PROGRESS/MILESTONES

Introduction - We hope to provide  the readers of this blog with valuable updates on our building experience with Metricon in an effort to help others with their own build. We will always try to be objective and give you the good, the bad and the ugly (hopefully there won't be many of the latter two). 

A bit of history...We had been looking for a property for while; somewhere where my son and I would feel comfortable and be close to his school and amenities.  We finally found a home in Glen Waverley Vic toward the end of Nov 2019 and got the keys mid Dec. The existing house on the block was in a terrible state so we decided on a knock down and rebuild. We looked at many designs and originally opted to go with single storey Carlisle home. We got to contract stage and decided that the planned house would not suit the block given the large fall around 2.5 meters front to back (1.5m accross the buidling platform). Carlisle's solution was to either burry the house in the ground to get a flat building platform or do a substantial cut and fill all of which was very expensive and not a suitable option. After exploring other builders we came across Metricon who was the only volume builder we could find with the designed we liked that would do a split level home; a home, that would suit the block and follow the natural fall of the land. We decided at that stage to cut our losses with Carlisle Homes ($5K already paid) and go with the Vantage 38 with Lodge facade. The journey begins....

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04/06/2020 - Initial Deposit has been paid to Metricon and now the wait begins for the initial contract, which I have been told will take around 8 weeks.. This time is required for the soil test to be performed and drafting to come back with the siting and indicative site costs. It will be interesting to see how this goes as the initial estimate of $60K from the sales consultant was based on already provided site and soil tests from Carlisle Homes. I have been assured that it wont be more than this, but was told the same thing from Carlisle and that turned out to be much more.... TBH I am hoping it will come in a little less so that we can include more upgrades in the home. Our initial contract is due to be presented on the 31/07/2020.

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01/08/2020 - Initial contract stage. Its been about 2 months since paying the Initial deposit to get to the Initial contract stage, this involved going through all additions you have added to the home with the consultant; signing off on the siting plan, drawings (including any structural changes made) . From initial quote to contract, the site costs increased by around $5K due to additional works required on the slab. Being a slopping block and split level design, the slab had to have a deepened edge beam included along with 50 piers. I questioned a couple of items such as the need to protect a tree ($1150) ..I was told there was a VPO in place; which is a little far fetched given the tree they are protecting was 15 meters away and included shrubs on a neighbouring block. The consultant gave me some explanation as to why this needed to be included, but I don’t think she was very clear on the charge herself. All in all though it was a painless experience, done over the phone due to COVID restrictions. After signing, they request a further $6,500, which takes the total to $10K and this gets you to contract stage. I have been advised that the M-studio appointment will occur in roughly 4 weeks taking the indicative date to the end of Aug/beginning of September. Expecting to add another $10K after the visit.

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Some notable pricing extra's include:

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• Hydronic heating - $12,300.00  (13 radiators and 2 towel rails)

• Hume Pivot door 1200mm wide- $1,570

• Split level - $16,200 with 500mm drop and 3.2meter ceilings toward the back

• Double glazing - $4,700 all windows

• Extra width garage with side window - $5,000

• PTF classic oak flooring - CIRCA $12,500 (less credit for tiles $8,272)

• Internal timber glazed doors around $450 each

• Square set cornices $2970 downstairs only

• Eaves to 1st floor $3,600

• Tiliing to 2.1m in all wet areas

Lots of extras came with the base price of the house (S Series inclusions):

• ​Upgrade to stair case with timber treads 

• 2.7meter ceilings downstairs

• 2.5 meter ceiling upstairs

• thicker ceaser stone in kitchen and fully decked out butlers panty

• othe bits and pieces too many to mention.

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18/08/2020 - M-Studio appointment. Was done via teams (due to COVID) ; a bit challenging ,but manage to get through it. The team was really helpful and had a lot of positive input in terms of colours and the way things go together. As with all builders they make their money on the upgrades which I suppose is common practice. One thing that ruined the experience was in relation to the "inclusions" as they term it. At  the signing of the initial agreement I advised the consultant that I was not interested in the Alarm that came with the house. At the time she explicitly told me that I could get a credit back on that inclusion.. When I spoke to the electrical consultant, on the day of the appointment I was told that I needed to speak to my consultant.. This Left me scratching my head... When i queried this, the consultant that signed me up said that she did not say that, and that I could upgrade with the electrical team. This was not true.... I have found that the staff at Metricon don't seem to understand the promotions that come with the house, as another consultant said I could get a credit from tiles that came with the house as part of the promotion to spend on "whatever" I wanted, only to receive another email the day after saying that this was a mistake. I would recommend that you go through the list of any inclusions that come with the house and carefully consider what you need. As there is little choice later on to change your mind or select other upgrades in lieu of the inclusions. In this case I think you would be better to go with any cash offer they have with and spend the cash as you want.

Having built with Henley Homes in the past and been through the colour selection process with Carlisle Homes, I can without a doubt say that the experience with Metricon has come in third place.. Primarily due to the misunderstanding that staff have of the promotions they are selling; which ultimately you as the consumer pays for.  

I am now waiting for final contract to be completed which should be done in about 1 month after which I go for the tiliing appointment at their selected supplier.