we pay our initial deposit and progress from there. Plans drafted with all what we talked about will be exciting. Unreal, have to get a quote on the sink in the pantry but if we do do it, I would definitely do that old style, I.e above bench so you can drip dry the dishes. Have to be practical and nice as well. How much did they quote you for the sink in the WIP. Forgot to ask D today. Like those brics they have a tinge of brown in them which will blend nicely if ou combine colours. We are thinking of only using bricks, no bag & painting on the front. Thinking of the using a two one effect. Have to check out the bricks and see if it will work. Is that brick in the standard range? Talk soon UpsizeTime Great idea to create your own views... if you would like some of our wildlife, I will send some of the snakes over I am so exciting to hear that you are going to the next step We didn't ask about a sink in the WIP/scullery either, can't decide if we need one I like the idea of the two bricks, that will look amazing. Can't wait to hear what happens next and to see you plans. Hi there! 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