Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 6Nov 11, 2012 9:16 pm Very interested in anymore info, update on this info. We have GJs on our list of top 3..... Looking to build next year. Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 7Nov 11, 2012 11:10 pm Hi there My personal recommendation would be to take GJ Gardners Illawarra off your list!! My experience was not good to say the least, but I know of others who have had even worse dramas with them. It's just so disappointing when building your dream home turns into such a huge nightmare. I coped with the stress of it all, but believe me only just... We finally got the keys to our house mid June 2012 - almost 12 months late. In their contract, we were entitled to $1 per day as compensation for being overdue. (My advice with any home building contact would be to check this compensation rate - I'm sure if they had to pay $100 per day instead of only $1, that my house would have been finished on time. We're still trying to negotiate getting the list of maintenance items fixed (for example leaky windows, replacement of faulty kitchen splashback tiles, loose sandy grout between floor tiles, screws popping through rendered wall). If you're still unsure about whether or not to build with GJ Gardners Illawarra, please check out "A building experience with GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra" on Facebook. I was horrified when I saw the state of his house (apparently they started building in 2009 & it's still no-where near complete & he's proceeding with legal action about all the defects). I feel so sorry for this man & his family... Anyways, good luck with the land hunting & I hope your experience with home building is the complete opposite to mine!! Please feel free to send me a personal message if you would like any more advice Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 8Nov 12, 2012 7:56 am wow thankyou! Im pretty gobsmacked to be honest. So hard to find a builder that is within the price range & quality Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 9Nov 19, 2012 8:08 pm I was quite surprised to see some of these comments as we moved into our new home recently and our experience has been nothing like these. The whole process has gone very smoothly from start to finish and our 2 storey home was completed in 6 months, the quality is excellent and as well finished as the house we were shown through when we started researching builders and we were shown through a house which they were building for another client. I did see negative feedback for just about every builder out there when I did the research so it was hard to choose but when I was offered the chance to see a house which GJ Gardner had completed and were about to handover I took the opportunity to see a finished house for myself and also spoke to the owners who were very happy with everything and this is how my decision was made. Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 10Nov 20, 2012 9:54 am I mentioned this forum to my friend who was also shocked as they have been for a viewing at this home up for auction and recently finished by GJ Gardner http://www.realestate.com.au/property-h ... -112055891 she is also going to proceed with them as she has seen this house and mine and has also been shown through another home recenly finished at Sandon Point and she loved all of them. Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 11Nov 24, 2012 8:17 pm Tyson, I guess I wasn't one of the lucky ones... Did you build with GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra or another franchise? From what I've seen & heard, they might be OK at building their own standard designs on relatively flat blocks. However, when it comes to building a custom design (I designed my own house - three stories on a steep block) unfortunately they really struggled from day one. So my advice to anyone who has their own unique design or anyone who has a difficult block to build on, please think seriously before signing any contracts with GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra. Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 12Nov 25, 2012 7:04 am I built with Illawarra and I must add that the completed home they took me through was tri-level on a downhill sloping block in Flinders and the owners that I spoke to told me they had been very happy with everything and the house was finished quite quickly and nothing was too much trouble. I was also given a list of drive-by houses and not many were on flat blocks, from what I was told not many people have a flat block any more so most of the houses they build are on slopes. When I was considering a custom design in the beginning they also said that most of the houses they build are custom and they also do the design. Same with my friend she was shown through another house on a sloping block which was important to her as she also has a sloping block. I am sorry that you have had problems, it sounds as though you may have a very steep block I know that my friend found that most builders wouldn't even build on her block! Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawawarra? 13Nov 25, 2012 10:03 pm Yes I must admit that our block is very steep indeed. To be honest though, I just think that Gardners took on way too much than they could handle!! Anyways, it sounds as though your home building experience was quite the opposite to mine... Consider yourself one of the lucky ones & I hope you're happy in your new home Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra? 14Feb 03, 2013 7:41 pm Should just clarify that the GJ's i was talking a bout is a different area, different people etc. Re: Anyone building with GJ Gardner Homes Illawarra? 15Mar 17, 2013 9:10 am Its seems this must be a local issue. I am less than a month away from our handover with GJ's up in SEQld and have been extremely happy with them. They have been prompt and professional and the little things I have found on the way have been fixed rapidly. We have an independent assessor doing our PCI with us but based on everything I have seen during the whole process I am not expecting to find much. Our site supervisor is excellent and when one area got a bit behind due to tradesman availability he had other processes lined up to keep things going even though this was not necessarily the "ordinary" order of doing things, but it has kept our build on time. I know GJ's are all franchises but if you are up my way I would suggest considering them. This is my build http://retnivrhouse.blogspot.com.au/201 ... block.html May I ask why you chose not to use GJ Gardiner? I'm actually meeting with one of the sales guys tomorrow for an appointment. Definitely not signing anything yet… 3 14128 Wish you all the best. Once you signed the contract, they will find millions excuses to charge you. And have seen their sites unfinished for a long time. 4 25947 I haven’t. But have a Lowe Design home. Not only did I find Matt Lowe patronising and a bully, but the home is NOT TO CODE. I have water coming through the bricks… 1 15814 |