Building with Wisdom Homes

Femstar · Oct 16, 2019 8:41 pm

MandM+4

Teezed

Hi All

I am curious about something which might seem minor but has annoyed me to no end this week.

Were any of you asked at any stage where you wanted your garden taps to be located before your job was released to site?

Nope.
Standard they put 2 at the front and one at the back.

Very true. I did asked during pre-construction and I was told they usually will install them at the best possible location. I was not giving a choice to select.

Norfolk · Oct 16, 2019 8:51 pm

manhattan52 Thanks, OK, you have no specific knowledge or experience of Wisdom’s QA, I understand now.

Femstar · Oct 16, 2019 9:00 pm

Norfolk

Therefore you have no specific knowledge or experience of Wisdom’s QA, Correct?

Like I said not sure of the entire build stage but for suspended slab stage I got involved and there was QA completed by Wisdom Homes and third party Hydraulics and Structural Engineer. This was part of the council’s requirements.

Manhattan52 · Oct 16, 2019 9:21 pm

Norfolk

@manhattan52 Thanks, OK, you have no specific knowledge or experience of Wisdom’s QA, I understand now.

You are just so negative I can’t be bothered with you.

ASJ1981 · Oct 16, 2019 9:23 pm

Manhattan52

Norfolk

@manhattan52 Thanks, OK, you have no specific knowledge or experience of Wisdom’s QA, I understand now.

You are just so negative I can’t be bothered with you.

Tell me about it... yawn.

Manhattan52 · Oct 16, 2019 9:28 pm

ASJ1981. Was thinking of you earlier actually.. you must be getting close to handover

ASJ1981 · Oct 16, 2019 9:46 pm

Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅

If you want more info regarding their QA Process, visit one of their sales centres in Sydney. Im sure they can point you in the right direction. The screen shot i just uploaded came from Wisdom's website. It's merely a statement, but I'm sure if you wanted in depth info, you can always send a message to them online via their website.

Norfolk · Oct 17, 2019 6:56 am

Good idea! Will do. I think any prospective wisdom homes customer should ask wisdom homes to substantiate their general sales and marketing statement ie “detailed quality control program” with specific details of their quality assurance resources and actual programs / activities. Volume builders are not all the same, with different strengths and weaknesses, and quality is one of the key criteria and comparison item for selecting a builder, I think.

In addition, I checked the Q&A section for Wisdom Homes in the product review forum. There is some valuable discussion about this topic there.

I expect Wisdom Homes closely monitors this home one thread and so perhaps they would like to provide a detailed official response substantiating their QA resources and processes here for the benefit of their potential customers. Please.

Funk52 · Oct 17, 2019 6:59 am

Teezed

Norfolk

Remember the SS’s objective will be to keep the job moving and payments coming. Ask him to acknowledge the defects and advise in writing when they will be rectified. Do not rely on verbal assurances or accept any ‘gaslighting’. If he won’t confirm in writing then do it for him and ask him to acknowledge. It’s important to keep factual written records as anything said often means nothing later.

Yes, totally agree. Everything needs to be in writing and that has saved me a couple of times so far in this process.

Just this week we found that our garden taps had been installed without consultation as to location with us. I had asked our admin person about 18 months ago (via email!) when do we chose tap location and was advised in writing that it would be in consultation with the plumber and SS once on site. I thought it was a strange response but you have to pick your battles sometimes so I went with it. Well it turns out that what the admin person told us was BS (no surprises) and we should have been asked before going to site. The SS is fixing for me but only because I have the email chain but still less than ideal as brickwork has started.

I asked my CSR about the taps before construction and was told that it would get sorted out on site. By the time I got round to asking my SS about the tap placement during construction they had already been installed (I know, I should have followed up earlier).

It's not the placement that bothers me, it's the fact that there is a recycled water tap at one corner of the house near where my pool is going in and the next closest tap at the other corner is a rainwater tap. The freshwater tap is at the complete opposite corner of the house, next to the rainwater tank!! (smacks head against wall)

What I will have to do now is somehow ensure the rainwater supply stays very clean. Those UV filter systems look like a real pain to deal with, so I'm looking for an easier way to clean the water.

M4bath · Oct 17, 2019 9:56 am

Funk52

Teezed

Norfolk

Remember the SS’s objective will be to keep the job moving and payments coming. Ask him to acknowledge the defects and advise in writing when they will be rectified. Do not rely on verbal assurances or accept any ‘gaslighting’. If he won’t confirm in writing then do it for him and ask him to acknowledge. It’s important to keep factual written records as anything said often means nothing later.

Yes, totally agree. Everything needs to be in writing and that has saved me a couple of times so far in this process.

Just this week we found that our garden taps had been installed without consultation as to location with us. I had asked our admin person about 18 months ago (via email!) when do we chose tap location and was advised in writing that it would be in consultation with the plumber and SS once on site. I thought it was a strange response but you have to pick your battles sometimes so I went with it. Well it turns out that what the admin person told us was BS (no surprises) and we should have been asked before going to site. The SS is fixing for me but only because I have the email chain but still less than ideal as brickwork has started.

I asked my CSR about the taps before construction and was told that it would get sorted out on site. By the time I got round to asking my SS about the tap placement during construction they had already been installed (I know, I should have followed up earlier).

It's not the placement that bothers me, it's the fact that there is a recycled water tap at one corner of the house near where my pool is going in and the next closest tap at the other corner is a rainwater tap. The freshwater tap is at the complete opposite corner of the house, next to the rainwater tank!! (smacks head against wall)

What I will have to do now is somehow ensure the rainwater supply stays very clean. Those UV filter systems look like a real pain to deal with, so I'm looking for an easier way to clean the water.[/quote

Looks like everyone has asked the same question through various stages about “where are the garden taps being placed?” and no solid or consistent answer.

We asked during the tender presentation and got the nod to where it would be installed from Domenic however I don’t think it’s been captured in any email or plans (will go back and dig now).

We will start asking our SS now, hoping it’s not too late. 😬😬

SaveH2O · Oct 17, 2019 10:49 am

Funk52

It's not the placement that bothers me, it's the fact that there is a recycled water tap at one corner of the house near where my pool is going in and the next closest tap at the other corner is a rainwater tap. The freshwater tap is at the complete opposite corner of the house, next to the rainwater tank!! (smacks head against wall)

What I will have to do now is somehow ensure the rainwater supply stays very clean. Those UV filter systems look like a real pain to deal with, so I'm looking for an easier way to clean the water.

The secret is to deliver good quality water to the tank and then deliver the best quality water in the tank to the pump/hose. Unfortunately, practically all new homes with rainwater harvesting systems have sub standard installations.

If you post some photos of your tank showing the infeed pipe(s), the tank's outlet (supply) valve and the top section of the diverted downpipes at the gutter, I should be able to suggest some easy low cost ways to improve the water quality delivered to the pool.

Teezed · Oct 17, 2019 11:59 am

M4bath

Funk52

Teezed

Yes, totally agree. Everything needs to be in writing and that has saved me a couple of times so far in this process.

Just this week we found that our garden taps had been installed without consultation as to location with us. I had asked our admin person about 18 months ago (via email!) when do we chose tap location and was advised in writing that it would be in consultation with the plumber and SS once on site. I thought it was a strange response but you have to pick your battles sometimes so I went with it. Well it turns out that what the admin person told us was BS (no surprises) and we should have been asked before going to site. The SS is fixing for me but only because I have the email chain but still less than ideal as brickwork has started.

I asked my CSR about the taps before construction and was told that it would get sorted out on site. By the time I got round to asking my SS about the tap placement during construction they had already been installed (I know, I should have followed up earlier).

It's not the placement that bothers me, it's the fact that there is a recycled water tap at one corner of the house near where my pool is going in and the next closest tap at the other corner is a rainwater tap. The freshwater tap is at the complete opposite corner of the house, next to the rainwater tank!! (smacks head against wall)

What I will have to do now is somehow ensure the rainwater supply stays very clean. Those UV filter systems look like a real pain to deal with, so I'm looking for an easier way to clean the water.[/quote

Looks like everyone has asked the same question through various stages about “where are the garden taps being placed?” and no solid or consistent answer.

We asked during the tender presentation and got the nod to where it would be installed from Domenic however I don’t think it’s been captured in any email or plans (will go back and dig now).

We will start asking our SS now, hoping it’s not too late. 😬😬

Good luck!

It's just weird as you have to sign off on everything else except the tap placements! I asked during the admin process because when we built our current house (different builder) we were asked to point to where we wanted them so I kept waiting to be asked the same question.

malypetu · Oct 17, 2019 3:49 pm

Teezed

malypetu

Hi Teezed,
I'll be eager to hear if those defects are been rectified and if that causes any problems with Wisdom. Were they helpful, prompt to rectify the issues?

Cheers

We only received our inspection report yesterday. We are meeting the SS tomorrow and will discuss then.

Hi Teezed,
Thank you for your reply. Hopefully, the SS will take good care of everything. We are about to go to our Canvas Quarter selection meeting. Could you please tell me how many colors can you select for the house. Can you have a different color for each room?. The living area and dining area you allow to have more than one color? Does it cost extra to use a color combination?
If you can share a few tips from your experience that will be great.

M4bath · Oct 17, 2019 4:07 pm

malypetu

Teezed

malypetu

Hi Teezed,
I'll be eager to hear if those defects are been rectified and if that causes any problems with Wisdom. Were they helpful, prompt to rectify the issues?

Cheers

We only received our inspection report yesterday. We are meeting the SS tomorrow and will discuss then.

Hi Teezed,
Thank you for your reply. Hopefully, the SS will take good care of everything. We are about to go to our Canvas Quarter selection meeting. Could you please tell me how many colors can you select for the house. Can you have a different color for each room?. The living area and dining area you allow to have more than one color? Does it cost extra to use a color combination?
If you can share a few tips from your experience that will be great.

You get to choose one colour that is applied to the whole house And the equivalent colour for trims and frame (excluding ceiling). I believe it’s $600 per colour to add to any room.

Teezed · Oct 18, 2019 9:46 am

M4bath

malypetu

Hi Teezed,
Thank you for your reply. Hopefully, the SS will take good care of everything. We are about to go to our Canvas Quarter selection meeting. Could you please tell me how many colors can you select for the house. Can you have a different color for each room?. The living area and dining area you allow to have more than one color? Does it cost extra to use a color combination?
If you can share a few tips from your experience that will be great.

You get to choose one colour that is applied to the whole house And the equivalent colour for trims and frame (excluding ceiling). I believe it’s $600 per colour to add to any room.

Yes, it is $600 per colour - so if you want your walls one colour and trim a different colour then it would be $600 extra even though the wall paint is a different type of paint to the trim (usually gloss or semi gloss).

Teezed · Oct 18, 2019 10:00 am

malypetu

Teezed

malypetu

Hi Teezed,
I'll be eager to hear if those defects are been rectified and if that causes any problems with Wisdom. Were they helpful, prompt to rectify the issues?

Cheers

We only received our inspection report yesterday. We are meeting the SS tomorrow and will discuss then.

Hi Teezed,
Thank you for your reply. Hopefully, the SS will take good care of everything. We are about to go to our Canvas Quarter selection meeting. Could you please tell me how many colors can you select for the house. Can you have a different color for each room?. The living area and dining area you allow to have more than one color? Does it cost extra to use a color combination?
If you can share a few tips from your experience that will be great.

hi Malypetu - I am comfortable now that my SS will take care of what is required.

In terms of tips - this is obvious but the better prepared you are the better the process will be for you.

I took pictures of what I liked/wanted with me and that formed the starting point of the conversations for each session. CQ consultants will however be there to guide you through the process and offer their opinions if they don't think something works etc.

The CQ consultants will be (should be) available to answer questions even after the day of your selections.

With the flooring selections you get to change your choices once after the initial session without charge otherwise there is an admin fee applied. This can be useful depending on the order in which you are allocated your sessions. We had flooring first (before external/internal colours) so we did go back and change some tile choices as the original brick choice changed by the end of the CQ sessions.

And if you like the selections (wall colour/ cabinetry/ flooring etc) in any of the display houses that information is available to the consultants to look up too.

hope this helps!

champs2018 · Oct 18, 2019 3:39 pm

Hello All,
Our file has finally reached production estimation today. The email from CSR states to clear the land of any grown grass or plants. Isn't it Wisdom's responsibility to clean and start?? If not, what are the simpler ways to get the cleaning of our land?
Also, I would love to know if you have or had a SS who is/was very proactive and got things moving faster with good quality. If so, Please share the details. Thanks

Femstar · Oct 18, 2019 4:03 pm

champs2018

Hello All,
Our file has finally reached production estimation today. The email from CSR states to clear the land of any grown grass or plants. Isn't it Wisdom's responsibility to clean and start?? If not, what are the simpler ways to get the cleaning of our land?
Also, I would love to know if you have or had a SS who is/was very proactive and got things moving faster with good quality. If so, Please share the details. Thanks

Hi Champs2018,
It’s your responsibility to clear the land of any debris and have a low cut grass. You need to send WH a photo and they will let you know if acceptable.
I don’t think you can request a particular SS. WH will assign you one and you can either accept or reject the SS. Hope that helps?

Norfolk · Oct 18, 2019 5:11 pm

Hi champs2018 I suggest contracting a private inspector to assist your new SS in ensuring all Wisdom Home's contactors' workmanship is of an acceptably good standard, and the home is built as per the signed plans. The SS should appreciate this expert support from you to check things carefully at each stage. Best to inspect before each progress payment is due, and if it is identified the workmanship is not up to the NCC standards agreed in your contract then withhold any progress payment until it is corrected, using the appropriate contract procedure of course. It’s important to identify any issues at each stage before they are covered up with following items and finishes and these cause problems for you and Wisdom Homes later.

Stukip · Oct 18, 2019 5:16 pm

Hi All,

At what point does the sewer connection from mains to house become the landowner versus council.

My pipes need work between my front boundary and the main, apparently...