Carlisle Homes

We are in our pre-construction phase and have just had our colours appointment. Everyone at spectra has been amazing and really knows what they’re talking about!! Really impressed with the showroom as well and everyone wanting to be of help. The only thing I was a little disappointed with is the fact that on the Carlisle connect it states there a certain inclusions part of the promotion which isn’t always the case as the contracts state that inclusion is only valid if you have something else. I feel on Carlisle connect it’s should have that stated as well.

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.

Wish review websites can offer less than 1 star as that would be my current preference as to how I rate Carlisle Homes. This was our second build with us and I know some would say, why did you come back; didn't you know :). Well, I can say the first experience was the best, they owned all issues and dealt with them. This time it is the other way round and their strategy has been to run away from the issues. Provide them with your private inspection reports and the response would be that we will fix most with some exception of a couple of issues but when you asked them to show if they have fixed the remaining issues, they were like, our surveyor has okayed most of the issues. So my question to them was why would you provide the response that you were going to fix the issues in the first place. Second big challenge, their sales team are someone you cannot trust. They will give you wrong advice and if you took it, just do you own research as they will simply claim that they never told you when sh** hits the fan. Be prepared to pay double to what other builders charge if you are into upgrades. We did quite a few and now regret as even after paying big $s, quality of the workmanship is so poor we think we should have not. Builders clean means they want you to take the house which would look like as if a sandstorm went through the house and our site supervisor was like 'It is builders clean'. I contacted 3 cleaners and cheapest quote was $800. Lastly, be prepared to accept a house that is full of repairs as most of the items will be nicked, scratched during build (cabinet doors, stone, gutters, timber floor to name a few) and they will just repair it to the best possible. So you pay them for new item, you will get repaired.

… 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. … 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.