G.J. Gardner Homes

I highly recommend G.J. Gardner Homes to anyone looking to build a new home. Our experience with the team was outstanding from start to finish. The entire process was handled with professionalism, transparency, and genuine care. The team was friendly, approachable, and always willing to listen to our needs and preferences. They made us feel… Read more

valued and respected as customers, ensuring that our ideas and concerns were taken seriously throughout the journey.

One of the standout aspects of working with G.J. Gardner Homes was the top-notch quality of their product selections. From fixtures and finishes to design options, every choice reflected a high standard and gave us confidence that our home would be built to last.

Communication was clear and honest at every stage, which made the building process much less stressful. The team was transparent about timelines, costs, and any updates, and they consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to quality workmanship.

Most importantly, they truly cared about delivering a home that met our expectations and suited our family's needs. Their dedication to customer satisfaction was evident in every interaction.

We are extremely happy with our new home and grateful to the G.J. Gardner Homes team for making the experience smooth and enjoyable. If you are looking for a builder who is professional, trustworthy, and focused on quality and customer care, I would confidently recommend G.J. Gardner Homes

Exceeded Every Expectation — Highly Recommend! I'll be honest — I went into this process with some apprehension. Building a new home and dealing with a large construction company doesn't exactly scream "easy." But GJ Gardner Bacchus Marsh completely changed my view. From the very start, the team made the process surprisingly straightforward.… Read more

Contract signing was handled with genuine care — they even came to us to get our signatures, which was a small gesture that said a lot about how they treat their clients. Throughout the build, site manager Jarrod was outstanding. He kept us well informed at every stage, and we never had to chase anyone for updates. That kind of proactive communication is rare and genuinely takes the stress out of what can otherwise be a nerve-wracking experience. On the admin side, Eloise was an absolute pleasure to deal with — responsive, helpful, and always on top of things. The whole office team had the same easy, professional manner. What also stood out was their flexibility during construction. When I needed my own trades to access the site, they accommodated this without any fuss — something not every builder would do. Post-handover, the support continued. Any time something needed attention, they responded promptly and professionally. That after-care is often where builders drop the ball, but not here. If GJ Gardner Bacchus Marsh operates in an area where I ever build again, I would not hesitate to go back to them. Truly a builder you can trust.

I am so happy with the team from GJ Gardner Melbourne Inner East. The frame stage has been finished, I am very happy with the quality of the work, the great communication and the service that I got from GJ Gardner Melbourne inner East. Especially, the site supervisor and the admin team, they all tried to make the building of my house as smooth as… Read more

possible. Truly happy with my experience so far, and am so grateful to the team that is helping me build my dream house.

This is our second project with G.J. Gardner Homes North Essendon and it has been an amazing experience. It was smooth sailing from planning to construction to handover. A very special mention to Sacha and James who oversaw the whole project. We knew we could relax when the build was in your capable hands. Thank you very much G.J. Gardner North Essendon. Show details

We really appreciated the help we received from the GJ Gardiner staff (Adelaide Hills) at each stage of the process. Having never been involved with buildging a house before we really need their advice and ongoing support. Bell and David guided us through the construction phase with patience, giving freely of their time and expertise so that we now have a lovely new home to move into. Thanks so much to you and all the team! Show details

This is an update of the response or lack of response that I received from GJ Gardner regarding the issues with the house. I emailed both the GJ Gardner head office and the Coffs Harbour office regarding promised repairs to the incorrect tiling in the main bathroom and the damaged window reveal. Both of them failed to provide any response which… Read more

maybe goes to the character of the people and GJ Gardner, both unwilling to admit their failings and mistakes and to rectify them. The fact that the main office customer service did not bother to respond to my email appears to indicate that they care little about their reputation as well. These issues will have to be done later at the owner's expense. Following the handover and upon closer inspection it was found that the majority of the door handles were either loose or incorrectly fitted. These were repaired by the owner. It was also found that all the external power points were damaged and no longer weatherproof more than likely due to the covers being screwed on with a battery drill and stripping the screw threads. These had to be replaced by the owner due to safety concerns. If you want to have a well-built house that is finished off professionally, I would use another builder, not GJ Gardner. They appear to care little about the quality of the job or their reputation.

Extremely Disappointing and Untrustworthy Builder Our experience with G.J. Gardner Homes Parramatta has been one of the most frustrating and disappointing experiences we’ve ever had. It clearly shows how poorly managed, disorganized, and arrogant this franchise truly is. 1. Poor Management and Arrogant Attitude They suddenly fired all their… Read more

sales staff, which caused total chaos in our case handover. I had been dealing with them since April or May, but due to poor coordination and lack of communication, the whole process dragged on for months. The management — especially the director — was arrogant, dismissive, and unprofessional, showing no sense of accountability or customer care.

2. Wrong Design, Wasted Time, and Unbelievable Lack of Professionalism

All surveys, engineering reports, and designs were based on a wrong layout that did not comply with CDC (Complying Development Certificate) requirements. Even more shocking — it was me, a non-professional client, who discovered the issue first. I pointed it out to them, and it took G.J. Gardner over two weeks to finally admit that I was right. For a professional builder to rely on a client to identify such a fundamental compliance problem is simply absurd — honestly laughable and unacceptable.

This major mistake wasted over five months of my time, forcing me to delay my planned demolition in December. If I had paid a larger deposit and continued the process, it would have been a complete disaster, as I’m sure they would have just blamed me again, just like they did this time.

3. Price Increase During Design Stage — Totally Unreasonable

Even during the design stage, they increased the price by more than 10%, before any construction even began. That makes absolutely no sense and shows how unpredictable and unreliable they are. They broke previous agreements, changed their story, and blamed everything on the sales consultant they had fired — and then went even further, blaming me as the customer for their own design and compliance mistakes. It’s a perfect example of a company that refuses to take any responsibility for its own failures.

4. Price Hike After Deposit and Blame-Shifting

Before paying the $5,000 deposit, the quoted price was about $800k. After the deposit, it jumped to $920k, and that still didn’t include variations or external costs. When questioned, they claimed “management never approved” those numbers, then blamed the departed salesperson. Later, they told me the CDC compliance issue was my own decision and my own problem, even though their own design failed CDC requirements.

When I mentioned that I might contact NSW Fair Trading, they didn’t say they didn’t care — but their tone and attitude made it clear they had no real intention to resolve the issue. It felt dismissive and indifferent, as if the customer’s concern simply didn’t matter.

They even added that my $5,000 deposit didn’t even cover their costs, implying that I should be grateful they weren’t asking for more — an incredibly arrogant thing to say to a paying client.

5. Misleading Image — Not a Luxury Builder

Despite how they advertise themselves, G.J. Gardner is not a luxury builder. They are a franchise-based project home company with basic inclusions and inflated prices. Each franchise pays around 4–7% of its revenue to head office and keeps 25%+ profit margins, meaning customers easily overpay by around 30%.

For a 300m² home quoted at $1,000,000, the realistic construction cost is about $600,000, plus roughly $50,000 in variations — around $650,000 total, or about $2,170/m² to build. After adding the 7% franchise fee ($70,000) and their own profit margin ($300,000), the total markup is roughly $370,000, which is nearly 57% above the actual cost.

That means customers are paying over $3,300/m² for what is essentially a budget-level project home. It’s neither high-end in design nor fair in pricing. You’re essentially spending over a million dollars to build what is, in reality, a budget-level project home — it truly feels like they’re taking customers for granted.

Final Thoughts

From design errors and broken promises to hidden price hikes and constant blame-shifting — G.J. Gardner Homes Parramatta cannot be trusted. They waste your time, change their story, blame their staff and their customers, and refuse to take any real responsibility.

Because of them, I lost over five months and had to delay my entire project. If you value your time, money, and peace of mind, stay far away from this builder. There are many honest and professional builders out there — this one is absolutely not one of them.

This review is based on my own experience as a genuine customer of G.J. Gardner Homes Parramatta. Supporting documents such as my deposit receipt have been provided to ProductReview for verification.

My review is 5 years after the build I have previously submitted a review in regards to the build experience which happened during covid In that period I was stuck at times in WA where I worked and the dealings with GJ Gardener were dealt with by my partner ( who has no building experience ) but that aside I stand by my review on the helpfulness… Read more

of the GJ Gardener employees . My reflection now is 5 years later and I will say you get what you pay for . If you asked me do I think this house will be around in 15 years I'd have to say no , the quality is not there , I am getting cracking in one bathroom , I can see daylight through my front doors , is it sealed for heat retention ? probably not . The Bifold doors and windows are cheap ( I blame myself in part for not being on top of the items included in the build , if your not you will just get the cheapest ) I have already had to dowel and rescrew door hinges . I've had to remove the silicon around the bath tub and redo it . I have 2 different styles of architrave through the house in the main living areas its just cheap . One of the things I sourced myself was the flooring and carpet but when I asked to have the contactors come in and install these items before any architraves were installed I was given a flat no , they said safety issue , really ? The internal paint used is cheap , everything really has been done as cheap as they could do it , get in get out . The outside of the house is Hardi plank weatherboard and the joins are already starting to come apart and will require filling and then obviously re-paint . The internal wall frames have no noggins , this was something that I did manage to see and question and was told it's just the way they do it. All that was installed in the framing was 1 inch dowel placed about 3/4 of the way up the studs this was used to keep spacing . A lot of this might seem trivial to some but on reflection if you can afford it go to a proper licenced builder where you have better control of your build or be onsite 80% of the time the build is happening and stand up for what you expect . Again you get what you pay for and quality is not one of them after 5 years . I am adding to my review after having a GJ Gardner representative make a visit to assess my complaints and be able to respond to my complaints The visit lasted over an hour where all issues were pointed out , it was agreed the architraves were not what was agreed on , the rep was asked what he thought the finish on the paint was he responded with Mat finish... not what was asked for , he also took photos of the poor quality paint , the crack in the ensuite wall , the architraves coming away from the walls , the weather boards joint's where the filler at the joints had fallen out and joints not connected properly , he did say he was going to Hardys and would get back to me on what would fix the issue... Nothing On leaving the rep made a point of saying he was not at my house to look to repair anything he just wanted a chance to respond to my complaints Again quality is not something that shows up 5 years after the build

We want to express our appreciation for showing us the Mandalay display home in Rowville recently. We are in the very early stages of choosing a design for our new home build and wanted to get a feel for house size and construction quality of the Mandalay design features. The consultant walked us through the house giving us details on… Read more

materials, design and workmanship. He had a very friendly relaxed approach which we greatly appreciated. He spent the time to answer all our questions. Thanks again we really enjoyed the experience and it has confirmed we are on track with our house choice for our future build journey.

From Planning to Construction was Excellent and well Communicated along the whole process. The office people were also very helpful and communication was excellent. Each stage of when the trades were working on the build were well explained to me, so overall was more than happy with the process. Show details

We had an incredible experience building with GJ Gardner Batemans Bay. From the beginning, the team were supportive, professional, and made the entire process feel easy. Emily was fantastic to work with - upfront, knowledgeable, and always accommodating with any design changes. Luke made the pre-build stage feel comfortable and easy to understand,… Read more

Danielle guided us seamlessly through the DA phase, and Wayne kept us consistently informed throughout the build, which gave us real confidence in the process. Although the colour selection initially felt overwhelming, the team were honest, helpful, and budget conscious, which made a huge difference. The changes we made to the design turned out even better than expected, and the quality and workmanship of our home exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t be happier with the result and would highly recommend GJ Gardner Batemans Bay to anyone looking to build.

This is the second home we have build with GJ Gardner. They are very much a family run business, if you need to talk to the owners of the business, Ash or Sally , regarding any issue you can. The beauty of the process is that if you would like to pursue the very best Kitchen outfit, it can be sourced, Hardwood for Feature areas, again can be… Read more

sorted. A GJ Gardner house plan is what you want to make it, start with a design you like and modify.

We are very Happy

Mike & Jo Sobey

We recently moved into our brand new dream home, and we couldn’t be happier with our experience building with G.J. Gardner Homes Wollongong. From the very beginning, Mark in sales was absolutely wonderful. He really took the time to listen to what we wanted, offered thoughtful suggestions when we were unsure, and ultimately helped bring together… Read more

a design that truly reflected our vision.

Brigette, the colour consultant, was amazing to say the least. Her knowledge of interior design, colours, and products completely exceeded our expectations. She made what could have been an overwhelming process feel easy and exciting.

A very special thank you to Narelle, our Construction Admin contact. She kept us updated every single week, answered all of our questions, and honestly became our sounding board throughout the entire build. Your support meant so much to us, Narelle!

There are also so many people behind the scenes who contributed to building our home, and every single staff member we dealt with was phenomenal.

Now that we’ve been living in our home for a little while, we can confidently say the quality is second to none. Like any build from scratch, there were a few things to navigate along the way, but everything was handled with clear communication, established processes, and was resolved quickly and honestly.

If you’re looking for a builder, we highly recommend G.J. Gardner Homes Wollongong. We are so grateful for the entire team for bringing our dream to life.

We've had such a positive experience with GJ Gardner Penrith and couldn’t be happier with how everything is turning out. The whole process so far has been smooth and well organised. One thing that really stood out was how clear and transparent everything is. We always know what's happening, what to expect next, and have felt comfortable asking… Read more

questions at any stage. The communication has been consistent and nothing has ever felt too hard for the team.

A special mention has to go to our Sales Consultant Chelsi who was incredible from day one. She is knowledgeable, patient and genuinely cared about helping us find the right fit for our family.

Overall, we’re extremely happy with the experience and we’d highly recommend GJ Gardner Penrith to anyone looking for a builder they can trust.

To the GJ Gardner homes Coffs Harbour team we thank you for your support and service over the last 5 and a half months of our house build, from the very beginning with walking into the showroom in moonee .Stephens knowledge and experience and expertise, with planning ,designing and modifying our design to make it our own home was next to none ,… Read more ·  1

his passion for his job and friendly service towards us for being first home buyers was fantastic , and was a dead giveaway of what housing builder we where going to go with in Coffs Harbour.

From the friendly faces of Hayley, Rick and Lee for all the planning and contract side of things was fantastic and very professional every phone call and questions was answered and delt with accordingly, designing our house was so easy with the help of their interior designer she made picking and choosing each part of the house quick and efficient, her knowledge and experience was great and really helpful.

From the building stage to the final walk through Nick and Kyle have been great through each schedule walk through was very thorough with explaining everything, they fixed or addressed any problems that we had or questions along the way In which we had very few problems which was great !.

Big shout out to Brodie for all the help and weekly updates along the house build making sure that we knew what was happening each week even if you didn’t drive by to have a look, her helpful advice and support along the build was great any questions based on dates, installs or council requirements was answered and discussed accordingly so we knew what was happening at every stage of the house build. We thank you for all your help and guidance along the way.

We appreciate the GJ gardner homes Coffs Harbour team for building our first of many homes, their professional attitude towards what they do is fantastic, attention to detail is great and is a big relief knowing that when you walk through the door on handover everything is done to a high standard, If you are looking to build a new home and don’t know where to start GJ gardner homes Coffs Harbour is the go.

Thank you to Rick and the team for our amazing new home we look forward to building with you guys again in the future soon.

We had an excellent experience with the GJ Gardner Batemans Bay team. We live a few hours away from the build site and initially had concerns about our lack of ability to check in on the build frequently. We were quickly reassured by the teams communication skills and overall helpfulness. They accommodated all our requests and achieved the desired… Read more

product without issues. I can't recommend them high enough and we are already in discussions about the next project with the team.