Dale Alcock Homes Questions & Answers

Hi, I built with Dale Alcock homes in 2011 and have cracking running along the cornice join to wall and also continuing to run down the wall, every room has substantial cracking and large pieces of gyp rock have fallen out exposing the brick behind it, some cornice has cracked through badly also, it looks like the roof has moved exposing where the gyprock line finishes from time of home handover. After paying for the house to be painted this will have to be re-done when cracks are repaired due to the
sheer number of cracks requiring repair. I would like to know if Dale Alcock are responsible for repairing these issues under warranty and also inspecting roof movement as the root cause of cracking issues??

HI there,
I have just purchase a property in Pearsall (we are the second owner). We have had a building inspector and a ceiling fixer come out to the house and have been advised by both that the ceilings through out the house have sagged and the bad glue (purple in colour) that DAH used in the past has failed (apparently this is a common occurance). In some areas there is nothing holding up the ceiling other than the cornice!

They have also advised that it is so bad in the master bedroom that they don't believe it is safe to sleep in that room and is actually dangerous.

Can someone please contact me to advise on what Dale Alcock Homes are wiling to do with this situation?

Thank you.
Christian

We are the second owner of a 2003 Dale alcock home. We have structural concerns with the steel poles around the perimeter which go straight into the ground. At installation they mustn't have been correctly protected and now they are rusting through. Are we eligible for warranty claims? Thanks

Hi We built our Dale Alcock home in 2007 and have recently had to replace both bathrooms due to numerous cracks...There are cracks in most cornices throughout the home now including the join of the raked ceilings. I was told the home had a lifetime structural guarantee so where do we stand now with having them fixed? Regards Hayley

I recently viewed the Wedgwood display home in Landsdale and would be very grateful if you could tell me what the colour and brand of the feature face bricks on the front exterior are?

Hi Abbey,
Thanks for response.

We are still the original owner but have problems with our ceilings (gyprock) and wanted to know if ceiling are part of "structural timber".

Initially, we had problems with our ceiling (portico) in Year 2013 as it was not completed to "industry specifications" as per my RAC, who is my home insurer. Dale Alcock came out and agreed to RAC's findings and repaired it.

Now on 4th May 2022, we noticed, the ceiling in my kitchen/living area are sagging and a few big cracks. Reported to my home insurer (RAC) and they performed "make safe" to these areas. Then RAC advised me that they will not pay for the "insurance claim" as “damage to the open plan ceiling is due to glue and screw failure, which has resulted in cracking and sagging on the ceiling sheets”. I have forwarded a copy of the report to Emma Bell from Dale Alcock.

I have emailed/spoken to Dale Alcock (Emma Bell) since 15th May, who has been so responsive and prompt in her replies. She requested Ceiling Solutions to come to my premises for an inspection.

Adam from Ceiling Solutions came out on Thursday (16th May 2022) and viewed my property for the ceiling damages. He said that of all the cases he has, my property is an “urgent case” and will submit a report to Dale Alcock on Friday (17th May 2022).

Adam also noted that besides the kitchen and living area which has sunk badly (due to glue and screw failure), there also other parts of the house where the ceiling is sinking too (my son’s room, games room and both bathrooms) by approximately 50mm.

Emma received the report from Ceiling Solution on 23rd May 2022 and advised me that her manager will call me to discuss. I emailed Emma on 27th May 2022 and she advised me that her "manager is currently in a meeting however I have touched base with him and he will call you once he is available".

Until now I have not received any calls from Dale Alcock yet!!!!

In the meantime, I have also updated Emma Bell that since Adam from Ceiling Solutions came out for an inspection, there's further damage to the ceiling.

21st May 2022 - Noticed another light in the kitchen is not working. The crack is getting longer (another 3 inches) and bigger. It is also has sunk further and another hole is visible in the ceiling (screw coming off the gyprock).

25th May 2022 - Another screw in the kitchen ceiling came off on Saturday and the crack has increased further another 1 inch (longer). It is getting dangerous.

As of now (29th May 2022), no call from Dale Alcock yet?

Please advise as it is getting dangerous as the ceiling may fall down on someone? Or alternative, please suggest someone I can call from Dale Alcock.

Thanks.

Arul

What's covered by 25 years structural timber and structural brickwork? Thanks.

Why did Dale Alcock homes use Polystyrene Cornices ?
Now very expensive to replace

Hi we have just purchased a dale Alcock home which is around 12/13 years. We haven’t got any plans of the property is there any chance we are able to retrieve the property information at all ?

Hi, have you got a selections book online please? We got given an old one and now I can't verify that our selections are correct on the variation form as I can't see the items.

Thanks,

Wendy Moore

We are selling a Dale Alcock 2006 built housethat was an investment. Prospective buyers hired a building inspector who said he found 54 faults with comments such as roof timbers nailed and not bolted and other small faults in roofing. Do we have to pay to fix these so called problems or should the inspector have realised the house was built to 2006 regulations?

How do we go about home land sell?

Would you able to build with any budget? or all your design is over 200k?

We were very happy with our first home built with Dale Alcock, from start to finish we couldn't fault it. However our second build started off without any problems and gradually over time we have found that our ensuite and main shower walls were getting damaged (wet) through cracked tiles and poor grouting (since has been repaired by DA) also a cracked tile was visible around the bath that was also repaired. But now we have 3 broken tiles around the bath and one in the ensuite toilet. The grouting, I was told by the repairer, wasn't done properly the first time.
Lastly, our facia (gutter) to the front of the house had repairs done to it before handover which looked like it was fixed, but now I see this was only spray painted over and now the colour is wearing off and looks bad and very noticeable. I would love to hear from someone regarding this and see where we stand with it?

Why weren't we offered free upgrades when agreeing our build?
Really isn't fair on customers if they don't all get what they pay for!

Is it normal for cracks to form beneath cornice work and on multiple cornice joins in a home moved into less than a year ago? Does this fall under the heading of 'home owner maintenance', or is this something that should be rectified by the builder?
My house is over 60 years old and I have no cracks in the walls or cornices. I thought a brand new house would mean my elderly parents would be spared constant maintenance. Disappointed that DAH refused to rectify.

Is it normal to skip stages 2-5 in the Pre-Construction timeline and go stright to the colour meeting before the contract is finalised? The last meeting we had we recieved our folder and looked at our plans before changes. We made a few changes to the plan that would definitely change the price. Now they want to book our colour meeting when we haven't had our pre-contract meeting or the contract finalised. We had a meeting for something, two weeks ago that was cancelled due to our liason officer being needed on the reception. She said we would reshedule be this hasn't happened. I'm a little concerned as I don't know what is going on. Every time I phone it goes to message bank. They call me while I am at work and get cranky that I can't anwser. We have now asked them to call my husband only.

I have received a letter for you warning of a possible ceiling collapse due to incorrect installation. The letter states that I am responsible for this as the home owner but I wonder how this is possible. Prior to your letter a part of our ceiling in the garage had fallen down and an independent contractor advised that it had only been affixed with a few nails and glue. How am I to maintain my ceiling? Surely if this is a problem and you are aware of the dangers you as the builder should be responsible??

JUST DISCOVERED THAT THE CORNICES AROUND MY ENTIRE HOME IS MADE OF POLYSTYRENE AND/OR FOAM !!! This has come as a huge disappointment as the reason we chose to build with Dale Alcock was for his reputation for quality homes and a leading name in the building industry. We thought we were building a quality home with DA but all we have now is a cheap version with very inferior fittings. WHY ON EARTH WOULD A REPUTABLE BUILDER USE POLYSTYRENE AND/OR FOAM CORNICES? The foam cornices are covered in thin paper which is now peeling and bubbling and impossible to repair without ripping out the whole lot and replacing it with GENUINE PLASTER CORNICES which most other builders would use. Cornices are meant to last a lifetime so we're very, very disappointed to say the least.

We were hoping to go with Dale Alcock but I have concerns even before we've signed anything. Several mixed up appointment times despite travelling 3 hrs to get there. Being scolded like a naughty child for our building plan ideas. Pressured to get site survey. The more questions I ask the slower the response rate and sensing impatience from the sales rep. If the sales rep is not on our side at the start how can I trust them for the rest of the build? Some have suggested going with a different sales rep but the same company. Or a custom build company instead. What was your experience?