WBB

hi, we have been doing some hardcore research over the last few weeks, looking at the possible options of whether to buy or build our house once in australia.

we are leaning towards building and have looked at kit homes, and various other concepts and we seem to of found a company that provides what we are looking for, they are called g j gardner and claim to be among the best house builders in australia.

has anybody had any dealings with this company or heard anything about them?

they have a website which is here.

any advice would be gratefully received aswell as any suggestions to alternative builders of this kind.


many thanks

deedee

we looked at lots of kitset homes before deciding what to build.We did see a GJ home in North Island on our travels and to be honest they are very similar to all the others.A cheap,crappy,lightweight,flimsy home.They just don't make them like they use to because everyone needs a big cut!The timber guys ,the building supplies companies,the builders,manufacturers....the whole chain.(thats my conclution after far too much reseach on building)For the out lay you really do get a piss poor house that in twenty years will be scruffy,dated and unwanted....a timeless classic it is not.The 60's all over again springs to mind.

MrsDagboy

Billy, my brother got a GJ home built a few years back, they are a well known & well respected name & do alot of designs. One of the biggest builders in the country I believe. Problem in a new estate is that all the houses will look the same because of coventants etc. Not my cup of tea at all but then everyone is different :shrug:. FWIW, my brother had very little trouble with the actual building (just the usual late delivery type of things, nothing major) & he has ended up with a very nice house of very good quality. But they spent extra $ & got quality inclusions.

In the end, as long as the builder isnt shonky, its very much up to you what the house ends up like .

Gill and Rob

A little off topic but, GJ Gardener have one of the most irritating TV ad on NZ telly. I find my self singing along to the catch phrase as soom as I hear the music, could there be some subliminal message in it??..........No I haven't yet had the urge to build my own home, happy with the one we bought.

Gill

sky

We looked them up in the nz yellow pages but only to see if they would be a possible employer for my brickie hubby, they do seem to be one of the larger builders in aus/nz and do franchises aswel.

WBB

cheers for the help guys, we dont know one builder from another at the moment and we are just putting in some ground work and getting some quotes etc etc.

this firm gj gardener have quoted us some very competitive prices on 4 bedroom en suite double garage houses, the question is obviously what is the quality like, we intend to look at previous builds by the company and hope to speak to past customers to see what they have to say about them.


thanks again

Akaubear

Me too! Whenever I see this thread it just keeps going round & round in my head!!!

Nicola.

hamiltonnz

What sort of prices in $Aus did they quote if you dont mind me asking. Graham

dotty

Just be aware most of these prices by these big builders are without foundations, also most are the basic specification, many do not even meet the climate codes for Qld, Wind ratings etc. House is also unfinished, drive, carpets, screens tiles etc etc, some even show a kitchen then tell you you only get half the cupboards etc.

Take the the advertised price with a pinch of salt. Once you sit down every thing is an extra, I would add 30% minimum to the price you see in the paper or a website. Maybe 50% for a pole home. Sales phrase here is 'Get you in the door price' .

WBB

there is a big choice in spec, and depending what you want but a ball park figure including all floor coverings, painted inside and out, security doors etc $100k.

granted a lot of the kitchen/bathroom will be basic and like dotty says this does not include landscaping to the outside, but you can do this as you get the time and money.

it is an option we are looking at, but we are worried about the resale value.

PeteY

What did you do in the end then Deedee?

Build or buy?

Pete.

Badge

Paal seemed good, a Sydney based supplier with showrooms in Emu Plains. Aussie cricketer McGrath used them for his house. They are good as they use steel frames.

Can anyone else account for the quality of kit homes?

I don't necessarily see negatives here - most aussie houses are wood anyhow - a kit home essentially?

badgers

PS I started a thread on this a few months ago...

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ight=kit+homes

nosuchluck

Try AV Jennings, found these better looking (on the net anyway!)
regards
rach

deedee

having nearly always lived in stone or granite homes,with slate roofs and really thick walls we decided to try replicate what we like best.Its going to be a long drawn out project as we are really too far out to get builders.Its going to be a Mr and Ms Deedee long term goal.We have already started,and its going to be a mixture of log cabin and Alexandra stone,single storey,if all goes well.We are just in the process of setting up our own timber mill so as to try use all the building material on our farm.No rush,we're living here and that was number one project.
As for kit homes,i dare say for lots of people it is a simple solution with a reasonable price.Plus with the lack of the types of housing such as in the UK and Europe the kit houses seem an easy fix.My only two concerns are what will they be like in 20-30 years?and quality of materials and workmanship.They sure don't use quality anything anymore in any of the kitset homes as its all done on price and profit is more important than the end result.Sorry for my biased views but the engineer in me looks far too deep into how they build here......perhaps i should ignore it