Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 806Feb 15, 2020 11:03 am Norfolk Zen jo-t Hello! We are about to embark on the KDR journey with H&H. So excited to get started! Can I ask, those who needed demolition, which company you used and would you recommend them? Thank you We used Democorp. Didn’t have any issues with them. We had to pay an extra $6k because of asbestos but they took photos and properly documented where the additional asbestos was found. They were also upfront about how it was charged. Zen An extra $6K for additional asbestos disposal seems a lot, given the costs to dispose of asbestos at waste facilities are about $350 per tonne and manual labour costs about $50 per hour. Asbestos is quite lightweight per square metre so possibly a lot of extra asbestos was buried on your property? Did Democorp provide you with the EPA Wastelocate consignment tracking number to check? It is a legal requirement for the asbestos disposal companies to follow the EPA app system, and obtain this number that can be checked by anyone online. https://wastelocate.epa.nsw.gov.au/ Were there other costs in managing the extra asbestos? Some manual labour 'Emu Picking' the fragments and disposal bags costs possibly? I experienced a situation a few years ago where a demolition company fabricated some 'hidden asbestos' photos, made up a plausible story they thought I wouldn't check, and falsified disposal facility weigh bridge documentation to try to claim extra payment. The payment was due before they would provide the clearance certificate, of course. They said i should thank them because they were saving me money with their particular disposal process compared to the cost of bulk dumping soil contaminated with asbestos! Hi norfolk, I checked back on emails and couldn’t find any consignment tracking number. We did get lots of photos of the contamination and was Invoiced for 9.14 tonnes @ $595/tonne + gst to dispose. The clearance certificate had photos. Wish we had known to ask explicitly for the tracking number to make sure it was per our invoice. We did seem to have a lot of asbestos based on what was on the clearance certificate though. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 807Feb 15, 2020 11:49 am Hi Zen wow! Based on 1 square metre of asbestos sheet weighing about 10kg, with the 9 tonnes you had about 900 square metres of sheet removed from your property, that's enough for 3 complete typical asbestos sheet houses. Would more than cover all a 600m2 Ryde block and potentially require Workcover and EPA engagement. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 808Feb 15, 2020 5:31 pm msresearcher Can I ask with paint colours: can we pick ANY shade of taubmans or is there a limited list or it costs more? Have heard of some builders doing that... and furthermore can we pick up dulux colour in taubmans if we can’t find a taubmans colour we like? Ok I now have my heart set on Dulux natural White - I got a test pot on a taubmans white base. Please let me know if this is permitted??!! I cannot possibly test anymore taubmans whites! I have 2 for inside but none I was happy with outside... Im going crazy with white paints. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 809Feb 15, 2020 7:46 pm msresearcher msresearcher Can I ask with paint colours: can we pick ANY shade of taubmans or is there a limited list or it costs more? Have heard of some builders doing that... and furthermore can we pick up dulux colour in taubmans if we can’t find a taubmans colour we like? Ok I now have my heart set on Dulux natural White - I got a test pot on a taubmans white base. Please let me know if this is permitted??!! I cannot possibly test anymore taubmans whites! I have 2 for inside but none I was happy with outside... Im going crazy with white paints. I think you can choose any shade of taubmans without additional cost. We preferred the Dulux whites too. Ended up going with taubmans cotton ball inside. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 810Feb 15, 2020 7:48 pm Norfolk Hi Zen wow! Based on 1 square metre of asbestos sheet weighing about 10kg, with the 9 tonnes you had about 900 square metres of sheet removed from your property, that's enough for 3 complete typical asbestos sheet houses. Would more than cover all a 600m2 Ryde block and potentially require Workcover and EPA engagement. This was our first (and hopefully last!) demo so not familiar with the ins and outs of asbestos. Hope those embarking on the journey and potentially have asbestos to remove - take note of Norfolk’s advice and ask for the tracking number 😓 Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 811Feb 16, 2020 11:17 am I think most people would be the same and some demolition companies take advantage of this. An extra $6K for "hidden asbestos" seems to be their sweet spot and most people just pay up. Asbestos is mysterious, scary and you need the clearance certificate ASAP for the builder to start work. For others planning demolition, in addition to checking the consignment with the EPA Wastelocate tracking number, a recommendation is get it clearly in writing within the demolition agreement as to what the agreed procedure will be if they find the "hidden" asbestos, and if they don't follow that process you are not liable to pay any extra. Ideally you are provided reasonable warning time to properly inspect and take your own photos. Perhaps stay around to observe and document the additional works required (with the workers wearing appropriate protective clothing and equipment) to remove and safely package the "hidden asbestos". They should have nothing to hide. Be wary of the demo company's own multiple photos, which of course will show some asbestos. If any demolition company quoting won't confirm a transparent "hidden asbestos" process to your satisfaction then find another company that will. Don't rely on the builders' demolition "partner" recommendations, anonymous online forum 5 star reviews (mostly fake), the demo company's overt assurances of their honesty and trustworthy-ness, their office response and helpful-ness, - these are well practiced smooth marketing, sales and confidence trick grooming tactics. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 812Feb 16, 2020 12:48 pm Hi All, We received working drawings now, looking good, some minor written tender request were not included but were reassured can be done now. I wonder if they will honour sales discussion, Any similar experience would be much appreciated thanks. Tiles - Do anyone know if a 600x600 tiles can be considered in bathroom (floor/ wall) tiles? Other then additional laying cost, reading the forum, some builders won' t do it for walls. Windows - msresearcher, yup, the glass louvers are in there with code ALV 1806 hope this helps. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 813Feb 16, 2020 9:01 pm We are at Week 11 of our build & brickwork should be completed this week, scaffolding coming on Wednesday for upstairs. We had a delay last week due to the rain but work has been done whenever possible. We got a few quotes for demolition & decided to use Eco which H&H had recommended. They were fantastic, lovely family business & no hidden costs. We had asbestos which they documented prior to knockdown & they found a bit more but didn't charge anything extra. Definitely recommend them. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 814Feb 17, 2020 11:24 am Zen Thank you How does it feel getting the keys to your house? Everything going well? We have the keys but haven't moved in yet. We want to sort out everything first. Handover was Jan28. Outsourced flooring done Feb3-4. Plantation shutters were installed Feb10. Driveway and landscape were in slow progress due to the weather lately. Cosmetic touch-ups being carried like paints, glass scratches and electrical. There is one structural issue which I'm waiting to be fixed. Hopefully, we can move in by end of this month, fingers crossed![/quote] Hi Zen, Who did you use for the plantation shutters and how quickly were they able to install? Thanks Amanda[/quote] Hi Amanda, we are getting quotes for shutters at the moment. mickeydonald, who did you go with?[/quote] We got our plantation shutters from Mayne flooring in Castle Hill. Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 815Feb 17, 2020 11:52 am Hi All, I have been following your discussion and we hope to be able to start our build in the next few months We have finally come out of the initial plans phase as we had a number of changes to the Elyse and got stuck over the Christmas break. Something we are thinking of is electrical: is it worth doing any of this after handover? How does it work? I understand you can't really do ground floor after handover but first floor you could as there is ceiling space to work with. Any tips would be much appreciated. Am also thinking that we may do flooring after handover too now... trying to save $$ in a very expensive process!! Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 816Feb 17, 2020 7:23 pm [quote="MickeyDonald":13f4sfsq][quote="Zen":13f4sfsq]?[/quote:13f4sfsq] We have the keys but haven't moved in yet. We want to sort out everything first. Handover was Jan28. Outsourced flooring done Feb3-4. Plantation shutters were installed Feb10. Driveway and landscape were in slow progress due to the weather lately. Cosmetic touch-ups being carried like paints, glass scratches and electrical. There is one structural issue which I'm waiting to be fixed. Hopefully, we can move in by end of this month, fingers crossed![/quote:13f4sfsq] Hi MD What flooring are you doing after hand over and what was the reasoning? Options and/ or cost? You’ve got me thinking about doing that now! Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 817Feb 24, 2020 10:01 am msresearcher \"MickeyDonald":13f4sfsq \"Zen":13f4sfsq ?[/quote:13f4sfsq] We have the keys but haven't moved in yet. We want to sort out everything first. Handover was Jan28. Outsourced flooring done Feb3-4. Plantation shutters were installed Feb10. Driveway and landscape were in slow progress due to the weather lately. Cosmetic touch-ups being carried like paints, glass scratches and electrical. There is one structural issue which I'm waiting to be fixed. Hopefully, we can move in by end of this month, fingers crossed![/quote:13f4sfsq] Hi MD What flooring are you doing after hand over and what was the reasoning? Options and/ or cost? You’ve got me thinking about doing that now! Hi msresearcher, We chose Krono Swiss Aquastop 12mm laminate flooring on all living areas with 5mm thick underlay (all 2nd floor, stairs, study, guest and theatre) . Pros: We found more options in terms of brand/color/width if we outsourced and it comes out cheaper. Cons: From experience, we found a little hassle in time for organising/coordinating tradies (flooring and skirting) and the inconvenience of opening/closing the house for them (taking a few hours off work or coming in late). In total, we still save 1k (credit of carpet and upgrade to laminate with Accent less laminate flooring less skirting installation/painting) which can be used for roller blinds for the alfresco sliding doors or additional fund for plantation shutters. Hope this helps Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 818Mar 09, 2020 9:41 am Hey guys, Its great to see these info about hallhart as it seems they only started a couple of years ago and there are very limited info about this builder. We are also in the very early Stage on KDR. Would be really appreciated if anyone can answer the below questions: 1. They seem to provide tender estimate which they claim it will be very accurate to the actual one which will be provided after test and survey. How’s everyone’s experience? 2. Their inclusion price seem to be higher than other builders however it maybe because they include better quality ones but not sure. Its really hard to compare 3. They said after tender acceptance, they provide fixed price except hydraulic system, is it the same with everyone? 4. Anyone had warranty concerns considering they are new builder to this industry Re: Building with Hall & Hart Homes 819Mar 09, 2020 9:54 am Amanda_Ly MickeyDonald We have the keys but haven't moved in yet. We want to sort out everything first. Handover was Jan28. Outsourced flooring done Feb3-4. Plantation shutters were installed Feb10. Driveway and landscape were in slow progress due to the weather lately. Cosmetic touch-ups being carried like paints, glass scratches and electrical. There is one structural issue which I'm waiting to be fixed. Hopefully, we can move in by end of this month, fingers crossed! Hi Zen, Who did you use for the plantation shutters and how quickly were they able to install? Thanks Amanda Hi Amanda, We ended up getting our shutters and s-fold curtain with DIYBlinds. The shutters are made in Aus so it will only take 7 working days to make. Other companies that I got quotes for were estimating 6-8 weeks to get the shutters made as they are made in china - so check the lead times. Will post some pics of the shutters once they are in. I have a really long hallway which is 1100mm W x 11500mm L I would appreciate if anyone can give suggestions to light it up with Linear LED lights that goes from wall to… 0 8822 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74717 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105609 |