Choosing a company to build your family home can be a daunting prospect. Faced with this need when they decided to settle in Townsville, Des and Claire Cannon decided to put their trust in word of mouth recommendations from others, along with their own gut feelings. This approach led them to straight to Grady Homes and to a building experience that has had a happy outcome for all concerned.
“By the time we started looking for a builder we had heard a lot of good stories about Grady Homes, because we had a number of friends whose homes they had built in Townsville,” said Claire.
“We still consulted other builders, as you do, but by the time we were ready to go ahead we decided that Grady Homes were the best choice.” Des and Claire were particularly impressed with the flexibility shown by Grady Homes in relation to adjusting the home design they selected to make sure it was right for their needs.
“They had no problem with moving rooms and bathrooms around to give us what we wanted and, after talking to us about our requirements, the designers also suggested some changes,” said
Claire. “Between us we came up with what is, hopefully, a home that is totally different from anyone else’s.”
As parents of three children aged 10, 13 and 15, Des and Claire are especially happy with the layout of the bedrooms, which puts the main bedroom at the front of the house while the children’s
bedrooms are tucked away at the back, where they also have the use of a spacious rumpus room. Formerly from the United Kingdom, the family is also reveling in the outdoor lifestyle now available to them in Townsville to which they relocated after Des, formerly a Royal Marine commando, transferred to the Australian Army. “We knew it had to be better than the dark and the cold and the wet of the UK, and we were right!” said Claire.
“In addition to the home, we now have a great outdoor life, which the kids especially enjoy. Grady Homes did the decking on the back patio which has made it a lovely feature of the house and we had a beautiful pool put in just as the build process was coming to an end. Grady Homes were very good with providing access for the pool people – it all worked out really well.”
“The building consultant we worked with was typical of the type of people they employ. She was very good at what she did and was really easy to get on with, even making herself available on her days off if she knew I was worried about something or needed information.”
Like any building project there were a few minor hiccups here and there, but Claire didn’t have to face these alone, even though Des was overseas for some time while the house was being built. “Our consultant or somebody else from Grady Homes was always available to help,” said Claire. “The Client Relations Manager, Bruce Grady, even came out and did some things himself, which we really appreciated.”
“Everything’s perfect in our new house and we have had no problems whatsoever with the home. We would certainly recommend Grady Homes to anyone who is thinking of building.”
