Plantation Homes

[Guest Rbecca]

I am about to buy a house and land package in North Lakes (QLD) with Plantation Homes and wondered if anyone had had any exerience with them, good or bad.

 

Thanks

Rebecca

[Eera]

Can't comment specifically on them, but my experience of developer-builders leads me to be very suspicious of them; too many shoddy jobs have come through recently. If you're pro-active during the building process you should be reassured that they're putting in a decent effort.

 

*this is not aimed at Plantation*

 

When your house is being built, make sure you drop in on site as often, and as unexpectedly as you can; the most critical time in when they're pouring the slab; there's been a fair few cases recently of the contractors laying the concrete reo while the building inspector is there, then ripping it up when they go to save steel costs. Make sure you can see a continuous grid of steel over the entire site as they pour the concrete.

 

Pay extra for termite-proof timber. Termimesh is no good if they come in through the roof and your building insurance will not cover you for termite damage (termite timber is coloured either green or pink, if it looks like raw wood that you'd buy at B&Q it's not treated)

 

Get a independent building inspection after the build, not just the building certifyer. Mates of mine got their brand-new home inspected after it was all signed off and the inspector found that parts of the roof were not bolted on.

 

Make sure you get what you pay for; make sure all the inclusions are there and if you've paid for real stone benchtops, you're not fobbed off with stone simulate etc. Any problems are far harder to rectify once you've signed that last bit of paper and taken ownership.

 

Hopefully you've chosen a decent mob. With building slackening off maybe there's going to be less pressure on builders to bang 'em out and get outta there and they take care over the job.

 

Best of luck

[Guest guest30038]

Let me say that we built when it was booming and tradies were working flat out and I don't think that many were up to the job.

 

Yes, we built with Plantation homes (to a modified design) and no, we wouldn't build with them again if they were the last builders on earth.

 

Whilst they were in the process of building, they couldn't have been more helpful, but once built :arghh:

 

First up our rental terminated on the day we should have moved in (23rd dec) and it was imperative that it would be ready by then. Went for the handover on that date (morning) and it hadn't been cleaned..........they said the cleaners would come in the afternoon. We returned in the afternoon to find a woman, with 3 kids, 3 brushes and a vacum cleaner...........the kids were brushing the floors instead of vacuming, so you can imagine all that plasterers dust floating around. We moved in on the 24th and it was a ****heap with all the cupboard shelves covered in dust and plaster............paint splashed on the brickwork and windows outside where the painters had washed their brushes at the outside taps. Took weeks to get the place clean, as there was also grout all over the tiled floors which we could only remove on hands and knees with pan scourers. The stainless steel splashback around the stove and kitchen benches hadn't arrived, niether had the marble vanity tops so we had temporary ones until such time as the specified ones arrived and were fitted.

 

We were told that there wasn't mains gas and would need to have bottled...........both our next door neighbours have mains gas!

 

There were 5 pallets of bricks left over............I guess that I must have paid for them because of their faulty quantity surveying.

 

We ordered an upright fridge freezer based on the alcove size on the plans.........it didn't fit. On actually measuring the alcove, we found that it was smaller than the plan size..............their response was that the plan measurement was to the studs, not to the finished size..ie after plastering. I rang the BSA and they told me that the opening should be to the plan size, (as we thought) and not to the studs. We rang 'em back and they asked, "can't you buy a smaller freezer?" I went spare! It was two weeks before someone came and smashed down the plaster and moved the stud to enlarge the alcove.

 

6 weeks later, the kitchen worktops started to lift at the seams............resealing required removal of the now arrived stainless splashback that had arrived after we moved in. The kitchen hot tap had been fitted to the cold and vice versa.

 

All but 2 doorhandles fell off within 3 months and had to be refitted, as did the shower door trim a while later. Every towel rail and toilet roll holder came off as they had been screwed into the plaster board without plugs. The locks on the toilet doors required the little latch to be lifted with the finger nail, unlike those that unlock from the inside when you simply turn the handle. I had never seen those before and they certainly weren't what we ordered. One of the kids has no nails and couldn't unlock the door........he managed by lifting the little latch with the bottom of a tooth paste tube. On contacting Plantation we were told that this kind of locking handle "was now standard"

 

Various parts of the interior required re-painting.

 

The patio sliding door had to be refitted as it was out of alignment with the frame.......it worked, but when open, you could see that it wasn't vertical.

 

12 months in the roof leaked due to a faulty flashing and it had to be repaired and the kitchen/lounge ceiling had to be re-painted.

 

There's more minor stuff but I'm getting mad now and my mind's gone blank :arghh:

 

3 years in, all the front exterior downpipes and deck railings turned from heritage green to cyan. I contacted them and their response was that the painters had used paint that wasn't to the listed specification (UV stabilised). I reminded them that the painters (sub-contractors) were legally their agents and as such, they were responsible for the painters...............they more or less said "tough titty' so I contacted the consumer watchdog who told me that exterior paint should be good for 5 yrs at least and so they contacted Plantation. They got the same response that I did, and advised me that my only course of action was a civil one. I told Plantation that one dissatisfied customer could negate a hundred satisfied ones...so here I am............negating. That paint job would've cost them a couple of hours and little more than a couple of hundred bucks............short-sighted and down right stupid if you ask me. I can't be arsed pursuing it any further.............you live and learn.

 

kev

[fish.01]

Wow!!!! They were bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mr luvpants]

I have just found this website and it may help?

 

Home Renovation & Building Forum • Index page

 

JOHN

[Headstart Homestay]

You will find all project builders are much of a much, we built with Cavalier and i have also worked for 3 others including Plantation on the installation side. Unfortunatly the guys on site are paid peanuts and are expected to kick out a silly amount of work in a day.

I am now in maintenence as compromising on quality for quantity was giving me no job satisfaction. Try and find an independant builder, he may be a bit more expensive and maybe longer on site , but he will answer his phone and will also give a **** once you have signed up.

 

Hope this helps, Dale

[Proview220]

Let me say that we built when it was booming and tradies were working flat out and I don't think that many were up to the job.

 

Yes, we built with Plantation homes (to a modified design) and no, we wouldn't build with them again if they were the last builders on earth.

 

Whilst they were in the process of building, they couldn't have been more helpful, but once built :arghh:

 

First up our rental terminated on the day we should have moved in (23rd dec) and it was imperative that it would be ready by then. Went for the handover on that date (morning) and it hadn't been cleaned..........they said the cleaners would come in the afternoon. We returned in the afternoon to find a woman, with 3 kids, 3 brushes and a vacum cleaner...........the kids were brushing the floors instead of vacuming, so you can imagine all that plasterers dust floating around. We moved in on the 24th and it was a ****heap with all the cupboard shelves covered in dust and plaster............paint splashed on the brickwork and windows outside where the painters had washed their brushes at the outside taps. Took weeks to get the place clean, as there was also grout all over the tiled floors which we could only remove on hands and knees with pan scourers. The stainless steel splashback around the stove and kitchen benches hadn't arrived, niether had the marble vanity tops so we had temporary ones until such time as the specified ones arrived and were fitted.

 

We were told that there wasn't mains gas and would need to have bottled...........both our next door neighbours have mains gas!

 

There were 5 pallets of bricks left over............I guess that I must have paid for them because of their faulty quantity surveying.

 

We ordered an upright fridge freezer based on the alcove size on the plans.........it didn't fit. On actually measuring the alcove, we found that it was smaller than the plan size..............their response was that the plan measurement was to the studs, not to the finished size..ie after plastering. I rang the BSA and they told me that the opening should be to the plan size, (as we thought) and not to the studs. We rang 'em back and they asked, "can't you buy a smaller freezer?" I went spare! It was two weeks before someone came and smashed down the plaster and moved the stud to enlarge the alcove.

 

6 weeks later, the kitchen worktops started to lift at the seams............resealing required removal of the now arrived stainless splashback that had arrived after we moved in. The kitchen hot tap had been fitted to the cold and vice versa.

 

All but 2 doorhandles fell off within 3 months and had to be refitted, as did the shower door trim a while later. Every towel rail and toilet roll holder came off as they had been screwed into the plaster board without plugs. The locks on the toilet doors required the little latch to be lifted with the finger nail, unlike those that unlock from the inside when you simply turn the handle. I had never seen those before and they certainly weren't what we ordered. One of the kids has no nails and couldn't unlock the door........he managed by lifting the little latch with the bottom of a tooth paste tube. On contacting Plantation we were told that this kind of locking handle "was now standard"

 

Various parts of the interior required re-painting.

 

The patio sliding door had to be refitted as it was out of alignment with the frame.......it worked, but when open, you could see that it wasn't vertical.

 

12 months in the roof leaked due to a faulty flashing and it had to be repaired and the kitchen/lounge ceiling had to be re-painted.

 

There's more minor stuff but I'm getting mad now and my mind's gone blank :arghh:

 

3 years in, all the front exterior downpipes and deck railings turned from heritage green to cyan. I contacted them and their response was that the painters had used paint that wasn't to the listed specification (UV stabilised). I reminded them that the painters (sub-contractors) were legally their agents and as such, they were responsible for the painters...............they more or less said "tough titty' so I contacted the consumer watchdog who told me that exterior paint should be good for 5 yrs at least and so they contacted Plantation. They got the same response that I did, and advised me that my only course of action was a civil one. I told Plantation that one dissatisfied customer could negate a hundred satisfied ones...so here I am............negating. That paint job would've cost them a couple of hours and little more than a couple of hundred bucks............short-sighted and down right stupid if you ask me. I can't be arsed pursuing it any further.............you live and learn.

 

kev

 

Hi Kev,

 

I work in construction here in the uk, Im a Carpenter by trade but have to have wide experiance with all other trades, reading your notes makes me very angry at the fact these people are allowed to get away with such shoddy work, If you have paid for a service you want it, is there no way you could have put a retension on the work for a period of time??

 

I would carry on with your claim and get these things put right.

 

Proview

[kernow43]

You will find all project builders are much of a much, we built with Cavalier and i have also worked for 3 others including Plantation on the installation side. Unfortunatly the guys on site are paid peanuts and are expected to kick out a silly amount of work in a day.

I am now in maintenence as compromising on quality for quantity was giving me no job satisfaction. Try and find an independant builder, he may be a bit more expensive and maybe longer on site , but he will answer his phone and will also give a **** once you have signed up.

 

Hope this helps, Dale

I too worked on many homes at North Lakes, most are jerry built! Absolute c*ap!

I agree with Kev that the things that happened to him would be right. One house I worked on a water pipe in the roof was not connected, water came all the way down soaking the carpets and destroying a 42" tv that had only been fitted on the wall the day before.

Plantation was one of the worst. Just have a look at their parent company that has another name in Victoria. H*n*y Homes, they have a very bad name.

[The Bray Family]

I would buy ready built you can see the faults and whats around you and whats over loooking you.

Show homes allways look nice but what you see and what you get are too different things.

[Rudi]

OMG, the poor OP - all ready to buy the house of her dreams.....and now all this!!!

 

I hope it all works out for you Rebecca!

 

Love

 

Rudi

x

[heyyu]

You will find all project builders are much of a much, we built with Cavalier and i have also worked for 3 others including Plantation on the installation side. Unfortunatly the guys on site are paid peanuts and are expected to kick out a silly amount of work in a day.

I am now in maintenence as compromising on quality for quantity was giving me no job satisfaction. Try and find an independant builder, he may be a bit more expensive and maybe longer on site , but he will answer his phone and will also give a **** once you have signed up.

 

Hope this helps, Dale

 

i agree the little blokes take more care and usually the man himself is on the tools

[Guest guest30038]

Hi Kev,

 

is there no way you could have put a retension on the work for a period of time??

 

I would carry on with your claim and get these things put right.

 

Proview

 

No retensions here mate. You draw down on your mortgage and pay off as the different stages are completed. By the time you spot the crap, you are signing off on completion for the keys. As you are already paying the mortgage before you move in, and you may also be paying for a rental whilst they build, you have little choice but to sign for completion and hope that you can get the crap put right after you move in.

 

Structural warranty 6 yrs but "cosmetic" warranty only 12 months. As paint is considered cosmetic, you haven't got any redress if it fades or peels at 13 months. :arghh:

 

kev