We found these guys very helpful...
HARRISON FRIEDMANN & ASSOCIATES PTY. LTD.
Surveyors, Engineers, Water Servicing Co-ordinator for Sydney Water
P: (02) 8558 7100 F: (02) 9546 4418
365 Princes Highway Carlton N.S.W.…

^^^ this.
I went on site almost every day to keep an eye on things, and then when I'd accumulated a list of issues, I'd arrange to meet the SS at…

^^ this!
We upgraded to include anticon under the colorbond roof (wasn't a standard inclusion) and upgraded the ceiling and wall insulation. We also upgraded for acoustic insulation between floors and…

"Council would prefer that the driveway is located outside the TPZ..." We've run into this a couple of times now. Council plant street trees, which to be fair are on…

We have two NEFF ovens, one pyrolytic and one vario steam. I'm not really the cook of the house and it's still a little early to know whether we'll be…

https://www.sleepingduck.com/au/
We've had one of these for almost a year and our only regret is that we didn't get it earlier.

We had our builder (Rawson Homes) supply & fit Bradford R2.0 soundscreen in six of our internal walls (where we wanted to cut down on noise from adjacent rooms, i.e…

For our 38 sq home, our builder (Rawson Homes) charged us $3,990 to provide square set wall/ceiling junctions throughout in lieu of the standard 90mm cove cornice.

We engaged Jennifer Crawford from https://www.ournewhomecoach.com.au/ and the service and advice was outstanding. Refer this previous post for more details... viewtopic.php?p=1888275#p1888275

Our builder charged us $600 for the lowered feature ceiling in the kitchen. There's no way we could have done it for anywhere near that cost after handover.

We were told that Jemena will use best endeavours to remove the gas meter in 20 business days, but some areas could take longer, and that our retailer (Energy Australia)…

During the build we lived in the adjacent property so it was no accident that one of the security cameras was pointed next door at the construction. My security system…

Shortly before handover we were presented with a building variation for $4,000 for about a day of rock excavation that had been carried out 11 months previously. I checked our…

We have a fall of about 300 to 400 mm from left to right across our property. The floor level of the neighbour on the left is higher than us…

Week 63 HANDOVER
At the beginning of the week we didn't think it would happen, but everything suddenly came together and handover took place on Friday morning, so here is the…

Week 62 Second PCI Walk Through
Rawson has been busy working on the list from the first walk through so after the second PCI walkthrough this week we were pleased to…

Yes, it's getting a bit painfully long now. We lost our original site supervisor at week 49 and then at week 54 the covid construction lockdowns kicked in. It seems…

Week 61
The defects list from the PCI is getting shorter every week...
Electrical subcontractor returned to correct electrical defects
Painter returned for final touchups
Glass cover on Tesla gateway cabinet replaced
Also, after the…

Week 60
The builder seems to be coping with the new covid construction rules and is continuing to work through the defects list...
Plasterer returned and repaired numerous areas including the holes…

OK, I see... no space for the window.
The good thing about the DA process is you can submit a non-compliant application and argue the merits (but which would make you…

That is the state complying development code... otherwise known as CDC, which I don't think applies to your development as you've mentioned that you've submitted an application for a DA…

For us, Rawson provided for two TV points in the standard inclusions. The TV points included the wall plates at our nominated TV locations and prewiring of the cabling, but…

Week 59
So the two week shutdown of construction due to the covid outbreak went longer than expected. Reminds me of the wisecrack Josh Frydenberg made this week... "the hardest thing…

Week 54
The builder has started working through the list from the PCI walk through....
Kitchen subcontractor commenced microwave cabinet modifications and ordered new cabinet doors
Staircase subcontractor inspected staircase defects... no good…

In our experience some builders don't understand NBN requirements very well which makes it worth seeking clarification of what they're proposing for "NBN ready" before they do it. For instance…

In our experience, no. Dilapidation reports are typically done by people with building or engineering qualifications (our council will only accept dilap reports done by an engineer) whereas surveying requires…

Week 53 PCI Walk Through
This week we had the PCI walk through and we also had our independent inspector carry out a PCI inspection. I want to firstly say that…

Yeah.. I guess that different builders/tilers will have different prices and their reasons for them. For us, building with a volume builder, we didn't have any option to shop around…

I have no doubt that's what they told you... but I don't buy it. We've just had 300x600 wall tiles installed (full height, floor to ceiling), and there was a…

I can't recall the fee structure, it was a little over 3 years ago that we were talking with them. In any case, don't hesitate to get in contact with…