Henley Homes

Ponzu · Dec 14, 2015 10:23 am

Darbecca

In relation to finding little on site, it is the jobs that we are not announced on that we find the bulk of the defects. When you let your builder know that we are attending, they are all over the slab. So clients don't tell their builders for reasons that only they know and on these jobs we find heaps of poor practises. I can only suggest that we are working for you by name when you announce to your builder that we are engaged.

Hi Darren, Are you referring to announcing to the builder pre build that an independent inspector is engaged, or announcing that you will be present for an inspection?

If its the former, and there is a distinct improvement of performance of the builder when they are advised of the intended inspections, I would hazard that is a good thing, given your evidence of the opposite.

If it is the latter, the owner is typically obliged to advise of intended access to the site.

Did you mean something else?

Darbecca · Dec 14, 2015 11:57 am

Your are correct. In the State of Victoria the home owners are obliged to let the builder know that a private inspector has been engaged. This can be found in Section 240 of the Building Act 1995. And when this happens, the builders tend to use their best trades.

However not all clients pass on the information to the builders. I don't know why and when we get there we generally find a larger number of defects than had the builder been notified.

I hope this helps.

Darren

hitman · Dec 14, 2015 12:05 pm

Darren you're a champ and without your expertise and thorough inspections I dr d to think what my house would be like right now.
If anyone ever asks for an inspector for a house there is only one recommendation from me... Darren from Darbecca.

mirz · Dec 18, 2015 2:42 pm

Merry Christmas and happy & safe holidays everyone.

Hopefully new year will bring your dream home closer than ever before.

Cheers

New_Robinhood · Dec 23, 2015 8:06 pm

Darbecca

Hi everybody. My Name is Darren and I own and operate Darbecca Pty Ltd. I have read through some of the comments on slab pre pours and would like to respond to some of these comments.

We do check setbacks, however given the number of years of doing this, it become very natural to look and work out the positioning with out a ruler or tape. I have today instructed all the Inspector to use a tape to ensure that we are presenting this check in a manner that can be verified by the home owners.

In relation to finding little on site, it is the jobs that we are not announced on that we find the bulk of the defects. When you let your builder know that we are attending, they are all over the slab. So clients don't tell their builders for reasons that only they know and on these jobs we find heaps of poor practises. I can only suggest that we are working for you by name when you announce to your builder that we are engaged.

I can only say that when we are engaged, that the builder go the extra mile to make sure it is right.

Every item that we do find is critical. I have been involved in a large number of slab failures and it is the little things that impact the most. The impact on the families when it all goes wrong is in some cases is devastating.

I do read these forums and I do learn from them. I thank you for your comments and I will change the way we operate to ensure that we check everything possible in a manner that allows the home owners to visualise those checks.

My whole goal in life is to ensure that you get a home not a house. There is a major difference. I want your home to be the best that can be built within the scope of the Australian Standards. I recently presented to a forum of trades and stated that I have never been to VCAT against a builder that had his trades build to the Australian Standards. If they all built to the Australian Standards, then the houses would in all likelihood not fail.

Both my wife and I had a bad experience with a build many years ago and that is the driving force behind what we do. I sincerely hope that we can be of further assistance to you all and if you have any concerns, please call me direct on 03 5367 2111. I'm more than will to assist.

Darren Love

Thank Darren for you input here by going through the blog I had second thoughts of doing the slab inspection but I have decided to do it after reading your post. It didn't take so long to prove that the most valuable $500 I spent on the whole building process. Inspector found that two corner peers from the footings are missing. It would have been a disaster if they have poured the slab.

Again I would highly recommend everyone to get the inspection done, You will spent less than $500 now but letter if you have issue it will cost you many thousands.

Cheers

Narrewarren01 · Dec 23, 2015 8:33 pm

Darbecca · Dec 24, 2015 3:03 am

For the record, The VBA has no registration process for private inspectors. Hence you need to choose wisely.

There are only four registrations mandated to build a house.

The builders.
The surveyors.
The plumbers.
The Electricians.

No other person is mandated to be registered.

Lastly, I'm on leave from today until the end of Jan.

Talk after Jan.

Darren

Darbecca · Dec 24, 2015 3:03 am

For the record, The VBA has no registration process for private inspectors. Hence you need to choose wisely.

There are only four registrations mandated to build a house.

The builders.
The surveyors.
The plumbers.
The Electricians.

No other person is mandated to be registered.

Lastly, I'm on leave from today until the end of Jan.

Talk after Jan.

Darren

Narrewarren01 · Dec 24, 2015 7:52 am

Thanks for the info

l0renz0 · Dec 29, 2015 2:16 pm

anyone having issues logging on to the henley site?

Tudu · Dec 29, 2015 3:21 pm

I get an error with mainvue VIP Portal

Building MainVue Ivory 436 KDR

Gems23 · Jan 03, 2016 8:44 am

Hi Everyone,

First time posting here, so excuse me for asking a question that may have been asked before!
We have decided to go with Henley and build the Sahara Q3. Our tender appointment is in late January.

We are going with the Broadway facade and I have noticed that we are getting charged for $1800 for the part render as the estate we are building in require part render to be part of the facade.
I am wondering why I am getting charged for this. This is the only facade that you don't have to pay extra for ( apparently) and it is clear on the website that Broadway facade has a part render. Could this not be classified as false advertising?

If anyone has a a similar experience or an explanation to why I am getting charged that would be greatly appreciated!! I would ring them however they are all still on holiday..

Cheers

jessicana10 · Jan 03, 2016 11:52 am

I am building with Henley and have a no cost facade being the Milton. Im pretty sure the no cost facades have no render. Ours was $1800 too for the pillars to be rendered. If we wanted the full no cost option the pillars would have been brick also.
Just get your admin to double check though, as all facades are different.
It could also be that your estate has a minimum % rendered and the the no cost option may not have enough render to suit the estate guild lines.

jessicana10 · Jan 03, 2016 11:55 am

Also don't use the pics of the Facades on the website as a guide as they will have upgrades like timber windows etc - they wont be the no cost option

Saint Girl · Jan 03, 2016 12:19 pm

First time posting on this site. I'm building with MainVue (Henley). Just wondering for anyone building in established areas how long it has taken for the building permit to be passed. Seems to be quick in new estates but for a knockdown/rebuild......????

kremlin27 · Jan 03, 2016 12:22 pm

Saint Girl

First time posting on this site. I'm building with MainVue (Henley). Just wondering for anyone building in established areas how long it has taken for the building permit to be passed. Seems to be quick in new estates but for a knockdown/rebuild......????

Took us two weeks for permits once we had signed off on final plans.

Knockdown and rebuild - Sahara Q2 with Henley

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75715

Saint Girl · Jan 03, 2016 12:38 pm

2 weeks sounds ok, hope it's similar for us.
We have contract signing next week. I've just read your timeline and that has scared the hell out of me! We thought it would go like this....sign contract, building permit applied for and granted....on site within a few weeks of signing contract!!
Then again, we have been very uneducated about the whole planning process and have taken a very long time to get to this point.
We demolished and moved out before we even had a planning permit. We had some big problems with our plans due to a flood overlay on our block and have wasted too much in rent because of our inexperience. I wish I had of found your thread earlier!!
Why did it take so long to get on site after signing contracts??

kremlin27 · Jan 03, 2016 12:42 pm

We had issues with our drainage as there is no LPOD on our site. Took us a lot of research and negotiation to finally settle on a way forward that we were comfortable with. Also had issues with sorting out our windows after Henley put them in the wrong spot on the plans!!!!

Knockdown and rebuild - Sahara Q2 with Henley

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75715

Saint Girl · Jan 03, 2016 12:48 pm

Oh, OK, thank you. We are hoping all our problems (and there have been a few) are sorted and we can proceed quickly but I think I'll pull back on being excited about getting to contracts. Time will tell

Saint Girl · Jan 03, 2016 12:52 pm

Also, I'd like to start my own thread. I can advise people on what NOT to do!! I haven't worked out how to do this though????