Browse Forums Building A New House Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 3Feb 09, 2016 12:08 pm After a lot of research and endless weekends spent in visiting display homes in brisbane , we settled down for Stylemasters ( not till we visited plantation display). The inclusions looked great and the display homes was more close to our taste. We had been avoiding visiting the plantation display homes since the only thing we heard about them was that they were expensive...
And then one fine day plantation launched this price crash promotion !!! yippee !! After going through all the single storey designs ( we were keen on building a single storey house ) we finally settled in for a RETREAT 18m Q3 which would fit our block of land !! The block we have is 20m by 25m !! and there are not many standard single storey designs that will fit into it . So finally in around october last week we visited the plantation display in springfield lakes and had a rough quotation done from one of the sales consultants . My overview about plantation so far.. the journey till now ( we are close to submitting our plans for council approval) has been smooth as butter and there have been no major surprises till date. The staff in plantation have been quite good at answering our silly queries ( its our first build !! ) and have been quite active in replying to mails and giving us information on some grey areas . So far so good ... the sales consultant sell and that's what they are good at .. so you should probably not believe every thing they say or commit to try and ignore any big statements they make ... And ofcourse we had already paid our $1500 deposit to stylemasters to do a tender for us.. We informed plantations sales consultant about this and were able to negotiate a good deal with him. They agreed to refund us the money spent with another builder if we signed up with them .. Not bad !! Atleast we recover our loss ( $1500 might allow few little upgrades ) Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 4Feb 09, 2016 2:57 pm Lessons Learnt so far :
* Do not rely or completely trust the sales consultants. They show you a rosy image but in reality what you will get is quite different than what they make you dream of ! * Be realistic and keep allowances for unknowns ( Earthworks and upgrades) if you tend to have a fixed budget that you are trying to work towards. Moving on to plantation we got the plans drawn up ( draft) and a tender document done. We got some few upgrades added into the tender document itself cauz we were pretty sure about the additions that we definitely want to be there in the house. 1) Ducted Aircon - Daikin 2) Full render to whole house 3) Electrical upgrade allowance of $10,000 Plantation was having a good promotion running ( currently still on) for free flooring so that will be included in base price !! Re: Plantation Retreat - Soil test and contour survey 5Feb 09, 2016 3:03 pm Our block has a significant fall from top to bottom so we had a good budget in mind for the earthworks . The tender came back to be almost the same price as stylemasters but we chose plantation over stylemaster !! since the inclusion were slightly better and even though they r considered to be a bit on expensive side the house that we liked ( Retreat 18m Q3) was fitting into our budget and requirements. The soil test and contour Survey was ordered by the sales consultant and that is where the role of sales consultant ends !! Phew! and perhaps the rosy picture they show you starts turning into a more realistic image. Re:Plantation Retreat 18m Q3 changes 6Feb 09, 2016 3:12 pm A look at the standard retreat 18m Q3 from plantation:
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We have made some changes to the standard floor plan. Removed TV area since we wanted just one theatre/media in our house and we replaced the smaller TV area with walk in robes for other bedrooms + a linen cupboard. Some windows changed in living room. We also got the laundry door changed to a sliding door. Here is a look at the modified design: Few words on plantation homes : They have been really good with making changes to the standard floorplan. We were not charged any admin fee etc... there are things that had an extra cost .. like door to walk in robes + upgrading to a larger window etc. which were justified. Overall very happy with the modified plan now .... Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 7Feb 09, 2016 3:19 pm Where abouts are you building? I read something recently about someone having problems with Stylemaster. Did you change much on the plan? One of the reasons I didn't really look at Plantation as I don't believe they would let us change much on the plans. Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 8Feb 09, 2016 3:27 pm bmitchel Where abouts are you building? I read something recently about someone having problems with Stylemaster. Did you change much on the plan? One of the reasons I didn't really look at Plantation as I don't believe they would let us change much on the plans. We are building in Heathwood area in brisbane ..The staff at sprinngfield lakes stylemaster was disappointing. We then headed to north lakes stylemaster . The sales consultant was good but plantation was equally good too. We have modified the plan quite a bit ... but it was not a problem for plantation. They were quite flexible but yes some changes did cost us few bucks ( like adding a linen robe).. but the costs were reasonable.. So far no complaints ... Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 9Feb 09, 2016 3:29 pm Prats09 We are building in Heathwood area in brisbane ..The staff at sprinngfield lakes stylemaster was disappointing. We then headed to north lakes stylemaster . The sales consultant was good but plantation was equally good too. We have modified the plan quite a bit ... but it was not problem at all for plantation. They were quite flexible but yes some changes did cost us few bucks ( like adding a linen robe).. but the costs were reasonable.. So far no complaints ... That is good to hear. Did you go to the new display homes in Capestone Estate @ Mango Hill? Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 10Feb 09, 2016 3:31 pm bmitchel Prats09 We are building in Heathwood area in brisbane ..The staff at sprinngfield lakes stylemaster was disappointing. We then headed to north lakes stylemaster . The sales consultant was good but plantation was equally good too. We have modified the plan quite a bit ... but it was not problem at all for plantation. They were quite flexible but yes some changes did cost us few bucks ( like adding a linen robe).. but the costs were reasonable.. So far no complaints ... That is good to hear. Did you go to the new display homes in Capestone Estate @ Mango Hill? Yes .. Been to all display homes .. Phew !! Mango hill and rochedale as well ... They are all pretty much the same .. Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 11Feb 10, 2016 2:04 pm I found it tough to paste pictures in here , for reference to the standard plan and modified plan see my blog : https://ourplantationretreat18mq3.wordpress.com/ Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 12Feb 10, 2016 2:15 pm Color Selection Appointment We had our color selection appointment and we stuck to the choices available at Cosham studios. We had a strict budget so trying to have less upgrades. Its quite a task to do these selections and still stick to your budget. We went for some simple upgrades: 1) extra laying fee for bigger tiles. 2) Large pivot entry door 3) Rain shower in bath 4) Kitchen bin in drawer 5) different color on walls in bed 2 Will update if i remember more.. but thats pretty much what we did. We chose everything that was available in cosham and nothing beyond the studio. Overall in the plan , we got rid of the TV area and got 2 walk in robes added to 2 bedrooms and another linen robe . This filled up the TV area. Plantation was pretty good at accommodating these changes for us . Infact they have been good at making structural changes till now. So far so good ! Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 14Feb 24, 2016 12:19 pm NVLR You mind me asking how much the ducted aircon is? We are also building with Plantation and would like to compare there price to others out there. Thanks Its approx 14,500 for us . We are building a single storey. But i guess it varies for a double storey. Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 16Feb 24, 2016 12:26 pm Joker Would check air conditioning threads first as you'll end up with better job through self knowledge, as installation is just as important as product quality. With Plantation they have the restriction to have the ducted fittings done through them only ! You can get the units installed through an outside vendor though.. Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 17Mar 07, 2016 5:06 pm Hectic week at work ... I have not been able to post anything for last couple of days . Here are some pics for standard inclusions that plantation has . Thought i will post images since it will helpful for someone whose looking to build with plantation. 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 ⋅ Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 19Apr 17, 2016 3:03 pm Hi all, We are looking at building with Plantation Homes and was wondering if anyone could give us some guidance on flooring costs. We got the free flooring promotion but it is just their standard range of wooden look floorboards. From what we have experienced in display homes the 'included' ones seem to be more creaky over time whereas the upgraded boards (referred to as crafted) sound better to walk on. Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and if anyone is aware of the price difference between the boards with plantation homes? Thanks in advance Re: P and A's -Plantation Retreat 20Apr 20, 2016 5:29 pm DJCJDC Hi all, We are looking at building with Plantation Homes and was wondering if anyone could give us some guidance on flooring costs. We got the free flooring promotion but it is just their standard range of wooden look floorboards. From what we have experienced in display homes the 'included' ones seem to be more creaky over time whereas the upgraded boards (referred to as crafted) sound better to walk on. Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences and if anyone is aware of the price difference between the boards with plantation homes? Thanks in advance HI DJCJDC , No clue about this . We went ahead with the standard promotion that they were running for free flooring. Depending on the area of your house it will vary. Cheers, PRats I think I know the answer but just checking to see if anyone has had experience with it. 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