Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 21Mar 21, 2016 7:46 pm Ok I hope that worked! Lol Goodness me!!! That's a hefty upgrade indeed. The sunset is to the back of the house. So the photo was taken from the front of the block looking towards where the house will be. We've got a drop of about 1 m from the front to the back so I'm hoping we should still have a decent view. And if those trees get knocked down we will have filtered (read very filtered) water views lol - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 22Mar 21, 2016 7:46 pm - otherwise known as Kym - Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 23Mar 21, 2016 7:53 pm Nope that didn't work Kym, your username is still the same, I'm all out of suggestions
Street lights woohoo... Our estate doesn't have street lights, at least I don't think it does... We bought titled land so I didn't take notice of all the little things you will, as you anxiously wait lol... I must look next time I am out there which I don't think will be until after Easter... There is nothing exciting happening out there, there are vacant sold blocks but no one is building just yet apart from the maybe 5 houses that were already built before we bought our block and its 20mins in the opposite direction from where we are currently living so we don't go out as much as I'd like. The last time I was out there was probably a month ago to pay the contractor to slash our block... A bit sad really lol Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 24Mar 21, 2016 7:59 pm Lol it sounds really refreshing actually!! We live only 2mins walk to our block (the estate backs on to this street) so it's way too easy to go round there. I limit myself to only going past twice a week. Monday's we usually see more changes haha I think I'm going to have too log into the forum and try change it. Doh! Lol - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 25Mar 21, 2016 8:34 pm Because we aren't building until later this year I don't mind being away from the block, I'd be so depressed going to it all the time knowing I can't have my house for a while I don't know how you stay away if you're so close?! I'd be there every day if our block wasn't 20 mins away in the opposite direction I'd be out there all the time... When we bought our block in November last year I told my husband I was camping on it at Easter that's how excited I was, now that Easter is here, the novelty has worn off and it's raining I take it all back Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 26Mar 29, 2016 7:32 pm Oh I get depressed going around there and not seeing any changes. And feel like it's not going to happen. Fortunately the gates were left open again so we went for another explore on Saturday and found the lots have been pegged out!! Woo hoo!! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 27Mar 29, 2016 8:21 pm Yay for open gates We went out to our block today and no street lights. Also caught the the post man delivering the mail, in a beat up ute lol it was different that's for sure. Is that your lot 212? Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 28Mar 30, 2016 11:40 am I don't mind the hijack its all good. Charlibear - wow for the quote, but then our whole budget I set for us including land was $350,000 - now with the retaining wall its coming in about $348,000 and that includes fencing if we paid 100% - which we are not, already spoken to 2 neighbours (we have 2 along our back) and they are happy to pay their 50% for the colourbond we have no choice to build. T Needausername - Do they have a lock on the fence? If not, you can lift the fencing post out of the anchor holes and just swing it a bit to walk in - not that I would know personally Sounds like your land is getting close to settling, how exciting. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 29Mar 30, 2016 11:53 am Wow Shell, I wish I could have been at $350,000 including land! We finalised our quote yesterday and paid our initial deposit and we are at $344,000 but we have upgraded the roof to colourbond and stone benches with waterfall ends to the to the island so I'm happy with that. Our block is also a slope, and where the are putting the house there is a fall of 2m here I was think where we wanted the house was pretty flat We will hopefully have drafting done soon so I can see what the front of our house will look like as its a custom design of the Coolum. I am hoping we will not go over $350,000 including the fence and upgrades during colour selection but we have upgraded most things now so we shouldn't have to much to do during our selections. Slab for you today Shell Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 30Mar 30, 2016 12:35 pm needausername - With your rainwater tank - did they do a 3000l tank? Our office does 5000l as standard to avoid that issue. You may find because you changed the plan, added more square meters plus extra sliding doors that increases your basix rating and that will be why you need a bigger water tank to level that out - same if you have a dark roof. So I kinda understand your builder not doing the bigger tank right away and hoping it would be enough to pass council - however you will find if you had stayed with 203m2 and to the plan with windows and sliding doors then a 3000l would be fine. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 31Mar 30, 2016 7:29 pm Shell yes they did a 3000 so we can upgrade to a 4000 round without incurring any fees but if we want a slimline then we pay the extra. What you've said makes total sense. Which also makes me nervous coz hubby and I already know that we want a grey roof. Not dark grey but definitely not a light colour. - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 32Mar 30, 2016 7:31 pm Holy moly charli!! 350k for house only?! Lol here we are trying to get our price down from 280 lol Yep 212 is our lot. should hopefully only be another 8-10 weeks before registration is applied for to lands titles then it's all systems go! - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 33Mar 30, 2016 8:04 pm Wow $280k?! Maybe I have a mansion on my hands lol or they are making a mint off me! If my land was more expensive than what we paid then we couldn't have gone as extravagant in plan size and what not and used a cheaper builder. The old GJ add with children running through the house sucked me in the first time I saw it lol and since then I have always said if I build it will be with GJ *its gotta be a GJ Gardner home* I bet that 8-10 weeks will go so slow!!! For our land, settlement was 6 weeks longest six weeks of my life!!! Seriously can't understand why settlement was 6 weeks like dude you want your land gone and I want it, let's just swap and be done with it, our solicitor tried to get a 14 day settlement but nope 6 long weeks Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 34Mar 30, 2016 8:12 pm Oh yes we had a 5 week settlement on our house when we bought it. We have a two week settlement on the land once it has been registered so max 12 more weeks being mortgage free lol Our land was 169950 for 648sqm. The blocks in the last stage are now selling for 210k for the same size. Crazy! When we first looked at building, land in the estate was 120k plus site clearing and this house was about 240k! So we had in our heads that 240 would get us what we want. Oh how wrong we were lol Being the clueless first time builders we didn't think to adjust for build price increases. oops Mind you it just makes for a few more compromises. And goodness me am I ready to get out of this rental or what!!! We are renting the top half of a two story house off our friends (they holiday in the bottom half. It's actually always been two flats). Anyway no wardrobes, no laundry, no room for a dining table it's all wearing me down a bit. It will happen it will happen!! Here is the kitchen I'm currently using lol Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 35Mar 30, 2016 8:19 pm Oooh do I spy a thermomix?! Wait is that 2 of them! So jealous!!! I am desperate to get my house to buy one But I can sympathise with the kitchen, that looks like you are ready to have your house! I live with my in laws, it's not fun! I probably have another 18 months here Where do you eat if there is no dining table? I'm a bit old school when it comes to food haha, everyone eats together at the dining table with no electrical devices. Wishing us all a speedy year!!! Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 36Mar 30, 2016 8:24 pm Hahaha yes I have two. I am a consultant in my spare time so I have one for home and one to take to demos lol when you're ready id be happy to make your wish come true lmao Unfortunately our girls eat at their little kids table and chairs and we sit on the couch. The two person sofa bed couch lol The kids thought it was great at first coz I am the same. Everyone eats and talks about their day etc. now they forgot over the table being moved. The photo was taken from the lounge room so you can get an idea of how big the flat is lol. Two bedrooms and a bathroom the size of our ensuite to be. Bring it on!! Oh my. See if it were just hubby and I. Yep I could live with my I laws. With kids? No way. So I'm hearing ya. I am wishing us all a successful home building year. - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 37Mar 30, 2016 8:30 pm Thermomix's changes live lol! Can't wait to get my hands on one of those babies!!! My parents are buying it for us as a wedding present but I told them to wait until we have our house so waiting waiting lol. Wow that is tiny!!! I hope your saving a bucket load by staying there, lord knows I love saving money with every chance I can but wow that is small. We have a 4 year old here with us to at the in laws and it's hard... A MIL who oversteps the boundaries and mothers her and a husband who wants to keep the peace so we don't have to rent elsewhere... I want to live under a rainbow with unicorns haha sometimes it gets a bit much here lol Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 38Mar 31, 2016 9:03 pm Needausername - 4000l should hopefully do it. However 5000l shouldn't be to big a extra cost if you do need it. We are having a dark grey tile roof and nothing was said by council for my basix - but I do have that 5000l tank. Quote: I bet that 8-10 weeks will go so slow!!! For our land, settlement was 6 weeks longest six weeks of my life!!! Seriously can't understand why settlement was 6 weeks like dude you want your land gone and I want it, let's just swap and be done with it, our solicitor tried to get a 14 day settlement but nope 6 long weeks We wanted 6 weeks settlement for our land as I was doing our own conveyancing and was hoping with extra time it wouldn't be to stressful - plus by the time the vendor exchanged the contracts I was in Victoria on a family holiday, so wasted the first week not even home to do the paperwork I needed. However the vendor wanted 28 days - so we did it. In the end the only stress I had was booking my settlement agent for my bank - I made it with 5 minutes to spare 2 business days before settlement date because the bank forgot to send me the details for their agents so I could book it and they are strict on that 3pm deadline. I'll remember that for when I sell this house - I will book that a week in advance. I know how you feel about the kitchen - I have a small one also that I have lived with for 9 years - I'm so excited to be getting a big open plan kitchen. 2 thermomixes, wow - I guess that would be good if you have more people also - I just can't see myself fitting everything I need in one for 5 of us. Wow at the house prices, ours is now $260,000 with the retaining wall My base price was $247,500 and the rest is variations and a $5,300 retaining wall. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 39Apr 10, 2016 8:18 pm shellby We wanted 6 weeks settlement for our land as I was doing our own conveyancing and was hoping with extra time it wouldn't be to stressful - plus by the time the vendor exchanged the contracts I was in Victoria on a family holiday, so wasted the first week not even home to do the paperwork I needed. However the vendor wanted 28 days - so we did it. In the end the only stress I had was booking my settlement agent for my bank - I made it with 5 minutes to spare 2 business days before settlement date because the bank forgot to send me the details for their agents so I could book it and they are strict on that 3pm deadline. I'll remember that for when I sell this house - I will book that a week in advance. You clever cookie doing the conveyancing yourself! Way to stressful to even think about doing it myself Any progress with your estate Kym? Re: Our first build: "Bridgewater" by Gj's Shoalhaven 40Apr 10, 2016 10:34 pm Quote: You clever cookie doing the conveyancing yourself! Way to stressful to even think about doing it myself The cheapest quote I could get was $1,400 for a block of land, so I was sure I could do it. Got a kit for $150 and with searches it cost me about $300 all up and maybe 4 hours of my time over 28 days. It wasn't to hard actually, but the software I used was so easy and step by step. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 hi guys. Please be nice. First time home builder in Qld. I would like some feedback please on whether I should build my granny flat first before my main house at the… 0 5295 Soak wells and electrical run in happening this week! Summit has told me they will relocate the laundry plumbing after the walls are completed. I'm actually pretty happy… 13 36876 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 19849 |