Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15041Sep 27, 2019 9:28 am Hi Yara, I have sent you a direct message again asking you to provide your contact details to me so that I can investigate and help your situation. Please respond. Regards Mark Wisdom.[/quote] Hi Wisdom We are choosing from Wisdom, Masterton and Metricon. Can you please let me know your advantage over the other two? Also we are currently looking at adding smart features in our new build, so can we use our own electrical products like Ctec smart light switch and some other smart power outlets? Thanks Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15042Sep 27, 2019 5:49 pm Hi Mark, Thanks for reaching out. I already sent through my details to you a few weeks ago. Where you contacted me back. I will resend again. WisdomHomes Yara You're probably right as well as from what others said about us being at a different stage of the build if the bricklaying was done in the initial scheduled time. Comms really is important. Especially to show there is planning. Probably the best updates was where it was clear what was booked for what day. Where it was generic, sometimes things were missed. Some people actually say they do get regular updates and can even send quick messages to get responses. What's interesting is there are some people in management who seem to care about the customers. We finally got basic questions we had asked months ago answered. Hopefully there is better attention. During the time we had the same item listed for 5 weeks in a row with the roof. There was little progress on other items. Defects? Unfortunately we had defects picked up by the inspection company from slab. Most other owners only had defects picked up in frames stage. One of the things which made everyone anxious was the feeling of dodging straight answers on taking responsibility for fixing defects and providing the date they would be fixed. This was raised by the inspection company. A very good lesson. Probably what felt like months and was months was agreement to fix the defects found before prelining inspection. But all those weeks of dodging answers or trying to reduce communication in writing really did not show confidence in workmanship which was worrying and really could have been avoided by being up front and taking responsibility to fix any defects. So the lesson from the company is make sure there is agreement in writing and a date set for remediation for every defect found. If you get the runaround or avoiding of agreements, best to get the inspection company involved early. Some of the items can actually be fixed quite quickly or cheaply which is why it was strange it took so long to get agreement. Stay tuned for prelining inspections. I am taking them at their word and hopefully not expecting the company to pick up more issues. I am expecting the pictures to show remediation for items you can't see if they are fixed or covered. That's clear to everyone. So i will post the post remediation pictures so people can learn. We are pretty trusting people and picked the company even when there were a lot of really bad reviews back then. I am optimistic that things will be OK. The actual quality of the brickwork section in general seems good. Those workers attitude was really good too. Just that they got sent to another site. Then weather meant more time was wasted which impacts everything else. The neighbours have raised an issue that things that were meant to be removed from excavation that cost us about 16k are still at the front yard. They said normally everything is cleared at one time. Quite a lot of the neighbours have previous building experience or were in the industry. I wonder what other people have had to pay for excavation from Wisdom if anything? The neighbours are very tolerant. They even try to move their cars away from the property. But they complain when they don't see workers (probably because they want things to finish on time). The other thing they raised is the council medium strip being damaged. Not sure if this is normal. But I am hoping it gets fixed. quote="Ghandaji"]Mate, I feel your pain.... You're pretty reserved when discussing things. I have driven past your place, and noticed the gates closed and progress is slower than other builders in the area who are more active. Thanks for the heads up.... Please keep us in the loop and let me know if the situation gets better. You would have thought it would have improved or had better attention!!! I think when you get updates that specifies what is scheduled and ordered for each day, it shows that they are organized. If you are just getting generic updates or the same updates. It probably is an issue with planning or management. Especially if other sites in your area are progressing. Feels like you got ripped off.... if they promised the bricklayers would come but sent them somewhere else. That could have delayed you by weeks especially around weather. I would be spewing... Getting the same item reported each week must be pretty annoying...... I can see how you would have progressed to prelining otherwise or close to it. You are probably right about comms dropping from Wisdom and service dropping too. I can almost guess who that is! that other owners talk about.... No wonder this forum is getting less and less updates from people. Or perhaps people are looking at other builders. Were there defects found in the earlier stages? Feel free to send me a PM just to chat or vent. You should probably complain more or escalate. There's some other private groups where people talk honestly like you about the issues they are facing... Still in a very similar position. Pretty disappointing. We feel there is lack of communication again despite sending numerous SMS and phone calls. No return calls. Pretty poor communication. Last week it was compounded with 3 days of rain. My experience is that every time there is poor communication from Wisdom, the service and productivity significantly drops. A week ago, there was a phone call from executives to check progress, and I was hoping that service and the experience and work would improve. Pretty disappointed, and honestly a bit frustrated at the moment. This has been going on for over 8 weeks now. We have literally had the same item repeated for 6 weeks in a row as updates!! Other workers on other sites could not believe it. Despite the good weather conditions and sunny days. Very disappointing. What compounds this, is that other houses in our area, have workers during the time there is no one on site. According to the workers and other people we had spoke to, if Wisdom did not make the mistake of redirecting our bricklayers to another site out west, we should have already had our pre lining inspection. Looking at the message I posted early September they do not appear to be trying to catch up to their mistakes. The neigbours are getting annoyed, like some other builds. But there is very poor communication coming from the company. (ironically, Wisdom has helped in some issues that one of the other builds which has caused issues with their neighbours). The roof would have been up back in August. During the periods of rain, we would have been able to do electrical work. Other sites in our area have workers there, which is the benchmark our neighbours use. Our site is sloping as well. Which means the water runs off, unlike level sites. The neighbours said, no one even came on site to even check the soil conditions. This is the update so far: Same line item repeated for 5 weeks in a row. Monday: No one on site. Just one worker for about 1 hour to mark things. Tuesday: No one on site. Sent SMS. No return call. No communication. No update. Wednesday. No one on site. Sent SMS. No return call. Not communication. No update. Now the neighbours are really annoyed, that the company has ripped up the pedestrian walkway and even the council medium strip with track marks. So far the neighbours have been pretty patient and supportive people. They are just wondering why there are so many days which could have had planned workers, there are not any. Just to think, that if the bricklayers had actually come when they were meant to, we would not have had all these delays. It's also the same time communication dropped which is significantly disappointing. Other home builders, have even noticed the same thing. Another owner building with a different company, is much further ahead (already completed prelining) up in the neighbour area who has driven past our place almost every day. They are also building a 2 story house. They say, it's pretty disappointing, if the defects are not fixed yet, and there are no workers on site, despite their build having people on site. That's why there is such a large progress difference. But from what I can gather from speaking with other owners, lack of communication and poor planning, leading to poor service are probably the key issues. Weather to a smaller extent, but if workers were not moved to other sites, we would have been ahead. I actually had to look back at the Sept 9 post to make a comparison with progress. Manhattan52 That’s happened throughout my build. Depends what stage your at as it changes a lot. Some weeks nothing and then some weeks 5 or 6 different trades are working. They account for this. What are you waiting on? Hi Yara, I have sent you a direct message again asking you to provide your contact details to me so that I can investigate and help your situation. Please respond. Regards Mark Wisdom.[/quote] Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15043Sep 28, 2019 10:06 am becks81 Hi everyone, sorry for the heavy postage. Just after some front fence/gate advice. We are having a double driveway, strip of ?grass or hedge and then a path from the foot path to front porch. Hoping to have a motorised gate across the driveway but not sure how this will work with a front gate at the path too. If the driveway gate is open, the path gate is obstructed. Also, if it is an inward opening path gate, then it will get damaged if left open and someone opens the drive gate. Has anyone got a similar set up? Here is a sample landscape plan which shows the layout Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We have a similar if not the same landscape for the front yard. Been thinking about using a telescopic driveway gate. Did you look into that? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15044Sep 28, 2019 10:20 pm M4bath becks81 Hi everyone, sorry for the heavy postage. Just after some front fence/gate advice. We are having a double driveway, strip of ?grass or hedge and then a path from the foot path to front porch. Hoping to have a motorised gate across the driveway but not sure how this will work with a front gate at the path too. If the driveway gate is open, the path gate is obstructed. Also, if it is an inward opening path gate, then it will get damaged if left open and someone opens the drive gate. Has anyone got a similar set up? Here is a sample landscape plan which shows the layout Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We have a similar if not the same landscape for the front yard. Been thinking about using a telescopic driveway gate. Did you look into that? I think my husband has looked into them. I'm worried about these being prone to malfunctioning. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15045Sep 30, 2019 8:32 am Femstar Hi Yara, I started since 2016 too which was quite frustrating. Delays was partly council but mostly WH. Construction started end of December 2018 but most of the delay was around the suspended slab and requirements to have tiger tails installed. I was not happy initially with my SS as I was always pouring all the frustration on him. Eventually, He understood my situation and things have been pretty good since then. Overall, I’m happy with my SS. He gives regular updates and replies my messages as soon as practical for him. I am another from the class of 2016 I have been responsible for zero delays and I cannot tell you of any major issues. From what I can see is if you have a good Customer Service Rep & Site Supervisor it will be ok, but if either or both is not capable you will need to learn the art of patience. Bob Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15046Sep 30, 2019 2:09 pm Bob the Bludger Femstar Hi Yara, I started since 2016 too which was quite frustrating. Delays was partly council but mostly WH. Construction started end of December 2018 but most of the delay was around the suspended slab and requirements to have tiger tails installed. I was not happy initially with my SS as I was always pouring all the frustration on him. Eventually, He understood my situation and things have been pretty good since then. Overall, I’m happy with my SS. He gives regular updates and replies my messages as soon as practical for him. I am another from the class of 2016 I have been responsible for zero delays and I cannot tell you of any major issues. From what I can see is if you have a good Customer Service Rep & Site Supervisor it will be ok, but if either or both is not capable you will need to learn the art of patience. Bob Hi Bob, Very true. I had up to 3 CSRs. I was impressed with the 2nd CSR as that was when things really moved a little further but then she went on maternity leave and next CSR does not seem competent to me. There has been a fourth one assigned since March but we have not even communicated once ( no need btw as I’m already on site). What stage are you at now? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15047Oct 02, 2019 5:15 pm I have read through the previous post about how long is the slab left to cure and got a couple of answers between 10 days - 2.5 weeks. Anyone had a week or less time to cure? And during this time, does that mean absolutely nothing is being done, no plumbing, pipes, frame etc? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15048Oct 02, 2019 5:22 pm M4bath I have read through the previous post about how long is the slab left to cure and got a couple of answers between 10 days - 2.5 weeks. Anyone had a week or less time to cure? And during this time, does that mean absolutely nothing is being done, no plumbing, pipes, frame etc? External drainage usually happens and then frame delivery. Depends on your site/constraints. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15049Oct 02, 2019 11:01 pm Hi all, Long time lurker, but first time posting. We've recently signed the contract with Wisdom for a new build, first time in doing so and it's all so stressful. Very nervous times. Our experience with CSR has been fairly positive so far. The 2 day CQ sessions are done, and we are now waiting on all of the quotes for the variations. We didn't really go overboard on too much so we know what to expect for most of them. However, I was quite stunned by the cost of the Curtains/Shutters. Did anyone use Wisdom/EHI for this? Also, we were quoted in excess of $20k for our driveway, which is about 12-13m in length (75m2). This seems very expensive for a flat driveway!?! Based on other posts on this forum, I see most paying between $6-9k for their driveway so I was hoping it would be around $10k. Has anyone used Wisdom Landscapes for their driveway? If not, what was the cost difference for another concreter? I have plenty more questions for you experienced lot, but will break the ice gently to start off with. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15050Oct 03, 2019 7:42 am [quote="Heeper":2182bu3w]Hi all, Long time lurker, but first time posting. We've recently signed the contract with Wisdom for a new build, first time in doing so and it's all so stressful. Very nervous times. Our experience with CSR has been fairly positive so far. The 2 day CQ sessions are done, and we are now waiting on all of the quotes for the variations. We didn't really go overboard on too much so we know what to expect for most of them. However, I was quite stunned by the cost of the Curtains/Shutters. Did anyone use Wisdom/EHI for this? Also, we were quoted in excess of $20k for our driveway, which is about 12-13m in length (75m2). This seems very expensive for a flat driveway!?! Based on other posts on this forum, I see most paying between $6-9k for their driveway so I was hoping it would be around $10k. Has anyone used Wisdom Landscapes for their driveway? If not, what was the cost difference for another concreter? I have plenty more questions for you experienced lot, but will break the ice gently to start off with.[/quote:2182bu3w] Welcome Heeper EHI are very expensive with curtains compared to other suppliers, blinds seem to be ok price but not sure on shutters Driveway wise your prices seem on par. Just get different quotes externally if you think too much. You may find those smaller priced driveways have a lot less sqm than yours Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15051Oct 03, 2019 8:53 pm Manhattan52 M4bath I have read through the previous post about how long is the slab left to cure and got a couple of answers between 10 days - 2.5 weeks. Anyone had a week or less time to cure? And during this time, does that mean absolutely nothing is being done, no plumbing, pipes, frame etc? External drainage usually happens and then frame delivery. Depends on your site/constraints. Thanks Manhattan52 . I managed to find more posting about the waiting period before the heavy work starts on the slab. Framework is ok just after a week from pouring. Although welcome anyone to add further comments. And yes, we are finally onsite! Yay... Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15053Oct 03, 2019 8:57 pm Manhattan52 \"Heeper":2182bu3w Hi all, Long time lurker, but first time posting. We've recently signed the contract with Wisdom for a new build, first time in doing so and it's all so stressful. Very nervous times. Our experience with CSR has been fairly positive so far. The 2 day CQ sessions are done, and we are now waiting on all of the quotes for the variations. We didn't really go overboard on too much so we know what to expect for most of them. However, I was quite stunned by the cost of the Curtains/Shutters. Did anyone use Wisdom/EHI for this? Also, we were quoted in excess of $20k for our driveway, which is about 12-13m in length (75m2). This seems very expensive for a flat driveway!?! Based on other posts on this forum, I see most paying between $6-9k for their driveway so I was hoping it would be around $10k. Has anyone used Wisdom Landscapes for their driveway? If not, what was the cost difference for another concreter? I have plenty more questions for you experienced lot, but will break the ice gently to start off with.[/quote:2182bu3w] Welcome Heeper EHI are very expensive with curtains compared to other suppliers, blinds seem to be ok price but not sure on shutters Driveway wise your prices seem on par. Just get different quotes externally if you think too much. You may find those smaller priced driveways have a lot less sqm than yours I have a feeling the initial quote from Wisdom Landscape is a very broad number. Our quote is similar figure to yours but m2 is smaller. Although some other posts indicate that Wisdom will come out to do another round on quoting during construction if you have marked any provision. Welcome Heeper! Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15054Oct 03, 2019 9:00 pm Manhattan52 @M4bath congrats to you!!! That’s was me exactly a year ago Thanks Manhattan52. Suddenly the excitement has just hit me again. Woo-hoo!! I can use your timeline as a reference along with many others to get an idea where we will be before Xmas shut down. So looking forward to everything. Time to re-read the forum to now be up to date with what happens during construction and what to be aware of. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15056Oct 04, 2019 12:22 am Manhattan52 @M4bath Tried to add photos but not working. About 10% of frames were up at Christmas shutdown I can see the photo when I view it on my laptop. Might just be an app thing that it’s not visible. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15057Oct 04, 2019 11:54 am Hi M4bath Did you make any modifications to the contract? We're about to sign the contract and wanted to check with others. Also, have you engaged any independent Builder inspector? Good luck to you with your project I will try to make a blog to show the stages and the progress. Cheers Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15058Oct 04, 2019 1:56 pm malypetu Hi M4bath Did you make any modifications to the contract? We're about to sign the contract and wanted to check with others. Also, have you engaged any independent Builder inspector? Good luck to you with your project I will try to make a blog to show the stages and the progress. Cheers Hi malypetu, just to clarify the contract is mostly the tender add on/variations plus legal jargon and no, no changes made. The terms are rather standard and not up for negotiation anyway (not that I know of). Yes, we are going to use an independent building inspector, Houspect which you can engage and start just being the build. Thanks! tick tock goes the construction clock. Are you about to sign on the dotted line with Wisdom? Exciting times. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15060Oct 04, 2019 3:32 pm M4bath malypetu Hi M4bath Did you make any modifications to the contract? We're about to sign the contract and wanted to check with others. Also, have you engaged any independent Builder inspector? Good luck to you with your project I will try to make a blog to show the stages and the progress. Cheers Hi malypetu, just to clarify the contract is mostly the tender add on/variations plus legal jargon and no, no changes made. The terms are rather standard and not up for negotiation anyway (not that I know of). Yes, we are going to use an independent building inspector, Houspect which you can engage and start just being the build. Thanks! tick tock goes the construction clock. Are you about to sign on the dotted line with Wisdom? Exciting times. Hi M4bath Thanks for that reply. We are thinking about engaging Houspect as well but not decided yet. We are about to sign Contract with Wisdom next week, having just signed the Tender. Hopefully, we will be talking in a few months, with mutual congratulations for a good end to the project, finger crossed. Cheers Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. How long are variations taking with other companies at the moment? We… 0 18473 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73522 Hi Everyone, I am exploring builder in NSW and received a very tempting quote from Wisdom home for their momentum series. I just want to know experience of building… 0 8242 |