Verified Customer
Build Location: Victoria
Office Location: VIC, Geelong
Construction End Date: May 2016
Worst experience ever!
1 out of 5,
reviewed on Mar 18, 2018
We built with GJ Gardner homes Geelong in 2016. Should have realised there would be problems from the start as the draftsman continually made errors and the sales staff were required to continuously amend the plans by hand. The window specifications and locations were incorrect and constantly being changed. This led to us having to download the A&L Product Catalogue and amend the window specifications accordingly with the assistance of the sales staff. Through the initial design process we opted for hydronic slab heating and louvre windows to maximise energy efficiency with heating and cooling. This is where the fun really began. The day before the house slab was to be poured we had noticed the hydronic heating manifold was in the wrong location and had to rectified before the concrete was poured. Once the house frame was erected I visited the site to inspect the progress and noticed two walls had been erected in the wrong location. The carpenter advised me this was an easy fix and it was, but we had a "Do not mark or damage clause" in relation to the slab as we were to have an exposed concrete floor. This resulted in large holes in the floor surface as a result of the nails being pulled from the floor to enable the walls to be relocated to the correct locations. Further to this, had this not been detected, it would have caused major issues later on to the entry linen cupboard, study, kitchen and laundry. The windows in the minor bedrooms and bathroom wing of the house were fixed at a height of 2100mm whilst all other windows and doors throughout the house were at 2340mm height. We were then hit with a variation fee and labour costs for a carpenter to rectify this issue. The A&L windows where delivered to site with all but three being damaged from scratches in the powder coat finish to gouges and dents in the framework and badly dented timber reveals. I noticed on delivery of the windows that they had all been stacked flat on top of each other on a flat bed truck and not on a truck with an A frame designed for window deliveries. When this was pointed out to GJ Gardner and I later received a call from management of A&L windows and found myself being interrogated and had to prove that the windows were delivered incorrectly and had to justify myself. I felt I was being accused of lying. This created a 6 week delay in the build. A&L Windows had offered to repair some of the windows by touching up the paint finish by brush/hand. I refused this option as being in a coastal area I believe the powder coating was comprised and touching them up by hand would not suffice. All but 3 windows had to be either replaced or repaired. As our house was a custom build it consisted of a combination of light weight cladding products consisting of James Hardie Axon cladding, Scyon Weather Boards and brick veneer. We have a combination of large fixed panel windows, louvre windows and standard awning windows. GJ Gardner and the draftsman failed to accommodate the various building products and windows throughout the planning and design process. Window reveals to be fitted into external walls utilising light weight construction materials such as James Hardie products require a smaller reveal, whilst windows fitted into brick veneer walls have larger reveals. This then led to further delays as GJ Gardner were unsure as to how to fit the louvre windows into the walls utilising the light weight cladding. It was up to us to come up with a solution and after considerable consultation, these windows were boxed/framed utilising Structural Primed Radiata Pine. GJ Gardner decided to rip down the remaining windows. Prior to installing these windows, the carpenter ripped the reveals down using a circular saw. This has left a poor finish on the window reveals with steps on the corners as they weren't cut true and square. Once the windows fittedwere to the frame, the brickwork commenced. A parraparap wall was constructed above the garage roller door and I noticed that it was extremely low. When questioning the brick layers, I was advised that it was a standard 2100mm high as per our house plans. This was very odd as the front door was at 2340mm high and made the front façade look out of proportion. I also noticed there were two gutter overflows on the front feature wall of our house. One being in the fixed rain head and the other being a hole drilled through the brick work. I questioned GJ Gardner as to the necessity and requirement for two overflows within 550mm of each other on the front feature wall, near the front door. I was advised this was required to comply with plumbing codes. After much discussions with GJ Gardner the paraparap wall above the garage roller door was pulled down and reconstructed to a height of 2340 to correlate with the front façade, but this was at a cost of $2000 to me. During this process the brick layer had removed the overflow from the brick work, only to be instructed it was to be replaced. When this brick was replaced it was ill fitting and an eyesore. The mortar joints were required to be flush with the brick work, but when the brick was relaced, it appeared as though the mortar around this brick had been raked out with a finger ant the actual brick protruded forward of the surrounding bricks. It was replaced twice and still remains that way today. Once the house got to lock up stage we noticed numerous large stains on the bedroom floor. The brick layers had been using the master bedroom as their lunch room and we observed empty tuna cans, a sandwich maker and other rubbish on the floor. We have been left with an exposed concrete floor with large stains that we are unable to remove and are extremely unsightly. This was brought to the attention of GJ Gardner and we were advised the brick layers had been spoken to about this exact situation on previous job sites, but no action was taken or offered to rectify the matter. Just prior to completion of the build we noticed that one of the main hydronic heating pipes was exposed under the laundry door, the brick work had been removed from this area and one of the main hydronic pipes was exposed on the outer edge of the house slab. We were advised the pipe had been ruptured and it was now rerouted up the external wall from the boiler unit, through the ceiling and down an internal wall back to the manifold. This has now left the fitting of the external boiler unit as an unsightly mess as there is PVC capping fixed to the brick wall, leading up into the eaves and into the roof cavity. Inside were the pipe was cut from the slab the concrete had to be filled. Once the James Hardie Axon cladding had been installed we then noticed that an unsightly base board with metal capping had been installed. We questioned why it was used as we were building a modern and contemporary home only to be rudely advised that it was to meet building codes as the cladding had to be 50mm from any ground surface. We have inspected numerous other houses built in our area by other major builders that use James Hardie Axon cladding and none have used a base board. We believe this is an old fashion building system that was utilised in days of weatherboard homes. Prior to final inspection of the property we observed numerous faults. The front door was not double glazed and tinted and laundry door was not double glazed as per the building plans. We then had further conflict with A&L windows, being advised the front door could not support double glazing because of it's size. This then led to an onsite meeting where A&L Windows denied any such statement. This issue was eventually rectified with the replacement of correct glazing. We also notice that there were large bows in the entry hall walls. During the build process, we had several on site meetings with the construction manager to address issues. At one time, I believe it was during the A&L Windows issue, I advised this needed to be rectified ASAP as it was causing us financial hardship, paying high rent prices and a mortgage at the same time. I was bluntly reminded that the contract allowed them a further 4 months until completion and that they could use every minute of that time. I felt I was threatened by this remark and through other remarks and statements I was virtually advised to back off. Had he followed through with this threat, I may not have been able to see the build through to its completion as it had placed additional costs of $1,000's to an already stretched budget. On the 13th of May, 2016 I received the keys to our new house. I had a meeting at the Geelong GJ Gardener Office with the construction Manager and felt like I had walked into a school yard fight. He was aggressive and rude towards me. He called me into his office told me to sit in a chair. He then sat on the opposite side of the desk with his arms folded in an aggressive manner and stated "Have you got something to say to me". I had the Australian Building Standards thrown across the desk towards me. During the unpleasant meeting, I was told had I not kept such a close eye on the build that the issues would have been rectified prior to completion. I questioned, "How can you fix a heating manifold in the wrong location and walls in the wrong location after the build is completed?" To rectify the heating manifold they would have had to jack hammer the slab and completely relocate the manifold, so I believe they were lucky that I had been observant. The windows and garage doors being at the wrong height would have required extensive demolishing and rebuilding and more than likely, I would have burdened the costs. After this humiliating meeting and taking possession of our keys we finally moved in only to find many more faults. Moving into our new house was not a joyous occasion as you would expect. The entire build process was frustrating and unpleasant. We have built new homes in the past and never experienced anything like this. On our first night in our new home we noticed all downpipes fitted on the cladding walls were making a loud dripping sound. After investigation it was revealed that the downpipes were constructed with a bend in the lower section to facilitate the protruding baseboard causing the rain or even dew to make this constant dripping sound. This took considerable negotiations for action to be taken which led to a less than a satisfactory resolution. The down pipes have been removed so many times which has resulted in multiple fixing holes, some of which are no longer capable of supporting the fixings. We also noticed that two of our large fixed panel windows where not tinted as per the building plans. There were also faults with the front door. The door is fitted with a Multiple Locking System which allows for an additional Dead Bolt at top and bottom to be engaged when the door is locked. This is activated by lifting the handle once the door is locked. However, due to the door being misaligned and poorly fitted, to activate this Multiple Locking System, you need to push hard on the lower frame of the door with your foot, whilst pushing on the upper frame with your hand and then trying to push hard and inwards on the door handle whislt trying to turn it in an upwards direction. There was also an imperfection in the glass of the door. There was a visible mark at about eye height, between the double glazing and as a result unable to be cleaned. During a lengthy period of lodging complaints and extreme frustration I was advised that "if I had ordered an paid for tinted double glazed windows, I would have received them". It took approximately 9 months for someone to acknowledge that the windows where not in fact tinted and they were finally replaced. The front door glazing was also relaced. During the installation of the replacement glazing, I heard the installers questioning each other as to how the windows were to be correctly fitted. After the installation of the replacement glazing, the glass was left very unclean. When the front door was cleaned, we noticed the replacement glazing had about 5-6 marks and scratches on both the inside and outside of the glass. This glazing was again replaced, however the locking system remains unsatisfactory and the fitment of the glazing has left internal frame work exposed to the outside of the door. Since the replacement of the glazing to the large fixed panel windows we have noticed extreme temperatures radiating through the glass. The glass is extremely hot on mild temperature days on the inside, but cool on the outside, yet an adjacent window only about 900 mm from this window is cool to the touch. This window is of the same construction, being tinted and double glazed. We have investigated this situation and made enquries with other window manufacturers. As a result, we believe the windows have been incorrectly installed. This was brought to the attention of GJ Gardner only to find the response being, the Australian Glazing Standards forwarded to me. This issue continues to this date. I have also noticed that the mortar on the brick work is very soft and crumbly. I can run my finger tip along the mortar joints and find the mortar falls out. On the east side of the house it is extremely poor. On the lower 2-3 rows of bricks, the mortar appears to swell, then crumble and fall out, The original mortar was a flush finish, however some areas has the mortar joint about 10-15 mm deep. There appears to be constant moisture in the ground along this side of the house, even throughout the summer period. This issue was brought to the attention of GJ Gardener and after much negotiations they offered to seal the mortar and brick work to prevent further deterioration. It has taken until February 2018 for the brick layer to make contact in order to address this issue. In the short time in my new home, I have also noticed the James Hardie Axon cladding has been pulling away from the walls, nails protruding and joints pulling apart. This was also brought to the attention of GJ Gardner. I was advised that it was my fault as I had painted the cladding in a dark colour on the west side of the house, yet this cladding is also fitted to the east side and is showing the same faults. I contacted James Hardie in relation to this matter and was advised this form of cladding was suitable for painting in either a dark or light colour. This issue continues to be unsolved. As we had moved into our new house in May during the cooler period, the hydronic heating was utilised only to be overwhelmed with excessive gas bills. My gas bills varied between $600-$700 per 2 month period. In fact my first gas bill was for a 3 week period and in excess of $300. I questioned this bill with the gas supplier and confirmed the gas meter readings. I was advised I needed to have a gas plumber inspect all the gas fittings as I must have a gas leak to use this amount of gas. I brought this to the attention of GJ Gardner and all gas fittings were inspected and found to be correct. I was then provided with various excuses from, Hydronic Heating is expensive to run, I had the temperature set too high, I was loosing heat through the exposed concrete slab. I had noticed hot and cold spots in the floor and had issues with the boiler unit shutting down and displaying error messages. I then had to contact Bosch directly the address the boiler unit issues. It got to the point that I had to almost shut down the hydronic heating unit and have the family wrap themselves in blankets at night to keep warm. After spending approximately $9,500 on what I believed to be one of the most efficient forms of heating, we were left feeling devastated. After almost 12 months of arguing and begging, the boiler unit was addressed with parts being replaced, one of the thermostats were relocated and portions of the heating zones were rezoned. This then led to a dramatic reduction in my gas bills, but was only after we incurred further $1,000's of unnecessary costs in gas bills. I still believe my gas bills are excessive as the only gas appliances fitted to the house are the hydronic heater and infinity hot water service. I believe this is due to one of the main hydronic pipes being rerouted through the roof cavity and walls. This pipe is now exposed in the roof cavity and not running through the slab where it would been insulated in the concrete, assuring a more constant temperature. As a result the exposed pipe allows the water to cool during the circulation process, causing the boiler unit to work harder to maintain the slab temperature. We also discovered the free standing bath was not secured or siliconed to the floor. When leaning on the bath to clean the tiles, the entire bath tipped up lifting one entire side off the floor, almost causing me personal injury. The vanity basins were also only partially siliconed in, not provided an adequate wet seal. During the colder months, there is excessive condensation and moisture, mainly on the windows to the south side of the house. This has led to us having to constantly clean and treat black mould from the window sills and fly screens. When this was raised with GJ Gardner, we were advised it was the building materials drying out??? We have found the aluminium doors to the front entry and laundry have poorly designed treads. They are not actual treads, but a protrusion in the walk way and are a tripping hazard as many people have discovered. The treads are approximately 50mm high by 100mm wide and there is a narrow raised centre section about 30mm wide, not designed tonstand on or be used as a tread/step. It is like having a piece of 4x2 sitting across the door. It almost appears as though these treads should have been recessed into the slab. I have inspected many other new homes fitted with aluminium external doors and they all have a low profile tread, similar to that of a timber construction. We feel the A&L Windows are of poor and substandard quality. Further to the hydronic slab heating, there are obvious faults that will never be rectified. There is insufficient heating in the ensuite floor. On a cold morning or evening, you have to stand about 400mm back from the vanity as any closer the floor is ice cold. It is obvious the heating coil was not situated near the base of the vanity. We also appear to have constant moisture along the east side of the house. We have become so frustrated and annoyed with the lack of cooperation and inaction by GJ Gardner, that we have had to resort to employing the services of an independent building inspector, again at further cost to us. Upon inspection of our home he has concurred with the faults described. We have been advised not to have the mortar sealed until a written guarantee can be provided. Proof of the fixing method for the Axon cladding was requested. It was also noted that the clad walls were on the border line for being within tolerances as the cladding bowed in and out at the joints. A glazing report was also requested as it was obvious the windows are not fitted correctly. He also questioned the reasoning for the use of base boards under the Axon cladding as he felt it could promote termites/ white ants. The Building Inspection Report was forwarded to GJ Gardner for attention, and surprise, surprise, I have not had a satisfactory response. I forwarded the report directly to the GJ Gardner Manager, got no response. I contacted the Geelong Office and spoke the receptionist. She unable to confirm whether or not the report was received and I was unable to speak to the manager, so I then forwarded a copy directly to her for transmission to the manager. A week later I still hadn't received any reply or acknowledgement, so I again contacted GJ Gardner. I again was unable to speak to the manager, so I left a message and was advised he would contact me. Several days later, the receptionist contacts me and advises the manager has received the report and would contact me after he has had a meeting with the construction manager. Weeks have passed and still I await any official contact or acknowledgement and no closer to achieving any results. This house build has cost me $1,000's and $1,000's more than it should have and I still appear to be no closer to resolving these issues. It has caused us extreme hardships, not only financially, but emotionally and psychologically. We have thought back so many times wishing we had chosen a different builder. Whilst waiting for a response from GJ Gardner, we have had some warmer weather so I decided to investigate the glazing issues further. I obtained a thermometer and recorded some temperature readings. The first day was a mild day, expected top temperature of 22 degrees. I took a screen shot of my weather zone app, showing the current temperature to be 20.9 degrees. At this same time the temperature recorded on the inside of the dining room window was approx. 33 degrees. I then recorded the temperature of the adjacent fixed panel window positioned about 900mm to the left of the large window and found it to be approx. 24.5 degrees. I then recorded the temperature of the louvre windows which are directly adjacent the first large window, fixed within the same frame to the right, and it was approx 24 degrees. I then recorded the temperature on the outside of the large fixed panel window and observed it to be approx. 25.5 degrees in the direct sunlight. These readings clearly indicate that there is something very wrong with these windows. There is one clear and obvious item that stands out. The water marks on the large window are on the lower left corners and on the other windows they are on the lower right corners. It is clear that the large fixed panel window has been fitted incorrectly causing the double glazing to work opposite to what it was designed for. Another sad thing to point out is that the louvre windows recorded a lower temperature than the other fixed panel window. The louvre windows appear to have a better energy efficiency, yet we lost energy rating points on our house build for having them. Several days later I decided to take further temperature readings from other windows, this time from the theatre room window on the east side and the master bedroom on the north side. It was around lunch time and the sun was shining directly on both these windows. A screen shot of my weather zone app showed the expected top temperature to be 27 degrees, with current temperature being 24.6 degrees. I recorded the temperature of the theatre room window to be 24 degrees. This window is a large fixed panel being double glazed, but of clear glass, not tinted. I then recorded the temperature of the master bedroom window and observed it to be 34 degrees. Again there was an obvious difference with the clear glass appearing to be for more efficient than the tinted glass. Again the one noticeable difference is the water markings being on the lower left corner as per the dining window and opposite to all other windows. To a normal person this would appear to be an obvious fix, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be the case with GJ Gardner's we cannot speak to anyone, let alone convince them. It is apparent that the materials, goods and workmanship in our home is of poor quality and substandard. I have read some of the other GJ Gardner reviews from other offices and states where people are extremely happy with the build quality and support that they had received. I so wish I could have been one of these people, but unfortunately I am not and appear destined to have to continue my fight. We put so much thought and planning into our build and our home as we thought this was going to be our forever home, but now we don't know if it can be. I know I am only one person that appears to be very disgruntled and I have only posted this review after much consideration and thought as all other avenues have been fruitless at this time. For all those that have been satisfied with your build with GJ Gardner, I am happy for you and congratulate you on your success. For those contemplating building with GJ Gardner or any other builder, please take note of my tale and be aware of any early warnings signs as we should have. It is always easier to change builders than it is to spend years of your life fighting for what you believe is right and entitled to.
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Comments
G.J. Gardner Homes Official
Hi Frank
Sorry to hear your experience with G.J. Gardner Homes was below expectation.
We have spoken with the Geelong office this morning and they advised they have been in communication with you...
G.J. Gardner Homes
posted on Mar 19, 2018