new home

[Guest JohnA]

Have been hunting around the last couple of weeks, looking for our new home.

Visiting display centers and viewing many display homes.

We narrowed it down to the final 3, and then looked at which offered everything we wanted.

 

The biggest problem we found though was with blocks of land. Trying to find one with no easements at the back is proving difficult, and to find anything with more then 32-35mtr depth even harder again, without having to move much further out then were we are now.

 

here is the house

 

downstairs

 

 

 

upstairs

 

 

we have made a few changes, like wider garage with internal access and rear roller door, ig 5 mtr bifold doors leading out to the alfreso insted of the sliders and made a few of the window bigger.

Also double glazing and a few cosmetic changes

 

 

we are waiting on call backs today to find out some site costs on 2 blocks we have picked, but the hunt for blocks may still continue.

If all goes well, this time next year we shall be in the new house.

Edited July 4, 2013 by JohnA

[Nada]

What a big project. Is it a lot more work and stress then buying an existing property?

 

I wonder since your building if you considered asking an architect to design a creative home for your exact needs including the perfect listening room? Whats the pros and cons of architect design for you?

[Luc]

Nada: We had an architect design our place 20 years ago and being in the building game I was a bit wary because architects are a by word for expense and overkill in my game but if your not in the game like me and your prepared to search for a good one and prepared for his/her costs...they beat any off the plan design and more importantly they beat any project home builder hands down because they oversee the project management and most importantly they're on your side batting for you.

 

With project home builders the service usually stops just after you sign up with the smiling salesmen, not all mind you but most of the ones I've had dealings with use the lowest common denominator which is how cheap can they build it for and that means subbies who are screwed down in price and usually they're not the top of their trades.

 

Private builders are much better but of course the price goes up with them but if you've engaged an architect then your pretty much covered.

I don't regret for one minute using one here and he pulled the builder up on more than one occasion directing him to stick to the plan and questioning materials ect and finish standards. The house still presents as contemporary and gets many glowing remarks when people first come here.

 

Number one rule: Build the house to suit the block do not cut the block to suit the house.

 

Good luck John, I'll be watching with interest.

[Brendo09]

John, looks great. Hope it all works smoothly.

[Krispy Audio]

So the only real question here is......how big is the 2-channel room!?

[Guest myrantz]

Really like the idea of a guest bed room  ... Sends a good positive signal that guests are welcomed  :lol:  :ph34r:...

[analog brother]

john, you need a glass wall between the garage and the hallway so you can see your rocco from inside.

Edited July 5, 2013 by analog brother

[analog brother]

and storage to put all the empty boxes....

[Guest JohnA]

Thanks guys

 

Luc, wow, i always found the huse i loved then looked for a block to fit it on.

I know a few people who bought a block first, then they found the house of their dreams and discovered it would not fit on their block.

 

 

Nada, building doesnt worry me too much. We have done it before with our current home.

Just need to stay on them.

The option of going architect and the builders starts to get very expensive, this wont be our last home, so dont wont to over capatalise and lose money when selling down the track.

 

 

Cameron, the 2 channel room is around 6.5 x 5.3 mtr, however, am not sure if i will use the downstairs home theatre room which is about the same size as our current room, or the games room upstairs. Will try them both and see which works best.

I am leaning towards upstairs as its open and think will work very well

 

Myrantz, the daughter has already put claim tot he guest bedroom....she not silly 

 

Analog brother, dont think the wife will go with the glass garage idea to be perfectly hones, and lets be honest here, its only a scirocco, not a 458 

[Luc]

John, I make a large part of my income from people who buy project homes that are fitted onto sloping blocks i.e. Raft slab construction on a cut+filled block as opposed to engineered footings+piers and building the house to suit the slope of the block.

I come in later after the project home builders have moved on and do all the drainage that these blocks usually need and the retaining walls ect ect. Adds up to a pretty penny let me tell you.

 

As for the expense of the architect he ended up saving me money to be honest when he put his 'Quantity Surveyors' hat on and picked up the builder on incorrect trusses(there were none in the design it being a pitched rake ceiling) 100mm differences in ceiling heights, in correct sized cornices,wrong brand of kitchen+b/room sinks, incorrect ampage in electrical circuits, over charging for concrete volumes and a fair few other things.

Changes on the run were one of the great things about having him on site, no need to send off to a draughtsman or engineer as we had the right man right there and he'd sign off straight away on changes. We negotiated his fee's too at the beginning.

 

Costs were surprising fair given the outcomes we got, and I'll admit to some schadenfraude watching the builder having strips slowly peeled off him as he tried to weasel out of the truss fiasco and the shallowness of some piers that I'd of never picked up and I'm in the game!

[L J T]

Plan looks good JohnA. We were contemplating building a house this year but could not find land in Brisbane that was close to anything.

There are some great deals going on with some of the building companies. Free ducted air-con was something that was on offer a few months ago. Its a good time to be in the market now.

[Guest JohnA]

Luc, all the blocks i am looking at are as flat as flat can be.

Still, understand what you are saying.

 

LJT, thanks mate and yep, some great deals at the moment. They worked out a home and land package for use, all site costs, driveway and path, all flooring and a whole stack of other goodies.

This time we are going colourbond roof also, as had a disaster with tile roofing in this house and dont want to ever experience that again.

I wish you luck with your hunt also mate,

[Guest Muon]

Looks good, John

 

Hope it all goes according to plan for you.

[Monty]

Good luck with the build. I'm sure we'll see a very classy listening room a year or so hence.

 

When you are choosing your block think about orientation. That house plan looks suited to a block with north to rear. You would get lots of low angle winter sun into the open plan kitchen/living areas (though you'd need to be careful about what you used to cover the alfresco area); not too much afternoon sun in summer, just add awnings to the media and games room windows.

[Rob181]

WOW...the last 2 house I built...I found the block first to maximise harvesting sun & rain plus provide the best natural cooling in summer & warmth in winter...do that & you will save a shirtload on heating/cooling for the time you live there...especially as the child/ren grow.

 

Given the cost increases in power & water over the last 5 years...it is not over capitalisation...it is a reason you will achieve a premium price when you sell...gotta say...Luc is on the money with his experience...Rob 

[progladyte]

I'm guessing by the size of the walk in robe that you get the shelves on the left and SHMBO gets the errrr....... all the other ones on the right...

 

Just asking?

 

Looks really nice too BTW John.. Good luck with the project. Done it once myself and loved the outcome with an architect designed place on acreage at Buderim a few years back.

[Guest JohnA]

I'm guessing by the size of the walk in robe that you get the shelves on the left and SHMBO gets the errrr....... all the other ones on the right...

 

Just asking?

 

Looks really nice too BTW John.. Good luck with the project. Done it once myself and loved the outcome with an architect designed place on acreage at Buderim a few years back.

he he

 

good point regarding the walk in robe..we are having all customised shelving put in there, but yes, no doubt it will be divided up evenly...20% for me and the rest for her, and i am been generous with my 20% 

Edited July 5, 2013 by JohnA

[lencolad]

What Monty and Rob181 say is very very important.

Most people seem to live completely unaware of the natural world around them ie. the sun's path during the year and all that, and if you get it right you'll be comfortable.

Had some neighbours into the mancave for arvo tea today and she was astonished that it was so warm inside yet her place was cold ....

Later she'll be asking why the house I'm building is so warm in winter and so cool in summer.

[Addicted to music]

Nada: We had an architect design our place 20 years ago and being in the building game I was a bit wary because architects are a by word for expense and overkill in my game but if your not in the game like me and your prepared to search for a good one and prepared for his/her costs...they beat any off the plan design and more importantly they beat any project home builder hands down because they oversee the project management and most importantly they're on your side batting for you.

 

With project home builders the service usually stops just after you sign up with the smiling salesmen, not all mind you but most of the ones I've had dealings with use the lowest common denominator which is how cheap can they build it for and that means subbies who are screwed down in price and usually they're not the top of their trades.

 

Private builders are much better but of course the price goes up with them but if you've engaged an architect then your pretty much covered.

I don't regret for one minute using one here and he pulled the builder up on more than one occasion directing him to stick to the plan and questioning materials ect and finish standards. The house still presents as contemporary and gets many glowing remarks when people first come here.

 

Number one rule: Build the house to suit the block do not cut the block to suit the house.

 

Good luck John, I'll be watching with interest.

I spent 3 yrs looking for a house design and caved in to the better 1/2's decision. We went with a high volume well known builder in Melbourne and I spent the next 3 yrs stressed out of my life. They produced the most eye pleasing quality product at there display centres, but let me assure you that it will never match your project to mirror the quality that on shows at the display centres.

It took 10mths to get the contract right, and even after the contract is signed and sealed the construction department started to reject the agreed variation, finally we started to point out that this is in breach of contractual conditions. Once signing the final document the organisation becomes "closed" so any enquiries made its like phoning or contacting a brick wall.

During construction the project that was erected had major flaws, questioning those flaws made very little difference, luckily I had access to 2 practicing building inspector who assured me that the safety and integrity of the project was compromised, hence the frame stage failed in 27 areas. After it was passed we picked up another 7 structural defects, and the they refused to acknowledge the errors prompting me to go out on site to fixed the issues which is illegal. In one case we spotted 3 cracks in a girder trust that support 30% of one side of the roof, and another crack in a bottom cord of another roof trust. Upon reporting to them, the project manager dismissed my concerns and stormed out of a meeting infront of his manager on site accusing me of deliberately delaying the completion of the site! In the end the photos of the crack were sent to the trust company and they intern rectified the issue.

I was on site every day, a digital camera is your best friend, it doesn't matter how correct a section is its surprising what you find in a photo!

On hand over, my advice is that is get a copy of Standards and tolerance 2007: http://www.buildingcommission.com.au/resources/documents/Standards__Tolerances.pdf

This ensures the standards are maintained on site.

Eventually I lodged a complaint to consumer affairs and they send out there inspectors, they were ordered to rectified 80% of our claims, till this day they are still in breech of that report.

[Guest JohnA]

may i ask who the builder was pchan

[Guest Peter the Greek]

Exiting stuff!

 

IMO, I'd get the kitchen design looked at but a pro, long and hard.

-The fridge is a long way from the "cooking" area

- I personally dont like sinks in islands - can end up messy and its good bench space for working (so you dont have your back turned to people), its also god to have this clear when entertaining

- The whole galley, laundry pantry space isn't user friendly, unless you're planning on ironing in the laundry, make it smaller and remove the "notch" from the pantry/All you need is a sink, and room for two machines of your liking

- I'd remove the "I-hub" space and either make the above mentioned larger again or put in storage. Do you seriously think you'll use it much in this day and age with tablets and notebooks? that and if someone is sitting there its the first thing guests will see entering the house and the seating location is near a major thoroughfare. You've already got your upstairs hub thingy - got room somewhere for a full size IT rack? they're darn useful if you're going down the automation path

- There are ways to make walk in pantry's a proper "larder" with ventilation - something to investigate

- I love the master bedroom, but consider a single door as two doors is annoying for a space so regularly used

 

Best of luck with it, so much fun!

[Guest JohnA]

thanks for the tips Peter

 

with the kitchen, there are many designs to pick from, so yes it will change from the norm. We are also thinking double oven as its also an option

Same with laundry and pantry..the pic only shows the standard design...we will pick all our changes when we have the appointment to go through all the colour schemes etc etc.

 

that ihub space downstairs, really, its whatever you want to use it for, they just call it that. We have a nive long buffet unit which is the perfect length and width to fit right in there.

[Guest Peter the Greek]

Two ovens is awesome.....we have three

[CraigC]

John,

Good luck with this exciting project. I recall a few years ago that metricon were found guilty of using MDF in the top plates of their frames. I'd steer clear of them.

[Addicted to music]

may i ask who the builder was pchan

The builder I signed up with have now a class action against them for structural defects in the west, it's been on A Current Affairs! It's the same builder that advertise 25yr structural warranty! I am so passionate of never recommending them to anyone, even my own worst enemy!

With spec homes, they should have slight design veriations that they allow you to change, our kitchen plan is mirror image compared to your posted one. The changes are sometimes very cheap to implement but as you try to get anywhere near where you want it or close to display status the cost rises and adds up. My final variation went almost $130000, it was too much and the better 1/2 had to deselect and even after that it was around $75000 above of what was quoted from spec.

Make sure the changes are well documented and are also outlined in the floor plan as well as in writing, this is where it opens up to different interpretation in there departments and discrepancies arises, because what was quoted and documented didn't matched the drawings and that cost us in the final contract.

If I was to build again, I would go out into the display villages and select a few designs, then take Lucs advise on getting an architecturer.

I was also brave enough to do it all again the 2nd time round, this time it was via a contract that a realestate was selling. We didn't realized but the the contracts were through a company that was a subsidery of Henley Homes. From start to finished the structure was spot on according to plan and one defect noted. With one phone call it was rectified the next day, I also received a follow up call to say it was rectified that I already knew because I always go on site. There was no waiting till Thursday, no arguments! In fact the 6mths that it was being constructed you can see that they were on top of things, very little became an issue. They even repaired items the Tenant had damaged just for good will, at one stage they replaced all the light switches and that's after 9 months.