Things you forget - summary page 32

Day 5 in new home. What to double check.

During all meetings with the builder itemise all points you want to add and only discuss those. Hand over a copy and get them to initial your copy so when they do the variations you don't forget anytjing when checking.
Tap and drain orientations for dishwasher, washer etc.
Make sure all electrical connections have conduits in wall not just cut bricks. This a big one.
Space between bottom of door and final floor covering. We decided to have vinyl planks and told them. They still left a door space of 25mm under each door space.
Fridge area..... make sure you factor in the door opening. We are now stuck here after spending $3k on fridge and cam hardly open right door.
Make sure you specify the quality of finish of doors (mdf doors are rough finish if that is what you want).

This a big one .... check your roof space!!!. Ducting, wiring.

Oh yes. Make sure down pipes are on the extremities of the gutters then add two more on each side of the home......ours overflow even on light shower...."they meet australian standards" is their reply.

I won't go on......


Oh of hot water system is on one side of the home where all the hot water needs are and your ensuite is on the opposite side .... consider an instantaneous to feed only that space (and bolt it down after handover ... amazing how they grow legs quickly.).

Connect the toilet light to the fan. How many turn on the fan when taking a dump.

Great points.

Can you explain further in regards to the issues you’re having with your fridge/space?

We are almost towards the end of our build and I’ve been looking at fridges but struggling to find a decent one that will fit my space.

I’ve narrowed my options down to 3 fridges but they all vary in depth, from 695mm to 770mm!

I think width is the most important for double door fridges instead of depths .

I initially asked for 1.2 meter width but narrow it down to 1.1 meter considering my existing one only need 930mm and most new ones are about a meter wide .

Day 5 in new home. What to double check.

During all meetings with the builder itemise all points you want to add and only discuss those. Hand over a copy and get them to initial your copy so when they do the variations you don't forget anytjing when checking.
Tap and drain orientations for dishwasher, washer etc.
Make sure all electrical connections have conduits in wall not just cut bricks. This a big one.
Space between bottom of door and final floor covering. We decided to have vinyl planks and told them. They still left a door space of 25mm under each door space.
Fridge area..... make sure you factor in the door opening. We are now stuck here after spending $3k on fridge and cam hardly open right door.
Make sure you specify the quality of finish of doors (mdf doors are rough finish if that is what you want).

This a big one .... check your roof space!!!. Ducting, wiring.

Oh yes. Make sure down pipes are on the extremities of the gutters then add two more on each side of the home......ours overflow even on light shower...."they meet australian standards" is their reply.

I won't go on......


Oh of hot water system is on one side of the home where all the hot water needs are and your ensuite is on the opposite side .... consider an instantaneous to feed only that space (and bolt it down after handover ... amazing how they grow legs quickly.).

Connect the toilet light to the fan. How many turn on the fan when taking a dump.


The width is usually taken at its widest point. But look at when you open the door if it needs space to open beyond 90deg then factor that in. Our fridge recess is next to a wall and the door frame precludes it from opening more than about 80deg..... (but then again you don't fully realise until you get the fridge installed.).

Its the position of the door hinges.

Oh i understand now! The width of mine is 1050mm and the fridge I’m considering is 900mm wide. I hope that’s good enough.
I also have a wall next to my fridge space but it’s the entrance to my laundry so the depth of that wall is 760mm. I guess i could position it to stick out a bit so i can open it beyond 90 degrees?

Thanks for bringing this up.

Make sure that nib walls are practical sizes.

It seems that 450mm is a standard height above for level, however you can't put a couch against an opening like that.

Also make sure that your shower mixer taps aren't located under the shower roses, as you get a blast of cold water when you turn the tap on otherwise...

Hi All,

We built 6 years ago, one thing we did which was very useful, was to include an outside powerpoint, it's really useful.
We also installed outside camera's with a monitor around the house & garden, as well as an intercom connected to the door bell.

Just wanted to add light switch positioning! The light switches in almost every room in our house are in a different place - ie. some are near the door frames and others are a half a meter away from the door frames. The lack of consistency is really annoying!!!

I would also recommend not going with a dark colour if you are having plain laminate in your kitchen. We have Battalion laminate and there are always visible fingerprints

Happy building!

How's. This....

We have 3 bathrooms each shower has a recess which holds shampoo etc. We wanted tiled 300 x 400. We got 250 x 370 and all three varied in dimensions. None are 300 x 400. Their comeback is that is the brickwork dimensions not the final dimensions and those measurements we stated are nominal. What the ****. (Sorry).

So if you want those measurements make it clear they are FINAL measurements.

Helpful! Thankyou

We're just at the start of our build (still finalizing floorplan) and this thread has been great! Does anyone have advice on how the make the landscaping preparations? We know we will landscape after handover but are there things we can do during build to make it easier?

Arrange footings for your future retaining walls together with your house footings.

Some things I wished I'd done are: put in some provision for garden lighting. Put a tap on the boundary (even if just off a makeshift post for the time being) rather than off the side of the house as all my auto watering systems need to cross or go under a path at some point. Lastly start treating the soil during the build - if we'd used sulphur and gypsum (and perhaps some fertiliser or organic matter) earlier our lawns and gardens beds would've been the better for it.

If you want an internal gas fire, make sure you consider where, and ensure the flue path is clear of plumbing, and you have a gas line run at frame stage

This is just amazing. I have gone through the whole thread in last several days and so many things we had missed. We just started out building Process and I am so glad I found this thread just in time.

Kudos to who started this and to all the people who has/are contributing.

I created a special webpage with all the summary of this thread so far. It helps to see everything consolidated on one page and get easy access ( easy to remember site name) anytime.

You can find the summary at: https://1stbuild.club/

You can bookmark or download it offline in Chrome Desktop/Mobile and view it in your leisure time. If time permits I wanted to make it more personalized, giving users to select the options/items they want and then export it to a PDF/Excel/TXT.

All the credits goes to people who have contributed to this thread.

Cheers!

I didn't know that you can change door heights on colour/studio appointment. I was advised by my builder that it can be done. I thought it's a structural change.

Thanks

Hi all,

We're having 3122mm x 1200mm island bench however in our NHP (new home proposal) it says:

A join may be required in the bench top and will be located as per suppliers recommendations.

I have requested with our CSR to indicate in the NHP that the Client is requesting no join. I was told that they cannot omit that wording as it will depend on the bench length as well as the supplier's availability during that time.

Can anyone please advise? Have you also requested no join on island bench in your NHP?

I don't want to risk it as I may end up having an island bench with a join.


Thanks

I’ve always read that anything over 3m has to have a join. Can you reduce bench to 3m if you really don’t want the join?

Thanks shokel1975, I thought a 1 piece of stone is 3200mm in length. I'll check with them and reduce to 3m if it's the maximum. Should I still request them to indicate no join to make sure?