Architecturally Designed Home - Vic

no worries misterslope. send me a message on anything you need. my stuff just got loaded on a ship and is on the way over. very easy process

starting construction end feb

just a quick update,
designs and drawings all done, (no engineering problems, heh). the only change we made was the protruding white metal sheet upstairs and brought that back in to flush with the brick. did that purely on the basis of cost saving.
complete set is with our preferred building and waiting to get pricing back.
hoping to get started next month.
also, received all the imported stuff in one piece, very happy with the process.

good to hear about the progress of your project!!! very exciting times ahead.

another quick update.
made several design and engineering changes to accommodate budget
contracts signed, ready to start work straight after Easter.

will start posting pictures once major work starts.

very excited after 18 months since we started the journey!!

finally the build journey begins!!! The next 12 months are going to be exciting, i'm looking forward to your build updates. Recently, I went to a design talk and your architect spoke about one his projects in Geelong. He is one very clever cookie!!!!

Very nice design.

I'll be following it with interest.

Who is going to source the blackbutt veneer for you?

I'm planning to use timber veneer for kitchen/bathroom and timber for built in benches.

Will timber floors be compliant in the toilet/laundry? http://www.vba.vic.gov.au/media/latest- ... s-required

Have you purchased the appliances from the UK yet? IMO a 25% saving isn't worth it due to potential risk, lack of warranty and Australian approval for tapware.

Having said that, I previously purchased Grohe tapware from the UK about 40% of the local cost. The threads were smaller than std Aust size but my plumber was happy to fit them off using an adapter because it is a quality brand.

You may find that your builder/builder's plumber will not install them for you due to legalities, in that case you can fit them after handover.

Good luck with the build.

thanks JB1. the builder will inevitably source all the timber materials, but each will need to be sampled and approved by the architect as part of the contract terms.

i did ask my architect about timber in wet areas and he said he's used it for previous designs as well and that it will be compliant to all applicable standards

in terms of the appliance, i received my shipment back in january. i understand the trade off with warranty, but with top end appliance, you'd hope it doesn't break within the first 12-24 months anyway. we thought it was worth the risk but each to their own. but in terms of adapters, we won't be using a generic UK/AU adapter, the sparky will chop off the end and put on a proper one. i've already spoken to the builder and he said it's fine.

If the building surveyor approves the timber in the wet area it should be fine but all indications suggest it isn't compliant anymore in Victoria (and possible Australia).

With most appliance (and cars) faults it generally follows a bell curve, faults are found early, say within a few months, then will be fault free for a few years, then need repairs as it gets much older.

work has started!

front garden all cleared for neighbour to park on:


roof tiles all cleared:



demo set to be done by next week, will post more photos then. additional stuff can be found on the blog: fnahome.blogspot.com.au

also, just to show how bad the garden was before

looks 100x better already

Congratulations on the start! Impressive garden cleanup - was that done by hand?

no idea, doubt it. they said they could do it in an hour or two. must have been machinery

Demo guys just finished up today. getting ready for survey and setout. once that's done it'll be the inground services and then concrete pour. things happening faster than i thought which is great.

place looks 100x better without all the shrubs

front door gone to make way for the new master bedroom

not sure if i ever mentioned this, we made a couple of pretty big exterior changes.
Removed the balcony to bedroom 4 and (painfully) the hit and miss brick to the north as well as the protruding mesh screen. the screen is still there but it is now flush with the brickwork.

really didn't want to change them, but due to the amount of metal it saves, the cost savings was too big to ignore. below is the final floor plans.

slow progress

finished demo and levelling.

almost done digging the footings for the slab. hopefully poured next week. unfortunately had to dig a lot deeper than we hoped so it's taking longer





few things we've had to change:
widening garage door
shortening garage length due to neighbouring tree's root, so we're putting in a shed instead that is accessible from the garage
section of fence replaced
front fence is going to be replaced

we are going to be away for a month so hopefully come back to see some frames/bricks up

Coming along well.
Great to see you’ve been able to find solutions to the issues that popped up!


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You broke my heart with the hit-miss brick pattern. I'm looking forward to seeing your build take shape.

I also received the first cut of my design and it is better than I expected. Still a few more iterations of design to get through.

was unfortunate with the hit and miss bricks. but the savings were enormous, one of the things driving up the project cost has been the extensive use of steel. we thought the main feature is the curve and timber ceiling and that was not to be touched at all cost.

did you end up going with the same architect as mine?

i'm sure your house once it is finished will be getting alot of attention in the architecture community. I went with a different architect to yours, someone I have known for a little while.

While we have been away for the last 3 weeks, progress has been delayed a little due to weather and difficulties in manufacturing some of the steel beams.

The slabs were poured in 2 stages:









garage brickwork has started and will be finished by next week, we have also received the first batch of steel beams (all the straight ones) whilst the curved beams will be delivered next week. in the meantime we can start the framing

how gorgeous is that little curve!!!