Ferntree Homes

Very happy with Ferntree Homes – John from Ferntree Homes completed my home to an amazing standard. John was very reliable and friendly to deal with and always more than happy to help. Communication was fantastic and in particular I found John to be very knowledgeable and committed to a high quality build. Show details

Our 1st build , Very Pleased with the result – We are very happy with our build ( duplex ) the only negative is that there were times were there was a delay and slow procedure during the built. We heard a lot of nightmare stories from other people at the time in general regarding their builds and experiences with other companies and we were worried we may experience the same road. However we… Read more ·  1

had a pleasant experience , the owner of the company ( Ferntree ) was always contactable and very approachable. I also must add that pricing was very fair and reasonable regarding additional items. We haven't experienced any problems with the workmanship thus far and we are confident we wont. ( though if we do I'm sure that Ferntree will attend to any concerns ) One highlight that was very surprising and very satisfying is that when we were quoted by others Ferntree was better value for money considering that the other builders that quoted us were going to build with 70mm studs but Ferntree used 90mm studs, speaking to a private builder he advised that that alone is a significant advantage to the build. Overall we were very happy and we would recommend Ferntree and if we were to build again id definitely give Ferntree an opportunity and the last roll of the dice considering we have dealt with them and are very pleased. We built a duplex in the Sutherland shire.

Great Experience – Just wanted to share the great experience we had building our brand new home with Ferntree Homes John and his team were always there for us and nothing was ever a problem.. A few times during construction we asked to change a few small things and these were looked after without fuss. The overall build was without headache and the final finish… Read more

more than what we expected. What ever was needed to be rectified was done so very quickly.

Overall my family and I are so happy in our new home.

Try elsewhere – We worked with and built with Ferntree over 2016-2019. We’d like to think we’re fairly easy-going. In fact, this is the first negative review we have ever posted online about anything. We also went in with realistic expectations (between our families, we’ve experienced lots of new builds and went out of our way to avoid variations), particularly… Read more

given we were building a custom designed house at the height of the Sydney construction boom.

In terms of the timeline: - We demolished our house in Feb 2017 and gave Ferntree access to the site Mar 2017 - Signed contract May 2017 (2 month delay due to Ferntree’s certifier, not Ferntree’s fault) - Slab went down Aug 2017 (delay due to Ferntree being busy with other jobs. This is when Ferntree’s timetable started; to complete May 2018) - Ferntree’s first supervisor left Ferntree after slab laid (Sep 2017) - Second supervisor started late 2017 - In the first 14 weeks, there were only 4 days work onsite from Ferntree - A few days before Christmas 2017, the frame went up - Second supervisor left Ferntree mid 2018 - Third supervisor started Jul 2018 - Met owner and new supervisor onsite in Jul 2018 and were advised 8-10 weeks to complete (i.e. Sep 2018) - Some trades were good (the electrician is outstanding and a great guy); other trades were not - (e.g. rendering required three different renderers to fix each other’s work) - Notice for Practical Completion issued in week before Christmas 2018 - We disputed the notice as we didn’t consider the house could be lived in (gas for hot water not connected, floors not finished, pipes underneath sinks in kitchen and bathroom were leaking) - Reached Practical Completion Jan 2019 (74 weeks / 17 months after slab laid) - We moved in Feb 2019 (2 years after we moved out, 18 months after slab) - There were several defects but Ferntree fixed most of these (or we dealt directly with the trades) - Some defects still outstanding despite following up (e.g. spitter for one gutter was never installed)

Following completion, the general feedback we’ve had from other builders and the Defect Inspector is ‘construction is reasonable; however, some finishes are poor’ and Ferntree took on more than it could handle. On this last note, other builders were surprised to hear that one supervisor was looking after 11 Ferntree projects at a time (the view from other builders was it should have been 3-4 to be able properly supervise trades). We heard from the supervisor that other clients were even further behind schedule than we were and we felt sorry for these people.

On reflection, our sense is, Ferntree staff are nice people who try their best (and no doubt the high turnover of supervisors and office staff didn’t help), but perhaps they were out of their depth and not competent operating at the level they were trying to operate at during the height of the boom. For example, there was no one point-of-contact; the office and supervisor redirected enquiries to the other person; there was no work schedule for our build available (we asked many times), supplies weren’t always ordered in advance to factor in lead times; seemingly simple things like organising a site clean took months, etc. While overall we are happy with the house, and their contract inclusions were generally the best across the builders we looked at, for the price charged, we (and others we’ve spoken with) would have expected a much better experience and outcome.

At this price point, friends and neighbours have had a better experience with other builders.

Very Happy with work – I'm happy with the end result despite a few minor hiccups. The finished product was amazing. We built a duplex and understand that we had to wait a few months longer to be completed. The end product has proved to be of high quality. The director, staff and tradies were always helpful. I would recommend Ferntree to any prospective client. Show details ·  1

Extremely Happy and going to Build Again – I thought it is about time to write a review about our last home. Time flies and I meant to get around to posting something sooner. We have since sold the home Ferntree Homes built for us and will be looking to build with them again. Prior to starting our last home we had already built two new homes with other builders. One was a large project… Read more ·  1

builder and and the other was another Custom Home Builder. As we had built before my husband and I both knew exactly what we wanted this time. We needed a Custom Builder to get the detail we wanted, yet had to be mindful of our budget.

Our home was Custom Designed and it had a fair amount of detail both with internal finishes and facade. One of the things that attracted us to Ferntree was that they were keen to be involved, were prepared to listen to what we wanted, had shown us Custom Built Homes they built before, and most importantly they came in on budget for us. (As an aside, we had them quote our new home plans against our previous builder; we were also happy with their build quality previously and at the start were most likely going to build with them again.)

It worked out Ferntree Homes were quite a bit more competitive than our previous Custom Builder and after many discussions we decided to give them a go. At the start I have to say we were nervous because we had such a good build previously and wanted the same again. It was a decision we were pleased with in the end as we created a really lovely home. It wasn't easy and did take a lot of effort but was worth it in the end.

There were normal issues like it took bit longer to complete the brickwork stage which was mainly due to there being a fair bit of rain at that time. Once the roof was on it progressed well, and they allowed our Landscapers to work in with them at the end.

It was easy to talk to the supervisor and John, the owner. We did request quite a few site meetings and these were no problem at all. They never made us feel like a nuisance and we were keen to make sure we got the details spot on. There was one construction issue with our large corner stacking doors and Brad the Framing Carpenter and supervisor for our home was particularly good and managed to work with their window supplier and had it fixed up for us. The other issues were mainly minor (marks on a wall, faulty window lock etc. etc.). Once they were all fixed up prior to moving in we were really happy. We ended up with a really nice home, good quality and we got the detail we wanted. We did spend a little more than the original quote along the way, mainly with upgrading some of our finishes. We did plan for this and were happy to spend the money.

Since we have sold we now realise even more how nice the home was and are looking forward to building our next home with Ferntree.

A fantastic home, very happy clients – We had Ferntree Homes build our first home and completed it a couple of years ago. Although we recently sold it to move closer to the city (for work purposes) we were extremely happy with the service we received and the quality of the build. The staff at Ferntree Homes were friendly and helpful. They kept us up to date and since we worked in the… Read more ·  1

city and had little time to call in, we appreciated that they took care of most things for us, making the building process efficient and stress-free. There were no major issues and the minor hitches that we had (which were mostly due to the design specifications of the development we were building in) were quickly fixed at the end of the build. The house was straightforward to build and we didn’t make any major changes so the project went quite smoothly. Even though we have now moved, we would have no hesitation in getting Ferntree homes to build our next home when the day comes

Worst experience of my life – Building my home with Ferntree Homes has been the worst and most frustrating experience of my life. I am giving this 2 stars because the actual build quality of what has been completed is good. My husband and I signed a tender in March 2015 and our house is still not finished. Our kitchen and laundry are not painted, our windows are dirty, the… Read more

stickers have been left on the windows for so long that damage has occurred, a shower screen isn’t installed, a leak has occurred in my roof and despite numerous requests for it to be fixed, no one has come out to attend to it. We have submitted a list of defects but no one will tell us when the works will be completed. I cannot even begin to describe the terrible customer service we received in the 3 years prior to this. There is one lovely person who works for the company, her name is [name removed], and she has made attempts to assist us but her hands are tied by the decisions of others in the company. Do yourself a favor and take your business to another company. We have friends who have had great success with Gremmo Homes, Hall & Hart, Rawson Homes and McDonald Jones. Don’t enter the nightmare that we have because God only knows when this will be over.

Love our new home, very happy clients! – We built our dream home with Ferntree Homes and have absolutely no hesitation in recommending them. Our home is a modern double storey custom designed home located in Sydney’s lower North Shore. It is exactly as we designed it combined with suggestions made by Ferntree Homes. Our block wasn’t the easiest to work with – it is a relatively narrow… Read more ·  1

block with a slope, but you wouldn’t know it when you took a step inside. We were drawn to Ferntree Homes because of their expertise with difficult blocks. Their experience and creativity in this regard was invaluable.

By no means was it a smooth and seamless journey, however it would be highly unrealistic to expect this from any builder. There were many delays such as access to tradesmen, suppliers, adverse weather, Christmas break etc. Unfortunately, this is characteristic of most building companies. It is well known that there is a widespread shortage of tradesmen and they are in a position to “cherry pick” which jobs they want. Nevertheless we were very impressed with the quality of workmanship of Ferntree’s tradespeople. If we didn’t like something that was done (this did happen a couple of times on a very minor scale) we would just let them know and it was re-done. There was constant communication between us and we were always forewarned about delays or issues that arose. They sent us regular emails and text messages keeping us updated. This is one of the things that stood out about Ferntree Homes.

What we found set Ferntree Homes apart from your mass production project homebuilders is their attention to detail and quality. For example, the inclusions and materials used consisted of well-regarded high quality brands. They also do not adopt a “cookie cutter” approach to building and they were quite flexible with many aspects of the build. For example, during the build we decided to add a wall in our alfresco area for our external kitchen and it was done. We found John (the Director of Ferntree Homes) to be a man of integrity and very easy to deal with. He worked around our schedule and met with us on Saturdays.

We definitely plan to build with John and his amazing team again in the future.

The never ending story with a happy ending – We built last year & took possession on Xmas eve of a beautiful new home. In general the workmanship was very good. We did have minor issues around some of the completed work & we had to follow this up ourselves but the completed product is impressive. The site foreman Alphonse was terrific in communicating with us about the progress of the build… Read more ·  1

& the staff at ferntree are all very experienced & friendly which made them good to deal with. They did work very hard to get the house completed for Xmas which we didn't really appreciate enough at the time. Like any build we suffered with weather & bureaucratic delays as well as a shortfall of funds due to a lack of contingency. The owner, John is a very reasonable guy & after finalising the outstanding issues I would recommend Ferntree to friends & family in future.

Genuine staff! Excellent process – Upon meeting the builder and being satisfied we started building in October 2013. Process was clear and all questions were answered which ticked all Our boxes! Very custom design type of builders and the quality of the products used from gyprock brand to door, window company is of excellent standard! All communication was negotiated/ answered on… Read more

the phone, but everything tracked and always backed up by emails.

Met designer for product selections, colour selections and she also digitally designed different house facade/colour options for us to choose from, which was so professional and so convenient to help make final decisions. Throughout the building we were always phoned or emailed if any changes or delays were expected and we thought this was genuine professional communication. The labourers all had sound knowledge of their area of expertise which was excellent! Have to say that we were very pleased with the team at Ferntree homes and the high quality of workmanship and products used. Will definitely build and use Ferntree again

Ready to Enjoy – We are very happy with our new house on the Central Coast. We designed it ourselves to meet our family's specific requirements. Other builders we spoke with wouldn't build what we wanted. While it took a long time to achieve DA and start work, the process wasnt helped by the introduction of strict new bushfire regulations which suppliers,… Read more

sub-contractors and the builder had to understand and comply with. There were weeks when there was no activity on site. Some of the special materials used to meet bushfire regulations had to come from Melbourne and overseas. Also our location involved a lot of travel for the Sydney-based tradesmen.

That said, the quality of work from all trades was excellent and the tradesmen were all very helpful and co-operative in dealing with changes to plan. A new supervisor took over well into the project and he made a big difference.

We are very pleased with and proud of our beautiful new house and thank Ferntree - [names removed] who were all good to deal with .

If we could give a 4.5 star review we would have. Quality of work

Great Finished Product – "We knocked down our old home at Castlecrag to build a new home and because our land sloped steeply from the street we had to find a builder willing and able to accommodate this. Although we didn’t know too much about Ferntree Homes, we decided to go with them after checking with some happy past customers. Also with our initial meetings with them… Read more

they came across as experienced, honest, and easy to communicate with.

We found Ferntree Homes to be very flexible and accommodating with our requests. For example we employed our own interior designer and our own kitchen manufacturer and Ferntree Homes accommodated and worked well with them both. Also we made a few design changes along the way (even after some items had been built) and Ferntree Homes were helpful and honest with that regard and offered some great advice and hints.

We found the building process exciting and challenging but because of Ferntree Homes experience and honestly, we did not find the building process to stressful, unlike some stories we had heard from people who used different builders.

During the build, the whole Ferntree Homes team worked well with us, our kitchen manufacturer, interior designer, pool company and landscaper to deliver an outstanding quality home.

Due to changed circumstances we had to sell the home straight away and we were delighted with the price we achieved due to the quality design and finishes of the home.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Ferntree Homes to anybody who wants to build a new home as we found them honest, straight forward and a good company to work with." Flexability and great to work with

Devastated – Regrettably, we choose Ferntree Homes to build our new home in 2011 and 20 months later, it’s still far from finished. In desperation, we turned to the NSW Department of Fair Trading. During a site visit at the start of August, Fair Trading then highlighted 16 issues and Ferntree committed to addressing 14 of the 16 issues by today 30th… Read more

August.

As of today, only 1 of the 16 issues has been addressed! We are devastated.

But a biggest concern is outside of these issues.

We have now realized that Ferntree has constructed a suspended concrete slab which is a quarter the depth stated in Ferntree’s own commissioned Structural Engineering plan.

Every day, we live with the consequences of their continual decisions to build “cheap” without ever consulting us.

Others examples of our disastrous experience include:

1.) Pointing out very early on to the Site Manager that the location of waste pipes appeared to be incorrect, only to have our concerns ignored, leading to 4 waste pipes being set in concrete in the wrong position.

2.) Seeing countless brickwork mistakes and rework with windows being bricked in the wrong place, windows being bricked over and bricks being cut-out in the wrong place – delaying the build by months.

3.) Delays and compromises in the build with the windows order being placed way too late in the build and then seeing the windows damaged whilst they sat on site for 3.5 months.

Delays then followed with the windows either being incorrectly-sized or the brick-work being incorrectly built.

4.) Realizing that all the trades had to travel considerable distance to get to the site every day. This resulted in numerous trades simply not showing up and when they did, the work was rushed & compromised with little to no quality assurance and no one showing any interest to return to the site to correct faults.

5.) Observing trades “working without lighting” resulting in, for example, tiles being laid in the dark and numerous return visits, even to present day, to address the poor workmanship.

6.) Requesting to see a simple “Project Plan” detailing what? would happen when? for over 14 months and never receiving anything.

7.) And finally on 11th April 2013, taking matters into our own hands and writing, emailing & managing our own schedule of outstanding work required for occupancy. That schedule did run to time and concluded on 17th May 2013 when we finally moved in.

However, our house is now a renovation project as we can see, first-hand, the poor workmanship & lack of quality-control.

So sorry to say, but there are too many to mention! - please see the review.

Super fast and efficient build – I thought I would post a review on our builder Ferntree Homes. We had been referred to them by a family member and we found them to be really helpful. They helped design a home for us that met our needs but stayed within the budget that we had set. The few variations we requested were reasonably priced and generally speaking we didn’t have too… Read more ·  1

many issues at all. The minor issues we did have were attended to without question and the project was completed within a reasonable time frame as well. It was only 5 months from start to finish. Most people have said that is unbelievable.

We've had so many people comment on the standard of our home and the fact that we could design the home how we wanted and it was very reasonably priced. We even had complete strangers knock on our door to ask who built our home. All people working for Ferntree were fast to answer our calls and emails and were always on to getting minor hiccups fixed up. Lovely people to work with.

Overall our experience with Ferntree was good and not too stressful and we wouldn’t hesitate using Ferntree again in the future. reliable, inexpensive, lovely staff, fast build minor hiccups

Please do not use this company!! – We built with Ferntree 3 years ago and I noticed they've recently revamped their image/logo etc. Please don't be fooled - they are still terrible builders. To be completely honest, I'm genuinely surprised they are still in business. I don't expect them to be trading in 12 months time. We had countless delays, numerous mistakes,… Read more

trades onsite less than 50% of the available time & little communication or explanation. In the end, we had to involve a lawyer.

The owner will say things like "Do you want a fast house or a quality house?"

Don't be fooled - I can tell you, you'll get "An average build quality after a very, very long time of waiting!"

Please this website to find a better builder!! Our design that we provided without any help from Ferntree! Slow, slow build with countless mistakes, average build quality and countless excuses where we had to engage a lawyer to set things straight.

Dream Delivered Take 2 – We waited 5 years to build our Ferntree Home.After looking at many designs, my wife and I kept coming back to the Ferntree. We have 6 children and found Ferntree easy to deal with when custom designing our home to fit our tribe. My wife has built 2 houses prior to this one and I had built with Ferntree before. We did have some lengthy delays… Read more

with our 5.5mtr angled front windows ( no fault of Ferntree) and our shower screen - Stegbar ( once again no fault of Ferntree). [name removed] kept us updated to minimise stress.

It is a custom design and the positive feed back we are constantly getting makes up for the few delays and adjustments that had to be made.We enjoyed doing business with [name removed] and his team, especially the Draftsman and site supervisors. Custom design and the positive feed back. We did have some lengthy delays.

Promised a dream delivered a nightmare – Ferntree Homes promised the world,but failed to deliver.From the minute we signed the contract Ferntree built our house their way with our money at their pace.We had poor communication from head office and the building forman hardly seen on site.We had windows ordered,delivered and incorrect twice,a leaking roof,a substantial amount of cladding… Read more

replaced at the back of the house due to poor workmanship and we had to compromise our design as a result of poor planning. Twelve months later and several requests for handover we moved in , still incomplete.After several emails to Ferntree and promises made by them they again failed to turn up.In the end we got our own trades to complete,we found Ferntree slow,incompetent,rude,and no attention to detail.Need i say anymore, if you come across Ferntree Homes run in the other direction. our design slow build,poor attention to detail,incomplete at handover

Avoid Ferntree Homes at all cost – Ferntree has shown no interest in us as a client and have repeatedly ignored verbal and written instructions resulting in major issues with the end result and compromises that we now have to live with. It is now at the stage, where I can only conclude that they are making mistakes on purpose - either that or they are even more incompetent than I… Read more

thought!

Progress has been painfully slow, with the house standing for weeks without any activity, then when they are chased up and threatened with further action, there is a flurry of activity for a while and then nothing again.

Promises and commitments have repeatedly been broken with our handover date moving time and time again.

Their management of sub-contractors is very poor with very little oversight of their performance and quality. Attention to detail is very poor.

Terrible service attitude, lack of attention to detail, lack of interest, poor management, poor quality