Building with Hall & Hart Homes

Thanks kjane! Yes sounds like things have changed. I have to say I’m a bit relieved that’s on a separate day as that’s a big appointment on its own.

Hi @allybrian 2078,
We're trying to nail down the external colour selection for our Sienna facade and really like the colour combinations of the Rawson Balmoral display home at Kellyville. The colour combination with dark brick, darker feature render, light render, monument windows and timber garage sounds similar to your colour choices. I was wondering if you're comfortable sharing a photo of the front of your facade so we can visualise what it looks like? I had a look at the thread where you posted some photos and saw a photo of your brick choice but not with the render and garage.

Here's the Balmoral display home for reference. We're planning to use the same darker render that is on this home (Taubmans Zelda), maybe the Surfmist for the lighter render. Still trying to decide between monument or surfmist windows. I prefer monument windows but have read in the 'Things you forget' thread that lighter windows throw more natural light into the house - have you found any issues with your monument windows?


We're also trying to decide on the brick choice - either Austral Blackbutt or PGH Espresso. We only have another week to confirm our brick selection and have booked in our colour consultation with Austral but not sure we have time to also visit the PGH selection centre. When you were considering your brick choices, did you also consider the Blackbutt? How do you like the Espresso brick choice so far?

H&H came back with 2 options for the garage, either a caoba or cedar timber look one or decowood (which is roughly double the upgrade cost of the timber look). Which one did you end up choosing and how are you liking it so far? I'm trying to find reviews of either options on this forum but not finding much info. If the difference is negligible, then we would rather go with timber look to save on costs...

Thanks so much for your help!

Wow, can't believe how quickly it's moved for you kjane! Wonderful news! I'm looking forward to seeing all the progress on your build! Funny you mention the Lane Cove build, we have been sticky beaks on that one a couple months ago when we were driving past. Bricks weren't up yet when we had a look - we might drive by again to see how that build is going. It's so exciting to see the build taking shape! The Site Manager on that build is "M", I remember John mentioned he does the builds in our area, so hopefully we both get him as well - John said he's very good.

Hi there Zen,

Here is a pic of our facade i took today. We also used the Rawson house at Homeworld for inspiration, we really like the timber and dark bricks.

When we built PGH bricks was the only choice and the Espresso really stood out for us. The brick is painted though (as alot are) so be aware that the paint can come off the brick face (pic attached) however no one would ever notice.

I'm so glad we went the dark window frames not white, as the dust that enters that house in our estate is unbelievable and i would be constantly cleaning them if they were a lihht colour, so yes happy with the monument colour.

We went the Decowood option for the garage door as it would match our Decowood balcony and really didn't want different shades of timber so close to each other.

Hope that answers your concerns, it's hard to make all your colour choices, just go with your gut.

Thanks so much for taking a photo of your facade and bricks, @AllyBrian 2078! Your facade is gorgeous, love how you complemented the render colours with the timber and brick. We opted for the Contemporary facade (without the balcony) so our windows and upstairs look a bit different to your facade but it still gives us a good idea overall on how it will look. Thanks for easing my mind on the monument coloured windows as well!

Hello, everyone
Just updated our Elyse 38 progress, we have signed our tender and paid the $5000 Tender Accpetantance Fee.
During the tender stage, Sean and Chris are both very helpful with Hall & Hart Professional Service.
This really makes Hall & Hart standard out from another builder.
Sean provided us with a professional presentation on our tender. In the past few weeks, Sean was always contactable by phone and email, while he would respond promptly while communicated with Chris who help us to quickly solve our issues without delay.
So we officially build our dream home with Hall & Hart Homes, and right into Pre-Construction Plan Stage now. Thank you very much for Seren1ty, Kjane, AllyBrain, adalon, tand, zen and everyone in this forum to help us out to make this right decision! Much appreciated...

Awesome! Great news, have fun with choosing all of your selections 😀

Thank you, kjane

Congratulations Tea Land!

Thanks a lot! Jacks, how is your building journey going?

Hi All,

We are getting ready for our internal selections. Just wondering if anyone chose a white/light coloured caesar stone for their kitchen and if they had any problems with stains from things like red wine or tumeric. I have been reading conflicting accounts of caesar stone some claiming it stains while others say it is impervious to stains.

Wow great to see everyone's progress!

Zen: We went with surfmist windows simply to match the white colour of our shutters, meaning the window frame blends into the shutters from the outside. We chose to upgrade to a solid colour brick, but it's just a personal choice, and we also wanted a richer colour brown then was available as standard.

AllyBrian: Beautiful facade, really looks like a display home!

Tea Land: Congrats! Best of luck!

tand: We went with Caesarstone Ocean Foam, and have not noticed any stains yet, but you wouldn't want to let anything like grease or spilled wine stay on the surface for too long as it's hard to be sure. It is a natural product after all, so therefore may be porous.

Tea Land, we’re just waiting on our tender. It’s been 3.5 weeks so hopefully next week? How long did yours take? While we wait we’re trying to make some decisions but gosh it’s hard. At this stage we’re planning on doing Blackbutt or Turpentine hardwood floors post handover which means we’ll probably do the carpets post as well. I’m worried it’ll complicate the build but it’s really the look we’re wanting so hopefully it’s not too much of a drama. I’m assuming Chris is one of the site managers or owners? When did he get involved? We’ve been dealing with Sean too and he’s been great. Really patient with our many many questions and always answers quickly.

Zen, we’re also trying to decide on bricks - we really like Espresso but I do worry about chipping so we’re also considering Whitsunday Orpheus from Austral. It’s slightly lighter but is more of a solid colour through the brick and is standard in the range. So I think we need to drive past a few more houses before we decide. We also love the Rawson Balmoral facade and has definitely been our inspiration too! We’re also doing Monument windows. We feel it’s a bit softer than black and adds a bit of drama to the room. and we’re planning on partial render on the facade with probably Surfmist and a mid grey with a timber door and possibly timber look garage door. We’re doing the same facade as Ally Brian but on a modified Elyse 38. And prob with a rendered balcony wall instead of the timber though I do love the timber. So thank you Ally Brian for sharing yours. It looks great!

tand, at this stage we’re planning on using Snow Caesarstone which I am a little nervous about re stains as I’ve read mixed reviews too but it really is the look we want so will just have to make it work. We have Caesarstone at the moment. I think it’s the Linen colour so more of a tan and I’ve thrown 2 glasses of red wine over it and both times it’s come out completely. We’ve also had rust stains and beetroot. I’ve hit it with Jiff which they say don’t use as it can dull the surface but they sell a specific cleaner they say is good for removing stains so may be worth the investment while it’s new and you’re getting use to it. good luck with your selections!

Seren!ty, how are you going now you’re all settled in? Have you needed to get H&H back for much?

Also can someone please message me the Lane cove Street the house is in that’s being built? We have one being built near us but there’s something going on with it as nothing has happened for at least a month or two. It’s made me a little nervous but hopefully it’s an issue with the owner and not H&H.

Thanks!

Wonderful news, Tea Land! We’re just a bit further down the process in pre-construction compared to you! Looking forward to sharing this journey and seeing what you choose for your selections 😊

Can’t wait to see what you end up choosing for your externals, Jacks! We liked Orpheus too, it’s a very popular brick in our suburb so we were able to see a lot of examples. Maddie from H&H suggested it might not give us the same look as the Balmoral display home as it’s lighter, which was why she suggested the Austral Wilderness range. We have the Austral and PGH selection appointments tomorrow so we’ll check out the bricks again and hopefully come to a decision.

There are a couple of H&H builds in various stages around us, the lane cove one is on Mowbray rd next to the public school. There’s a duplex being built in North Ryde near Truscott primary school (sorry, I can’t remember the exact street but can message if we drive past again).

Thanks Seren1ty for the advice. We have white plantation shutters in our current home and love the look but now that you mention it, will have to do more research on how it will look with monument windows.

For those who opted for a hinged external door in the laundry, did you guys get H&H to install a security flyscreen door too? We got quoted $950 which seems a bit high. Wondering if we should do it post handover as it should be relatively easy to do. or maybe we should keep the sliding door in the laundry as the flyscreen is included as part of the premium inclusions?

Thanks so much Zen! I’ll check out the Lane Cove house on the weekend. I quite like the look of white shutters with dark windows. We’ve seen a few with black windows and possibly there’s at least one out at Homeworld with shutters and monument windows? What about the Rawson Edge?

Good luck with your appointments! How long did your tender take? We;re coming up to 3.5 weeks and I’m hoping we’ll be hearing from Sean soon.

I personally prefer a hinged door in the laundry as I think it gives you more useable wall space but it depends on your layout. I think a security flyscreen would be much more robust than a sliding door screen? I think it depends on what you want to use it for. Security if wanting airflow or purely to keep flies and mozzies out?

Hi Seren1ty, Thank you very much for your kind help! All Best...

Hi Ally, what a stunning home you have built! It looks so so beautiful... Thank you very much for sharing!