Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 24, 2016 7:51 pm I am building a new house with Porter Davis. We chose the Charlton 33 and are building on a formerly vacant block in an Eastern suburb in Melbourne. The building work has passed the frame stage and unfortunately we are having all sorts of issues. I recently had an independent inspection done and the report has identified a number of structural issues as well as issues with inadequate drainage and inadequate insulation. I am also concerned about poor communication from the building coordinator which has resulted in changes being made to the plans without adequate explanation. My question is what is the best way to get Porter Davis to correct these problems? I have tried complaining to various managers at Porter Davis in the past and they have been rude and dismissive. Should I contact the Victorian Building Authority? Is there anyone else that can help? Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 2Apr 24, 2016 10:22 pm joelpi I am building a new house with Porter Davis. We chose the Charlton 33 and are building on a formerly vacant block in an Eastern suburb in Melbourne. The building work has passed the frame stage and unfortunately we are having all sorts of issues. I recently had an independent inspection done and the report has identified a number of structural issues as well as issues with inadequate drainage and inadequate insulation. I am also concerned about poor communication from the building coordinator which has resulted in changes being made to the plans without adequate explanation. My question is what is the best way to get Porter Davis to correct these problems? I have tried complaining to various managers at Porter Davis in the past and they have been rude and dismissive. Should I contact the Victorian Building Authority? Is there anyone else that can help? Why is your independent inspector not helping you? Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 3Apr 24, 2016 11:10 pm The independent inspector prepared a report. His job is done. Again, my question is how do I get Porter Davis to correct the defects in the inspection report? By way of background, I had already pointed out some of the defects in the inspection report to the building supervisor prior to the inspection and he did not address my concerns. I am referring to things like inadequate drainage around the perimeter of the house and inadequate insulation on the exterior and interior walls. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 4Apr 25, 2016 8:22 am Does your site supervisor have a manager? There should be a regional or state manager. Unfortunately what I have found is that when the buck stops with the state and national managers, there's been no one else for me to complain to. Hopefully someone building with PD can give you some contact details. I think it's always best to try and resolve it with them first before involving third parties especially given you have such a long way to go C U S T O M. C O R A L. B R O N T E. 43 http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=79581 M Y C U S T O M C O R A L B R O N T E 43 ...............Kitchen! 16 Nov 2016 https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=79581 Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 5Apr 25, 2016 8:42 am joelpi The independent inspector prepared a report. His job is done. Again, my question is how do I get Porter Davis to correct the defects in the inspection report? By way of background, I had already pointed out some of the defects in the inspection report to the building supervisor prior to the inspection and he did not address my concerns. I am referring to things like inadequate drainage around the perimeter of the house and inadequate insulation on the exterior and interior walls. You are going to have to hire professional help as the builder is not taking notice of you, someone, who knows how to apply pressure on the builder and take your complaint further. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 6Apr 25, 2016 8:50 am Hi there, PD is a member on this forum (Team PD). Try sending a PM. A customer service person named Joanne keeps on eye on this account and is usually quick to respond and forward your issues to the appropriate person. Good luck. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 7Apr 25, 2016 11:43 am Here is the small lake that Porter Davis has created outside my new house due to inadequate drainage:
There has been a pool of water around the slab for many weeks and my building supervisor has done nothing to address this issue despite numerous requests from me. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 8Apr 25, 2016 3:24 pm Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. I have sent a personal message to "Team PD" listing my concerns. I will also try contacting my building supervisor's manager again. Hopefully someone from Porter Davis will be interested in rectifying the problems in the inspection report. I'll provide an update on this thread in the next few weeks. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 10May 19, 2016 6:03 pm joelpi Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. I have sent a personal message to "Team PD" listing my concerns. I will also try contacting my building supervisor's manager again. Hopefully someone from Porter Davis will be interested in rectifying the problems in the inspection report. I'll provide an update on this thread in the next few weeks. joelpi, how did you go with this? I've been having a bunch of issues myself and have been escallating to the relevant people throughout PD. Keen to hear how you have got on. Vancouver 29-KDR Site start: 14 Feb Slab: 26 Feb Frame start: 2 Mar Frame finish: 27 May Lockup: 28 Jul <--finally! Slab repairs finished: Still going!! House completion due 22/9 http://vancouver29.wordpress.com Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 11May 22, 2016 9:48 am I've had some success. After complaining here and in other places and obtaining an independent inspection, my building supervisor has finally addressed my main concerns about Porter Davis' building work. I think obtaining an independent inspection is vital for anyone having problems with Porter Davis. Also, my building coordinator, who was always difficult to contact and very frugal with important information, has left Porter Davis (not sure of the circumstances). Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 12May 22, 2016 11:16 am Hi, I shared in your concerns. I believe you continue to dialogue with them because your feeling, sweat and money. I am about to start my building with PD. I have not sign my tender yet. I am a little bit sceptical with going ahead. It is taking few days to reply straight forward question. Please I need a step by step how to post new comment here. Also do you know if I can choose to contract out some of the jobs like part of electrical, Security system (alarm & CCTV), Home theatre and home automation solutions. I am building a double storey and I have been quoted 3 surge protector at $600 each. Any suggestion? Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 13May 22, 2016 11:55 am Poor communication is definitely a problem with PD in my experience. If you feel like you have not received answers to your questions don't sign the tender document! PD has huge mark-ups for electrical work and other internal fittings and they will not let you contract out any of this work. If you decide to build with them just get the cheapest electrical fittings that PD offer and have an electrician install surge protectors/security systems, etc after the house is finished. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 14May 22, 2016 2:54 pm dont waste your time..go straight to the top....i see nothing has changed since our build Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 15May 22, 2016 9:39 pm Quick PD question, did anyone add extra heating/cooling outlets? If not how have you found the temperature of the house? TIA Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 16May 31, 2016 8:43 am sian.wickham Quick PD question, did anyone add extra heating/cooling outlets? If not how have you found the temperature of the house? Yes, we have about 11 total in our 2 storey home. The house won't get warmer or cooler faster with more outlets. We only wish we added more thermostats. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 18Jun 08, 2016 6:20 am The problems with PD continue. Almost six months into my build they emailed me to say that I need to choose all new bench tops because their supplier is not making them any more. They expect me to rush into World of Style to select the new bench tops otherwise it will delay the building work and this will be considered my fault... I probably wouldn't be so upset about this situation if their staff were the least bit apologetic. They're not, they are rude and completely unhelpful. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 19Jun 08, 2016 9:25 am Sorry to hear this Joelpi. That sucks. Did you have your heart set on those bench tops? Speaking from experience many of the coordinators are young and often have not been through the building process themselves. And so they don't appreciate how something like this can be devastating. This translates into a lack of empathy and flippant attitude. You just need to keep reminding them of how things like this impact you and to show a bit more understanding. Failing that, go over them until you get someone who will help. Re: Problems building with Porter Davis 20Jun 13, 2016 10:30 am I tried speaking with my building coordinator's manager. I was shocked by how rude and unhelpful this lady was. I then tried calling the manager's manager. Despite making multiple phone calls and leaving voicemail he never bothered to get back to me. I eventually heard back from a different manager who at least sounded conciliatory. Nevertheless, PD should have notified me of the change in suppliers of countertops back in February (when it happened), not in June. The building coordinators (I've had two) both dropped the ball and now my house completion date will be delayed. Based on my experience, all I can say is that PD should be avoided at all cost. Three options 1 Ask the liquidator 2 Find another PD customer and ask the source of their report 3 Pay for new report 3 12320 I am not a brick expert, but rendering would be 1 option, it would be costly to do the entire house though.... 2 6672 Hi all, has anyone been ask to do the weeds in their property while in the middle of build? We are under the impression that they are in control of the site while they… 0 2748 |