The CARLISLE HOMES & SPECTRA General Information Thread

Hi Dakota30,
Our contract appointment was 4 weeks after the Tender appointment. The site start was 6weeks after the contract. Carlisle will book the site start as soon the bank gives the formal approval for the mortgage. We had a bit of delay with the bank due to valuation!

Hi Dakota,

Contract was 17 days after tender for us, and permits approved was just under 2 months after contract, although we had the 2 week xmas break in between contract signing to permits and site scrape etc..

so basically I'm guessing around 2and a half months from tender to slab for us.

Note that the std for waterproofing (AS3740) specifies a minimum which must be complied with. Waterproofing the entire bathroom areas exceeds this min std. Eg - did you know the std specifies that the entire wall within a shower does not need to be waterproofed - its the joins and the floor. If the shower is considered "enclosed" then the floor area of the bathroom does not need to be waterproofed to be considered to meet the std. With a bath - the surrounds need to be waterproofed and I think 15cm on the floor but not beyond this.

If your really concerned then engage an independent inspector at the waterproofing stage to ensure its done to min std in accordance with building code and relevant stds.

I am aware a lot of builders get picked up for unenclosed showers (walk ins) - these have to be waterproofed on the floor to 1.5 meteres.

How do you "waterproof" a bathroom? Is it something you can do yourself after handover? Or is it a professional-only job?

you cant do after handover - has to go under tiles - on top of cement sheeting etc - its not a very difficult job - youtube has videos on how its done - you can buy the membrane and waterproofing paint from bunnings etc. Keep in mind that any wet area waterproofed according to the relevant building std in considered acceptable. Applying the waterproofing membrane to the entire bathroom walls and floors would be overkill - although I would prefer the entire floor to be waterproofed as this is where water can pool - it cant pool on a wall. So if you were willing to pay extra- get the floor of the bathroom upgraded to be waterproofed - don't worry about the walls - the joins will be waterproofed around bath hob and around the shower.

Hi sojn what was the issue with the valuation? Didn't the bank value as per contract. This is another hurdle I'm worried about. How was it fixed though? Thanks.

Thank you Sojn, we have conditional approval from the bank they just want a fixed price contract prior to an unconditional approval blah blah blah!! We (my hubby & son) are living with my parents have been since November and its driving me a little insane at times so hoping we can move along. Our tender was brought forward so hopefully the rest can too!!

Hi Alexvi05,
Our house was under valued by about 25k! We did quite a bit of upgrades. (approx 50K) .if you are worried do some research & get prices of houses sold in your area similar to the one that you are building + similar land size.This will give you an idea of the valuation but at the end of the day it's up to the bank valuation. Hope everything works out!

Thank you Sojn, we have conditional approval from the bank they just want a fixed price contract prior to an unconditional approval blah blah blah!! We (my hubby & son) are living with my parents have been since November and its driving me a little insane at times so hoping we can move along. Our tender was brought forward so hopefully the rest can too!![/quote]


Hi Dakota30,
The building process is pretty fast! Our site start was end of November & we are almost lock up stage now. Even with the Christmas break of 4weeks! Very happy with Carlsile homes!!!!

Evening all...

Old member surfaced from the dead...again. I'm back as I'm about to embark on my second build. This time with CH.

Will be building a 29sq single story Affinity home. Looking through the colour booklet that was provided, the bricks I was hoping to use is in the Cat3 range. The roof tiles are Cat4. Those who have recently gone through selections/tender and upgraded their bricks and roof tiles can you give please give me a rough idea of the costs?

My first build was in 2006 (with PD) and the bricks I picked (which I will be picking again) was a Cat1. How times have changed!

While I'm here (and this is more of a thinking out loud thing) - what is up with the sliding doors in the laundries with CH home designs? Has anyone found having sliding doors in their laundries more useful than normal doors?

For brick upgrades, I got told to estimate $1k per category of upgrade. So cat 3 would be $2k.

Don't know about roof tiles, sorry.

Sliding door for laundry doesn't bother me. I don't think it'll make much difference. The only drawback I can see is that I can't put a cupboard up against that corner.

Note that the std for waterproofing (AS3740) specifies a minimum which must be complied with. Waterproofing the entire bathroom areas exceeds this min std. Eg - did you know the std specifies that the entire wall within a shower does not need to be waterproofed - its the joins and the floor. If the shower is considered "enclosed" then the floor area of the bathroom does not need to be waterproofed to be considered to meet the std. With a bath - the surrounds need to be waterproofed and I think 15cm on the floor but not beyond this.

If your really concerned then engage an independent inspector at the waterproofing stage to ensure its done to min std in accordance with building code and relevant stds.

I am aware a lot of builders get picked up for unenclosed showers (walk ins) - these have to be waterproofed on the floor to 1.5 meteres.[/quote]

How do you "waterproof" a bathroom? Is it something you can do yourself after handover? Or is it a professional-only job?[/quote]

you cant do after handover - has to go under tiles - on top of cement sheeting etc - its not a very difficult job - youtube has videos on how its done - you can buy the membrane and waterproofing paint from bunnings etc. Keep in mind that any wet area waterproofed according to the relevant building std in considered acceptable. Applying the waterproofing membrane to the entire bathroom walls and floors would be overkill - although I would prefer the entire floor to be waterproofed as this is where water can pool - it cant pool on a wall. So if you were willing to pay extra- get the floor of the bathroom upgraded to be waterproofed - don't worry about the walls - the joins will be waterproofed around bath hob and around the shower.[/quote]

Thanks Ubet7 I am having trouble reconciling how it could cost $4.7k to paint on the waterproof membrane that retails for $80 for 4 litres to the bathrooms and toilets even allowing the time to lay 2 coats. Agree that applying to the floor is probably a good approach.

David

Thanks for the response, TempestSkye.

My sliding doors let in heaps more sun than a normal door would. In Winter I am going to put my clothes horse in there to dry the clothes!

How do you "waterproof" a bathroom? Is it something you can do yourself after handover? Or is it a professional-only job?[/quote]

you cant do after handover - has to go under tiles - on top of cement sheeting etc - its not a very difficult job - youtube has videos on how its done - you can buy the membrane and waterproofing paint from bunnings etc. Keep in mind that any wet area waterproofed according to the relevant building std in considered acceptable. Applying the waterproofing membrane to the entire bathroom walls and floors would be overkill - although I would prefer the entire floor to be waterproofed as this is where water can pool - it cant pool on a wall. So if you were willing to pay extra- get the floor of the bathroom upgraded to be waterproofed - don't worry about the walls - the joins will be waterproofed around bath hob and around the shower.[/quote]

Thanks Ubet7 I am having trouble reconciling how it could cost $4.7k to paint on the waterproof membrane that retails for $80 for 4 litres to the bathrooms and toilets even allowing the time to lay 2 coats. Agree that applying to the floor is probably a good approach.

David[/quote]

that quote doesnt appear right - especially if your talking about one bathroom - that sort of pricing would get you a structural improvement to the house - ask them to recheck now that you know more about what it involves.

while I havn't built my house yet this is something that I definitely agree with.
it makes sense to have a glass sliding door in the laundry. It saves on space and lights the whole room.
The day we saw the display home was a nice hot day and the laundry temperature was perfect for drying clothes if you don't want to put them outside.

Thanks for your inputs, Hamilton23 and RM16.

Now on to my next question...

For those who have gone with/living with CH's laminate flooring - how is the quality and durability? Are you happy with it? Any thoughts/opinions welcome.

Thanks sojn for the info.. we are estimating 15k worth of upgrades hope this is reasonable for the banks. main upgrade was for the flooring est at 3k and the heating upgrade to 5 star. will try to stick with the standard inclusions and just work within our budget.

thanks for all the info.

you cant do after handover - has to go under tiles - on top of cement sheeting etc - its not a very difficult job - youtube has videos on how its done - you can buy the membrane and waterproofing paint from bunnings etc. Keep in mind that any wet area waterproofed according to the relevant building std in considered acceptable. Applying the waterproofing membrane to the entire bathroom walls and floors would be overkill - although I would prefer the entire floor to be waterproofed as this is where water can pool - it cant pool on a wall. So if you were willing to pay extra- get the floor of the bathroom upgraded to be waterproofed - don't worry about the walls - the joins will be waterproofed around bath hob and around the shower.[/quote]

Thanks Ubet7 I am having trouble reconciling how it could cost $4.7k to paint on the waterproof membrane that retails for $80 for 4 litres to the bathrooms and toilets even allowing the time to lay 2 coats. Agree that applying to the floor is probably a good approach.

David[/quote]

that quote doesnt appear right - especially if your talking about one bathroom - that sort of pricing would get you a structural improvement to the house - ask them to recheck now that you know more about what it involves.[/quote]

Hi all

We have been in our CH for about 18months now and had a cracked floor tile in shower ( floor ) when i pulled the tile up yesterday some of the base come up with it exposing a grey sand material anyone know what this is?
Also what does the waterproofing look like ?
Looking at the installation certificate it says shower base only and small niche
Im waiting for CH to call me back about this as the wetseal has a 7 year guarantee
Will let you know how I go

that quote doesnt appear right - especially if your talking about one bathroom - that sort of pricing would get you a structural improvement to the house - ask them to recheck now that you know more about what it involves.[/quote]

Cost is for powder room, bathroom, ensuite and toilet. Have asked carlisle to clarify why so expensive!!