McDonald Jones Homes ACT

We engaged McDonald Jones Homes (MJH) to complete a new house build in Canberra, in November 2023, with the build officially commencing in May 2024. We opted for the Winton Executive design (a two-story build with 4 bedrooms). The build was relatively straight forward, with a few hiccups along the way. Handover was completed 12 months later, in… Read more

May 2025. The defects inspection occurring in mid-July 2025. The Project Manager, Nathan, was a knowledgeable builder and the Project Coordinator, Jai, seemed like a good operator. The major problem we have had with MJH is post completion – i.e. addressing defects. Most importantly, the fact that the house has not been equipped with adequate heating and cooling - a clear breach of the scope of works as listed in the HIA contract for the build, which states: "All air conditioning supplied by McDonald Jones Homes is designed to adequately service the size of home being built..." Last winter the Actron unit was unable to service the living spaces, often not getting warmer than 16 degrees despite the unit being on for more than 2-3 hours. We had also requested the upgrade to a 3 phase and four zone system- stating clearly to the MJH team that we wanted the home well heated (the upgrade costing about $5000). During the summer, the system has also been unable to appropriately cool the house - with the system tripping as it is undersized for the space. We now have a new house that is freezing in winter and uncomfortably hot in summer. To rectify the issue, we will likely need to install a new second A/C unit to appropriately service the space (which we have subsequently realised is what was installed in the Winton display home in Whitlam). We first raised this issue with MJH in June 2025 – but the issue remains outstanding - radio silence from the defects team at MJH. Addressing the issue is likely to cost $20,000+. If you are considering a build with MJH in Canberra, be warned that they will not provide heating and cooling appropriate to the climate, and MJH seem unwilling to address issues post-handover. Another word of warning - in late 2024 when we signed the contract, they had the base cost of the Winton design listed as $580,600, but in order to achieve a look similar to the display home, the house ended up costing us $818,000 (with us matching about 65% of the display extras).

David Striegl was great at helping us plan our new build. From the very beginning, he was attentive and knowledgeable. He was an absolute pleasure to work with and Kat and I truly appreciated his guidance. Show details ·  1

David striegl helped us plan our dream home he was amazing to work with and Bailey and I loved the experience he provided us with. His punctuality was impeccable, Bailey and I are beyond happy with the experience David has given us ! Show details ·  1

Wonderful selections experience – We did our selections with Jess for a North Coast build and she helped bring our vision for a coastal home to life while working in budget and making the session relaxing and fun. We're excited to see it come together now! Show details ·  1

Wonderful – The team were simply amazing, helping us through internal & external colour selections! If this is the standard for MJH we will be very very happy customers. Hope this continues throughout. Show details ·  1

We have been working with Jess on the interiors of our planned ‘Montrose’ home by MJH, every appointment has been fantastic, Jess is fully prepared, highly knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. We have loved every part of it so far and are… Read more ·  1

excited to do this with the team. Our project coordinator Brett is another true professional and nothing has been a problem. These two along with everyone we have experienced so far instil confidence, thank you we are excited and feel in good hands.

Service and Warranty – We have built two homes with MJH, both of the build experiences were positive, and we were/are generally very happy with the quality and service provided by this company. The home we currently live in was built in 2021. In June this year, we provided a list of defects to MJH Service and Warranty – two defects in particular remain outstanding which… Read more

is extremely disappointing. The whole process involved in addressing our defects this time has been unsatisfactory, as we have had to follow up on the outstanding defects numerous times with both MJH and the companies that provided these products – Bradnams Windows and Doors and Stylish Wardrobes and Showerscreens.

BRADNAMS WINDOWS AND DOORS DEFECTS: Almost 100% of the windows in our property have visible moisture/fogging between the double-glazed glass panels. This issue was first reported to MJH Service and Warranty on 16 Jun 24. At that stage, there was only about six windows in our property that were affected, since that time, almost all the windows now have the same issue. To seek a resolution, we have had to contact both MJH Service and Warranty and Bradnams a number of times so far, to no avail. We have provided a significant number of photographic evidence to both parties, and we also recently had an inspection conducted by an MJH representative. After the inspection, the issue was then escalated within both MJH and Bradnams management. Yesterday, we were finally advised that an inspection of the defective windows will be undertaken by representatives from Bradnams, as well as the company’s glass supplier - date for this to occur is yet to be confirmed.

This is not the first issue we have had with the windows and glass sliding doors supplied by Bradnams. On initial installation in our current property, a number of the windows and glass sliding doors were scratched on the glass panels. Also, a number of the window and door frames were scratched and bent. This issue whilst very disappointing, was on this occasion, addressed in a timely manner.

STYLISH WARDROBES AND SHOWERSCREENS DEFECTS: Both shower screens in the main bathroom and ensuite have had the bottom frames on the shower screens installed incorrectly in the first instance (which we were unaware of until a couple of months ago). This has resulted in the bottom frames and screws rusting significantly, as well as developing holes in these frames. These frames hold the shower door in place, so the rusting of the frames and screws in particular makes them a safety hazard. After a number of months, and numerous phone calls/emails to both MJH Service and Warranty and Stylish, the bottom frame on the shower screen in the main bathroom was finally replaced. At the same time, the tradesman advised us that he had been tasked by Stylish to only replace the rubber in the bottom frame of the ensuite shower screen vice replacing the frame, which was totally unacceptable as this frame was actually in worse condition than the one in the main bathroom. We have been seeking an acceptable resolution ie replacement of the ensuite bottom frame of the shower screen since 20 Aug 24. Only after constant phone calls/emails, are we now finally going to have the ensuite frame replaced - date for this to occur is yet to be confirmed. This replacement will be at MJH expense, vice Stylish – even though the website for Stylish states: ‘We pride ourselves on a job well done, employing qualified tradesmen and quality materials to produce the perfect result first time, every time. Our warranties reflect the confidence we have in our work, with 10-year warranties on wardrobes and 5-year warranties on shower screens, both of which are beyond industry standards'. This is not the first defective product that we have had to have addressed by Stylish – the soft close drawers in our walk-in robe were also installed incorrectly and therefore did not open and shut as they should. Once again, although under warranty, we had to put significant pressure on Stylish to finally have the drawers serviced, which took a number of months of contact/ correspondence.

Whilst we understand that the team at MJH Service and Warranty have attempted to address these defective products with the said companies, the process and timeline involved is totally unacceptable, especially given the issues have still not been resolved. We believe that the process involved in actioning our defects, customer service, communication, policies and the quality of the products provided by suppliers should be reviewed and improved.

We do intend to build another home in the future, and until now, we would have chosen MJH as the we would build with again. However, given our recent experience that decision might be hard to justify.

DO NOT BUILD WITH MJH. We regret choosing MJH for our build - poor quality, poor service, over time – [update 3] We are now at week 70 and continue to experience significant issues and many of the previously identified issues are yet to be rectified. Our main bathroom, including the bath, is upstairs and sits above a walk-in-linen room. In March 2024, our private inspector issued a pre-lining inspection report which identified the bath had not… Read more

yet been plumbed in and needed to be done before the house was sheeted (this was provided to MJH). It was only this week (end-September 2024) that the bath was plumbed in and installed. The plumber made a hole in our linen cupboard ceiling to access the underside of the bath to plumb it in, placed the bath into position and then filled it with water and left it there. Seems they didn't bother waiting around to make sure it wasn't leaking - we discovered late Friday night that the bath plumbing was leaking out of the pipes, and dripping onto the ceiling of our linen closet. By the time we saw it, it had seeped through the insulation, through the ceiling, onto the shelving and made a large puddle on the floor. The insulation, ceiling, cornice, skirting, and shelving are all ruined, and we have no idea the extent of the damage in the ceiling space which we can't see. All three of our MJH contacts did not answer our calls or texts (including video of the issue) and so the water has continued to leak throughout the weekend causing significant damage. Because the plumbing wasn't done when it should have been, we now also have additional holes in our gyprock, including one in the main living area of our home, which have been covered with access panels. These are not on the plans, and are so unsightly.

MJH are prioritising their three brand new display homes only a couple of hundred metres away from our build - two of which are due to open next weekend. They started work on these display homes in December 2023 (6 months after our build started) and they are already complete.

McDonald Jones Homes continued negligence on our build is beyond disappointing. Do not build with them!

[update 2] For those considering building with MJH, recommend filtering the reviews to show only those which are recent and from clients in the mid and post construction phases - this will give you a more accurate picture of what is currently happening. MJH relies on people providing a positive review before they enter construction, which results in a misleading overall product review score.

We are now at week 54, and over the contracted build period with no end in sight. MJH can’t give us a PCI date, and their communication is extremely poor, no matter the level of management we engage with.

Despite being over contract, there isn’t consistent work being done on our build, and issues which were identified months ago have not been addressed. They push ahead, only to have to take three steps backwards because of the issues with the work being done.

The quality of the work is appalling – MJH do not proactively address issues themselves, it is only once we point out significant problems that MJH pay any attention, and even then, do the bare minimum (or nothing at all) to fix them.

Below are some more issues we have had since our last update:

- Despite the MJH certifier providing a ‘satisfactory’ inspection report for the pre-lining inspection, our independent certifier picked up a number of issues which did not meet Code including: - wall cavities being full of mortar which didn’t allow drainage - no termite barrier installed under one of our sliding doors - no flashing installed under another sliding door - a number of badly crushed frames which required additional engineering to rectify - one they have ‘fixed’ by screwing a plate to the outside of the frame despite the crush being vertical and needing vertical strength (see photos) - another they have screwed a piece of wood to the middle to hold it up (see photos) - another they have tried to hammer into shape (see photos)

- No one from MJH made sure the house frames (walls/ceiling) were square and level before sheeting. This has led to a whole host of problems now the gyprock sheets are on (and painted) including: - sagging ceiling in areas which has now had to be ripped down (see photos) - corner junctions on walls which are obviously not square (see photos) and still haven’t been addressed - wall joins which do not line up, resulting in non-level joints (which MJH tried to hide with wood panelling (see photos) - crooked tracks for the sliding doors on some wardrobes (making one end of the wardrobe over 2cm wider than the other end)

- Our kitchen cabinetry was installed with two different shades of white cabinets (see photos). They can’t provide us a date these will be fixed.

- MJH put a frame in the wrong place, resulting in a concrete overhang in our garage. Instead of chipping this back, they tried to hide it with double-skirting board, which is very obvious compared to the rest of the garage

- The waterproofing was failed by our private inspector because the installers didn’t use primer, or put fillet/bond breaker on the edges to prevent cracking. It was only after this report that MJH got the waterproofer back to ‘redo’ it (see photos)

- Plasterers didn’t bother to cover all the frames in our home (in the under-stair storage), and the painters sprayed the exposed frames. (see photos)

- Plasterers put a shower niche in our hallway upstairs (opposite side of wall to our ensuite shower). This still hasn’t been fixed despite being done (and raised with MJH) 2 months ago.

- The mortar is already falling out of the bricks in a number of areas and generally looks quite bad and poor quality.

- The gutters were scratched by the roofers when they put the lower roof sheets up – this is yet to be rectified despite being done (and raised with MJH) over 2 months ago.

- There is a dented frame and cracked window on the second story which was identified when the windows were put in (in March 2024) – this still hasn’t been fixed.

- The new MJH display homes in our suburb have consistently been prioritised above our build, despite starting over 6 months after our build.

[update 1] We are now in week 41, and we are still not at lock up. MJH have less than 10 weeks left of the contracted build period but they have only given us a general timeframe for our first inspection (pre-lining) and won't give us a projection for when our build will actually finish. Below are some more issues we have had since our original post: - MJH have started to build their new display homes in the same suburb as our build (there are three displays). The first has almost caught up to our build, and this took MJH less than 3 months compared to over 8 months for ours. MJH are clearly prioritising their display homes and new customers over existing clients, even if this means not finishing existing client's homes within the contracted build period. - We paid extra to have wall wrap installed on our build, but this has been installed inconsistently with supplier and NCC specifications. You can clearly see the bricks from a number of rooms inside the house (photos attached). - We arranged to meet on-site specifically with the ACT Construction Manager to discuss our concerns with the wall wrap, who "promised" to attend. The Manager sent our site supervisor instead and did not turn up - we were not provided any warning ahead of this meeting that they weren't coming, nor were proactively sent any explanation or courtesy email afterwards. We had taken time off work to attend this meeting. MJH still haven't addressed our concerns regarding the wall wrap. - MJH have consistently told us they are "catching up" on their jobs and are completing builds within the contracted period. However, we know we are behind the timeline of other builds in our region who started before us (and who didn't get handover for almost a year and a half after their build started - well outside the contracted period). MJH are the only builders in the area whose houses just sit there for weeks/months with little to no progress.

[original post] At all stages throughout this process McDonald Jones Homes have over-promised and under-delivered. They show no care for the emotional and financial impact that their delays and unrealised promises have on us as the client. The entire process with MJH, from pre-construction through to the actual build, has been a stressful and frustrating experience. The process lacks transparency and proper communication, is misleading and lacks accountability, and does not allow the customer to set realistic expectations or make informed decisions at any stage. The below are just some of our experiences dealing with MJH throughout this process. Construction Process - MJH breached our building contract and failed to start construction on our home when they were required to - it took them 5 weeks to add us to the construction list, and 8 weeks to start building. This time has not been made up by MJH despite their breach of contract. - We are currently 40% (Week 20) of the way through the contracted build period, and all that has been completed is the slab - the frames and windows have been sitting in the weather for over 6 weeks, and we have been advised it will be another 4 or more weeks until they are erected, despite initially being told once frames were delivered they were well placed for trades (and including multiple varying commitments in between which have not been met). MJH builds are the only ones in our region where the slab and frames just sit there - MJH’s closest competitor in our region built our neighbours double story house in 27 weeks. We will be lucky to have frames up by this time in our build. - They trickle feed you information, and often don’t proactively update you at all. - They don't hold themselves accountable and don’t honour commitments they make to you even if they are in writing. They have an ‘if someone else told you that, then you better take it up with them’ attitude, and so we often run around in circles trying to find the person who will provide us information. - They don’t allow you to change anything once the build has started (even if it is simply taking something away). Pre-construction - We were told by the sales consultant before we signed on that the process from start to finish takes 12 months (6 months pre-construction; 6 months construction). Our land was already registered when we signed a contract, and it took 8 months to get through pre-construction, and MJH allow for an ~11 month build period in the contract (and are able to extend this). - We were sold and signed onto a house plan by MJH which did not meet council or certifier requirements for our block of land, and it wasn't until after we had paid a $5,000 deposit and waited 6 weeks for a scope of works meeting that they told us we had to choose a different house design. This has had a significant impact on our build and the level of inclusions we were able to afford, and the lost time was never made up by MJH. - They charge more than the RRP for the upgrades, and provide no credit for the item which was already included in the base price of the house. - The quotes provided by the sales consultants for upgrade items in the initial meetings (before you sign on) are inaccurate - in our experience, they have been more than double what we were told and so we were unable to adequately plan for these inclusions or manage our own expectations (despite being told on numerous occasions by the sales consultant that our budget allowed for all the upgrades we had planned).

Off to an excellent start – We have just started our journey fora new build in Whitlam, ACT. So far, everything has gone according to plan and our consultant, David Striegl, has been a treasure trove of information and a great help. As we have commenced from overseas, David has personally toured and presented photos and reports on various blocks about suitability and design… Read more ·  1

compatibility, and has been very responsive to our many questions. We went through the tender process via a video call, after being sent the documents beforehand to study and absorb. We have been very impressed with the attention to detail and look forward to the next stages of house design.

Very slow - wouldn’t recommend – Another update as of 19 September 2024. Still no keys or a date for when occupancy is going to be granted - 16 weeks since reaching PCI and nothing! McDonald Jones arranged for our water meter to be relocated which caused delay and now paper work is stuck with local council. McDonald Jones building manager has agreed to move our PCI date to… Read more

when our water was connected to 5 September instead of June, considering we had no water.

I have followed up 3 times this week for where occupancy is at with no returned text from anyone. I have had to follow up companies myself.

*** update 7 weeks since reaching PCI, still no keys.

Issue 1: Water leaking everywhere

1. Asking why mould was growing up my walls - this was strange as a new build shouldn't have mould (Attached photo)

Upon advising MJH of the mould I was advised "This happens when the water tank is not connected as the gutters can sometimes overflow"

This was strange, following this advice I went to the house 2 weeks later when it was pouring rain to try self identify the problem. See further photos of all eaves overflowing with water.

Result: I was advised 3 days later this issue is resolved, however MJH would not providing in writing that an assessment of the roof was undertaken and no water damage had been caused internal to the house. Noting Aircon throughout the house doesn't work, however unsure if this was a result of all the water coming from the cables - Attached photo. I was advised verbally that the roofing had not been completed correctly, as flashing was missing throughout.

Issue 2: Water Meter

May 2023, I was advised by MJH that my water meter was close to a tree and needed Icon (Water company) to "check it out". I had contacted Icon who had the water meter assessed and remove tree roots around their plumbing, at this point I had asked if I should have the water meter moved, I was advised "No, we will sort it out with the plumber. It won't be an issue."

I was advised 24 May 2024 that the plumber needs the water meter moved or government approval to dig near the tree and that MJH (their plumber) would not dig this close to the tree without approval. Noting approval had a 3 month time lag, I had advised MJH I would just move the water meter.

Following this, I had Icon put an urgent rush on the water meter relocation approval and sent this to MJH - on 19 June 2024.

MJH advised on 8 July 2024 that the meter had been relocated as per the approval plans however were sent forms to complete on 3 July to outline they’ve completed the works for Icon to make their assessment and connect the new water line.

The relevant forms sent on 3 July 2024 have bounced through various people, sat with the admin office for 2 weeks for them to advise me the person who had the forms was on leave. I was told my project manager would follow this up, only for him now to be on leave till 29 July - No contact or response from anyone.

I myself have had to now follow up the plumber to try receive copies of the forms completed in order to have water connected to my house - as I cannot receive COO without it connected.

Summary:

This process has been ongoing since December 22 (for designs) knock down in April 2023, for PCI to be end of June 2024, with MJH refusing to provide date for when keys will be handed over.

Still nothing, still no returned calls, still no dates - a lot of waiting.

This project with MJH has not been a pleasant dream, its been a nightmare. Nothing but stressful, costly and time consuming.

***** I’ve seen similar reviews on jobs being slow through MJH and I also wouldn’t recommend using them in Canberra.

Pre-construction:

[Name Removed] was a great, told me it would be a super fast build as it’s only single story.

Design stages were also really easy, my only feedback is MJH make it very difficult to change minor things after agreeing the design.

Construction Phase:

Initial commencement was fast, they had the site cleared and slab complete within a month.

Since the slab was completed in August. Frames and windows have been sitting on site since 27 August 2023 - 12 weeks (from this review) since slab completion with no further work has started.

I have been following up almost weekly and have been consistently told no commencement date, trade issues, trades are sick ect.

I was recently been sent a claim for delay time with no information as to why they were claiming the time - zero transparency on what’s actually going on.

I’m currently 20% way through the build, estimated 80 days to date and only have a slab.