McDonald Jones Homes Questions & Answers (page 5 of 7)

Ours was going to be a H1
But has now been dropped to M

McDonald Jones Homes Official, may I ask why you're not either posting outcomes or supplying at least a summary of any corrective measures that are being made to the wealth of complaints here? I spent time today reviewing a display home in QLD which I frankly thought was entirely what I wanted until I found the reviews here? Responding privately is effective if the complainants then post resolution or update emails, but that isn't happening and I'm wondering why? The sales person today was exceptional. I'm not forming any opinion yet but rather than making assumptions wanted to ask directly

Hi Cisco, I can not answer that question. Plans are one of those things that you really need to spend time on before you sign off contracts or plans. I always take my time doing these as they are one of the big things when building. I would go and see your consultant and talk to her. They are really great at helping during the early stages.
They will walk you thorough what needs to be done and how much it would cost .
I hope every thing goes well for you. Let me know.

It's great that Kerrie Lewis is an authority on MDJ process, and knows the unidentified Consultant is a female plus is that concerned she would like a progress update. hmmm a bit suspect, sounds like a MDJ staff member

in my case slab done last year March. I am still waiting for the handover date

Finally we got the key

Just deposited as well on the San Marino Exec 16 You need to chat with council to get help regarding this, we challenged our secondary facade (side of house) and a simple dress up will suffice to match streetscape. We hope it will reduce price from 3K down to 1K.. I can let u know outcome.

We are building at Llandillo and didn't have to pay a surcharge but Its not as far out as Silverdale.

That's really interesting we are planning to build there, when did they hit you up with this extra $1500?

They had it in our initial quote

Hi,
We chose Austral bricks Urban Pepper and it's looking pretty good so far.

Hi Harps, Did you proceed with McDonald Jones? Hubby and l have fallen in love with the Oasis on display in Rochedale, however after reading all these reviews l am extremely nervous about proceeding with them, hence l would like to hear what you decided.
Thanks
Brigid Lambert

Please do your homework. You still have time.

Yes, please do your homework. Our son in the Hunter has been waiting 3 years for them to rectify faults.

I think they are all the same I would choose a private builder!

Yes, they just don't appear to care. Their after sales service is an absolute nightmare in trying to get them to do the warranty work on faults. They don't return 'phone calls, emails or follow through, it's like bashing your head against a brick wall.

You are spot on Chez, that's the vibe I get. But do they need to care? There are so many houses being built right now I wonder whether it's more a case of just get through all the work and worry about reviews when it actually matters. The demand is rock solid, did you know construction workers are migrating from all over the world to work here.
We can only hope that more people will use this website to provide honest feedback so the prospering new home builders can form a true expectation of the experience they may have.

He is very uncontactable. It appears to me he is not interested in knowing the problems people have when building & rectification/repair issues after the home is completed. Obviously his staff don't pass any messages on, nor care. You only have to read this site & the Facebook site to see the problems customers are having.

Thank You Chez. I just wanted to let him know what is happening in his firm.

I have built nova one chase facade. The home is a really good design and layout. The only thing I could say as a negative is that the open plan living/dining area is quite small. You would only fit a table and one small lounge. Everything else is a good size.

Thanks for your reply

Hi Judy C, after my dummy spit. I was on the emails and phone to who I could to talk to from McDonald Jones. Vented my frustration and now we are having things looked into. There is two Items that I vented about and they were the handles. I had selected an item and there is two different one the ones that I was having without being told was the ones that they put on the front door. This I am now informed is there is two different handles for this.
The other is the oven they are taking the legs off and putting it on a plinth. Not something that I would have wanted but this is what is done now.
I have been in contact with the new site supervisor and the Manager for the area. I have also been in contact with the Manager that I saw early I the piece.

So it proves that they are trying to fix things. It is always a frustrating thing to build and yes we have done this a few time and I do hate it with a passion.

If you decide to build with them talk ask for information and phone numbers, emails and anything else that you think you mite need.
They will get back to you and help you.

Thanks Kerrie....we have decided to go with a smaller building company and so far it's been excellent. Good luck with your house.

Not really happy. Major concern is delay. Till not finished it is over one month. Till date No reason is given for the delay. About quality, no idea yet.

Contract had house completion date for Feb. Works and disputes are still ongoing. I paid over $500 for a 20 odd page defect report by an independent inspector, took it to fair trading and a rectification order was put in place to complete the works. Now 8 months later, I have a 2 week old new born I am not to sure if the toxins from the dust and paint will affect her health when they come back for rework.
That's my experience though, other people may have had a better build. I have heard both positive & negative things from other people that have built with them. I guess I was just unlucky.
Don't stress yourself out, you will be fine. Just remember to use independent building inspectors and don't hesitate to use fair trading. Another word of advice when you do progressive inspections take plenty of photo's, write down statements that are made and make your supervisor sign the documents as evidence and then email these back to him so there is a logged record. Evidence and paper trail is an absolute must, don't rely on what you get told. Business in good good faith doesn't always work.
Also keep in mind people are more inclined to give a review if it's based off a bad experience.

We are currently building with MDJ and are almost finished. I think you would be making the biggest mistake in choosing to build with them. I have had everything possible go wrong with my build and the customer service of the client liaison officer and managers down the south coast is B grade and I have never been so upset, angry, stressed and unhappy with the house which has cost us $460,000 to build. The render job and corbel looks like it has been done by a 5 year old, wrong tiles in all wet area and only when I told them they were wrong I was told that I must of made the mistake not them so I had to prove myself and luckily we had all the paperwork proving it. Garage door faulty and so badly made it was actually laughable, the wrong tapware, the wrong sinks and once again I have been told it must be my mistake and I have had to prove myself again. This is just a short list of a very lengthy one but strongly advise you to pick someone else. If you are in sydney I would suggest you call Highwater homes. I wish wish wish I had of used them. Small company that houses look amazing.

Hi bree. I selected all of those things over 2 years ago so I'm not too sure now. The ceiling will vary depending on your house design but you would expect it to be at least $3000 extra. I can't remember the price of the internal doors, but I left for me to do after I move in because the price was way too much to do it through them. As the sliding door has so many variations and options that I can't answer that properly.

Sorry no idea.

It depends on the house you are building. See below:
#Beach House 2.7m incr front elevation windows to suit $8370
#Grange 2.7m incr front elevation windows to suit $8190
#Beachside 2.7m incr front elevation windows to suit $ 7310
#Bronte $7000 to $10700

Text me an email address with the specific house you are looking at and I can scan their info sheetswith prices for a range of things including the ceiling heights. Text to 0419741349

Hi There
Have u started building Edenvale with MJ? I'm building with them next year in Newcastle . Wondering how u going with MJ building?
Thankx Anna

It went over time, a few minor defects, painting quality poor, thin and some patch us, marks, chipped bricks, poor finish on tiling, stair lights in wrong place, my stud finder calls ... on site supervisor saying it was because of the studs, water pools on tiled deck, some light battens power point in wrong places. We should have pushed for more frequent inspections. We built with them because the design limited the changes we wanted to make, extended upstairs additional balcony added length and added media room to make 3 car garage. We also made a few choices I would change in retrospect, internal doors, tiling ect

As the roofer to install them for a cash payment.

I'm pretty sure they use HUME DOORS