Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 18, 2013 4:24 pm I'm starting to get a bit antsy now, and reading other people's threads, I'm wondering if we've done the right thing. We signed our PPA nearly 4 months ago, and still have nothing. We were promised drawings and contracts 3 weeks ago, but of course, still waiting. All we have to go on is the initial floor plan of our house. As it is a custom design, I was hoping we would receive elevation designs etc, and maybe have some choice in the look of the house? I thought these would appear after we signed the PPA, but now obviously I've misunderstood, we won't get them until we get the whole lot, including contracts. This concerns me, as obviously any changes will now attract a fee. I raised these concerns with our Sales guy at the time, but he told me not to worry, he was sure I'd be happy. It's now nearly 4 months later, and I still have no idea what the house we are building will look like. (They say we will have them on Monday, but we've heard that before). Having read on here that some people have had 3D elevations and floor plans, and even 3D kitchen designs planned out before getting contracts etc, I'm wondering if I'm missing something, or is this just the way our company does it? Has anyone gone this far through the process with absolutely no idea what the house will look like?????? Also, we have just received an email saying we need to make a $8 000 - $11 000 decision on changes we need to make to meet the 6 star rating requirements. They want our decision by Monday, but we haven't seen any plans or other costings as yet (other than the basic quote they did for the PPA), so are not sure how much money we have to play with. We have no idea of site works etc. Due to this and some other broken promises along the way, I'm getting very close to wanting to pull the pin and go back to one of the other builders we were looking at initially. but we can't afford another 4 months in rent etc to start again. Meanwhile the house we are demolishing to build the new one is standing empty! Can anyone advise whether these costs sound realistic? Option 1 $8,247 incl - Provide Aircell Perimcav cavity wall insulation throughout entire home as per plan - Provide R5.0 ceiling insulation to House and Garage in lieu of R4.1 ceiling insulation as per plan - Provide 6mm, clear SmartGlass to Dining, Living, Gym and Music Room windows and sliding doors as per plan - Provide a 820mm wide flush panel door and metal frame, including additional brickwork to Kitchen/Foyer in lieu of door height opening as per plan Option 2 $11,312 incl - Provide Aircell Permicav cavity wall insulation throughout entire home as per plan - Provide 6mm, clear SmartGlass to Dining, Living, Gym, Music Room, Master Suite, Bedrooms 2 and 3 windows and sliding doors as per plan - Provide R6.0 ceiling insulation to House and Garage in lieu of R4.1 ceiling insulation as per plan - Provide a 820mm wide flush panel door and metal frame, including additional brickwork to Bedroom Passage in lieu of door height opening as per plan - Delete Laundry ceiling vent as per plan My Building Thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66087 Re: Q's regarding time PPA-contract and prices for 6 star en 2Oct 18, 2013 4:31 pm Where are you building? The second option for 6 star compliance doesn't make sense. It's doing all of the first option and then some. Why would you go and do additional work for additional cost if you can meet the requirement without? If you could I'd ask to see the energy assessment/report. If you're in a warm area (i.e. energy efficiency more concerned with keeping cool than keeping warm) I would have thought that wall insulation (permicav is basically a foil type thin insulation blanket) would only be required on west or northwest facing walls. Rather than changing the glazing it may be cheaper to just shrink some of the west facing windows? Re: Q's regarding time PPA-contract and prices for 6 star en 3Oct 18, 2013 4:37 pm THanks for the quick reply. We are building in Perth. Due to this, we have only one West facing window/door. However as the neighbours house on that side is very elevated (10 foot retaining wall, with 8ft fence on top) it will be very shaded anyway. I don't think we will get any direct sunlight in there whatsoever. I'm happy with the Smart glass addition throughout, and the better insulation in the ceiling if it is worth it - is there much difference between R5 and R6? But would prefer the additional door to the entrance hall in option one rather than the one near the bedrooms in option 2. I don't understand the options either. Is it too much to ask for a breakdown of the cost of each item? It feels like they are ripping us off somehow. I wish they would be transparent in their costings (with everything!) My Building Thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66087 Re: Q's regarding time PPA-contract and prices for 6 star en 4Oct 18, 2013 5:02 pm Hi Darcy27 I can appreciate why you feel antsy. I would really want elevations of my plans. If you change the floor plan you might need to add, delete, change windows.... Elevations are good for highlighting this.... Anyway that's what I found with our custom designed home. The build - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=67554 The Yard - viewtopic.php?f=19&t=67695 10 years ago was a different software than we use now. it has had a lot of changes over the past years. Improvments to the software and changes to how Nathers models need… 8 1497 i would not be signing anything on the day read your contract about when builder submits final invoice generally, have to meet builder within 7 days of receiving final… 1 4744 Hi All, Recently we have signed a contract with Burbank and we are not aware that they have just DORSET, SURREY, HAMPSHIRE, KENT, PILBARA and REDGUM bricks from PGH are… 0 3157 |