Browse Forums Building A New House Re: last minute thoughts on building 4Aug 02, 2011 12:26 pm Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: last minute thoughts on building 5Aug 02, 2011 5:34 pm The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: last minute thoughts on building 7Aug 02, 2011 6:08 pm We're building with M as well. The contract stage was painful; and we made sure everything that we wanted was spelled out in the contract. The actual building process itself has been relatively stress free. That's to say we haven't had issues, but they have all been dealt with really, really well. We have an excellent supervisor, and the tradies so far have been doing a great job. We too checked the the product review website and agree it's more for people registering complaints - less likely to pay compliments. The H1 site seems pretty more balanced and you get a better expectation of the building process when you read other people's experiences. Some good and some bad. We were very nervous with the whole buiding process with a large project builder. When we met the supervisor initially onsite, he said he was there to make sure our build went well. I remember at the time saying we don't expect not to have problems along the way but what was important was how they were managed. So far we've been very happy with not only our supervisor's attitude, but also the builder's. For example, we had a number of items that came up in our independent inspection - all addressed and fixed without a problem. Cabinet makers did not make cabinets according to specs; been ripped out and re-done. The gloss paint to skirting and architraves looks like it's 2-pac it's that well done - so very happy with the quality! So far very good attention to detail. Again this just shows that typically the quality of the build goes down to the supervisor and the tradies he uses. I agree, that sometimes the builders upgrades are expensive, and sometimes they're not. You have to know prices so you can compare. I agree with prices for garage doors and remotes as that's what we were charged. We requested and got different sinks for kitchen and laundry too but can't remember upgrade cost. It seemed that if their suppliers had the item, they could get it for you even if it wasn't in the standard builder's range. We asked about soft-closing drawers, but the upgrade cost was $1,800!! Check Tim and Tina's website http://tim-and-tina.blogspot.com/ for soft-closing dampers you can fit yourself later. We're doing floor tiles and carpets later as you get better quality and better price when you do it yourself. During our electrical appointment, the price for light points, etc had gone down; however we signed up before they reduced the standard number of power points in our design. So we got the original higher number of standard power points and lights, plus any additional ones were at the new reduced cost!! So the builder has been transparent with pricing to the extent possible. The biggest killer was A/C, as we wanted refrigerated and this HAS to be done during the build as it's double-storey. The thing to note is you must carefully check your plans and your contract to make sure everything you requested is in there as that's what you will need to refer back to if something is not as expected. Once you sign the contract, that is when everything is cast in stone. It can be changed (sometimes)but they will charge an admin fee. It's likely that you'll decide on tile selections and electrical after contract signing so you do have some time to think about those. I know it's a daunting process at the stage you're at; I'm glad we're past it and our house is coming along nicely. Good luck! Re: last minute thoughts on building 8Aug 04, 2011 4:28 pm All the information given to us....GREAT and THANKS, very much appreciated. I looked at the reviews before and they freaked me out a bit but yes, people that have something to complain about seem to be more vocal!! We have since been haggling with the company about little things that need to be changed and it really boils down to the relocation of two downpipes, one positioned in the middle of a wall we want to use as a "features" wall and one smack in the middle of one of the outdoor room coloms which position according to them can not be changed which I can not understand.. We were a bit surprised to hear that contract going unconditional actually meant they have to start work on the site before that certain date. It was never explained/ mentioned and we just thought going unconditional meant that's it, that's when you sign your life away!? money wise and time wise. Let's see what eventuates out of this down pipe fight...it's a battle of the wills I think. We were going to built the Grandview first and put 1000 down on that one but unfortunately we had to change to a different design as house to big for the block. so we had to re-tender with another 1000. As all survey work etc had been done already prior for Grandview are we entitled to some refund? Can't say they are actually happy us asking. Has anybody picked exterior requirements whilst overseas? I am overseas at the moment and wonder how true the colors really are...Luckily I will be back for the inside choices! Re: last minute thoughts on building 9Aug 05, 2011 2:38 pm The soil tests would be done so i would assume those wouldn't need to be done again but the site survey would have taken into account the house footprint, whilst a lot of the data is probably the same the whole thing does have to be re-done. Maybe you could get a refund on the soil test if they use the previous results. For the downpipes i'd say it has to do with the design of the house and the gutter fall as well as the drainage locations for your site (naturally you want them to go into underground piping and drain away). As for choosing colours i would not recommend choosing them without seeing them, looking at a swatch on paper inside (or worse on a computer screen which is highly unlikely to be correctly calibrated for accurate colour) is a lot different to the colour of an exterior textured render, i actually went to a display with the colour i wanted to check it out. They have sample bricks at studio m but i went out to the suppliers to see them beforehand. They have tile samples too but i went for non-standard tiles. That said i don't see why you can't do all of your colours at once, i did both the exterior and interior at the same time (both as a post-contract variation). Were struck with: Colorbond Ironstone Grey roof and cream windows. What color should we render and paint the garage door to tone down the cream windows? Farm House, will… 0 29824 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 111266 |