Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15922Jul 16, 2020 2:06 pm malypetu Funk52 Norfolk Did Wisdom Homes credit or pay you the correct liquidated damages amount for the delay beyond the agreed build time in your contract? As I said, there is nothing owing by Wisdom. They covered themselves by having a long build period in the contract and then added weather days on top of this. I'm a bit confused about the Christmas period. The contract states "the industry shutdown being a 3 week period commencing on or about 22 December in each year if construction during the Christmas period could not have been reasonably foreseen at the Date of this Contract;" How do you interpret this? Well if your site scrape only happened recently, even blind Freddy can forsee that the Christmas period will fall within your build period. There is no way they can claim for the shutdown period. My contracted build period was 44 weeks. How long is yours? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15923Jul 16, 2020 2:25 pm It seems there are some expensive traps for unwary homebuyers in the 'fine-print' of Wisdom Homes cunningly modified 'standard' HIA contracts. I suggest reading everything very carefully before signing. Ask Wisdom's sales consultant for a copy of their modified contract template at your very first meeting. They will provide this. If you don't understand anything ask Wisdom Homes, forum members here publicly, or a lawyer for help.
Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15925Jul 16, 2020 3:50 pm CS199 @Funk52 We have 44 weeks as well. How long did it actually take for them to complete the build. Slab went down late July no PCI yet The site scrape started mid April 2019 and 2 weeks later the slab was down. The roof was done mid July and plasterboard end of August. After that things slowed down significantly. The initial PCI was end of February. After inspecting I disputed this so they pushed back the PCI to end of March to give them time to fix the defects. After that the fun started with the certifier.......3.5 months later I am about to receive the IOC. The only thing needed for the final certificate now is to place a positive covenant for the stormwater on my property title. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15926Jul 17, 2020 2:27 pm alce4463 Hi all, Been a long time since I’ve been on here. We built the majestic 35 and had handover late 2018. This was our second build with wisdom and had a great experience with our first home. Unfortunately it hasn’t been the same experience this time. We seem to have an ever growing list of problems with this house and the maintenance team are hopeless. Emails are regularly left without response or they say things will get done but nothing happens. When things finally start getting fixed they are left half done by trades with no date for them to return and finish. We are constantly finding cracked tiles in our bathrooms, laundry, front porch and balcony and think the tiles haven’t been laid properly. Our en-suite shower has been left half fixed for six weeks now and no one can tell me when they are coming back to fix it We had our garage ceiling collapse flooding our garage after the down pipe from the second story was installed the wrong way forcing all the water up under the flashing. The underlay under the carpet has gaps of up to 2 1/2 inches between pieces. We have had 2 rooms relaid but are noticing it all over the house and in order for wisdom to fix it they require us to move all the furniture. When we had the big rain the carpet in our down stairs office was soaking wet but nothing upstairs was wet from a leak and we had no flooding around our house. So are very concerned that it could have been come from under the slab. We really just want these problems addressed and fixed. This was meant to be our forever home but now considering selling and building with another builder. Has anyone else had problems with wisdom and what action did you take? We don’t want to give wisdom a bad name as we had a great experience with our first build but are sick of constantly having to chase wisdom to try and get things fixed. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ alce4463 What has Wisdom Homes done to address these issues? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15927Jul 17, 2020 11:41 pm Hi All, I'm new to the forum and just thought I'd introduce myself as I'm in the preliminary stages of my Wisdom build (Inspiration 32 with Hampton's Facade). I've already benefited greatly form all the information here, and look forward to sharing my experience and hearing about all of your's as I move forward with my build. I paid the $1500 for a fixed price tender on 2/5/20. Tender proposal was 24/6/20. This could have been done 2 weeks earlier, but my wife and I were too busy with other things at the time. We made a few changes at Tender presentation with the biggest change being a change of facade. Still waiting to hear from our sales representative with our updated tender proposal. I honestly didn't expect it to take this long, but after reading many previous posts, I'm not that surprised. Quite excited nonetheless. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15928Jul 20, 2020 3:25 pm Hi All, I am new here, our home is at last stage with Wisdom Home. We got few questions, it would be great if anyone had similar experience or could kindly advice. 1. Our inspector did PC inspection last week, and noted "Insufficient spacing between insulation and down lights. This poses a fire risk. Request builder to address issue immediately. The minimal clearance of recessed luminaire from insulation is 100mm as per AS3000-2018 4.5.2.3." I also checked our LED light package, it states "must not be covered by insulation at the back of LED light" However, my SS argued as " Are you sure that's not LED, if It is LED, this standard does not apply, as LED doesn't produce heat". Just wondering if anyone get experience, if my inspector too detailed or the job doesn't apply with the standard. In my inspector's word, he got time to replied lots of emails to argue it, he can easily use equivalent time to fix it. 2. Normally how long takes from carpet installed to ACM? We changed our SS at last week of June, and at the last week of June, carpet has been installed. However, so far we haven't done ACM inspection. From the first week of July, we keep chasing SS/CSR. Our SS blamed ACM (as ACM didn't schedule inspection), then we workaround between SS/CRS/ACM, finally booked it at 17/07/20. Then we followed up today, the response we got it SS cancelled ACM on 17/07, as he did his personal inspection on 15/07, found items to fix, it will be failed if come to ACM inspection. So what really happened since 29/06-15/07. Very interesting time, his personal inspection just happened the same day with our inspector. We really tried all reasonable actions to follow up, CSR ( almost catch up twice per week), SS ( once every week, every hard to reach. He only reply once, no matter how many times you called him&emailed&SMS), ACM(no response so far). We stuck at here, we really hope it back on track, and doesn't know how to do. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could advice any actions we could do. Many thanks Lianna Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15929Jul 20, 2020 4:45 pm liannaz your inspector is correct: AS3000-2018 4.5.2.3 definitely applies to LED lights. These can get hot and can cause fires as well. Covering the back of these LED lights with insulation is dangerous and illegal if they are not rated for this type of installation. Its a personal safety and insurance risk (they won't pay out if there is a fire). In addition, the insulation cover will keep the lights operating temperature too high and they will quickly 'cook themselves' and fail due to this heat, requiring premature replacement. An appropriately rated downlight able to be covered by insulation will show 'IC' or 'IC4' marked on it and show a simple diagram showing the light installed in the ceiling covered with insulation on its body or cable. Also usually on the packaging. Ask your SS for the specification sheet of the downlight if you want to double check this. Demand Wisdom Homes installs good quality down lights rated for covering with insulation. There are many brands available that feature this for about $10 each. Don't accept them just clearing away the insulation around the lights which will affect your heating and cooling energy usage. Give Wisdom the opportunity to rectify their defective installation. Your Wisdom Homes SS, with his BS, clearly has no regard for your personal safety and security. The requirements for 'IC' or 'IC4' LED down lights to be installed under insulation are clearly detailed in The Australian Wiring Rules AS3000-2018 4.5.2.3, as quoted by your inspector. Given your experience I am wondering how many other completed Wisdom Homes also have such dangerous illegally installed downlights? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15930Jul 20, 2020 4:58 pm LiannaZ Hi All, I am new here, our home is at last stage with Wisdom Home. We got few questions, it would be great if anyone had similar experience or could kindly advice. 1. Our inspector did PC inspection last week, and noted "Insufficient spacing between insulation and down lights. This poses a fire risk. Request builder to address issue immediately. The minimal clearance of recessed luminaire from insulation is 100mm as per AS3000-2018 4.5.2.3." I also checked our LED light package, it states "must not be covered by insulation at the back of LED light" However, my SS argued as " Are you sure that's not LED, if It is LED, this standard does not apply, as LED doesn't produce heat". Just wondering if anyone get experience, if my inspector too detailed or the job doesn't apply with the standard. In my inspector's word, he got time to replied lots of emails to argue it, he can easily use equivalent time to fix it. 2. Normally how long takes from carpet installed to ACM? We changed our SS at last week of June, and at the last week of June, carpet has been installed. However, so far we haven't done ACM inspection. From the first week of July, we keep chasing SS/CSR. Our SS blamed ACM (as ACM didn't schedule inspection), then we workaround between SS/CRS/ACM, finally booked it at 17/07/20. Then we followed up today, the response we got it SS cancelled ACM on 17/07, as he did his personal inspection on 15/07, found items to fix, it will be failed if come to ACM inspection. So what really happened since 29/06-15/07. Very interesting time, his personal inspection just happened the same day with our inspector. We really tried all reasonable actions to follow up, CSR ( almost catch up twice per week), SS ( once every week, every hard to reach. He only reply once, no matter how many times you called him&emailed&SMS), ACM(no response so far). We stuck at here, we really hope it back on track, and doesn't know how to do. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could advice any actions we could do. Many thanks Lianna Hi, I'm far from being an expert, however, a little search about LED shows this. "Downlights are not all made the same and therefore have varying energy consumption, life span and heat output. Recessed light fittings tend to shed excess heat and should be avoided where possible. It is important that recessed lights and their auxiliary equipment is installed correctly to prevent overheating and igniting any surrounding material." Source: https://pricewiseinsulation.com.au/fire-safety-and-downlights-with-ceiling-insulation/ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ More references at https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design/insulation-installation In all the articles I have reviewed they do recommend Not to cover LED downlight, both to avoid safety hazards and performance/durability. I have also read this document (https://lumitex.com.au/can-i-cover-led-downlights-with-insulation/) were it is stated "Downlights with clear markings and supporting documentation showing “IC-F” or “IC” may be abutted and covered with insulation. However, while the light may be safe to operate when covered, the elevated temperatures resulting from lack of ventilation may in some cases reduce the expected lifetime of the product. Note that a rating of “CA” on a LED downlight means it can be abutted to insulation, but not covered. This is an important specification not often investigated to the level of detail it deserves." I hope this helps, it looks in some cases is ok to be abutted but not covered , depending on the downlight type. Cheers Hope it helps Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15931Jul 20, 2020 5:56 pm Kanata Hi All, I'm new to the forum and just thought I'd introduce myself as I'm in the preliminary stages of my Wisdom build (Inspiration 32 with Hampton's Facade). I've already benefited greatly form all the information here, and look forward to sharing my experience and hearing about all of your's as I move forward with my build. I paid the $1500 for a fixed price tender on 2/5/20. Tender proposal was 24/6/20. This could have been done 2 weeks earlier, but my wife and I were too busy with other things at the time. We made a few changes at Tender presentation with the biggest change being a change of facade. Still waiting to hear from our sales representative with our updated tender proposal. I honestly didn't expect it to take this long, but after reading many previous posts, I'm not that surprised. Quite excited nonetheless. Hi, Is this your first time building? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15932Jul 20, 2020 10:16 pm JasmanC Kanata Hi All, I'm new to the forum and just thought I'd introduce myself as I'm in the preliminary stages of my Wisdom build (Inspiration 32 with Hampton's Facade). I've already benefited greatly form all the information here, and look forward to sharing my experience and hearing about all of your's as I move forward with my build. I paid the $1500 for a fixed price tender on 2/5/20. Tender proposal was 24/6/20. This could have been done 2 weeks earlier, but my wife and I were too busy with other things at the time. We made a few changes at Tender presentation with the biggest change being a change of facade. Still waiting to hear from our sales representative with our updated tender proposal. I honestly didn't expect it to take this long, but after reading many previous posts, I'm not that surprised. Quite excited nonetheless. Hi, Is this your first time building? Yes, this is our first time building. Hearing about everyone's experiences here is definitely making me feel a little more at ease with the process. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15933Jul 21, 2020 7:57 am liannaz I suggest you forward this link to your site supervisor and Wisdom Homes general manager ; https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/laws-an ... se-4.5.2.3 This details the requirements for the safe and legal installation of LED downlights. To rectify your defect the downlights should be replaced with ‘IC’ ones. This is a quick plug and play job. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15934Jul 21, 2020 9:30 am Kanata JasmanC Kanata Hi All, I'm new to the forum and just thought I'd introduce myself as I'm in the preliminary stages of my Wisdom build (Inspiration 32 with Hampton's Facade). I've already benefited greatly form all the information here, and look forward to sharing my experience and hearing about all of your's as I move forward with my build. I paid the $1500 for a fixed price tender on 2/5/20. Tender proposal was 24/6/20. This could have been done 2 weeks earlier, but my wife and I were too busy with other things at the time. We made a few changes at Tender presentation with the biggest change being a change of facade. Still waiting to hear from our sales representative with our updated tender proposal. I honestly didn't expect it to take this long, but after reading many previous posts, I'm not that surprised. Quite excited nonetheless. Hi, Is this your first time building? Yes, this is our first time building. Hearing about everyone's experiences here is definitely making me feel a little more at ease with the process. Its our first build too, we have done Tender , Contract back in Feb, Selections in March, Land registered end of May, Waterboard in June now CDC in July the process is long but I email every week and my CSR is very responsive so you just need some level of patience, any structural changes is best to make them now not later down the track and its roughly a 4 week turnover for variations to come back. I follow a few builds on Instagram the admin stage is painful for everyone doesn't matter who you build with or where you're building, delays either with the builder or council etc .. But I like to keep an open mind and stay positive, we want to enjoy this experience, its very exciting times ahead. Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15936Jul 21, 2020 11:58 am Norfolk @jasmanC what structural changes have you made? None, That's why my process was a lot quicker than others, others that I follow spent months back and forth on these changes, its best to do them at the start Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15937Jul 21, 2020 12:18 pm JasmanC Thanks, what's the typical pre-construction admin stage duration that you observed? Does Wisdom Homes provide some guidance, based on their building experience, to clients to manage their expectations of the time required for this process? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15938Jul 21, 2020 12:36 pm Norfolk @JasmanC Thanks, what's the typical pre-construction admin stage duration that you observed? Does Wisdom Homes provide some guidance, based on their building experience, to clients to manage their expectations of the time required for this process? I'm still in Pre-construction, Our land didn't register till the 28th of May, I was told from CDC to site is 4-6 weeks Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15939Jul 21, 2020 12:44 pm Thanks JasmanC , Can some other forum members please also share their experiences? What about Wisdom Homes pre construction admin timings with already registered land?, or knock down and rebuild projects? & what is Wisdom's guidance about what admin timings clients should expect? Re: Building with Wisdom Homes 15940Jul 22, 2020 9:32 am Ghandaji That doesn't sound good at all mate. They could have just called the other company. I hope it's not what happens because of PCI. Yara I felt very startled today. We had just completed flooring. I was asked to go in the house to take a look. It felt like I was being reprimanded in an angry tone. For a customer who is paying hundreds of thousands to have what felt like being talked to in such a rude and aggressive manner was just not acceptable. We have a new site supervisor and area manager near the end of the build. We have never been spoken like this from the previous Site supervisor, or anyone from Wisdom. We then had a conversation with the new area manager who said that the staff member was also short with them this morning, and apologised. The excuse was that the new SS was sick and really should not have been at work today. We were told there was dust inside and it needs to be cleaned. Fair enough. We can raise this with the flooring company, anyone can. But to have it as what felt like a rude reprimand to us personally did not feel like good customer service at all. This is happening after PCI. There are a number of things we are waiting on updates for. [ltr]It has been a while since my last update. Sorry, this is going to be a long one. Timeline - End of December 2016 paid deposit - Was given representation that February 2020 everything would be ready for us to move in with interim OC. - This changed to March 2020. - Then April 2020. Wisdom had given us representation throughout that there would be no issues to get to interim OC as a builder. Then we were suddenly told just before PCI, we were suddenly in a strange situation like a number of their other customers and that we needed to now complete landscaping, retaining walls and driveway. (We could have done all this last December 2019). May 2020 before we took over the site to complete landscaping, we were told that the only things left for Wisdom to complete were painting, the outdoor brick clean, and the final clean after landscaping and we could move in. We were also given representation that it would take about 1 week for Wisdom to organise all the certificates required for the occupational certificate. All we have to do is tell them about a week before we finish landscaping so they can organise everything. Not happy that even though early July we inform them that all the hard landscaping is complete, we are still in a position where they told us the Hydraulics engineer had been sent out and we should be able to get the final hydraulics certificate. We call the Hydraulics engineer to find out that they have not even been engaged or booked in. How disappointing. We take back control of the site. Wisdom was to update us when people would be coming on site to do their certifications. We get no updates, from the same SS that we felt was disrespectful to us. This is the same last minute change of SS when we were told everything was to be ready. We can see from the outside of the house, that many of the items that Wisdom had provided representation and promised to fix have not been fixed, from the door, to glass, probably even some of the electricals. All of it, which they said was simple to fix. This again, is pretty disappointing. We then get an update that the same SS who we felt was disrespectful had not been able to attend site last Monday or Tuesday. They told us we are meant to be the most prioritised because of the extreme lateness of everything. What is more important, is that we have no updates on what dates this week on when the trades will complete the work that Wisdom had promised would be finished in May (originally February, or what days this week the certifications will complete (since last week we did not receive the final hydraulics certificate) We heard that other Wisdom builds during their landscaping, have Wisdom trades come in to fix various things, and do certification. Pretty disappointing to say the least. In the meantime, on our own to help out Wisdom, we have obtained the retaining wall certification back in June. Driveway, Kerb, Gutter, footpath certification and Arborist certification. I just hope they can get it all sorted out this week as promised and are not going to waste any more time. I just have a feeling Wisdom is not trying hard enough to help us as a customer and the level of service has dropped since PCI [/ltr] 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 73525 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 |