Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 19, 2016 7:42 pm We are doing a KDR in Melbourne 4km from the airport & under the flight path. We went to tender with Henley, however we cancelled after tender as they had trouble sourcing windows to meet the acoustic requirements of the build as per the planning permit. We recently went to contract with Silkwood Dream & paid a deposit, however they have now gone into liquidation. Obviously we're extremely disappointed. We had drawn the basic plans & given them to Silkwood for the elevations, engineering etc. We really want to build this house, so we are now looking for a custom builder. Any suggestions on a reputable/reliable builder in this area? We don't want to be burnt again. KDR Under the Flight Path - Dennis Family Homes (Hawkesdale) Re: Custom builder - any tips when choosing? 2Jan 20, 2016 7:22 am Hi rondy, The best advice I can give you when building in Melbourne is: 1. Believe nothing on a builder's web site 2. Get more than one detailed quote or at least have the quote checked by a quantity surveyor 3. Ask for references - recent as well as from about 5 years ago and go and look at the houses if you can 4. Check that the builder is registered and doesn't appear on any disciplinary register 5. Have a solicitor look at the contract and make sure everything you expect is in writing 6. Read the Domestic Building Contracts Act and make sure you understand it 7. Get a copy of the NCC 8. Use your own building surveyor and ask them to report back to you 9. Get an experienced and competent building inspector from contract stage to final inspection 10. Be courteous towards your builder and try to stay on good terms but make sure it is a business relationship. Once the house is finished they won't want to see you so they are definitely not your friend. Re: Custom builder - any tips when choosing? 3Jan 22, 2016 8:33 pm All of the above, but if you have a designer - ask them for their recommendations. Especially if they've been around for a long time. We have gone to tender to 3 of the designers recommendations, and he's mentioned each builder's strength and weakness. We've also tendered out to two builders who's work we've seen and like. Re: Custom builder - any tips when choosing? 4Jan 23, 2016 12:02 pm Hi There. We too are building a custom home but wouldn't recommend our builder as they aren't delivering what has been promised! As well as the above advise make sure your drafter has some sort of experience with regulations. We've just lost 5 months due to the drafter our builder uses not picking up on what we'd consider basic stuff. We got to planning and failed twice due to 1) The eaves being slightly over an easement in a corner and 2) Their design was not compliant with the estate guidelines. Can I also recommend EcoStar double glazing (Kilsyth) for windows? I don't work for them but we wanted to have them on our new home. Unfortunately they won't deal with new builds so you'd have to have basic windows put in and then have them measure and install after. They export from the UK but use a thicker glass than the Aussie versions and put a gas in between - very high spec, experience and quality! Also make sure that if the builder goes over the stated build time that you have a bit more than the $250 per week penalty we have! I'd strongly recommend getting your contract professionally reviewed once you find a good builder. Good Luck! Re: Custom builder - any tips when choosing? 5Jan 23, 2016 12:22 pm Thanks guys for your valuable input. We've now decided against a custom builder. We're a bit scared in case we ended up losing out again, we've wasted over 6 months already. We did a KDR so have an empty block sitting waiting for a house and are living in a tiny rental which I hate. We're now looking at another major builder - Dennis Family Homes. They have been around a long time & a guy at work built with them so hopefully they'll be ok. They have a very similar plan to the plan we were going to build with Silkwood. So we figured it should be third time lucky! KDR Under the Flight Path - Dennis Family Homes (Hawkesdale) Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. We definitely wish to settle and get these people out of our life. They are trying to charge us interest on late… 7 14184 It is in lake macquarie area and dimensions are width 14 m and depth 8 m and the slope is 1/5 going down from the road. 1 7065 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20190 |