Why not engage a designer? You will also need a contour and feature survey to locate any easements and the sewer and establish the contours. Write up a brief and get the house individually designed - its always the best outcome.

Hi K - In my experience designing display homes and in doing many prestart consultations, my advice is pick something really classic for your main surfaces and finishes - spend some money on a stone top you love for the kitchen or porcelain bathroom floor tiles, then simply par back everything else ...

The setback to the secondary street is required to be 1500mm, Walls can be built up to the boundary on the side or rear boundary dependent on your zoning - but not to the street boundary. I am a residential building designer. Let me know if you need any other help,

There are plenty of concrete polishing companies around these days - I suggest getting a few quotes. From my experience the cost is approx $120 -$150 per square metre. The additional cost of a concrete upgrade and aggregate mix etc is probably $5000 +. Tiling costs can be as low as $100 per square m...

Floor tiles usually work out cheaper. The concrete slab requires an upgrade of steel reinforcement to prevent cracking (but cracking may still occur). The slab will require protection throughout construction and the mixture of the concrete (if you want white) is another upfront cost. Then you have t...

I always suggest to my clients to keep their own drawings to themselves and when speaking about the design to simply explain the important aspects of the home to the designer. You may want to compile a scrapbook of images of homes you like to demonstate a style. It can be very rewarding to let the p...