The CARLISLE HOMES & SPECTRA General Information Thread

Thanks for sharing your sales quote estimates, cadu! It gives me hope that some of the allowances might not be as expensive as it was first quoted. Time will tell though.

I asked to have the bathroom exhaust fans vented to the outside, but didn't ask about the rangehood one.

I've not added a whirlybird as I was starting to be afraid that I wouldn't be able to afford it on top of everything else and when I asked my mother's opinion she said it was more important to vent the bathroom fans to the outside and a whirlybird was easy enough to add later.
If by some miracle my tender comes back cheaper than I expect, I'll definitely consider adding one.

I'm getting the bathroom and ensuite windows as translucent glass, and was told it would be $300 per window. My friend's front door had rice paper and it was fairly cheap for them. It wasn't double-glazed though.

Wow! My first sales quote had $4000 estimate for 450mm eaves around the whole house, so I'm very jealous. After changing it to just north and west sides of the (one long side one shorter side), it was estimated at $2000. At colour selection I changed my mind, so I have my fingers crossed that it won't be too expensive.

Almost everything I know about the building process has been learnt through these forums. They're a fantastic resource.

Hi guys,

was all thinking of doing downlights At handover? would this work out cheaper as i dont know any sparky? Would ask CH to add batten lights throughout house if works out cheaper doing it outside.

Does anyone know the specs of brivis ducted heater that comes standard with Ch?

Thanks. any info is much appreciated.

The standard heating unit is 3 stars. Upgrading to a mid-range heating unit is approx $1000, upgrading to a high-efficiency unit is approx $1200 (or so I was told).

Thanks for the info tempestskye.

No problems! I just hope my SC was not under-quoting costs too much, especially the eaves...

For double story homes, the rangehood is vented externally as standard (singles aren't). Also, I don't believe whirly birds should be too expensive (under $100 at Bunnings I think), but not sure what Carlisle charges as the cost was bundled with the sarking. I'm considering possibly excluding this and getting something more powerful (e.g. SolarWhiz) post build. One thing I'm not certain about is whether roof ventilation is needed if the rangehood and shower exhausts are vented externally so technically no moisture should enter the roof space with the sarking sealing the roof...

Hi has anyone upgraded to a windsor 21 door to rumpus?

Thanks

For the ducted heating, I was quoted $1270 for upgrading from the Brivis Wombat 20 to Brivis HX23I (5 star) heating unit, which included a networker controller in lieu of programmable. Also added 2 zone motors for $1158. I believe this heating solution is where a central thermostat/controller needs to be in between 2 zones (e.g. I'm guessing in the hallway for us, where the return air duct is) - our zones are bedrooms and living. Anyone know if additional thermostats and/or controllers can be added cost effectively post build? This is to control the temperature for the 2 zones independently.

Lighting is something I'm also considering doing post build as well as $144 for each downlight seems a bit pricey (I'm up for around 60-70 downlights potentially). Has anyone got Carlisle to add power sockets in the ceiling/roof space where they want downlights or in conjunction with batten points, so they can add LED downlight kits post build? I've read that this would be the best solution long term (e.g. if a downlight kit fails, you can just buy and replace with another one DIY/without electrician). How do people find the 8W (or are they 9W Telbix?) GU10 LED downlights? Bright enough?

5000 litre water tank is about $5,000 and connects to your toliets - i have 6 toilets for Milano (i added another downstairs where WIL is next to laundry as the lounge will be used as a home hair salon and i want the powder room for clients of the salon). There is also a garden tap next to the water tank.

[/quote]
For the ducted heating, I was quoted $1270 for upgrading from the Brivis Wombat 20 to Brivis HX23I (5 star) heating unit, which included a networker controller in lieu of programmable. Also added 2 zone motors for $1158. I believe this heating solution is where a central thermostat/controller needs to be in between 2 zones (e.g. I'm guessing in the hallway for us, where the return air duct is) - our zones are bedrooms and living. Anyone know if additional thermostats and/or controllers can be added cost effectively post build? This is to control the temperature for the 2 zones independently.

Lighting is something I'm also considering doing post build as well as $144 for each downlight seems a bit pricey (I'm up for around 60-70 downlights potentially). Has anyone got Carlisle to add power sockets in the ceiling/roof space where they want downlights or in conjunction with batten points, so they can add LED downlight kits post build? I've read that this would be the best solution long term (e.g. if a downlight kit fails, you can just buy and replace with another one DIY/without electrician). How do people find the 8W (or are they 9W Telbix?) GU10 LED downlights? Bright enough?[/quote]

The brivis units are quite technical and best to speak to an installer who knows all about them if you are thinking of doing things post handover. No doubt post handover would be cheaper but some things you may HAVE to get done during the build to make it possible - especially if your doing a double storey. You can also phone the Brivis technical support line but ,might depend on who is on the other end - a dumb salesman or someone that actually knows the product.

LED lights - i dont know if carlisle do sockets in the ceiling but if they do you can actually install the LED downlights yourself if they come with their own driver and plug - becoming very common. Alternatively just get carlisle to install the batten light points specifying you want them where downlights would go - in line and with enough clearance above - ive specified this for my build. You then have 2 choices - get a sparky to convert all your batten points to a plug - then you can add LED downlights with driver and plug yourself OR - if you buy LED downlights like the GU10 ones - they dont have driver and plug - the sparky will connect the LED downlight directly to the power going to the batten light points.

Ive tested many LED lights and in my opinion - for common areas of the home anything under 10 w is insufficient lighting - if you go less than 10w you need to add many more downlights. I bet no one has been to a display home at night time - and have you noticed how many LED's the displays have anyway - lights everywhere. 10w to 15w LED is the way to go for brightness without having too many lights but make sure you buy quality. 8 w is good for toilets and smaller areas only.

Thanks for all the information ubet7, been a great source of helpful tips as I am also looking at building the Milano. Did you get refrigerated cooling through Carlisle or are you doing yours after handover?

I have been speaking to some air con companies and they are saying the upgraded heating unit I've been quoted (as I am looking at add-on refrigerating air con after handover) - the MX30i, is too small for such a big house, and that even the MX35i would be a bit small o.0, also that the number of outlets needs to be substantially more than the 13 in my quote. Currently my quote has two zones in it, but I'm thinking of going three zones, especially if the cooling unit is not big enough for the house as per air con guy's advice...

Rule of thumb he gave me was your unit should have 1kw of power per square!

i was originally quoted MX30i as well but ive upgraded to the bigger HX35i - the biggest one as i want the 22kw cooling unit which you can only match to the 35i units (either MX35 or HX35). The MX30i can only have the 18 kw cooling unit. I am getting mine done all through Carlisle - i know it costs more but its done when i get the keys and all the piping etc is inside the house - not external which they will do if you do post handover i believe.

But you have to really think about what areas you will heat and cool and with zoning you can get away with a smaller unit. In my case as i am also getting a heat n glo fireplace heater for back living/meals/kitchen and putting a door on the end of hallway - this will be most of our heating source. Ive also gone 4 zones (zoneplus). When i really think about it i could have gotten away with a MX30i or HX30i heater and the 18kw cooling unit as i doubt i would have all 4 zones on at the one time - 90% of the time would be 1 or 2 zones and sometimes 3 but i cant think when i would want all 4 zones on - but on a very hot day i would think the unit might struggle to cool the whole house if i did use all 4 zones hence going for bigger unit. And melnbourne is not getting any cooler is it?

have you noticed all the double storey display homes actually have 2 cooling units - not 1 - have a look down the side of the houses - one for each floor of the house - but on hot days alot of the doors are open, etc and carlisle want to make sure the customer is cool inside the house. You can actually do this as well but would be $$$ expensive.

1kw for each square is a little overkill - maybe on an old house with poor insulation - but the new ones are alot better energy wise.

Help to estimate these upgrades for a 33 sq house

1. Cat 2 laminate floors in living areas or
2. Cat 3 laminate floors in living areas or
3. Cat 4 laminate floors in living areas or
4. Cat 1 laminate floors in all bedrooms
5. Upgrade oven, cooktop, overhead exhaust from Teknika to Smeg
6. add niche in shower
7. 2m garage extension
8. window in garage
9. All windows to Awning type
10. high ceiling (2700mm+) to living areas only
11. add network port
12. add TV port
13. evap cooling system (2 zones)

thanks

Thanks ubet7 for the extra info. After seeing the more recent posts, I wonder if the recommended Brivis HX23I is powerful enough for heating a 35sq single story home. Might also look into what zoneplus is.

For the downlights, I might call a few sparkies and see what they charge to convert battens to plug sockets. My reference to the 8W or 9W GU10 Telbix LED downlight was related to what Carlisle supply. Is this info still correct - this is what Carlisle provide for $144 each (was going off an older post from wirepower)? I've read that the lumen output is pretty low with <10W / GU10 fittings. If I go the post build route, I was planning on converting battens to plugs and plugging in LED downlight kits (something between 10W-15W). If some of these will be dimmable LED downlight kits, do I need Carlisle to just install dimmer switches?

When you mention "with enough clearance above" are you talking about Carlisle cutting out a small pocket in the insulation above/around the light point to a minimum level (to prevent fire hazard)? If so, is there still some insulation covering the spot above the light point with cut-away clearance? Hope I'm making sense.... Reason I'm asking is that I want to reduce the heat/cool loss through the ceiling, which is a negative point for downlights (if each downlight has a hole right through the insulation).

I was quoted:
- $300 per shower niche (300mm high x 400mm wide x 90mm deep) and I believe the silver/metal trim is extra (was told this later - don't know costs though)
- $7208 for 2m garage extension
- $2031 for data network eight pack - anyone know if you can just pay per network port? I wasn only given 2 options by SC - 4 or 8 pack
- $6790 for Brivis Promina P65 evap cooling system

We had our colour selections yesterday and im pretty happy with our selections and inclusions, didn't go crazy upgrading things but did add a couple of luxuries: Here's what we chose, well what i know, i didn't take note of the tiles so have no idea of them. Some of you may remember that we had crazy site costs on flat land, well i got a call from my CLE a few weeks ago with a great surprise, our costs have been revised and fixed $7000 cheaper that first anticipated so i was able to splurge a little, just a little!!!

Our facade is the Hartley and the house we are building is the Dakota 30

Outside
- Bricks truffle (Cat 3) and off white mortar. Our back up is Hawthorn (Cat 4 - i dont even want to know the extra price on this).
- Cat 2 Traditional roof tiles in Barramundi (Estate Guideline)
- Dune gutters, downpipes and garage door.
- Jasper downpipes and metre box
- Render is Carriage & Mud Puddle
- Timber feature is stained Charcoal
- Front door INF5G with translucent glass and also stained Charcoal.
- Eaves whole way round the house (Estate Guideline)

Inside
- 300 x 600 porcelain tiles to entry, kitchen, meals and living - No sure of the name but its a neutral colour.
- kitchen base cupboards Licorice Linea in the Natural finish and Moleskin as the overheads in the Silk Finish and frosted perspex.
- Star fire splashback colour is Grand Piano - Not 100% sure on this yet!!!
- Caesarstone is Osprey
- Wall colour - Grand Piano Half Strength & Arcs, skirtings and doors are in Quarter strength
- Laundry, bathroom and en suite cabinets - Lustrous Elm Natural Finish we did add a feature tile in our en suite for the splashback. If i can work out how to post pics i will post a couple of what i took yesterday.

That's so exciting dakota30.
wow 7k less on the site cost that's a huge saving you can put on the upgrades.
On the site cost though, we had fixed site cost on our quote will this still change on actual siting? Just a bit confused.

Hi All,

Given the amount of recent posting around LED downlights and the enormous amount of research I have been doing into them, I thought I'd share my own findings. Please note I have no experience whatsoever in lighting so I am simply sharing what I have learned.

My wife and I went into Beacon Lighting and they explained to us, in laymans terms, how the lighting actually works. I have noticed some people that appear to be confusing some lighting terms, hence my input.

If anybody has more knowledge than I and notices misinformation please feel free to correct me.

The wattage of a light determines how much electricity it uses to produce its light (i.e. will affect the amount you pay your electricity company). The lumens is how 'powerful' the light that is produced from the globe is. The lux is how 'noticeable' the light is at a certain height from the roof.

These three terms are important because simply picking the highest wattage globe does not necessarily mean you will be able to see. It is important to also look at the angle of the beam of light, as a wider angle means the light is more spread, covering more distance but also at the expense of lux.

I believe there was some Australian Standards register that states that 120 lux is the minimum standard of light we should have for comfortable viewing.

For a reference, the following are two LED globes offered by Beacon Lighting where they have included a chart that shows how the lux differs between the globes. Click on the pictures of the charts beside the globe pictures.

Exhibit A: http://www.beaconlighting.com.au/lighting/downlights/led-downlights/ledlux-14w-dimmable-round-downlight-kit-in-white-with-warm-white-globes.html

This globe has a low angle and thus produces a lot of light over a small diameter cone. If we assume roof height of 2.59m like one of the recent Carlisle promotions had as standard (not sure if it still does?), you can see that the Lux produced at the floor would be somewhere around 300. Note that it is quite likely that you don't need to see that well on the floor and this would be more appropriate with, say, in the kitchen over an island while preparing food. If our island is 90cm from the floor, then we can see that the lux produced at 1.69m would be somewhere around 600 lux, which is 5 time the 'comfortable' Australian Standard. You will also notice the diameter, this globe will cover about 2.4m of our floor in this example, and 1.6m of our benchtop.

I have read that lux is additive, meaning if you can set two lights near each other and their beams will cross, you simply add the lux together to determine the level of brightness at that point. This is where I'm a little suspicious. While I've read it in a few places I'm still not entirely sure of this, anyone know?

Exhibit B: http://www.beaconlighting.com.au/lighting/downlights/led-downlights/ledlux-15w-900-lumen-dimmable-downlight-kit-in-white-with-warm-white-globes.html

These globes are 15 watt but you'll notice that the angle is substantially higher. At our 2.59m roof, the light will spread a total of around 22m, compared to the above example of just 2.4m. This comes at the expense of lux at that level, producing just 70 odd compared to the 300 above. With these globes, you are aiming to light large rooms with multiple globes, so 2 would in theory, subject to my above question, produce 140 lux at the floor, though of course we don't need comfortable viewing at our feet so a dimmer globe might be more appropriate, or in my case, installing dimmers to give me full control.

The area I'm still grey on is given from what others are saying, it is likely Carlisle won't use globes other than the ones they offer, and theirs, from what I've seen in the displays, don't produce all that much lux. Given it might be cheaper to install them post build, is it simply a case of having batterns installed by Carlisle and then I can just organise a sparky to install the globes I want? Can a sparky add dimmers afterwards?

Lastly, the globes I linked appear to have reasonably large fittings that need to be in the roof. If I'm building a double story, how much space is there in the roof between the ground floor and top floor?

Hope this has helped others and hope someone can shed some light ( ) on my questions above.

Congrats Dakota.

If you don't mind me asking, was there some reason why the CLE came back $7000 cheaper? Did they offer this without any input from you or was it due to some questioning on your part?

If your doing batten light by carlisle and coverting afterwards they wont do dimmers as the fluro globes on the battens cannot take a dimmer so this is something you have to do after handover - which will mean a new plate switch to accommodate the extra dimmer button. To make it more complicated some LED lights cannot be dimmed and some only can be dimmed with certain dimmers (there are different ways of dimming) - some LED lights can be dimmed with any dimmer.

My understanding is that Carlisle use 8 watt LED downlights.

With "clearance above" I was referring to the fact that they need to place the batten in a position that there is no joist or plaster channel directly above - most downlights need 100mm clearance directly above to fit as a minimum. Note - LED run a much lower temp then the old halogen but they do recommend a clearance of insulation - not because of fire concerns but more to preserve the life of the LED globe. Im afraid you should remove a little bit of insulation directly above your LED downlight but no where near as much as a halogen downlight.

In my current house - it had the old 50w halogens 12v and after many models tested I am using 10w brightgreen dr700 and Phillips 10w led. Keep in mind both of these are made for retrofitting - they need a 12v transformer. The lighting is fantastic - equivalent to the old halogens for brightness and the lighting colour is actually better - not so yellow. Have been using them for 2-3 years now - not one had blown and considerable drop in power usage. And the original dimmers on my plate switch work fine with these LED globes/

all of the above is pretty much spot on. Lux is important - more so than wattage - what you will generally find is though that more wattage of a led globe = more lux - especially on the quality led globes. Many of the cheaper led globes really overstate their lux output.

Ive got 10w 12volt Brightgreen and 10w Phillips in my house at the moment - these are retrofits replacing 50 w halogens - they are fantastic. In my wifes hair salon - very high 10 foot ceilings I have brightgreen 15 watt led (driver and plug set up) - these are fantastic - employees love them and so do clients - lighting is very important in a hair salon.

If your doing a single storey you don't have to get Carlisle to put in extra batten lights and get these changes post handover by a sparky to led lights - its easy for a sparky as he has roof space to piggy back of the std single batten light in that room. The same goes for the top floor of a double storey. But the ground floor of a double storey you should get battens to wherever you want downlights - much easier for a sparky to then convert to LED. Im not saying its impossible but its much harder work to piggy back on the ground floor and in some cases the sparky might not be able to get to the space where you want a light fitting.

Dimmers can be added but you will need a new switch plate to accommodate the extra dimmer switch.