Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1813Oct 24, 2018 1:26 pm the dream Hey Nada, I had something similar with the site scrape, my plan said there was going to be way more fill than cut, but there was still 3 loads left to be removed at the end of it. I had a vari to remove the extra dirt from the peirs too, they quoted me for three trucks but only ended up billing for 2 because thats what they ended up using. Honestly they have pretty good rates for the soil removal, its definently going to be cheaper to pay for 2 loads of removal than to pay for a new driveway unfortunately. But if you're not happy, why dont you ask them if they can just leave the soil there and you can get rid of it after? of course we asked them to leave it on site. we asked them to take one load and leave the leftovers on site as we will anyway need it for landscaping (and we will need a lot!). they refused to do so saying there is no place. even if they say it is actually going to be slightly over 1 load so the leftover would be minor. we are treating this house construction as any other purchase we do. we are not paying for something we know is unfair. we have already saved thousands of dollars by not letting them charge us in situations like this. if someone wants to pay all the variations in order to have a hassle free journey, that's their right. And as I said earlier, they quoted our 2 loads of main excavation works as 4-5 loads. (so we saved $1650 only there). that's how good their estimates are. now guess, would they credit us back if in reality they ended up with 2 loads? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1814Nov 01, 2018 12:29 pm HI all, we are chugging along with our build. Up to the framework now. Kurmond were quick to issue us with the slab invoice, got it out while the cement trucks were still queued up in the street, ready to do the pour. So not much new to report, don't know what stage they will get to before the Christmas shutdown but its taken such a long time to get this far we have no expectations anymore. How is everyone else progressing? What stage are you all up to? ETA - Kurmond emailed us a 'progress photo' of the build - a single low res image from the back of the house. We both had a laugh at that. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1815Nov 01, 2018 12:56 pm amegilla HI all, we are chugging along with our build. Up to the framework now. Kurmond were quick to issue us with the slab invoice, got it out while the cement trucks were still queued up in the street, ready to do the pour. So not much new to report, don't know what stage they will get to before the Christmas shutdown but its taken such a long time to get this far we have no expectations anymore. How is everyone else progressing? What stage are you all up to? ETA - Kurmond emailed us a 'progress photo' of the build - a single low res image from the back of the house. We both had a laugh at that. it should be much quicker now! They went to site in mid may and we are at practical completion stage now. We are actually expecting the first PCI invite any day now I hope we will have an inspection next week. They are doing cleaning and driveway this week. By the way, regarding soil removal for the driveway, we agreed that they put a provisional allowance for 1-2 load, subject to clients inspection. so they had to tell us when they were planing to do the works and we would come and inspect. Guess what, they never invited us for that inspection. we called SS and he told us that they have already started with driveway. I am not surprised as I thought there wouldn't be any soil removal at all... Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1816Nov 01, 2018 1:07 pm nada17 amegilla HI all, we are chugging along with our build. Up to the framework now. Kurmond were quick to issue us with the slab invoice, got it out while the cement trucks were still queued up in the street, ready to do the pour. So not much new to report, don't know what stage they will get to before the Christmas shutdown but its taken such a long time to get this far we have no expectations anymore. How is everyone else progressing? What stage are you all up to? ETA - Kurmond emailed us a 'progress photo' of the build - a single low res image from the back of the house. We both had a laugh at that. it should be much quicker now! They went to site in mid may and we are at practical completion stage now. We are actually expecting the first PCI invite any day now I hope we will have an inspection next week. They are doing cleaning and driveway this week. By the way, regarding soil removal for the driveway, we agreed that they put a provisional allowance for 1-2 load, subject to clients inspection. so they had to tell us when they were planing to do the works and we would come and inspect. Guess what, they never invited us for that inspection. we called SS and he told us that they have already started with driveway. I am not surprised as I thought there wouldn't be any soil removal at all... Will you pay a professional to do an inspection at handover? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1818Nov 01, 2018 1:20 pm Hi all, We got our lockup invoice on tuesday this week. Drove past last night and the front door was wiiiide open. Was tempted to just go and shut it so that no one else decided it was a good place to break into! Still hoping for a pre-chrissy handover. However we have booked our after handover tradies in for Feb just in case. If they are as quick as they were for you Nada we might just make it! The neighbour is getting thier driveway this week, still havent heard from them regarding fencing though. Not sure how thats going to work as they had a fence included as part of their house and land package. But they are lower than us an need to include a retaining wall... We also have a neighbour behind us that is only up to frame stage, but there is a large retaining wall between us (they are high side), and the fence would need to go on top of the retaining wall. Not too sure about how to go about with access while they are building. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1819Nov 01, 2018 1:27 pm Friends at work built with another company, their SS gave them the lock combination for the front gate so they could walk through any time they wanted. I'm assuming Kurmond hasn't provided that kind of access to anyone? Door wide open - that's terrible, but unsurprising. Well, you are both well ahead of us. I think we signed the fixed priced tender in May 2017, when did you both sign? We are guesstimating handover around Easter 2019, based on nothing in particular. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 1820Nov 01, 2018 1:32 pm the dream Hi all, We got our lockup invoice on tuesday this week. Drove past last night and the front door was wiiiide open. Was tempted to just go and shut it so that no one else decided it was a good place to break into! Still hoping for a pre-chrissy handover. However we have booked our after handover tradies in for Feb just in case. If they are as quick as they were for you Nada we might just make it! The neighbour is getting thier driveway this week, still havent heard from them regarding fencing though. Not sure how thats going to work as they had a fence included as part of their house and land package. But they are lower than us an need to include a retaining wall... We also have a neighbour behind us that is only up to frame stage, but there is a large retaining wall between us (they are high side), and the fence would need to go on top of the retaining wall. Not too sure about how to go about with access while they are building. what are you planing to do after handover? I mean anything major to finish? we only have 1st floor flooring and bedrooms shutters of major. We want to arrange the measure before handover. Our SS keeps telling us he will give us a day and time for that but keeps postponing. we want to get everything done within 2 weeks after handover we will also have landscaping done later on but we will do it after we move in. As for the fences, ask your neighbours for quote. If you are not happy with the quote you may get 3 quotes from other contractors and pay half of the smallest. Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 47711 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 74023 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 1400 |