Browse Forums Building A New House Re: What annoys Me 41Oct 21, 2007 10:02 am Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: What annoys Me 42Oct 21, 2007 10:06 am Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: What annoys Me 44Oct 21, 2007 10:36 am Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: What annoys Me 47Oct 21, 2007 12:11 pm We also went with a volume builder and while I agree that some of their tradies cut corners I think that most are value for money. Would I prefer to use a smaller builder which would in turn mean a smaller staff - easier/more accessible communication etc. Yes but the fact was I couldn't afford to. But what I did was be on site as much as possible and pay for independent inspections from someone I trust and it is worth noting that the problems that these inspections picked up were minor.
Our house is not a piece of C@#p. It is OUR house and we are very happy with it. After many years in the rental market this is a huge thing for us and I resent anyone criticizing this. We did the best we could with the money we had to play with and I find the original post insulting. Re: What annoys Me 48Oct 21, 2007 12:30 pm I'm not willing to comment on my satisfaction until we have the keys, but so far I would say that they have been very good in responding to any minor issues we have had (wrong glass in the toilet window, and wrong sidelights), agreed that they weren't right and will correct them. If they take until handover to fix them I don't care - as long as I end up with what I have asked and paid for.
I have to give M3tr!con a big thumbs up for being willing to modify their plan to fit our block (all without charging a fee for drawing up the MANY plans we needed). Most of the other "large" builders wouldn't alter, or one said they could but would charge us a drawing fee and would not even estimate what the building cost would be. When we asked a few of the small builders about plans we liked, one said their starting price was more than what our total has come to (which would have been more than we could borrow/afford) and their inclusions were very basic. Another said that they didn't have anything to suit (and obviously weren't prepared to draw one up) - infact the sales lady asked why we had bought the block because we "won't get anything to fit it"! Yet another said that they didn't build in the area but could refer us to a larger builder that they sometimes did work for - but the plan was not exactly what we were after. In the end we chose the builder that would accomodate us - needs and price. Ray. Second Time 'Round Re: What annoys Me 49Oct 21, 2007 12:47 pm I'll ask again as Stig seems reluctant to answer...
What is the name of your company Stig? Re: What annoys Me 51Oct 21, 2007 6:43 pm I applaud your efforts Stig - but as many people have mentioned - a lot of it comes down to $$
Us personally - we could most likely afford a custom built home - but then we might not be able to afford much else! Michelle made an interesting point about complaints & custom builders - my parents used a custom builder for a $1m home (that the builder originally quoted at a price of $550-600k) - they had plenty of issues - so it's not just volume builders. For the record - we will be going with a small volume builder - but a project home builder none the less. Re: What annoys Me 52Oct 21, 2007 7:31 pm People keep saying that they couldn't build with a custom/private builder as they are so much more expensive, but we didn't find it more expensive, and especially when you look at quality. I don't think you should really assume that all private builders are a lot dearer than project homes. Re: What annoys Me 54Oct 21, 2007 7:47 pm TheStig id rather remain anonymous, as my user name suggests. all i am trying to do is provoke people to look outside the box when building a home. Seems strange that a builder would be reluctant to promote their own company. Why remain anonymous? Re: What annoys Me 56Oct 21, 2007 7:53 pm Well I will give the stig this much, Quote: I'd rather remain anonymous, as my user name suggests. all i am trying to do is provoke people to look outside the box when building a home. Half way right... certanly provoked people.... I am not sure too many of us are looking outside the box though....only cause sometime we don't like the things we see Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: What annoys Me 57Oct 21, 2007 8:42 pm Casa2 If you guys weren't so rough on poor TheStig, he may have opened up a little I don't think people have been rough and nor are we dismissive of custom builders in general. If you look at the replies you will see people are offended by his rudeness. There is just no need in a forum such as this for patronising generalisations. I assume that the only reason you are not similarly offended is because you are building a custom home and are not one of the morons who are incapapable of making an informed decision. Re: What annoys Me 58Oct 21, 2007 9:01 pm Casa2 If you guys weren't so rough on poor TheStig, he may have opened up a little Hang on, lets look at Stigs first sentence in the thread he started.. why do people go to the big home builders and spend their life savings on a production line piece of crap!! I just want to know which builder needs to diss the competition and their clients in order to prop up their own. Surely he's proud if what he's posted here. If the Stig was running such a sterling business he wouldn't blink in telling us who his company is. Re: What annoys Me 59Oct 21, 2007 10:42 pm TheStig,
Here's your opportunity. Without putting down large project builders, let us know what we get from a small private builder. What are the benefits and how much do they cost? Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: What annoys Me 60Oct 22, 2007 10:31 am I may have a similar home to hundreds of other people in Melbourne, but I for one am happy with my volume built home... both the quality of the build and the design.
I have been quite vocal in my praise for Porter Davis and will continue to be. If we ever built again, we would go with Porter Davis again. The only thing I am kicking myself about is the features I should have put in ... certainly not with the builder themselves. |