DR Gordon - Ballarat Builders

Welcome to 2012!

After a well earned break the team at D.R. Gordon Building in Ballarat are straight back into doing what they do best...building for our customers their dream homes.

We are welcoming some new faces to D.R. Gordon. They will assist in streamlining all areas in our business internally and externally, which will result in a continued professional, stress-free experience for our customers. Our new Office Manager, Bronwyn will assist in all areas internally and will be a welcoming friendly face for all contact in the business. We also have Paul, who is our new Onsite Supervisor. He has many years experience in the building world and will help guide all trades and customers through the building process, a great addition to our ever expanding team.

We look forward to continued growth and success, and most of all, many more happy customers.

Stay tuned for some new changes to our website including meeting the whole team at D.R. Gordon Building, your local Ballarat Builders.

When choosing all of your colours and products for your new home:

• Start with your granite bench tops before choosing your other products. Why? Often the granite range is the smallest range of all products. If you choose everything else first, then the granite choices may not suit your selections.
• Use a superior rubber carpet underlay. They really affect the feel of the carpet underfoot.
• Take a colour range from a product brochure that you like and work with that.
• Don’t overspend on tapware.
• Use the D.R. Gordon Building show room to choose all your products and colours under the one roof.

David at D.R. Gordon Building is a Ballarat based builder. Our goal is to make your building experience stress free, with the result being a beautiful and comfortable home.

Building your own home can be one of the most exciting yet daunting exercises a family can undertake, so choosing the right builder is critical. It is important to choose a Ballarat builder you can communicate with easily, have confidence in and feel you can work with for the duration of the project. He must be a trustworthy businessman as well as a skilled builder. 

Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends that you:

“Get at least three quotes and analyse them thoroughly.  The cheapest quote is not necessarily the best one.”

A good working relationship is fundamental to the success of the building project. 

Consumer Affairs Victoria gives the following tips when choosing a builder:

• Shop around and know exactly what you want
• Choose a registered builder with domestic building insurance
• Do not sign any agreement until you are ready
• Have detailed plans and specifications that suit your budget, your land and regulations
• Check your contract is fixed and contains all details before you sign
• Pay the right deposit and stage payments
• Do not pay for work before it is complete
• Act immediately if things go wrong

Any good Ballarat builder knows the importance of efficient heating and cooling when building a home.

Here are some really important tips for making your Ballarat home comfortable all year round, without relying entirely on artificial temperature control.

Orientation of your block is important. East-west orientation maximises exposure to northern winter sun while minimising exposure to harsh morning and afternoon summer sun. 

Look closely at your floor plan design. Remember, less wall area reduces loss of heat and solar gain in summer. An air lock can be useful in reducing Ballarat wind entering the home.

Outdoor living area is best positioned to the north of the main living space. Avoid covering the open living area with a roof to increase natural sunlight into the home.

Use sunshades on north and western windows to reduce summer heat and allow winter sun.

Use a slab on ground to reduce unwanted heat loss or gain.

Check out the D.R. Gordon Building Solair 22 floor plan. This home has been cleverly designed by architects to receive northern solar sun on any block orientation all year round, reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling.

If you are looking for a Ballarat builder, make sure you pick up tomorrow’s Ballarat Courier and check out the lift out feature article on D.R. Gordon Building. The feature covers the history of D.R. Gordon Building as well as how our business works to make building a stress free experience for the customer. See photos of our exciting new showroom and meet David’s quality team of builders. Why not hold on to the lift out or give one to a friend or family member looking to build in Ballarat?

D.R. Gordon building is extremely proud of our 100% customer satisfaction rate over the last 5 years.  Our surveys show that most of our customers base their decision to build with D.R. Gordon Building on:

• Our reputation
• Our quality of work
• Our presentation and
• Our price

If these qualities are important to you, and you are looking for a Ballarat builder, contact David at D.R. Gordon Building.

To help you choose the right Ballarat builder, we encourage you to ask your potential builder for a list of past customers to talk to.

Ask the customers the following questions:

• Did your project start and finish on time?
• Were you able to communicate regularly and clearly with the builder?
• Were you able to visit the work site to check on the construction quality and progress?
• Were you able to change your selections at any time?
• Did the price increase?  If yes, was the price increase reasonable and agreed to?
• Did the builder’s subcontractors arrive on time and do a good job?
• Did the builder ask for any payments before a stage was reached?
• Were you satisfied that the quality of the work matched the details in the contract?

Compare D.R. Gordon Building customer  answers to those of other Ballarat builders. We are confident that our customers will give a positive response to all these questions every time. Call David at D.R. Gordon Building and talk to our customers.

With the warmer Ballarat weather finally approaching a deck or balcony is a great place for a get together with friends or family. With this in mind, it is important to know that decks and balconies structural adequacy can be affected over time.

The Building Commission advises that as a safety measure all home owners and commercial property owners with balconies should ensure that:

• It is constructed following the issue of a building permit
• It is inspected on a regular basis for any warning signs of potential collapse
• A maintenance program is introduced to extend its design life, and
• Where there is a doubt or a problem, an inspection by a structural engineer or other suitably qualified building practitioner, and remedial measures, as necessary, are arranged.

For more information on how to keep your deck and balcony safe, go to the Building Commission website. 

We understand that our customers want not only a beautiful home, but one that is environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Sunday 14th September is Sustainable House Day, when you can visit some of Australia’s most environmentally sustainable  homes. Find out directly from home owners who’ve put sustainable living into practice, about reducing waste around your home, saving water, natural home heating and cooling and more. Bring your green knowledge home to Ballarat and contact D.R. Gordon Building, to put your newfound ideas into action.

Visit the Sustainable House Day website to find out more info.

Government grants are still being offered to first time home buyers in the Ballarat area.

These grants are not means tested and include:

• First home owner grant $7,000
• First home bonus $13,000
• Regional bonus $6,500

This totals $26,500 off the price of your new Ballarat home. Call David at D.R. Gordon Building and we can explain how you can go about applying for your first home owner grant. 

D.R. Gordon Building has a new look and feel, as well as new building range to offer our Ballarat customers. The new building range has been carefully developed to help make your building experience as stress free as possible. The houses are all designed to suit the Ballarat climate and culture.

We especially love our signature home, the Solair 22. This home has been cleverly designed by architects so that any or all rooms can be easily adjusted in size. The other amazing feature is that this home receives northern sun on any block orientation, cutting down the need to use artificial heating and cooling! 

Of course we still delight in building custom homes, should you prefer to use your own house design.

Have a look over our website and if you have any comments or questions please contact us.