Sunday 1 January 2012

Expectations

I must apologise for the substantial lack of photos recently however there have been a few issues that have been niggling me for a while now that we are getting to the final fit out of the build. These issues tend to be more in the "Quality" of the work being done and I am really starting to feel that the finishes of our home will be no where near the finishes in the display homes that drew us to MDJ. Am I wrong to expect that our home should be finished as well as the many many MDJ display homes we have visited?

I am hoping that all of these issues can and will be rectified and as MDJ are now closed for the holidays I don't want to vent to much but honestly I don't know how much more miscommunication and poor craftsmanship I can deal with. I find it so disheartening to see good work damaged by tradies who just don't seem to give a shit, well, except for one but that's another story.

Our polished porcelain floor tiles in our ensuite are running +20mm out of square and as a result there is a 10mm bed of grout on one side of the wall and none on the other side.There are other issues in the main bathroom but they have been addressed with the SS and will hopefully be sorted.

A number of our light switches have been screwed on using bugle head screws rather then the proper fittings and they don't appear to be fixed to the wall plates. Some of these switches have been fitted so close to the architraves the sparkys have literally dug or more accurately "Gouged" out the side of the architrave to fit the cover plate. Other switches have been fitted off centre to the wall and stick out like the proverbial. We had an incorrect outdoor power point installed and when we queried it were told that it was only put on for "Testing purposes" yet is has been screwed into the exterior brickwork.

On a number of architraves the paintwork is splitting, on our laundry cupboard door jamb three large holes have been drilled into the jamb then filled with glazing putty for god knows what reason. This jamb is also split around these holes and I fear may be another case of "Don't worry the painters will fix it".

An issue that raised it head earlier in the build was the stacker doors when installed were not packed out between the reveal and the stud which allowed the reveal to flex. This now results in the paint splitting between the reveal and the architrave and will result in more wasted time to fix correctly as it should have been done in the first place.

We upgraded our pantry door and door handle during colour selections and saw that the carpenter has fitted the long handle to the centre of the door and it looks ridiculous. Nearly every MDJ display home we went to had this door and handle fitted and all were much higher. As it is a timber door it will be impossible to move the handle as you will see former holes in the door so more time waster waiting for a new door. The front door looks to be delaminating and as a result has a blister beneath the veneer, not MDJ's fault but it should have been picked up and rectified not just painted and left as it was. There is paint all over the hinges, lock and our $1000 door handle.

We had some skirting installed and then removed as it was supposed to be left off so we could fit timber floors. When this was removed a number of the walls were damaged then roughly repaired and panted. On some sections it appears it wasnt even sanded, just painted over and left.

There are issues with the brickwork and I really hate to think how these will be addressed. There is cracked mortar around the main pillar out the front, the majority of the window sills have humps in them with the worst being at the front of the house. The brickwork around our front entry way also leaves a lot to be desired and we are missing a flashing on the roof that will allow water penetration to the eaves. There are issues around a rear window that was changed from a door as there is a gap on one side of more then 30mm so you can see well into the cavity. Even with a moulding or flashing there, it will look odd as there is nothing on the other side.

The one thing that has made this difficult period bearable is our CLO Suzzanne. Honestly Suzz you have been fantastic and I cannot praise you high enough for your commitment and customer service. If I was to every start a company you would be the first person I would poach!

There are a number of other issues but I'm sure by now you get the picture and understand my concern. I just want every person in the process to treat this house like their own and frankly it just isn't happening.

If we continue down the path we are presently travelling PCI will be a very long day.

2 comments:

  1. Oh my! What you must be feeling! We were going to start the process with MDJ when they get back in the office but think we will wait until we see what happens with yours. It seems like there are so many things wrong. I wish you luck and seriously - keep us updated!!

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  2. Hi Elle,

    Don't let my blog put you off Building with MDJ. In my opinion even with all the issues we have had I am still firmly of the belief that they have one of the best products and designs on the market. In our case I think it is predominantly an issue with our trades and how they are supervised but again Im hopefull it can all be resolved.

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