Top 6 Things That You Should Look For In Display Homes

Display Homes are just that, homes that display the quality of work that you can expect from a builder when they are building your home. Builders can do one of two things: They can either show a home they are building or they build a display home in an estate and make that open to the public. Not every builder builds a display home and the below is for every home that you will see that showcases the builders work.

A display home is one that you must look past the decor and furnishings and really look into the nitty gritty, round corners and in the little places that you know you will have to sweep one day. Don't be shy to open doors, close them and open them again. Its your chance to inspect your possibly new home.

Below is a list of items that you really need to look at in any display home: ( Print these and take them with you )

1. Always check behind the front door. Its a funny place but worth the look. Look at how the hinges and put on - are they in line or not. Is the timber that its joined to sturdy enough to hold the door?  The front door gets a lot of work in a display home and in your home too and the last thing that you need is a front door that wont open because its slipped off its hinges.

2. Skirting Boards along the floors and the joins from carpet to timber or tiles. Do the skirting boards line up, are the corners joined properly and neatly, is the joins between the laminate floors and the carpet neat or do they have timber beading that even your weakest thumbnail can damage.  These are areas that will be getting a lot of dirt built up and of course getting knocked around from kids running their football shoes around the house or just the dog sleeping next to the walls you want these to be as neatly joined as possible and as tough as possible.

3. Look UP. Yes look at the corners of every rooms roof and cornices. Do these corners seem neat? Are the cornices being placed on straight  or is one slightly lover than the other. Is there a line in the roof where two pieces of gyprock are touching together. Do you see any cracks in the corners?. Every little bit counts towards a better job.

4. Underneath sinks in bathrooms and kitchens. Look at how the pipes come up o the cupboards - are there great big holes or pipework that comes up neat through a hole that only has a few millimeters space. As most people store items underneath the sinks, this is valuable space that needs to be conserved. It will also show how the "unseen" finishes are completed.

5. Outside walls. Most homes in Australia are a mix of materials. One common material for externals walls is concrete rendering and panel timbers. Check the corner of the house, near the unseen places like the utilites or refuse areas. Is the electrical box splattered with render or not? This is a great way to tell if your box will be too. Look for cracks in the render all over the areas of the high traffic volume.

Timber finishes must be joined together tight so that no moisture can get into the joins. Look for straight lines or uneven sections.

Most Important: 6. Power points and light points. See how many lights that they have put into the home and that is generally the right amount of lights for the home. It may be that you want more power points for your office space but does the light allowance give you as many in the house that you see or not?. Most people cant live in the dark.

BONUS 1 - Always look at the front of the house windows and on the sides. Are they the same? Use of different style of windows, eg timber and aluminium is a way for the materials to suit better together.

BONUS 2: Does your house have the same sun orientation as the house that you are looking at buying? The worst thing that people do in display homes is see a house, fall in love with the house, build that house and then find out that the are in the dark 12 months in the year. Its not something that you want to be stuck with, but many people just don't think of it.

We hope that these tips will help you get the most out of your visits to the many lovely display homes out there. Go on - see them all.