Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1483Mar 18, 2016 3:55 pm Hi everyone! Great to read about all your wonderful progress. Yay. Ses Yes I am still here Sessie. I promised I would stick around for you. Wow...so the witch used the hose eh? With your fence issue I would suggest you erect the fence just a few centimetres within YOUR property boundary cos the witch can't complain about anything that is wholly on your side. We paid for all our fences so we ordered what suited us. We told one neighbour everything (colour suited all her other fences) but we told the new neighbour nothing at all. Fences were installed yesterday. If you are concerned best to check with your council about if you need to inform neighbours and what rights they might have. Landscaping has been a huge job for the professionals cos builder left so much rubbish, concrete etc on site, and land not level. Taken several weeks to kill off the weeds and the guys have now put in timber for garden beds and levelled off land. New soil coming tomorrow. Plants, turf, stepping stones, privacy screens over next couple of weeks. It's a HUGE job so lucky we got in a local team. Quach Nice to hear you have stopped whinging now yr house is moving along, lol, jokes mate. Everyone We have just reached our 90 days period. Not much maintenance at all but a very long list of things which should have been dealt with prior to handover. All minor, cosmetic things like chipped paint and scratches on the ceiling. Will let you know how K deals with it. Best wishes to you all for a quick finish! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1484Mar 19, 2016 7:14 pm Just when you think things are finally on the way up.....
We had a fence guy and a landscape guy come to do a quote this mornings and found HUGE problem!!!! The laundry has been built under the stairs (which we know) and in the plans that we have been given there is a slightly lower roof at one end which has been marked as the lowest point to still be higher than the top of the door way. As we walked through to the backyard with the tradies what did we find??? the stair case takes up HALF the laundry width and height. once the stairs are framed it looks like the bottom of the stairs will be sitting on top of the nice built in cupboards/ bench space that we are paying to have installed. surely this can't be right.....right???? At no point has anyone said to us that half the space would be unusable or we would of changed the design and certainly not have paid for cupboards to be installed. Thank god the laundry is visable from the outside or we would not have noticed it until the next walk through. I see no solution to this at all, what a great way to start a weekend. There is also a wall that has been plastered out the back that is missing a some framework which should be a much easier fix. On a brighter note lock up should be next week. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1485Mar 19, 2016 7:36 pm Hi All, That sounds pretty bad Ses_78, sorry to hear you only noticed the mistake now, it's probably too late to fix unless you want to delay your build for another few weeks. My first walk through is booked for next Thursday, carpets are starting next Monday and the last thing is the driveway. Big_mamma, you know how the saying goes.... The squeaky wheel gets the oil. :p I am probably one of KH worst customer for complaining so I think they just wanna finish my build off as quickly as possible so they don't have to deal with me anymore lol Just a few more weeks to go ! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1486Mar 19, 2016 7:52 pm Oh Ses_78!! That is terrible!! I think you should be talking compensation $$$ with KH!!! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1488Mar 22, 2016 6:43 pm Ses_78 Hey mishbut, you were building a duplex weren't you? Could you let me know what stage you are up to as we are having some big problems and would love a chat Hi Ses_78, We are just about to submit to council, I read your post about the laundry/ staircase, not cool!. I think we are building the same duplex, the Forest Glen. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1489Mar 31, 2016 6:57 am Quach, i notice you have stopped updating your blog. I really enjoyed your photos and posts. They were really helpful. Whats the update on your build? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1490Apr 04, 2016 4:12 pm Has any brickwork being done for anyone on rainy days? In my case even a slight hint of rain is enough for the SS to cancel work for the entire day. It might rain for 2 hours in the morning and its a perfect excuse for Kurmond to call off work do the work somewhere else. And has anyone had any work being done on weekends?? Please advise Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1491Apr 04, 2016 4:15 pm Yes sad_boy, if it rains in the morning work stops, or doesn't start. I've had many trades work on a Saturday, occasionally even a Sunday. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1492Apr 04, 2016 8:25 pm Hi guys, sorry it's been a while since my last update. It's been pretty crazy with everything leading up to handover, and I just got sidetracked with updating the blog. Update: we had our first walk through, some little minor issues like paint, dents, marks and broken roof tiles need to be fixed up inside. On the outside the driveway still needs to be poured and few minor gaps, marks, paint, and mortar joints need to be fixed up. Otherwise it looks fantastic. Our driveway started cutting out today, we have a bus stop directly in front so it's been a challenge getting council to decide how to proceed. Also the traffic control required is ludicrous. Anyhow really hoping the weather holds out for the pour. Then it's final walk through hopefully by end of next week ! Woohoo Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1493Apr 05, 2016 8:37 pm Hey everyone! Quach, You have finally reached that one word that we all dream about... Handover! Congrats you are almost there Well.... I have been waiting until I cooled off before posting an update, so here it is (the calm version) After weeks of emails going back and forth and cranky texts and phone calls, we have come to the understanding that the laundry design has now lost 1m of its 3m length due to the stairs over hanging in the room so much. We tried to get things moved around in the room but were told that we would be fitting the bill and holding up the build for at least 6 weeks and I just want this to be finished so moving things was not an option. After many designs we have opted to close in under the stairs partially with a wall and built in cupboards and bench in front. It's not a great outcome but the best one to continue moving forward. Note to everyone out there still early in on the process, make sure the plans have measurements EVERYWHERE!!! As we have met many 'the plan doesn't state how long, how wide, how high' etc and yes these are the final plans. this build has been such a learning curve and so far none of it has really been a positive experience, but from reading other forums most people have the similar ups and downs. The water proofing was booked for last week and tiles to be done yesterday but due to the laundry issues things were postponed, not sure when everything will get a move on again . Apparently handover is supposed to be at the end of this month hahahahahahahaha!!!! Not even waterproofed yet We also received a much dreaded phone call from the tile company... All bathroom tiles are not available, which seems to be due to the short notice given for the job to start. The out of stock tiles could of been ordered in but yet again this would of held up the build so off we went on Saturday morning for a long drive out to the tile company to find that most tiles that would fit in with the colours through the house were also 'not on stock' I was not happy!! The owner was fantastic and very accomodating (there were also many 2014 customers in to rechoose tiles) so hopefully they will fit in with the carpet, paint and kitchen as going off a photo taken two years ago also caused much confusion. I have been told by someone going through another company that they don't have to do their colour appointment until 3/4 of the way through the build... Makes sense! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1495Apr 16, 2016 11:15 am Hi ses My journey with KH is almost over ! I had handover yesterday and went to pick up my new shiny keys! The house is finally ours! It's still feels surreal, I still can't believe it. Anyway although we have handed over the painters are still doing some work inside on the staircase. SS and I picked it up on handover. We have a timber stained staircase and looks like someone has stepped on the stain before it dried up and now we have toe prints on the treds!!! Anyway painter is going to try to fix this up for us today. Few little other things like locks a roof tile need to be replaced, but they've all been booked in. So I didn't want to hold off on handover just to wait for these things if they are going to be fixed anyway. We are moving in 2 weeks. Landscaper is rolling in next. I still can't believe it Where are you up to now Ses ? Did you sort out you issues ? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1496Apr 19, 2016 3:16 pm Fabulous news, Quach! C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S !! We are still loving our new home. The surreal feeling is still there after 3 months and it is still quite amazing Landscaping 99% finished, only some timber screens to be erected for privacy on our alfresco. Then we will take some pretty pictures for everyone. Ses 78 How are you going? What happened with the fence and retaining wall? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1497Apr 19, 2016 9:48 pm Today marks day 906!! since first signing and it is still bringing constant ups and downs. Quach...don't forget some pics, did you allow the face book happy snaps??! We were told 6 weeks ago that in another two weeks time we would be at handover, I laughed back then and I am still laughing. In this time there has been a few minor things happen and since lock up the only real things that have been done are the doors hung and the skirting is on. The rest of this time has been spent trying to sort out the huge elephant that seems to be hanging around in the laundry. Plans have been revised about three times by now and finally we have had to 'settle' with a new lay out, reduced length as well as losing head space. I designed an Lshaped cupboard to go under the stairs to utilise this space and avoid the need for a bike helmet upon entering..I just pray that it all looks OK in the end and becomes a fully functioning laundry. We met with the SS today to check the stairs have been framed in as high as possible and to OK the new position of power points. He did say that he would try and keep the ball rolling, I just hope that he finds a big hill to help the momentum. Currently trying to organise fence quotes and landscaping and finding that there is a lot that needs to go into making sure that the land is regraded properly due to the flood path etc. one landscaper said it would be a quick job and only quoted me for half the job that I requested and the second guy was so specific, I'm not sure if his ideas are OTT will speak to some more tradies to see if I can get a better idea of what's actually needed. If anyone wants to share their landscaper and fencing company names (only had one fence quote so far and he was a bit sleazy, which I don't cope well with ) I would appreciate it, plus time lines of how long the landscaping took this would be handy info to have. Besides this forum, new builds on realestate.com and taking creepy pics around the neighbourhood, where is everyone getting their outdoor inspiration from? Big mama.... Hi!!! I just realised that I didn't reply to your last post We are still waiting for all of your house photos and I can't wait to steal, whoops 'see' your outdoor photos. As you can see from above the damn retaining wall is now a distant memory (not a happy one) but one that will forever be taunting me and another 'will have to settle' part of this build. I won't go into the meeting that was held on here but a very stern 'it's not moving' was the general gist of things. Every tradie has queried exactly what it is doing/holding up which just adds to the disappointment but just gonna have to learn to love it. How did you go with following up on the things that still needed fixing when you did handover? And have you had any other problems pop up in the last three months. Oh and are you still on your interim occ cert or have you received your final occ. what sorts of things needed to be completed before each ( if I have asked this question already... Apologies) Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1498May 02, 2016 10:28 pm Hi I am just about to sign contract with Kurmond Homes, paid $1000,$4000 and next will be $6000 and 5%+5% ,would you recommend KH as a builder after all your experience ? Need your advice,thanks! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1499May 03, 2016 9:25 am IQ2LOW Hi I am just about to sign contract with Kurmond Homes, paid $1000,$4000 and next will be $6000 and 5%+5% ,would you recommend KH as a builder after all your experience ? Need your advice,thanks! In short, NO! It is as if it's the first time they've built a Glenleigh!! This is one of their most popular designs! Your pre construction paperwork will drag on for at least a year. You will need to sneak on site every second day to pick up their mistakes & constantly hound them to fix them. If you play by the rules and wait until your inspection at practical completion, you'll be thoroughly disappointed. Don't expect to get everything you signed off on. It's now over 26 months since we set foot in the Directors office to start this journey & we have still not moved in (read through this thread and read of others woes). Good luck with the ride!! Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1500May 03, 2016 4:37 pm Well said return to shire, answering that question is a little tricky in this forum but as we have just hit another problem I just want this all to end! 31 long months since first signing and stiiiiiiiiillllll going!! I don't think anyone on this forum has had the promised 12 month turn around, I second the advice read everything on this forum to get a picture of our builds and to find out things that you need to know in the building world. My advice, check out other companies pages in this site too, this will help you to get a good idea of clients journeys... Good luck with your decision IQ2LOW! Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74717 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105617 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23502 |