Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 04, 2014 10:26 am Just a warning to anyone planning to build with Dale Alcock.. They have lovely plans, but their reputation as a premium builder is absolutely not warranted! We have moved into our house to find a leaking hobless shower, an extremely poorly installed water heater, no skirting boards installed (despite having charged us for them!) , scratched up front doors, and about a foot of excess sand in the backyard among other things... despite all this we have been very patient.... Until we discovered yesterday that our appliance spaces (for the fridge, wine fridge AND dishwasher are all too small!! The fridge space is 20mm shorter than it should be! Really raises questions as to what else is poorly done that we can't see! Very disappointed after spending 390k... Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 3May 04, 2014 10:38 am We did notice the doors, water heater, and skirting boards. Were told to clean the doors ourselves and that the hot water heater was as it should be. They are coming to look at those again after some more complaints from us, so hopefully they eventually get fixed. They couldn't install the skirting boards without delaying significantly, so we had to take a refund. Couldn't exactly check the leaking shower... They didn't invite me to test it out on pre handover.... May have been a little awkward. Stupidly, I trusted that the site supervisor and tradies might have measured the kitchen... Guess I'll know better next time... Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 4May 04, 2014 11:25 am That's what your pre handover inspection is for. You must check all power points, sinks, basins, baths, showers etc and recess measurements can be checked a long time before handover. You don't have to get into the shower to check that it is not leaking and is draining properly. Sounds like you were in a hurry to get in and they've taken a bit of an advantage of you. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 5May 04, 2014 11:31 am We did turn the shower on.. It is leaking because the screen has been installed too far back. Therefore, when you do more than just run the shower (I.e., actually get in it), any overspray which ends up on the screen runs from the screen into the bathroom... Like I said though, I'm more annoyed about the fact that they couldn't even measure the appliance spots in the kitchen... It is completely unusable as is. I really shouldn't have to measure the recesses, but even if I had it still would have been major rework so I really wouldn't have been any better off!
Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 6May 04, 2014 11:34 am Amy83 Like I said though, I'm more annoyed about the fact that they couldn't even measure the appliance spots in the kitchen... It is completely unusable as is.. Wouldn't your plans have shown the measurements? Not having a go, just know that particularly with appliances it is something to check before signing everything off. The cabinet makers would have been working of the same set of drawings ..... have you checked that your recesses measure to your plans? Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 7May 04, 2014 11:37 am Nope, that's my issue. The plans were fine... They are smaller than the plans. Oh also, I should mention that we didn't have a site meeting with the supervisor between the first meeting and the pre handover. We did have a meeting with the tiler, but the supervisor wasn't there. In hindsight I should have insisted on more meetings in between. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 8May 04, 2014 12:27 pm Well I would have thought that you have some sort of recourse then, if the plans say one size and they have delivered on something smaller, than they need to fix it. Given the cost to do so, they will argue and try not to. But what good are they if they don't fit anything in them. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 9May 04, 2014 12:34 pm Yeah true. To be fair, they have been relatively responsive with fixing stuff so far. That said they haven't actually fixed the issues yet, but they have said that they intend to. I'm just hoping that with such a big job they respond in the same way. It is incredibly disappointing after such an expensive build though, to have these issues. Must say, I totally understand why everyone was telling me that I was insane for not buying established now! Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 10May 04, 2014 2:10 pm Unfortunately DAH are like that. The finish on our place was disgraceful. Keep a close eye on the fixer-uppers - we found they were actually worse quality tradies than the bufoons they used on the job in the first instance. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 12May 05, 2014 4:49 pm Did you know that the dimensions on your plans are from brick to brick, i.e. they don't include any plaster thickness. In general there is 10mm of plaster on each wall, so if your fridge recess is bricked then that may account for the 20mm difference. If on the other hand your recess is in cabinet work then your cabinet maker has stuffed up. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 14May 06, 2014 11:26 am Oh dear. I'm a little bit anxious about making our final move now. I'm not sure I'd be able to cope if we found out there were more functional issues with the house once we tried to move in appliances etc. Did you have an independent inspector view the property? The one thing I've learned is that an inspector is ALWAYS a worthwhile investment. Fingers crossed your issues can be resolved. You must be so disappointed. PS - I think we'll be buying established next time too! Building with Dale Alcock Homes in Aveley Our thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63880 And yes, my pants are indeed fancy. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 15May 06, 2014 4:19 pm We didn't have an inspector view the property - really wish that we had. It's our first home and I had faith in DAH to have checked up on these things. Certainly wouldn't do that again... They took the beading off from inside our dishwasher recess, so now we have a working dishwasher, which is great. It is annoying to know that there are bare gaps in the floor where the beading should be, but am telling myself to stop being obsessive - I know they are there for a reason! Hopefully the cabinet maker can fix the other two issues without fuss next Wednesday. The guy from DAH seemed confident, but I can't say that I am feeling that way! I noticed in your thread that you also had issues with the window frames being scratched. I don't understand why they take the protective coating off so early to allow them to get damaged. Isn't that what it is there for? Very frustrating... I hope your move goes well (and you can fit your appliances in!!!) Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 16May 07, 2014 1:04 am That's what you'd think Amy. It seems so logical to me, but what do I know? I'm glad you can fit your dishwasher in now. I'm sure you won't even think about the gap in a few weeks. I'll be sending positive vibes for next Wednesday! Building with Dale Alcock Homes in Aveley Our thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63880 And yes, my pants are indeed fancy. Re: New Home Build - Dale Alcock 17May 07, 2014 1:37 pm I think our PCI has been delayed from when our ss said it would be because we told her we were getting a private building inspector in, despite her reassuring us of Dale's impeccable finishes and to save our money. I was thinking yeah right like I'm going to trust you. They are probably just spending the time now fixing the mistakes they weren't going to bother about before IMO. https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64434 Building our own custom design based on the Elwood by Dale Alcock Land settled - November Plans submitted to council - January Prestart - March Slab - 18 September Brickies - 23 October Can anyone recommend a good/affordable retaining wall and fence builder that I can get a quote from located in Sydney? 8 45817 If you are in Victoria you have a statutory right to your own building inspector regardless of builder's consent. No negotiations are required. However the builder will… 1 2937 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17602 |