I'm going to be as objective as possible.

Built two investment properties with Redink which started in Feb 19 and finished in August 2020.

I chose Redink purely because the sales person wasn't a bell end and didnt come across as an over the top sales person , he joined in for beers and was seemingly genuine.

He presented plans which fit the block, budget etc. He came to the party so to speak on price. In hindsight I wish I'd spent more time on this part as some of the plan idea are truly stupid looking back. I have a lightning bolt looking hallway which looks good on paper but is a removalists nightmare as you can't bring things through the bend easily. I also have steps due to the slope of the block but the design has the ceiling lower above the steps which means that when you try move things up the stairs you hit the roof. I wish the reality of the designs was better thought through, I signed off on them so I wear the pain, but some professional know how would have helped me.

The above process went smoothly.

The prestart process was pretty seemless and it moved onto the submission to the shire.

This is when it started to go pearshape. I acknowledge in advance mistakes happen it's how you respond that sets you apart. In a nutshell plans went all the way to to building approval before Redink identified that the survey they commissioned was massively incorrect by 1.6 metres in parts . And we had to start the whole process with the shire again. It had gone through countless parts of the business and wasn't picked up.

At the time I complained that due to no fault of ours we would like to compensated given it was an investment. We were told no way and I eventually requested feedback on shonky builders Facebook page. Well this didn't go down well at all and the previous great guy salesman was not happy with us and management were relentless for us to pull the comments down.Apparently we had offended all of Redink. Again long story short we ended up getting $4000 in compensation. But it took nearly 8 weeks of anguish to get there.

I think the plans they proceeded with were incorrect as one house can literally look straight into the others bedrooms. (I was promised it was correct )

The plans changed from what we agreed too with the salesperson to the final plans.. and without knowing what to look for it can come back to hurt you. For example we had steps outside on the sales plan.. and these were changed step ftg on the plan.. to a layman nothing has changed but ultimately it meant they didn't put steps outside.. so we had just a sloping block .. ultimately we had this over turned after 4 weeks of further anguish and they did there best but hard to make look good afterwards. See pictures.

We Moved onto the site works which absolutely carved up the block to a point it didn't look anything like what it started with. These siteworks I believe were completely mismanaged and when I noticed that the rear of the block was completely different to what it looked like to begin I was told we were going to need unexpected retaining ( $8000 worse off ), the builder apparently could foresee it happening.. .and refuses to pay for it.

I had no choice but to accept the $8000 retaining cost and was told that it could be done over Xmas 2019 but not before the building manager was back from leave . After new year I drove by the house to find they had put all the bricks up blocking all access to do the retaining etc. This total screw up in communication is what has destroyed this project for me.

Because the $8000 was unexpected we have ended up choosing the cheapest option with terrible panel and post retaining which looks absolutely horrendous. This wasn't the end though. The retaining company did no site works, didn't do it to plan, so just put the walls there with no earth moved. Left an a shambles on a landlocked block. I had to spend a few weeks complaining to get it sort of fixed.

This mistake above really caused huge stress post handover as 2/3 neighbours said we could have absolutely no access through their yards to fix anythinf. The rear neighbour finally came to the party but a bobcat damaged his driveway so I'm now being pursued for $2000 to fix which is all related to the screw up.

I spent literally hours and hours on the phone water corp etc because they buried the water meter and I was getting huge water bills then we're adament they hadn't. After many cracks at finding it the water corp found it.

The mistakes above set the tone for arguments back and forth for the entire project. I feel very sorry for all the people I had to deal with as they are all lovely people but I had no choice.

The build itself is ok, relating to above plans comment I wish I knew more about wall construction as these are just gyprock walls which are weak as cardboard it seems. I think there is some value for money nonetheless, ducted aircon, double glazing etc etc. Essentially you get what you pay for, you hit a price point and therefore there is pros and cons

Finally after finishing everything we had a roof leak within days of handover. A real estate agent described the texture coating on one house as terrible and would put off seller ( subsequently fixed ) and roughly 60 dog prints through the garage cement which I admit I didn't pick up properly before signing off (yet to be fixed)

I wish I had the 5 star experience others apparently have had but the stress particularly due to earthworks mistakes has ruined wanting to build again. The neighbours situation has literally made me unwell.

As mentioned they have solid , super friendly staff, a lovely showroom etc etc but I don't honestly believe the silo management system and having to always go through client liaison works.

Our site manager [Name Removed] did the best he could and helped us alot but actions taken whilst he was away and prior to build effected us .

I asked Redink to assist financially with the cost of the driveway given it was their mistake which caused it. They Simply said they were sympathetic but wouldn't help.

Lessons learnt. Overall 2/5

Approximate cost: $420000

Ref : 122205
If you are going to build, you may want to consider another builder other than Redink.
The quality of work from their trades is low, we have had to have nearly every trade come back for poor workmanship.
We are now at the end of our build and are disappointed with several things. We have a vent pipe for the sewer directly across from our front door attached to the boundary fence,
it is the first thing you see when you walk out the door, not only is this ugly give it a few weeks and its going to stink. This is commonly called a stink pipe for a reason. We asked for it to be moved and were told no it conforms to regulations and was put there because the normal position at side of garage was not an option. There was no consultation or any thought on its new placement, the plumber simply put it in the easiest place for him. We are looking into our legal options as the builder does not care.
The flashing fitted to the top of a pillar is poorly fitted, this has been done twice and is no better the second time. We have had it checked by 2 roof plumbers and agree it is very poor. I have shown them photos of water under the flashing and they say it is the best that they can do. It may be the best Redink is capable of, but it is not the best it can be done.
Insulation in roof was not fitted correctly and when I showed the site supervisor some pics he did not even want to look at them, it was like he already new.
The base for the hot water tank is a slab the plumber has simply kicked dirt under to level it and now only a few weeks down the track it is all falling away. The tank is unstable and not even fixed to the wall.
The laminate in the kitchen is joined poorly and we are told this is to standard also, even the site supervisor agrees yet nothing will be done.
On more than one occasion tradies left the house unlocked or wide open. They just don't care.
Granted most problems have been tended too, however it does leave you disappointed and somewhat bitter.
These are only a few examples of the standard this builder thinks is acceptable.
I can only hope they put some effort into resolving these issues and please don't waist any time on ribbons and other crap, all we ask is for the job to be done to a reasonable standard.
Do your homework before you sign with Redink and check everything during the build and don't be afraid to ask questions and demand answers.

We built our first home through RedInk and overall were quite impressed. The service from our client liaison was first class, our site supervisor was adequate but I wouldn't rave about him. The qualty of the house was very good apart from the inside of our garage where the wrong cleaner was used and our bricks have discoloured. They promised to fix it but it's been over a year and is still not the best. That aside we would build with them again. Anthony D'Asenzo was our sales guy and he was terriffic, wasn't pushy like most consultants and that was the main reason we chose them as we didn't feel pressured.

Approximate cost: $165000