G.J. Gardner Homes

From the moment we met Brenton at the GJ Gardner display, we felt that we were in good hands. He expertly helped us put our hopes and desires on paper, taking a standard floorplan and personalising it to suit us perfectly, whilst navigating sometimes conflicting desires of my partner and I, as well as being mindful of our desired budget. We were… Read more

then passed through to Leah, Lisa and Marshall, all of whom, like Brenton, treated us almost as family friends. Always happy to help, with no query to big or small. The plans were drafted with minute details to help us visualise the finished project perfectly. Then it was on to Natalie who spent the time with us to deftly weave our tastes together to make the house our home while Adrian was assigned the task to build the dream. A short time later I lost my job. I met with Stephanie and later Lloyd, Nathan and Wayne who all treated me with empathy and kindness. They promised to work together to get the job done with as little stress as possible. Adrian along with his brilliant trade staff completed our home ahead of time and on budget, while keeping us up to date on the building progress. Again, no query or adjustment was too big or small for him.

We couldn’t be happier with the result and are incredibly proud of our home and the team at GJ Gardner Ballarat - they truly deserve the accolades and awards they receive.

Great team delivering great homes. Smooth process from our initial meeting through to build completion. High quality build, tailored to our requirements. Great communication throughout the entire process. Home came in ahead of our anticipated time frame and on budget. We could not be happier with our choice of builders for our new home. Show details

We recently completed our build with GJ Gardner Homes Pakenham, and we couldn't be happier with the experience. Adam and the entire team made the whole journey incredibly easy from start to finish. Their communication, professionalism, and attention to detail gave us confidence throughout the process. The final result exceeded our expectations,… Read more

and we are absolutely thrilled with our new home. Any questions or concerns were handled promptly, and the team genuinely cared about delivering a quality outcome. We highly recommend GJ Gardner Homes Pakenham to anyone looking to build. Thank you, Adam and the team, for making our dream home a reality!

Every time someone asks me how was the building process? my answer is always the same "I absolutely loved it". We found the whole team at GJ Gardener Tamworth were excellent communicators, the whole process was seamless. The build was extremely well managed, the workmanship was excellent and no big blowouts with the budget. I could not recommend a builder more highly. Show details

We have been in our beautiful home for a week now. Building your home is such a long and stressful process and this team take it really seriously. They are committed to ensuring the process is collaborative and transparent. The build was so well managed and we always felt that the quality was there - site visits were encouraged and tradies enjoyed… Read more

their work and craftmanship. In the early design stages, staff were so patient and respectful as we navigated the myriad of decisions.

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

Huge thank you to Phillip, Veronica, Petar, & Alysia for bringing to life both Jemma and myself’s vision and constructing our dream home. From day one of the build process both Jemma and myself felt reassured and engaged, granted our desire to change, add, manipulate plans & outsource materials to truely end up with everything we envisioned our… Read more

custom home would/could look like. We are beyond happy with our end result and could not recommend higher for anyone scrolling reviews looking for a professional, friendly, respectful, hard working, genuine, accommodating & engaging builder to enter a build process with. It’s been quite the ride for us, so do yourselves a favour and build with GJ Gardner Wyndham City.

From our initial point of contact through to the commencement of construction, we cannot speak highly enough of the team at GJ Gardner Adelaide Hills. Their communication, accurate cost estimates, and prompt management of any design changes have been exceptional throughout the entire process. From Rachel in Sales to Bel in Construction… Read more

Coordination, every member of the team has contributed to making our build planning experience seamless and enjoyable. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to customer service have exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate to highly recommend the team at GJ Gardner Adelaide Hills and look forward to working with them again on our next building project.

We have had a great experience with our build. Kelly was amazing guiding us in the planning stages and helping us alter plans to suit our family as well as making helpful suggestions. Warren was excellent in handling the build and trades he was constantly in contact with updates and was happy to go above and beyond his role. They are both… Read more

excellent assets to the company. There were no surprise costs everything was completely transparent so there was no hidden shocks at the end.

From my very first enquiry, David was incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and informative. As someone who was completely new to the process of building on rural land, I had so many questions and uncertainties, and David took the time to guide me through every step. His advice and support made what felt like an overwhelming process so much easier to… Read more

understand.

Throughout the entire journey, David and the team were amazingly patient with me. They were always happy to answer my questions, accommodate changes, and provide reassurance whenever I needed it. Nothing ever seemed like too much trouble.

I genuinely recommend them to everyone I speak to who is considering building. The level of customer service, knowledge, and care they provide is outstanding. I would absolutely use them again in the future and couldn’t be more thankful for David’s time, patience, and expertise. He made a huge difference to our building experience, and I am incredibly grateful for all of his help.

Absolutely amazing experience building with GJ Bacchus Marsh with the second time round. Both times were great. From the very first thought to hand over day. Did everything they could to make us happy and did a great great job overall! Show details

I am absolutely thrilled with my experience building with G.J. Gardner Homes Tweed Heads and Ballina and would highly recommend them to anyone considering building a new home. From the pre-sales stage right through to handover, and even after handover, I felt completely confident that I was in good hands. Every request I made was listened to,… Read more

acknowledged, and actioned, which made the entire process feel smooth and stress-free.

One of the standout aspects of the build was the speed. The build time was spectacularly fast, and the dedication shown by the team to keep everything moving was fantastic. What impressed me most was that this speed never came at the expense of quality. The workmanship and attention to detail remained exceptional throughout the entire build. The weekly updates were extremely helpful and kept me informed every step of the way.

What surprised me most was how stress-free the whole experience was (how rare is that something when building a home). Every staff member I dealt with was friendly, professional, and genuinely helpful.

The colour selection day was very well organised. There was a lot to cover, but the process was structured in a way that made it manageable and enjoyable. The finishing touches were also handled exceptionally well, and the final result is simply amazing.

The quality of the build is outstanding. Compared to other homes being built in the area, my house was completed much quicker, and the quality is noticeably superior. The attention to detail and craftsmanship throughout the home is exceptional.

I am genuinely so happy with the entire experience and feel incredibly lucky with how smoothly my home progressed from start to finish. Thank you to the entire team at G.J. Gardner Homes Tweed Heads and Ballina for delivering such an incredible result.

GJ made our whole experience as easy as can be!! From our initial meeting with Cam, we knew we’d found the right place! Nothing was ever too difficult and during the whole process we felt completely supported and guided! Easy and consistent communication, a wonderful colour/tile selection experience with the interior designer and a swift,… Read more

professional and easy going experience from start of build to hand over! We are beyond happy with our end product and didn’t experience the so called stress you usually hear about home building experiences.

BEST BUILDER I HAVE USED. I used GJs for a 2 detached dwelling subdivision project. I came to GJs after my previous builder went into liquidation. I received quotes from GJs, Masterton and Hotondo and GJ presented the best package deal. They went over and beyond to help me out of the bad situation I was in. They also picked up on a lot of issues… Read more

with the plans that Masterton and Hotondo did not, which saved me a lot of money. Working with the team they honestly made me feel like I was a part of their family. Danielle was amazing and always so quick to deal with and always a phone call away. Luke was also a legend and I could not believe how fast he completed the first half of the project. Our land did not have access to power and Luke went above and beyond with his contacts to help fix the issue. The build was done within the contract period and Luke did everything he could to finish earlier. An amazing builder with a fantastic experience and result.