I guess it's time to start a diary/journal/blog seeing as (hopefully) in the next few weeks/months things will start moving in the way of our house being built!
It took a while for me to convince DF to build, but after months and months of looking on realestate for the perfect house DF finally realised that the only way we can logically get the perfect house in the perfect location would be to build, or that in the time frame we could potentially be waiting for the perfect house to pop up, we could have built one already.
We have purchased our land already, currently waiting for it to settle (early July). We have met with a sales consultant (though I suspect he may be more than just a consultant) at Dale Alcock Homes, and have signed up with them. Currently waiting for our working plans to be drawn up.

We went with the Riva design, and have made a few small a modifications to the structure -
A door from the rear of the garage to the backyard.
Double doors to the theatre.
Door to the home office.
Made the windows in the home office, bedroom 2, 3 and 4 higher (17c).
Made the window in the activity room a highlight window.
Moved the windows in bedroom 3 and 4.
31c ceilings in the entry, kitchen, living, dining, games, alfresco and recessed in the home theatre.
Put the sidelight window at the front entry on a hinge to widen the entry door slightly if needed.

I am so excited and can not wait until the waiting and planning stage is over and things start moving. I hate waiting!!! So far, so good though.

Non-edited 'standard' floor plan for the Riva-
[ img ]

Timeline:
30th May 2012 - Offer on land & signed up to Dale Alcock Homes.
6th July 2012 - Land settled.
11th July 2012 - Pre Selection meeting.
6th August 2012 - Received contract.
14th August 2012 - Signed contract.
16th August 2012 - Received building permit in the mail (issued on the 14th apparently).
5th September 2012 - Prestart.
6th September 2012 - Plans in drafting.
19th September 2012 - Final plans received and ready for construction.
2nd October 2012 - Earthworks begin!
9th October 2012 - Footings complete.
15th October 2012 - Slab down!!
30th October 2012 - Soakwells installed.
5th November 2012 - Bricks delivered!
7th November 2012 - Building commenced
3rd December 2012 - Brickwork completed & roofing materials delivered!
5th December 2012 - Roof construction begins.
14th December 2012 - Plumbing and gas installed.
17th December 2012 - Electricals installed.
19th December 2012 - Roof completed.
20th December 2012 - Plastering begins.
21st December 2012 - Front rendered.
3rd January 2013 - Grey float completed.
7th/8th January 2013 - Ceiling installation begins.
11th January 2013 - Ceilings and cornices complete. Windows installed!
14th January 2013 - White plaster set begins.
25th January 2013 - Lockup.
13th February 2013 -Tiler meeting.
15th February 2013 - Stone bench tops delivered and installed!

We saw them surveying our block today

Sounds good! We liked the Riva, but could only get the main bedroom off the front of the house, not towards the back! It is very much like the Reflections display but with the games room!

Good idea with the hinged sidelight!!!
Sorry to say this, but get used to waiting! It is a long process! Thankfully Dales are pretty good with it though!

Sounds like you have it all planned hope it all gets going quickly for you!

Waiting is a given, it's just no fun

Amen to that!

Just a bit frustrated. A week and a half ago we were meant to receive paperwork to sign off the changes we made to the plan, as well as how much $ it would cost to put a door from the garage to the backyard. Haven't heard about or seen either. I emailed last week just to check with him in case we had been forgotten and he said he was still trying to get the cost of putting the door from the garage to the backyard. I didn't think it would take nearly 2 weeks?!

Hi Em - you will be surprised how long some things take and how quickly other issues are resolved. When are you booked for the pre-start?

Miss Em, i would call them and ask for an update.... Every time i call instead of emailing i get an answer that day..... Dont feel bad about harassing them on the phone, at the end of the day we are paying them good money for it

No idea, haven't really heard anything since signing up, I guess once the working plans have been drawn up then we will hear from them wrt pre-start? But I have to wonder if they can start drawing up the plans if we haven't signed on the changes we have made?
DF said he will give them a call, hopefully today.

MissEm,

It took us several weeks to get the working plans. They did make bookings for our colour consultation and pre start during this time though so I would chase that up.

Best advice I can give.
Prior to your Colour Consultation, annoy your Sales Consultant for info.
Once you've done your colour consultation, annoy the Colour Consultant.
Once you've done your Prestart annoy the PS Consultant.
Finally, once you start building, annoy your CLO.

Worked for me.

Yeah we were told 6 weeks for the working plans, that's all cool. We just made some changes from the time of signing up so had to sign off on those changes, which he hasn't sent us yet because he is still waiting to find out how much it would cost for us to put a door in. I thought it would be a pretty standard modification, not something that would take nearly 2 weeks to figure out, buuuut I may be wrong

We got a letter today that briefly outlined the next steps. So hopefully they have added our modifications without us needing to sign them off?

DF didn't call today and the children don't give me the opportunity to call him in peace myself. May need to wait til Thursday when one of them is at school and do it myself if DF doesn't do it before then.

Hello MissEm and welcome to your building journey!

I just wanted to let you know that this time before construction is the quietest in terms of communication - I know it's frustrating because you'll likely be thinking about it all the time!

It's absolutely fine for you to be talking to your sales consultant if you have any queries at this point, and I would agree that phoning is often the better option.

With regards to your selections sessions, you should be invited in for these shortly - you'll also receive a selections booklet in the post prior to your meetings, so you can browse through some of the products in order to do a bit of preparation beforehand. Did you want me to try and get this out to you sooner? I'm not sure if I can but I could try!

I would recommend doing as much prep-work as possible, such as thinking about colours etc. Are you basing the interior on any of our displays? If you need to know any product info and colours that you've seen anywhere, let me know and I can find out for you.

These posts on our blog may also be of help with Prestart preparation:
http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/pre-selection-and-pre-start/
http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/pre-start-d-day/
http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/tips-for-pre-start/

I'd also recommend reading one of our client bloggers post about the electrical planning.
http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/james-and-melissa%E2%80%99s-building-journey-%E2%80%93-electrical-planning/

Try not to feel overwhelmed though! Our Prestart ladies are all fabulous and will be very helpful if you're not sure about anything. But I really think reading through our client bloggers building journeys will offer you lots of advice and ideas and hopefully make all the decision making a little easier, as you'll be better equipped.

So to summarise, the 'pre-construction' stage can be a little frustrating in terms of waiting, but feel free to get in touch with us as much as you need to.

I hope that helps you a little bit, and gives you something to occupy your mind whilst you wait! Just remember to enjoy the journey.

Best regards,

Jemima.

Thanks Jemima
DF says he will give our Sales Consultant a call today to follow up on the changes we are waiting to hear about, just so we know exactly what is going on with that coz we haven't heard anything and hope that it doesn't delay getting our drawings done in any way coz we haven't signed on the changes we have made.
I actually know Melissa and James personally, so have been 'harassing' them for info and have been stalking their blog a lot too lovely people.
I won't say no to getting the prestart package early, but DF and I are pretty certain we will be basing a lot of our colouring on the Elwood display here in Baldivis. One question though, would wallpapering be included as part of the painting or would that be considered an upgrade? I think we are considering getting the study wallpapered as a feature wall.

Hi MissEm.

Just to let you know I've requested we send the selections booklet to you early - so that should be fine.

Re the wallpaper, unfortunately the wall painting you've chosen doesn't include it - it's just one colour throughout. So if you want to use wallpaper, we'd recommend you wait until you've moved in and do your wallpaper then.

I would never have thought of using wallpaper, but after watching the Block I think it's a fab idea - especially for one feature wall. Have you any ideas in mind?

Best regards,

Jemima.

Hi Jemima,
I'm just going to hijack MissEm's wall post as we are in exactly the same position. We picked up the selections workbook when we called into DAC 2 weeks ago and some of the selections in the book seem out of date compared to the products in the showroom - is there a new version? Also, is there any other supporting information to go with it? I.e. what you can chose to get done yourself, how to get items credited back etc? There is also not really any infomraiton about what constitutes structural changes and what are the changes which can be made at pre-start - is there any guidance on this? It's frustrating as I guess it feels a bit like there is lots and lots of engagement prior to the deposit being paid and then things go quiet - perhaps an opportunity for the company to put in place a comms process so the customer doesn't feel abandoned / like they aren't valued once DAH have the deposit?

Thank you so much!
WRT the painting, do we only get one colour throughout the house? We spoke to someone at the Elwood and he said that we would be able to choose different colouring throughout the house as part of the promo package.

Hi Emma and Miss Em.

Miss Em - I forgot to confirm your postal details - could you please PM me? The selections booklet is there as a guide for you to note things in preparation for your Prestart sessions.

Emma - you are right, it is a little out of date and we are in the process of updating it, so new clients will benefit from this in a few weeks time. You will be contacted by the Prestart team in around four weeks - I know it's a bit of time to wait, but there are a few things you can do to prepare in the meantime.

I understand the frustration with the communication going quiet after the deposit is paid. As mentioned to MissEm, your Sales Consultant is there to answer all your queries at this time and feel free to contact them as and when you need reassurance or questions answered.

At this stage, there is not a massive amount to update you with in regards to the progress of the council approvals and things like that - sometimes we are just waiting to hear from them and that can be frustrating.

With the structural changes and what else can be changed at Prestart, it differentiates with each home, so this is something that your Sales Consultant will be happy to help you with. And then when you are invited to your selection sessions, you can contact your Prestart consultant with anything you're not sure about.

Rob and Bronwyn, our client bloggers, went to our display homes literally every weekend in the lead up to their construction starting - giving them loads of ideas and enabling them to plan colour choices and so on. You can see our display home videos here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24591A057E72876F&feature=plcp

Do either of you have a Pinterest account? If not then I'd recommend you create one, as it's a fantastic way to keep a digital scrapbook of all your ideas and will keep you very occupied while you wait! http://www.pinterest.com/

For other ideas and tips, check out all our client blogs as they really are great insight into what's involved in each stage.

http://blogs.dalealcock.com.au/client-building-journeys/

We have also started sending client emails to help fill the gap between the very start and construction and to keep the communication lines open. Have you received any of those yet? If not I can personally send you them - they include some display home videos and a few tips.

As I've mentioned, please don't hesitate to contact your Sales Consultant with absolutely anything - and you can always get in touch with me too.

I hope this info has helped in some way.

Best regards,

Jemima.

Hi Miss Em.

There is just one colour included in the promotion - you can choose that one colour from a selection of colours. There are three coats that are applied - one of sealant and two coats of the colour.

You are able to have additional colours, but this would be an upgrade and therefore an additional cost. I hope I am making sense?

Best regards,

Jemima.

Great, awesome thank you so much for your help today Jemima