Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Who is building with Beechwood 281Apr 07, 2011 8:52 pm We already have been in contact with the GM even before we were out of the salesmans display home, that's how angry we were with all the ******. We will definately keep his number on speed dial. By the sounds of it, the name Steve is one to remember. Thank god I found this sight. I'm tellin' ya, I've nearly forfeited my deposit twice now. 2.2acredream-Hope everything goes your way on Monday and you get your start date. Acrebuild1-I'm visualising your slab down and no rain. Fingers crossed for you. Off to Maitland PGH tomorrow to check out the sample of the brick I chose as the houses I'm looking at have yellow bricks and the Hotham is an off creamy whitish colour. If I have to change my brick again, I'm going to scream. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 282Apr 07, 2011 9:31 pm Livin' the dream We already have been in contact with the GM even before we were out of the salesmans display home, that's how angry we were with all the ******. We will definately keep his number on speed dial. By the sounds of it, the name Steve is one to remember. Thank god I found this sight. I'm tellin' ya, I've nearly forfeited my deposit twice now. 2.2acredream-Hope everything goes your way on Monday and you get your start date. Acrebuild1-I'm visualising your slab down and no rain. Fingers crossed for you. Off to Maitland PGH tomorrow to check out the sample of the brick I chose as the houses I'm looking at have yellow bricks and the Hotham is an off creamy whitish colour. If I have to change my brick again, I'm going to scream. We are brick shopping on Saturday. Stopping in at Austral on Saturday. Any idea how much extra it costs to use PGH? McKeachies Run, Aberglasslyn Deposit paid 11th April Land registered 6th June Land settled 20th June Colour selections and contract signed 5th August Commencement letter received 26th September Re: Who is building with Beechwood 283Apr 08, 2011 8:34 am Hi sarbear-We are paying an extra $900 for the PGH 'Hotham'. Gawd, BH must be making mint as we know for a fact the Hotham is the same price as any brick per thousand in the Austral range we were given. Does that make sense? Same price as Austral but paying $900 for using PGH. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 284Apr 08, 2011 1:28 pm LTD - i would say that BW uses Austral as they are able to negotiate a bigger discount. however, BW being BH are just wanting to make more money.... Our Acreage Build The Lakeview Lodge - Beechwood Homes 01/04/10 YES 2010 - Deposit paid 23/09 - PCI CANCELLED 28/09 - PCI - will it happen.-18 months later 07/10/11 - ITS OURS..WOOHOO Re: Who is building with Beechwood 285Apr 08, 2011 2:17 pm I know. You only have to sneeze and they charge you for it. That's how they make a profit I suppose. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 286Apr 08, 2011 5:16 pm i dont know about you guys but we actually found BW the most afforable in terms of extras for instance we are building a littler further out of town and claraden wanted to charge 8k compared to BW's 4k (council fees and travel for trademens) claraden wanted to charge 11k for our 3rd garage (we were looking at a differnt plan of BW's and they only wanted 4k for the 3rd garage) as it turned out the plan we chose came with 3 garages. We were also looking at around 20k for the same sizes alfresco compared to BW's 12k. we moved walls, totally moved half of the slab back about 1 metre and changed the roofline, and were never charged. We totally reconfigured the kitchen to make room for a larger fridge space and larger WIP, added linen presses, put in double doors, things like that and were charged a very minimal. What about the rest of you? did you look at other plans and were you tossing up with which builder to go with? We were tossing up with the ***(something)*** estate with masterton homes. and one from mcdonald jones homes. at the end we were tossing up with masterton and BW and what made us decide was that BW's design enabled us to have a rear garage door so if hubby was in the garage/ workbench he could watch the kids in the yard. where as masterton's garage was at the front with another room behind the garage so he couldnt be in the shed watching the kids if i couldnt watch them etc. I would love to hear others stories Our Acreage Build The Lakeview Lodge - Beechwood Homes 01/04/10 YES 2010 - Deposit paid 23/09 - PCI CANCELLED 28/09 - PCI - will it happen.-18 months later 07/10/11 - ITS OURS..WOOHOO Re: Who is building with Beechwood 287Apr 08, 2011 6:58 pm acrebuild1 I would love to hear others stories We ended up choosing Beechwood firstly because we had trouble finding a design that was wide enough. Our block has a 75m frontage so we really wanted a wide house. They were also the only builder we found was happy to let my Dad do all our electrical! We went with the Hermitage lodge 5 bedroom with alfresco. Then we went about changing it. We flipped the whole design, then swapped the alfresco and meals area. We took out our WIR and changed the 5th bedroom into a wir and moved the wall in a little to create a 6 door linnen cupboard in the hall. Moved the door on the 'media' room (our study). We changed the main bathroom to a 3 way bathroom and changed both vanities to full depth vanities. All these changes didn't cost us anything!! The expensive changes were 2.7 ceilings, adding the 3rd garage, doubling the size of the alfresco, 2 x ovens + 90cm cooktop in the kitchen, big glass sliding doors instead on the window to the main bedroom, 6ft baths in both bathrooms, a door on the main bathroom vanity, cavity sliders on all the main rooms set opening and took out the third 'powerroom' in the laundry. We also increased the height of all our top cupboards so they now are only 100mm from the roof and had them an extra 20mm below the base of the top cupboards so we didn't need handles on them. Custom doors were VERY painful on the budget but I'm still glad we did it. Now we just need to get it started!!! 20/4 - Earthworks 25/5 SLAB 9/6 Frame 21/6 Roof 5 - 22/7 Bricking 1/8 Gyprocking 16 - 18/08 Faulty Trusses repaired 17/08 Kitchen in 07/09 Tilers 15/09 Painters 30/9 Plumbers finished 7/10 Settled Who is building with Beechwood 288Apr 08, 2011 7:24 pm Yep I agree we went with BW for the flexibility of changing the plans to what we wanted and we got everything we pretty wanted..we moved the laundry to be next to bathroom and bedrooms, made the laundry part workshop for garage and the rest we converted to a walk in pantry giving me more space, extended the house to make it 1.5m longer which made the alfresco bigger, changed our ensuite and walk in wardrobe I think we have 39 variations to the orignal plan for approximate 30 percent less then the other builders quoted, we were tossing between allworth and Clarendon, have to say though Clarendon are building next 2 door house and they are way in front of us and came out of council way after us also they are almost at lock- up...WTF! There is always someone there when we go to the block even weekends!!! Must hubby and I have been impressed with speed and say maybe we should have gone with them...... But they were a lot more expensive and there inclusions were quite limited I have to say.....beechwood are very reasonable in price... Land Settlement - 1/10/10 Slab 23/3 Frame 14/04 Roof Tiling 29/4 Bricks 5/5 Electrical Rough In 27/5 Gyprocking 23/6 Kitchen install 29/6 Tiles 14/7 Paint 4/8 Plumbing 27/7 Were in 1/9 Re: Who is building with Beechwood 289Apr 08, 2011 7:29 pm Beechwood was our first option. We have gone the Cremorne with guest. Changed the laundry in WIP. Guest room into study. Guest bathroom into laundry. Added extra linen cupboard opposite the home theatre room. Our second option was the Masterton Sympony with master bedroom at front. Really impressed with inclusions and service. However plan was not as good and alfresco location did not suit our block as well as the Beechwood. Our third option was McDonald Jones, the Beachside Manor. Again really impressed with service and inclusions. However did not have a study or much linen space. Masterton and McDonald Jones only come with M class slabs. More $ needed for H class which Beechwood had standard. In the end of the day we had to toss up going with better plan and less luxury inclusions or go with plan that we liked but did not love but with great inclusions. Hubby still stressing we have made wrong call but only time will tell. He is worried about Beechwood's service and timeframes. Masterton and McDonald Jones both almost won us over on service alone. Could not fault Masterton especially. We too looked at 2.7m high ceilings but scrapped idea due to budget costs. McKeachies Run, Aberglasslyn Deposit paid 11th April Land registered 6th June Land settled 20th June Colour selections and contract signed 5th August Commencement letter received 26th September Re: Who is building with Beechwood 290Apr 08, 2011 7:35 pm acrebuild1 agree, Sarbar, we had a budget, we knew what we could spend and just made sure our contract price was well under that. For preapproval the bank needs the tender but for unconditional finance they need the fixed price contract. At what stage did you start getting quotes for things like carpet and blinds? We have been told we need to provide all quotes to our bank to justify loan amount. We have started already as we managed to get original plan of our house from sales office. However we think we have gone off to early and might need to get new quotes once plans are drawn up now we have paid our money. McKeachies Run, Aberglasslyn Deposit paid 11th April Land registered 6th June Land settled 20th June Colour selections and contract signed 5th August Commencement letter received 26th September Who is building with Beechwood 291Apr 08, 2011 7:40 pm Carpet was included in ours and we have got indicative prices for curtains but most won't do off the plans they want to see and measure and then give final price, but we allowed $4-5k to be realistic and we will arrange after handover Land Settlement - 1/10/10 Slab 23/3 Frame 14/04 Roof Tiling 29/4 Bricks 5/5 Electrical Rough In 27/5 Gyprocking 23/6 Kitchen install 29/6 Tiles 14/7 Paint 4/8 Plumbing 27/7 Were in 1/9 Re: Who is building with Beechwood 292Apr 08, 2011 8:00 pm I was told by BW that most people have minimal changes and because we changed alot of things they charged us $400 for the privilege. It was our third plan change and they are supposed to allow 3 without charging. I disputed it and they practically said be grateful we did'nt do a whole new tender. Lovely. Homeone posters must be the only ones making alot of changes to plans then. I'll take a few photos later and show you guys my changes to my plans. I only went with BW because of the price. McDonald Jones were over the top with price and I'm not a fancy type of person. You know with square sinks and all that stuff which I think is standard with MJ. I would have loved Masterson but they don't build in the Upper Hunter anymore. Valley Homes were WAY to dear. Clarendon.....too dear. We are charged $12,000 for BW to build here. Rant over. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 293Apr 08, 2011 8:32 pm Hi Everyone I take my hat off to u all being so patient! I for one am the most impatient person around it is driving me crazy just waiting for plans to be drawn.Some of u have been nearly 12 months or so in the process. I paid my deposit on the 22nd March and i was told 4-6 weeks until plans are drawn so on the 4th week i will be phoning them to see how they are going. I mentioned those BW houses i found in a previous post that were up to frame stage 3 weeks ago well i went past last night and guess what! Still up to frame stage i must say i felt a bit let down thinking mine is probably going to be as slow progress. I have already written to them complaining about the lack of brick choice as large selection are not available. They are aware of this at BW and said hopefully some might be available when i am ready to sign contracts (not likely) I didnt really want to build with BW although they were my first choice but once i read everyones problems on here and on another site i decided to pay the $500 fee and get a quote from Allworth. The only reason i didnt go with them was they wouldnt build on my block as it had a slight rise. Its a shame really as BW really have the best value and great plans if only they realise that word of mouth is the best advertisement. Fingers crossed the rain holds out for everyone look forward to hopefully some progress pics. Penny Paid deposit-22/3/11 Plans ready and signed off 23/4/11 Plans submitted to Council 23/5/11 Plans received in post 31/5/11 Contracts signed 3/6/11 Ready for slab 8/8/11 Finished and in 19/12/11 Re: Who is building with Beechwood 294Apr 08, 2011 8:43 pm Here are some photos of our before and after plans and the brick I chose. I've put the roof sample (jasper) and the fascia and gutter sample(paperbark) against the brick. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Original Plan: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 295Apr 09, 2011 8:51 am LTD - i cant see the final plan, are you able to make it larger. I would love to see what you have done. We also put in a 3way main bathroom and opted for a double shower rather than a bath in the ensuite, we are on tank water so couldnt really see us having many baths anyhow. and if we really want to we can in the main bathroom. we also have the 90cm oven and ducted rangehood, i had to beg hubby he didnt want to really, but we got a nice credit from BW so it made the decision alittle easier. we also put in lots of pot draws in the kitchen, put a WIR in the spare room, (it was the largest of the minor bedrooms but had the smallest wardrobe so we extended out to the front verandah to make a WIR) LTD - your original plans are so so similar to our original plans - i think each room is slightly smaller to make the hermitage a larger house. Our Acreage Build The Lakeview Lodge - Beechwood Homes 01/04/10 YES 2010 - Deposit paid 23/09 - PCI CANCELLED 28/09 - PCI - will it happen.-18 months later 07/10/11 - ITS OURS..WOOHOO Re: Who is building with Beechwood 296Apr 09, 2011 8:55 am Livin' the dream Valley Homes were WAY to dear. Clarendon.....too dear. . we know people who are building a valley home and there house is about 90k more $$ and a much smaller house. there very $$ Our Acreage Build The Lakeview Lodge - Beechwood Homes 01/04/10 YES 2010 - Deposit paid 23/09 - PCI CANCELLED 28/09 - PCI - will it happen.-18 months later 07/10/11 - ITS OURS..WOOHOO Re: Who is building with Beechwood 297Apr 09, 2011 9:28 am Hope this clearer. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Somethings I wish I never did, like put the master bed door against the WIR door. It will be a hassle walking in the bedroom and having to close the door each time. But this is'nt a forever home. We will only be here for probably 8 yrs. I already miss Rutherford so much. Acrebuild1-I had a look at your plans and they are so neat. Everything is square. It looks great. Actually the same house as yours, but with the York kitchen has just finished up the road from my block. No changes in that house what-so-ever. But I had a sticky through the ensuite window and the shower is beautiful and very big. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 298Apr 09, 2011 6:49 pm Pennygirl-When we were looking for a builder for our last house, we wanted to go with Allworth. I'd heard nothing but positive things about them. But they would'nt build because of a 1 1/2 metre fall on our land. Can you imagine the amount of business they must lose because of this? Must be a reason for it though. I love Allworth Homes especially the Apollo. Cheers! Building Hermitage 2005 (Upper Hunter) Paid Deposit (October 2010) Re: Who is building with Beechwood 299Apr 09, 2011 7:03 pm Livin' the dream Hope this clearer. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Acrebuild1-I had a look at your plans and they are so neat. Everything is square. It looks great. Actually the same house as yours, but with the York kitchen has just finished up the road from my block. No changes in that house what-so-ever. But I had a sticky through the ensuite window and the shower is beautiful and very big. Thanks LTD Your plans look great also, the WIR is massive. the games room is a decent size also, our formal lounge and dining is our kids room, im not a formal lounge and dining person so it made sense to give them that room. Our Acreage Build The Lakeview Lodge - Beechwood Homes 01/04/10 YES 2010 - Deposit paid 23/09 - PCI CANCELLED 28/09 - PCI - will it happen.-18 months later 07/10/11 - ITS OURS..WOOHOO Re: Who is building with Beechwood 300Apr 09, 2011 9:50 pm Have short listed our bricks. Between 3 bricks from 3 different ranges. Does anyone have any feedback on the following ranges of Austral bricks: Everyday Life Urban One Whitsunday We like all 3 and colours are similar. Just trying to work out if one brick is better performing then another. McKeachies Run, Aberglasslyn Deposit paid 11th April Land registered 6th June Land settled 20th June Colour selections and contract signed 5th August Commencement letter received 26th September go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110659 Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 11079 |