Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm Looking at building a house in Mount Barker.
I have recieved quotes from various builders but don't know what is the differences between them. Would be gratful for comments as all prices are in a very simular range. The main builders I want to know about are: Hickingbotham (they built our current home) Sterling Distinctive (most immpresive service so far during quote phase) Homestead Statesman (is there any difference from hickingbatham?) Fairmont Mccraken Homes World Concept I know this is a long list but very little from what I have seen in displays stands any out against the others. Distinctive would be my favorite so far but would rather know from people who have been through the mill as it were. Cheers Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 2Aug 15, 2008 1:54 am We are building with McCrackens, in Whyalla, am happy with service and quality, house is almost finished.
A few minor hiccups which I think everyone encounters with any builder but all have been sorted out easily. I thought they built mainly in country areas. Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 3Aug 15, 2008 10:16 am I can't comment on which ones are good, as my builder isn't on the list. But I can definately NOT recommend sterling.
Friends are currently building with them and having nothing but trouble. I also know someone that used to do work for them and he said they weren't very good (trying not to say too much here, don't want to get the forum in trouble). I've heard a few good things about McCracken and Fairmont. But that was awhile ago. Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 4Aug 15, 2008 12:03 pm Hi there Metter,
We are building with Stateman and its been great (2 weeks till handover). There was an issue with a window not being centered (combination of frame error and it going un noticed until recently, but the SS was more than happy to have it rectified...) We would build with them again. For us it came down to house design, they had the house that we wanted, no others really came close. We were after no bedrooms at the front of the house (shift worker), 4 bedromms, study, and a kids retreat. I have two sets of friends that are building with Fairmont, they are happy with the designs and quality, but things seem to move slowly, and have another friend that is building with Sterling and would never build with them again... It really comes down to house design and inclusions, although I have found that inclusions/base price stuff tends to work out in the end...eg, better inclusions means more expensive base price, standard inclusions equals cheaper base price that you end up increasing anyway to include better inclusions... My suggestion would be to go with which ever builder can build the home that suits you the most. Each building company is going to have a good/bad wrap depending on who you speak with and their personal experiences. Good Luck. Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 5Aug 15, 2008 8:31 pm Hi Metter
We are building with Hickinbotham at Mount Compass....it took them ages to get around to actually start building (11 months) but now that they have started everything seems to be going well and they are making good progress They poured the slab at the end of May and we now have a frame,windows to the ground floor,plumbing,gutters and fascias and the brickies are starting next Wednesday. We built our first house with Sterling homes and were very happy with them,but that was a few years ago.Friends are building with them at the moment and they have had quite a bit of trouble with the build taking too long Someone else I know built with Distinctive and had a lot of trouble,so much so that they had to take legal action and were even going to take it to Today Tonight But having said that we know of another couple that built with them who were rapt with them Re-reading this post I realise that I haven,t been very helpful at all Good luck with your decision Cheers Mel Building on 9 acres Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 6Aug 15, 2008 10:35 pm Metter,
For a TOP quality home, Gasp@rin H comes highly recommended. A very good source says that apart from the top quality, you'll also get hassle free building. Expect to pay around 15%-20% more than the "usual" builders, but GH also includes some extras. I'm building 2 - one to live in, one for investment. Would really like to have gone with GH but the budget would have been very stressed and in the end, couldn't really justify it. I'm going with Weeks&M@cklin (same as World CH). Price OK, quality OK (I think), speed ....?? but has advantage of steel frame. ChrisL Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 7Aug 15, 2008 10:45 pm [quote="melanie02"]Someone else I know built with Distinctive and had a lot of trouble,so much so that they had to take legal action and were even going to take it to Today Tonight
quote] Do you know what the problem was? They were going to be my main choice but not so sure now. Re: Which builder in Adelaide? 8Aug 15, 2008 11:26 pm Hi Metter,
The problems with the building company were all to do with very,very bad workmanship I had better not go into too much detail,but it was a very stressful time for the owners.It was supposed to be their dream home,but it turned out to be a huge nightmare for them Hopefully there might be a few people on here that have had good experiences with them and that this was an isolated incident that should never have happened Mel Building on 9 acres Building a new home, and looking for a garage builder (home builder not contracted to do this). Someone to build steel garage (double), colorbond, including supply and… 0 3349 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20713 |