Carlisle Homes

We had an overall great construction process. Wasn't perfect, did stress us out, but I rate it 9/10 or 4/5 because of the end result we got! We were fortunate enough to get a famous site inspector to overlook the whole build. Like any construction there were non compliant elements but our Site Supervisor was incredible at dealing with those and getting rid of tradies that could not get the job done. I will be honest and say it can get down to the luck of the draw with the Site Supervisor and the trades they hire. Our SS derserves and award for going above and beyond for us. I believe regardless of the builder, you will see things like this, the builder does not own the tradies, they are basically project mangers and sure they may have contracts with reputable companies for supply and install, but the person on the job may not be experienced and this is where it is down to YOU to do the research, or work with a reputable site inspector to fix these issues as they arise. Key Highlights of what went wrong but got sorted: Slab Stage: Wrong sized/gauge rebar used in a lot of places. No rebar where there should be some. Rebar on top of Waffle Pods not tied down ( can float in the concrete and bend/sag causing odd stresses and not perform well). Rebar on top of Waffle Pods on bar chairs that are too low ( This will result in rebar too close to the bottom end of the concrete that tension and expansion can crack the thin sheet of concrete below). No bar chairs on rebar at the ground soil level.... Rebar and mesh touching wood formwork or too close to formwork ( if its less than 40mm distance from formwork, it can crack the edges of the slab, if its touching, well your rebar and mesh is basically exposed). Missing pods in a few places. Frame Stage: We are in an N3 wind rated area so we had to have GI straps tie downs that hold the external wall frames down in a U shape. It was done the way it is for N1 and N2 wind rated areas and that is 1 strap that attatches to the outside of the frame via 3 nails and into the plate (horizontal part of the frame thats nailed into the slab/floor with 2 nails. For N3 wind rated areas, it is a strap that loops from the outside, nailed 6 times into the frame and has to have a certain length, Nailed 2 times into the bottom plate, goes under, nailed into the other side of the plate 2 times, then up the other side of the frame and nailed in 6 times. This took the Chippie FIVE, yes 5 tries to get right. First 2 times he was cheating us by faking they straps looping under and in 1 piece, but werent, some where not even nailed, just tucked in and you can pull them out wiht your hand... SS was great to sort him out every time until he got it right. This delayed hebel and plaster of course as there was NO WAY to check if these were done right after that point. And we had to pay $16k in frame upgrades because of the N3 wind rating... This goes to show that its not CH’s fault or SS’s fault if work is done poorly, CH is really just a project manager and SS is on the ground project manager. It comes down to the Tradies. Sometimes they don’t know better or try to cut corners. Sarking was not overlapped over the ridgeline of the roof which is just silly. It needs to overlap 150mm and taped. They had to remove the entire ridgeline and re-cement it after installing sarking properly. Concrete blowouts that were thankfully fixed. Various roof trusses were not nailed correctly. Bolts loose. Missing cyclone straps. Wrong Washers used in some areas. Wrong size metal beams. Rusted metal beams. Metal base plates overhanging slab. Wooden Lintels "lamination" (joining method) incorrect. These would be seen at front study or lounge entryways. Plywood bracing has holes that are too big (fixed the ones that can be, but others just not possible, and so GI straps added). Plywood bracing not nailed enough. Studs and jack trusses nailed to death and needed replacing. Window sills are not plumb. This was picked up i final inspection. They were not able to fully make them flush after. It involves taking architraves off, putting packers between the reveal and frame then replace the architrave. But if they are too far out of plumb, cant do much as the window cant be moved due to cladding or brickwork. So, make sure they are plumb at frame stage, get a level and test them yourself. Lock up Stage: Incorrect fall for gutters. Gutter too long, can’t have a continuous gutter longer than 20m. Gutter expansion joint non existent. Fascia corner joint has 1 not 2 rivets ( need a rivet every 40mm). Damaged window corners. Front door not sealed or painted after installation, voids warranty if its not done 1 month after delivery to site. Waterproofing: Waterproofing was redone 5 times for us. 3 times because of the waterproofer and 1 time because the painter oversprayed paint on it and 1 time because of the tiler had to redo his work. Raised hob showers require a metal angel to go 15mm above finished tile level, So screed, glue, tiles then a clearance of 15mm all around. Then shower screen sits around that. For all other flush showers ( Downstairs and single story homes) the metal angle sticks up 5mm above the tiles. Waterproofing membrane needs to adhere properly to plaster, In fact, if you peel away the waterproofing membrane, it should rip up the plaster coat along with it. The issue we had and others will have is the plaster joins where its puttied up is chalky and need a treatment with a coat to allow the Wet-Seal membrane to adhere to it properly. If that’s not done, you can easily roll the waterproofing membrane off the wall with your thumb. Painting/overspray over waterproof membrane, not good, has to be sanded back and redone. Tiling wet areas, 90% tile glue coverage. Ours was knocked down and redone (meant waterproofing had to be redone for the 5th time). ASK FOR PIC PROOF of tile glue coverage. Dont want to redo them at PCI when the shower screens are in and all… Water angle edge of wet areas, has to be flush with top of the tile. If tile is 9mm, needs minimum of 3mm tile glue, cant use a 10mm angle, 15mm angle is needed in that case.You can look at your tile thickness by model number, if its 8-9mm, then the waterproofer needs to uses a 15mm waterstop. So yeah, please get a reputable site inspector and if you are not getting regular contact with your SS , ask for a new one. It is not fair to be kept in the dark and your inspection reports getting ignored.

[Name Removed] is our consultant for colour selection appointment. She is very helpful and gave us very good suggestion for making our decision better and easier. Thank you for her time and patience.

We’ve had a really smooth experience with Carlisle Homes so far during the pre-build process. [Name Removed] has been incredibly helpful throughout, with clear communication, proactive updates, and support every step of the way. She made the paperwork and overall process feel much more organised and less stressful for us.

We recently start our home building journey with Carlisle Homes and had a fantastic experience from start to finish. The entire team was professional, responsive, and genuinely helpful throughout the whole process. They guided us clearly through every stage and made what could have been a stressful journey feel smooth and exciting. Thanks to the team, especially [Name Removed] & [Name Removed].

The building process with Carisle Homes was wonderful and smooth. The supervisor was prompt in his responses and delivered what was promised and all enquiries were fulfilled. Thank you for doing a great job!

We are pre-contract stage. Our experience so far has been fairly smooth from our sale's consultant [Name Removed], client liaison [Name Removed] and design consultants [Name Removed] and [Name Removed]. The team's attention to detail is making our dream home a reality,

We had a great experience with during our Colour Appointment and pre-construction stage. The team was friendly, helpful, and professional throughout the whole process. Our consultant made the selections easy and enjoyable with great advice and support. Thank you for making this exciting journey smooth and stress-free.

Building a dream home should be an exciting and positive experience, but unfortunately our experience with Carlisle Homes was disappointing, particularly during the contract finalisation stage. The contract preparation process needs significant improvement. Customers should feel valued and listened to, especially when making one of the biggest financial commitments of their lives. Instead, it felt like our build was treated as just another project, without proper attention to the specific requests and requirements we had clearly communicated. There were multiple issues with the contract, including missing promotions, incorrect inclusions, and pricing concerns that required several amendments before the contract was even close to what we originally requested. This resulted in unnecessary stress, wasted time, and additional effort on our side. A simple face-to-face meeting before issuing the final contract could have prevented many of these issues. Taking the time to carefully review customer selections, inclusions, and pricing would greatly reduce the need for repeated amendments and improve customer confidence in the process. Another major concern was the pressure to sign documents quickly, often within 24 hours, with warnings that delays would impact the build timeline. This creates unnecessary pressure on customers and discourages them from properly reviewing important paperwork. Customers should never feel rushed into signing contracts that may still contain errors. While Carlisle Homes may complete builds quickly, speed should not come at the expense of quality, accuracy, and customer service. The overall customer service experience was poor, and communication throughout the process lacked professionalism and customer care. For anyone considering building with Carlisle Homes, I strongly recommend thoroughly checking every detail before signing any paperwork, especially during the single-stage contract process. Make sure all agreed inclusions, promotions, and pricing are clearly documented and accurate before proceeding.