Builder discussion about delays

Platinum Homes – Hawke’s Bay We are considering building with Platinum Homes in Hawke’s Bay. Does anyone have any experience building with them or another franchise across the country? Henry has been great to deal with to date. I am especially interested in: – Quality of the final product – Adherence to budget and timelines – Communication throughout the project Thanks.

Hello everyone: I am back after a while. I used to read comments here and also got some advice on various matters particularly when I was concerned about my build cost – on PC sums, etc – and kept heart with answers from and reading exchanges here. We went through supply disruptions, etc, and delays on various other counts. But I am here to say that our two exec townhouses build in Auckland were completed and made liveable/rentable in 2023 and I hope those posting at the time have also completed their build. We finally got out subdivided titles early this year. Our builders Indelible Homes were good. They are independent builders, Claude the owner… started small and worked hard to keep his word. We saw his builds before hiring him. Of course there were issues with the small team and some times I thought he was overstretched but Claude’s leadership got us through all of the issues. He is growing well too and doing bigger projects than single houses. He still responds for anything we need. I would recommend Claude and Indelible for a house build.

Well if you’re looking for shoddy workmanship, a mismanaged project, total lack of ownership, significant delays, cost overruns and a build eventually having to be picked up by MB then look no further than John Ross Architectural Builders (Christchurch)! The word “Architectural” Builders is an illusional step too far and is more aligned with the Tui’s advert – Yeah Right! To say the stress of the past 3 years has been significant is an understatement and we’re not finished yet as with all the issues that need to be rectified via MB we will need to vacate the house whilst the repairs are carried out (Still waiting on final quote for repairs but have been advised it’s many hundreds of thousands $$$). My husband has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and the move into the house at the end of last year, (even though it wasn’t finished but we were desperate) caused him unbelievable anxiety and stress so to have to move again is heartbreaking, but appreciate we need to to get the house to an acceptable standard and get code compliance. You’d think by paying many millions $ to this builder (Jack/John Kelleher) and MB having to pick up the mess that JRB would go quietly into hibernation but alas, to add insult to significant injury, we received another invoice from JRB for $15K plus interest a couple of weeks ago and now he’s submitted a claim through the Disputes Tribunal since we refuse to pay him another cent. Just want this nightmare to end!

Another negative review for Eco-Smart Homes and Ritesh Mani. If you come across these names, run for the hills. There are 2x developments in Helensville that have not been fully completed through to CCC final stage. Blatent lies and hollow promises, no communication from Eco-Smart or their lawyers, Neilsons, either. Their project manager Spiro Kovac resigned end of 2023 and there are still empty homes without final inspection or any progress. Every home has issues, from major things like no water meters installed, water pumps failing, no master builder guarantee as per contract (Google Eco-Smart vs Jenhash), to less major things like no fences or landscaping, painting incomplete, no physical keys provided for door locks, no house alarm or security lights, shoddy workmanship and plenty of poor finishing. Plenty of unpaid bills and contractual breaches. CCC applications missing tens of producer statements, some being held hostage for lack of payment which is technically illegal – but it isn’t hard to empathise with the unpaid contractor in their scenario. We’re unfortunately all in the same sinking ship when it comes to Eco-Smart. Somehow, despite the challenges completing their paying customers homes, Eco-Smart have managed to fully finish their own lot builds which are now tenanted rentals. It’s not personal, just business – funny that. Take a walk down Kawariki Rd, Taupata Lane or Rongomai St in Helensville. You’ll meet a fantastic community of neighbours who are frustrated at brunting the cost of Eco-Smart’s slimy operations. You might even bump into an owner checking up on the lack of progress before they can move in or tenant their incomplete home. They are friendly, kind and trusting people – taken advantage of and left in the dark with unconsented and incomplete homes. Beware of Eco-Smart. Beware of Ritesh Mani.

If anybody is even considering Sentinel Homes in Nelson/Tasman or Marlborough, please reconsider before it is too late. The owners Anna and Ruary own both Sentinel’s Nelson, Tasman & Marlborough franchise as well as Ultraspec building systems. I paid my deposit nearly 3 years ago, and have only just had my build finished now. They have thrown price increase after price increase at me as well as changing works without even consulting me. We have failed council CCC inspection 3 times (for which they blame the inspector of course). My build is very poorly finished, as well as having many errors that were not on the plans or specs at all. Ultraspec has been known to only do insurance repairs, and they should keep it that way. Please please please take it from me, avoid this company at all costs.

We purchased a house and land package from Stonewood Homes Tauranga in December 2020, finally moving into the house September 2022. Initially the red carpet was rolled out, however after that it was nothing short of the most stressful period of our life. Ground was not broken until the end of August 2021, after numerous requests asking when the start date was. The questions were skirted around, with the owner telling us to basically stop complaining as the land had gained value. I guess he expected us to pitch a tent on site. After the work started, we soon realised that customer communication and care was not a value they held. There were times we’d hear nothing for a month then suddenly we’d get an invoice to pay within the week. We’d have to go back each time asking for an update and what work was completed or we wouldn’t be paying the invoice. Only then would we get an email back. We were told consistently that XYZ was happening, only to then drive by and see nothing was going on. Painting was a nightmare, with Stonewood using someone who couldn’t paint a straight line or do anything to best practice. This was after asking in May 2022 what was happening with the interior colours, as no one had asked. They even forgot to order in our wardrobe (that we paid the invoice for a year earlier), as they’d assumed we were doing it. After the second project manager left, no one told us. Despite emailing the project manager and CCing in the owner to no response for weeks. Only when I messaged his wife were we told he’d resigned. Going to head office was a waste of time. They glossed over complaints, despite me detailing that more than half of our emails were going unanswered and there was no communication. This was after an agreement being reached that we’d get an update every fortnight. Heck, even when we moved in, the front door didn’t work, and it was the wrong one! Come January 2023, I contacted the sub contractor and they came and fixed it that day. Still no knowledge of when the door we paid for is actually going to be installed. Several windows had scratches in them too, with dried paint left on windows throughout the house. I could keep going on about the issues, and have spreadsheets and emails documenting their failure. Our friends and family are surprised they can even run a business like this, and others in the industry were aghast with how we were treated by both Tauranga and Head Office when I did my due diligence to make sure I wasn’t having unrealistic expectations. Reading online our project was not an isolated incident, with several customers detailing delays, lack of communication, and more issues. I’ve now used this entire project as a written case study on what not to do with communication. If anyone is considering Stonewood, I’d recommend you don’t even engage with them or Google them. Getting married and my father dying in the same month through COVID was nowhere near as stressful as this build.

Hello, I am hoping someone can help me with some advice I entered a build contract in Feb 2021 with a national franchise to build a simple two storey home. To date progress has been excruciatingly slow, for a long time I gave them the benefit of the doubt as the previous home on the section needed to be demolished and this relied on external contractors but now that the build is on them and they are continually failing to meet any deadlines and make promises of work timeline that aren’t met. A concrete slab was finally laid March this year and to date they haven’t yet managed to complete the wall framing almost 3 months later. I drive past other builds regularly and see must faster progress. The speed of the build is causing me financial and emotional stress but the project manager and franchise owner don’t care and believe the speed of the build is reasonable and have heavily blamed covid. They have taken all access to timelines off me and when I ask for updated timelines and expected handover date either my e-mail is ignored, they tell me that timelines are just for booking contractors or give vague approximations of a handover date. The whole situation has left me feeling completely powerless and often in tears. I don’t want to name and shame the business yet but I wouldn’t want anyone to sign a build contract with them and have to go through what I am. They have all the power in this situation and can take as long as they want to build the house. I understand covid has caused material/trade problems but the delays I am seeing seem completely unreasonable. Is there anything I can do? Thanks

Hi All, My wife and I have started our journey to build a house and have purchased a section Ramarama area in Auckland (Franklin). Could someone please suggest some local builders or building companies that we could begin approaching that they recommend? I have taken a month but have read each and every single post that was written and learnt a great deal. I have read all of NZS3902-2004 as well as a full master builders contract. I am well and truly shocked at the stark difference between the contracts. I also feel for all the people that have run into issues with their build and builders, I really appreciate that everyone has been able to share their story so others can learn and know what to look out for. It seems every building company I approach wants to use the master builders contract, and also is not prepared to give me a decent estimate of prices without PC/PS they just base it on m2 data and don’t want to take the time to investigate pricing without a payment. I have obtained a geotech report and a site survey/topo/contour plot to assist with pricing I have also detailed a comprehensive list of our requirements including the spec of Gib, framing, insulation, windows, cladding, etc and a rough house plan. We are interested in building a very energy efficient well insulated house, but struggle to find builders that have any concept of what thermal bridging or differences between vapor and air barriers are. Is this expertise more something that an architect deals with rather than builders? Jay

Help get me out of this before its too late!! I recently signed up with Latitude, paid 5k had plans sorted, soil tests done. The muck around and incorrect pricing is red flag central couldnt be more red flags if it tried, I cant keep ignoring this but due to errors from them constantly i have not signed main contract! was hoping it was finished months ago but still haven’t signed the dam thing to start!! When I query anything i am met with rudeness and frankly I don’t like the owner and didn’t from day one when he showed up with no options and said what plan do you want? didn’t go through the best options , nothing but I thought ok maybe he’s good at his job and just not a people person. I haven’t signed anything further as the tacked on prices for goodness knows what are really putting me off and I cant get a reasonable answer when i ask. The initial 5k states its for the plans and soil testing. What can I do – ask for my plans or will another builder not be able to use these? ask for my soil test results? to give to another builder? there was extra surveying that needed to be done due to “issues with my damp section” will i be charged extra for this? Help please so I don’t end up more stressed than I already am and i haven’t even signed a contract to start! Im worried i have just wasted 5k for nothing.

Has anyone out there had any dealings with a firm called Thermawise, Levin, runs by Campbell Grant Senior ? They deal in the erection of Structural Insulated Panels (SIP’s) for a quick build, efficient insulation for a warm economical to run house. I have had the most horrendous time with this builder, as he has not paid the subcontractors for the work they have completed (first fix) but I have paid him and am now withholding the final payment as instructed by my lawyer. I reached an agreement with the subcontractors in that I pay them directly, but the builder objected and told the subcontractors not to continue. Happily they did not comply with his request and I have paid them for the completion of the work (second fix and all front of wall work) on the inside of the house. Unfortunately a great deal of the work that the builder has completed has been failed by the local authority, therefore I have paid another builder to rectify the fail notice work. There is one more item to complete before I can apply for another local authority CCC, but again I am at the mercy of the builder who has (10 months after the fail notice was issued) instructed his structural engineer to rectify the paperwork with an amendment. I have a builder standing by to begin work but it has been another wait as the structural engineer has not given enough information to the local authority, so another 12 weeks wasted. I have paid the Home Check to write a report for the builder, he concedes some work but contests much, even when confronted with the evidence. Now he refuses to ‘come to the table’, therefore my lawyer has met him on site and he agrees that some of his work is shoddy and does not see why he will have to pay for the work he did that has been rectified by a superior builder, nor does accept responsibility for work we paid him to have done when he pocketed the money and did not pay the subcontractors. My lawyer has now been forced to file with the district court as this has gone way beyond my budget and patience. The house is my retirement home. I have had to sell my home to pay for this (fixed term and fixed price) and I have stuck in a rental for a year, paying rent I can no longer afford. I should have been in my house in late February/early March, but here I sit, 66 years old and stressed beyond belief. To date I believe he owes me in excess of $70,000.00 and I even offered to half the debt if he would pay up, but he either will not or cannot. So to court we must go.

I trawled through this site prior to building in Tauranga and promised myself I’d post about my experience. We built an investment property with Navigation Homes Tauranga (BOP), and we’re just waiting for the official Code of Compliance from the council after doing the final walkthrough on Friday last week. We used Ian and John at NewBuild for the finance. Both businesses were really good to deal with. Simon at Navigation was very patient and understanding, and along with Dean the site supervisor they did a great job of keeping us updated on progress using an online system called co-construct which contained and documented everything to do with the build. Photos were uploaded roughly every week and kept our mind at ease. We had lockdown early in the piece but they were back on site and progressing things almost straight away. The final product feels really good quality wise and they have kept their word on things we discussed, and seemed to always be thinking ahead to make sure things ran smoothly. They’re now doing some final touch ups and other bits and pieces to finish it all off, which I’m sure will be taken care of in a similar manner. NewBuild helped to ‘project manage’ the finance including making sure we were covered in case something went wrong (Master Builders Guarantee) and structuring the finance conditions in the build contract to be bank friendly (using Sovereign / AIA). This ensured the relationship between the bank, builder and us was kept on track with regards to timelines and making payment. It made it really easy. Everyone is after a builder they can trust and if our experience is anything to go by, I’d have no hesitation in recommending Simon and his team at Navigation to other people, particularly if NewBuild were running the finance side as well. Hope that helps someone.

Hi there, I am looking for feedback on Heritage Homes, Advantage Build, Nook and Podular, the later three being transportable. Any feedback welcome. Thanks

HI there Has anyone here built with Golden Homes in Tauranga? How did you find the process? Were there any unexpected costs? How were they to work with? Quality and did the build get completed in time? What was your given timeframe? Thanks

What’s the latest with the Mass Construction mess? What’s going on our there? Has head office come to the party and getting houses completed. Or is it still a shamble like I suspect. Is Jason strange still in hiding? I’d love to know as an ex client of theirs.

This is my personal opinion and review on GJ Gardner Christchurch South (JNF construction), and might not reflect their code of practice. Pro 1) The sales consultant I deal with is good and awesome and able to answer most if not all questions that I have. Cons 1) Feel a bit pushy in signing ATP and build contract 2) They try to sell the standard floor plan as they have agreement with supplier to get materials for 20 – 30 builds per year per standard floor plan they have (I was told so). If you decide to go with custom floor plan, it costs at least 20k higher for the similar floor area. 3) The build price per square metre is really based on very low spec; for example, a) the kitchen appliance in express spec is based on Haier kitchen appliances, which is usually 2k less than fisher and paykel kitcken appliance, or 4 k less than Bosch kitcken appliance by most building companies b) approximately 4% of build price is to HQ, and 2.5% sales commission, and overhead cost for QS, color consultant, sales consultant, which is over 30k on non-building related cost for a 400k build. c) The standard build price doesn’t include heat pump, patio, landscaping, vehicle crossing and only include 22oz carpet (most building companies offer 33oz and above with good quality underlay) d) Hip roof (no gable) to minimize build cost e) I was constantly told that they got the materials in bulk from supplier, hence the cheaper price. I agreed that they got good price from supplier but unfortunately I personally don’t think the saving is passed to the client. The saving is contributed to their profit margin. f) no joinery for wardrobe or shelving When I use the same floor plan and compare it to other building companies (apple-to-apple) for each item in specification list, the quote for a standard floor plan (4bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living) using express spec by GJ costs approximately 30-70k higher compared to other building companies (GJ quotes me 385k but other companies can do 330k-340k yet the spec from other company is higher). When I first decided to use GJ, the main reason is the Halo insurance backed by Lloyd to cover company insolvency. However, this cover is now removed by Halo insurance. If you are looking to build a very basic house with a low spec and above average build price, I would say GJ is the one to go with. Otherwise, I would recommend the following in Christchurch: Jennian, Onyx, Quinn Homes, Faye Homes, Master Ace, or other local builders.

Being in construction all my life I having sold multiple products in the industry and dealt with many building companies throughout. I am disgusted with the amount of shoddy building work that is being performed in our industry and the attitudes towards customers. It is crippling our industry and reflecting badly on the good ones striving for best business practice. It is a minefield of stress and worry for most people building and/or renovating and getting the right fit as a provider is paramount plus its nearly always the biggest amount of monetary investment made in most peoples lives. The public need to do their due diligence and I mean do their due diligence. Point 1 – we have just completed a build addition and renovation and the two other providers were nearly $400K above us (yes, $400K) and we didn’t cut corners and have made good coin and thats because we have good process, a great team and we pick the right sustainable jobs to build our business. Building does have a right price point but cheap is not always the way to go. Cheap comes with a low quality finish. You need to tick off all the boxes for supply, communication, follow through, personalities and robust business ethics. Contract contract contract limiting the likes of variations or where there are to be variations a set margin added. Point 2 – People think they can manage a build. Some might but some are just plain kidding themselves, want to supply items but don’t realise the ramifications on delays, wrong product and then expect builders to sit and wait whilst not charging for time. This is unethical and not good business practice and any builder who is prepared to do this will not be in business in future and as such you have no warranty comeback. Point 3 – selecting an lbp does not get you the right supply partner. An lbp can be anyone that is a builder but hasn’t done roofing, hasn’t installed windows, hasn’t laid flooring, hasn’t done foundations, has never built a complete residential dwelling from ground up. And people are selecting a builder just because they are an lbp not knowing this. Did you know that most group home builders use contract builders in their businesses and those same contract builders hold the lbp licence for future issues, not the group home builder. Most of these group home builders pay low rates to their contractors and that is why we have so many shonky workmanship comments on this site. Point 4 – there are companies out there marketing renovation franchises specifically detailing they don’t want builders in the business. This is a major issue for NZ going forward and the overheads for any franchise company are huge with franchise fees you pay for a build starting around the 5% mark upwards and all that goes into head office coffers. All I can say is that our industry is amok with disreputable and greedy companies who are not there for a win/win but just to take your hard earned cash and ce la vie so this brings me to my final comment. Do your due diligence, ask them what builds they are currently doing (minimum of 5) ask for referrals you can physically visit and demand to go to the ones of your choosing. Do not take their offered selections. Go to some of their suppliers and ask them what the business is like to deal with and if they are current in trading terms. This will give you a good indication of who you are signing up with and give you some perspective on what they are like. Sales people from most build companies don’t know anything but basics in building and will promise you the earth to get you to sign up and make that deposit. Then you are a captured customer and on the path of no return when the build cost climbs and the variations kick in. Diligence is paramount people PARAMOUNT !!!

We recently had a terrible experience with latitude homes hawkes bay. Please don’t use them! Debbie the owner is unprofessional and worse customer service ever. They don’t seem to understand the variation process. We thought we had been very thorough in our specs and drawings and every turn they added money or delivered anything but what we had specified with excuses at every turn. We went over time and budget and still didn’t get what we wanted. The final product was rubbish. We went to lawyers but latitude homes didn’t seem to care and didn’t comply. We have now found two other couples in our small neighbourhood who have the same problems recently. We’ve had issues with costs for site works and foundations. Windows and doors arriving too large so the builder hacked away at the framing to get them to fit then made the holes too large and used extensive amounts of expanding foam to just fill gaps. They installed sliding doors that weren’t the ones we asked for then made us pay for new ones. We still have a double bed sitting in our hallway as they made the hallway unusually narrow and used narrow doors. We now cant fit a standard bed in to a 4mt by 5mt room! to be honest we didn’t think to even check. Terrible paint finish we still have holes in our walls where the electrician has moved plug sockets even though we moved in in October last year. Trying to get anything remedied has been a nightmare. Weve sent lawyers letters but they just don’t listen. We are not sure what else to do. We have concrete patios that are uneven and rough and multiple colors. The list goes on. The head office seems to have no control over the other franchises so these sorts of companies are terrible to work with. One piece of advice would be don’t go with a group type builder. In this case it seems latitude homes is just a logo that any ‘builder’ can buy and head office have no control over quality or if things going wrong. The business owner is unprofessional and extremely defensive as the builder is her son. Her son was often rude to us and had terrible time management often showing up to site in the late afternoon and then rushing to get things done leaving a un satisfactory result. In our opinion he was too young and inexperienced and if we had met him prior we would of cut our losses. We’ve built before and know the process and the two companies couldn’t have been any more different. Debbie at latitude homes is terrible to deal with and seems to have no process for anything. On our final inspection she showed up with no paper work and kept denying being able to see any issues. She took a scrap paper out of her handbag to write things on. It’s ridiculous. They kept using different contractors as they burn bridges and contractors don’t want to work with them. Then when work isn’t to standard we just get left with the mess or an additional bill. If you want to speak to us please contact me or reply to this message. Small claims court looks like our only other option.

Spoiler Alert: If you believe a Master Builder is actually giving you a “fixed price contract”, you are probably wrong. We have spent the last 2 months “dating” A1 Homes. We found a plan that could work, with a few revisions, and agreed specs down to the taps and window latches. We have built before, so know exactly what we want, and they provided a fixed price estimate (crucially, not a quote) to our specs. It seemed like a fair price so we were keen to continue. They then said we would need to spend $3,000 on drawings and colour consultants before they could give us an actual fixed price quote. That is a lot of money – we have previously had quotes done on concept drawings that cost us $1,500 and $1,955 respectively. Eventually we came round to the idea, but we asked to see the contract they intended to use before we forked over $3,000. That’s when it got hairy. A1 presented us with a “standard” Registered Master Builders Association contract. The problem is that Clause 46 of the contract (2018 edition) specifically allows the builder to charge us more if ANY aspect of the build turns out to be pricier than the fixed price quote. i.e. it directly contradicts the claim of a fixed price quote. Further, Clause 101 of the contract (which has grown by about 60 clauses since we last built, practically all of them skewed toward the builder), specifically allows for a situation where A1 is building for Mrs Smith down the road and if that gets delayed, they can delay your start and end date. And with Clause 46 locking in their ability to on-charge any costs that might arise because prices rose since they gave you a not-fixed fixed price quote, they’ve ensured whatever their project management skills, you will pick up the tab. Oh and by the way, they have your deposit of 5% while they retain the right to delay indefinitely while they finish Mrs Smith’s project. We queried these 2 clauses and a couple of others. A1’s response was simply that they don’t ever change clauses. They had no answer for my question of how they could claim they offered a fixed price contract when it wasn’t. They said they hadn’t charged more than the fixed price on the 2 years they had used the contract, which frankly didn’t give me enough peace of mind to hand them $500K on the back of a contract that still says they can crank up the price at any time. I spoke to a Director of Master Build Services who confirmed there was nothing stopping them deleting irrelevant clauses in the contract; A1 was simply choosing not to. In the end, we were not willing to risk our money on a “no surprises guarantee” that isn’t any guarantee at all and could potentially hold a very nasty surprise. We suggest you give this a lot of thought and question whoever you build with if they have the same wide-open clauses in the contract.

Hi all, would very much appreciate any response from those who have purchased a Keith Hay home with ‘shadowclad’ cladding. We are looking at purchasing a property that has the Keith Hay ‘Raglan’ showhome model on the site, finished in shadowclad board and batten. The home is just under 2 years old. I was concerned to hear that Carter Holt Harvey is the subject of a class action over the shadowclad product. Should I be worried – is there really a bigger issue with the cladding, or is it just limited to isolated cases? The cladding looks to be in conditiona tthis point, with no visible warping. Thanks heaps.

Hi, planning on building in Ohauiti, Tauranga later this year. Looking for any recommendations or red flags for builders in this area. Regards, Keith.

One of the WORST experiences of my life…. Around October last year we signed with Baillie Construction in Palmerston North for a house and land package in Bulls. We were promised to have a start date of January 2018. We were all ready and set to go in January but Lee Baillie was not. We asked if we gave him $9000 that it would speed up the process and that money would be put towards plans. In June 2018 we had made little progress on the plans. We decided to end the contract around a year later because nothing had been done towards the build. Lee would not give us our full deposit back. We then had to enter a claim to the small claims tribunal just to get the matter settled. We are now Building with another company who are immensely better. I have not recommended Baillie Construction to anyone. Feel free to ask me any questions.

I am currently building my second steel SIP house through Quick Build Homes. The first I built, with help from a builder, taking some weeks off work. QBH are doing the second and I am really pleased. Cheap, well insulated, low maintenance rental houses. My next project will be a two-story duplex in Newlands, Wellington. While I still want to do SIP construction, it is a design and build. So, I am looking for a builder who will respect the budget (new build rental, cash flow positive) but do a good job in exchange for fair pay. Any suggestions?

Hi, I recently built home through, GJ Gardner, South Auckland and have found scratches marks on my slider window. I raised the issue with franchisee and head office but they are saying these scratches are not visible from 2m. I can see them beyond 2m. Very bad company to work with. There were a lot of maintenance issues and also leak in the bathrooms. Will advise everybody not to use them ever. Liars!! Junk Builders!Does anybody know how to escalate it to MBIE?

So…building with Stonewood Tauranga. I am a builder and project manager with no time to build my own home. Do i regret that decision now! 6 months before getting on site. A shift 3 times of end dates and still missing time frames. Very very poor quality build. Frames that werent aligned correctly and pinned down. Im talking anywhere from 9mm to 45mm due to not string lining bottom plates. I still have walls out 20mm and a bulkhead out 40mm. Holes in the roofing underlay. Frames not nailed off. Cladding not on but batts installed. Missing blocking for valley boards. They missed pre piping the gas! Ive had half the gutter on for a month with no sign of the rest. Changing plans without notice or confirmation or acceptance. No communication (until invoicing time then we get calls once a day). Poor poor poor company to deal with. A very unhappy process for my poor wife to have her dream home treated in such a way. We are still in the process and it will almost be 12 months by the time they finish. Ive taken some trades off them and managed them myself with no problems so they havent even had to manage the entire build and still cannot get it right. Kevin Norris….you run a very bad company trading in shoddy workmanship and i have had enough.Time to speak out and warn others off your company.

Hi, re the comment about builders getting fed up with clients seeing fixed price and then not doing proper research/not understanding bespoke designs…Some of us are reluctant new home builders, having lost our original homes in the Christchurch earthquakes. I knew absolutely nothing about building. Why should I? My occupation and background do not require it. Yet, over four years on, I am dealing with the complexities of an architectural rebuild. I think it would have been great if the building companies I dealt with had looked out of their own bubbles and realised that in this case, their clients’ ignorance is not something to be disdained and exploited. It is just normal, and so just realise that things need to be explained really well. For example, I never knew what a Variation was, never knew there was the margin I had to pay for anything after contract was signed. I did ask the BC, now is there anything I should know about extra costs, and they said no, assuming I suppose I knew about Variations and GDT. Hence i blithely signed the building contract 3 years ago, and now face forking out nearly $100,000 in variations, including margin fee and GST. Stuff like carpets and better wooden flooring, and upgraded bathroom fittings (the contract ones were underspecced, i later learned) I would have organised to be in the contract had I known…..