Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 20, 2014 11:32 am Hi Guys, The husband and I are looking at potentially doing a custom two-storey build in Adelaide in the near future (nothing in the project builder market seems to be jumping out at us nor seems suitable to maximise the space on the block), however we are unsure who to approach to get design concepts and plans drawn up as every architects website looks as if they only do million dollar builds (obviously this is to show off their work but its hard to know if they offer anything less). Can any of you recommend any good architects or draftsmen who would do designs for builds under $350k? Are there any quite flexible project builders out there who are happy to play around significantly with their designs? Just really trying to get an idea of who to approach at this time. Thank you! Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 2Aug 20, 2014 1:34 pm Serenity are good but not sure you'd get two story for your budget. I saw them when we wanted a custom single story. Rossdale does customs. Speak to Leon Margaritis ... Fantastic to deal with, nice bloke. We were dealing with him when he was at McCracken (they were going to do our custom single story build but went broke). Format Homes also do custom (steel frame) and so do Regent and APS at Glenelg. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 3Aug 20, 2014 5:26 pm Thank you for that Tom Cat, I will definitely investigate these builders further! Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 4Aug 22, 2014 12:58 am Good luck. Can't wait to hear more from you to hear how you go. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 5Aug 22, 2014 8:57 am I'm currently talking with a company called Mirage Homes. Small custom builder and they seem good. You will have your first meeting with them at a house they have built in Glengowrie which is their office. Good way to meet them and see their product. Tell them what you want and their draftsman will draw it up. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 6Aug 22, 2014 9:18 am We are currently building with Homestead Homes. This is the second time we have built with them in 5 years. Both times we have not used any of their plans, but taken our own design and requirements to them, and they were more than happy to draw them up for us. The sales consultant (same one for both builds) was brilliant with understanding our hand drawn plans and our needs. And you should be able to get a 2 storey home in your budget with them. I can PM you the sales consultant details if you want another option Good luck Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 7Aug 22, 2014 10:22 am Mirage Homes looks like they do quite a nice build! So I will probably investigate them further! Thanks Troy 87! Homestead Homes seemed like one of the better quality project home builders that I had seen around Danaandmel so it's good to know that they can also use your own custom designs! Would be good to find out the sales consultant's details as well if it's not too much of a hassle! Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 9Aug 19, 2015 8:22 pm We've just signed a build contract with Format Homes. They started quite good value and agreed to some fairly firm negotiating. Our plan is their own design as we have a block that narrows as it goes back (i.e. Anything that fits on the front won't fit at the back and if we went with the rear space it wasted room at the front). They were more than happy to amend the plan (and quote) several times before we signed the contract. They will also allow you to subcontract elements of the work to other firms, which is something to watch for as some builders won't allow other trades on site until after handover. Check ProductReview for further feedback on all builders. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 10Aug 20, 2015 7:23 pm We built a custom design with Format and they were great and are currently building another custom with Adelaide designer homes again good experience so far. Both steel builders. I hear good things about Gasparrin also. There are quite a few who will get ideas up and running for you design wise. Look forward to seeing your designs. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 11Aug 20, 2015 7:36 pm bluesteel We built a custom design with Format and they were great and are currently building another custom with Adelaide designer homes again good experience so far. Both steel builders. I hear good things about Gasparrin also. There are quite a few who will get ideas up and running for you design wise. Look forward to seeing your designs. Who did you hear that from bluesteel Using my LG-G4 to bring you this update. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 12Aug 20, 2015 7:49 pm Friends have been dealing with them and are finding them very helpful design wise after leaving another builder. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 14Aug 20, 2015 8:04 pm Sorry Twin dad I forgot you are building with them, I'm a bit slow......am waiting for the weekend. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 15Aug 21, 2015 10:39 am In all fairness bluesteel I've not really posted much of the process of how we got to our design. We used a pre-construction service who lined up the architect, interior design, survey, cfr and council applications and put together a tender which went out to a number of builders. So in reality Gasparin are only the builder in my case someone else did the design. Using my LG-G4 to bring you this update. Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 17Sep 25, 2016 3:43 pm twin_dad In all fairness bluesteel I've not really posted much of the process of how we got to our design. We used a pre-construction service who lined up the architect, interior design, survey, cfr and council applications and put together a tender which went out to a number of builders. So in reality Gasparin are only the builder in my case someone else did the design. Using my LG-G4 to bring you this update. Hi Melobius We spent two years and sold our family home to build a "custom" home through one of the mid range project builders. In May of this year we walked away from the dream home distraught after some not so favourable service standards (12 weeks to reply to basic, genersl emails, and some aspects of our contract going up by 400%, plans being wrong and so on). We have a challenging site with a 6m slope but essentially we want a 4 bedroom home with two living areas.. nothing too fancy but the slope has been too big of a challenge for a project builder. Most project builders said that they couldn't work on more than a 3 m slope in most instances. A few weeks ago we sat down with Pam from APS and went through what we were looking for in a house and had a dream wish list which we gave them. Pam has been wonderful and very accommodating and very understanding of our situation and frustrations. We had countours and engineering which we were able to provide and they then had an architect draw up a house concept for our site which included all of our wish list items. We were absolutely blown away that within 2 weeks they were able to come up with something so perfect for us. We are now waiting for the house design to go through their estimator and be priced up. Obviously we aren't at site yet and don't have final pricing but so far, I can't recommend them enough based on what we endured last time around and the service we've already received in a short time span. The two compsnies are just poles apart. Definitely contact Pam from APS 😊 Re: Custom Build Recommendations in South Australia 19Sep 25, 2016 10:35 pm Sorry to hear you had so much drama at the beginning but Glad to hear things are finally working out! I was speaking to another user who also is using APS so am definitely going to call them!! Adam Baines Grad Cert Bldg Surv / Grad Dip Bldg Surv / MSAAPA Accredited Building Professional APB20210035 Builders Lic 183023 Pest Control Lic 84868 Ph 0412202336 PO… 3 46814 Hello, we can help you please get in contact 0421019219 thank you 3 31822 If you don't want to annoy the neighbours then simply get yourself some good head phones. For me the sound is much better using headphones. The NCC (National Construction… 1 26162 |