Things you forget - summary page 32

Yes Henley will let you do this. Just ask them. They said yes to my brother who is building the Charleton. They did charge a $100 'administration fee' for changing the documents to reflect this.

Check what ceiling insulation is standard. If you are not a fan of the fluff (like me) then upgrade to batts and go to the next R rating if it's in the budget.

Is the HWS going to be big enough for the size of the home and the occupants? upgrade to the next size if not.

A zoned heating controller which puts the bedrooms on a separate line to the living areas. With a baby and a toddler this was one of the best things we did.

Put external lights around the perimeter of the house so the wiring goes through the bricks.

External powerpoints, TV point and gas point as already mentioned.

Privacy locks on toilets/bathrooms/home office/master bedroom and anywhere else that you may need one.

Consider having a 2-way light switch for lights in hallways or rooms with more than one entry.

Consider upgrading the locks on the front door to a triple lock.

Make sure all external doors have a deadlock, or add them after handover if not.

An exhaust fan in the laundry is an excellent suggestion, we may still do this as I can't open the external door when using the clothes dryer, if it's raining.

Overhead cupboards in the kitchen.

Add an extra top shelf to the pantry if there is room and powerpoints if you plan on putting the microwave in it.

Consider adding doors to the ensuite, WIR and bedroom wing if you have young kids.

Add a powerpoint inside the broom cupboard, especially useful if you have a rechargeable dustbuster or vacuum (wish we had done this!)

Add an extra external tap to the back of the house if you only get 1 out the front.

If you are having wall niches in the showers, make sure they are wide enough. Ours are quite narrow so I wish we had gone wider.

Check the position of the man hole.

Ours was in the laundry, above the wall where we wanted to put storage shelves against. We moved the manhole to the other side of the room so now that space is free for us to put shelves in up to ceiling height.

We also moved the light switch to next to the door where we enter the house from the garage. For some reason the light switch was across the other side of the entry hall. So now you can turn the switch on/off from standing at the door.

this is a great thread, especially for those like me that have not started yet to build...

in addition to the suggestions above, try to put sarking as i read that it will be great for insulation during summer

An old thread that helped me out alot ... thought there would be alot of new members that would benifit form this thread, its fallen down the list and needs to be shown again

Sealing the concrete pavers, garage floor and internal walls. Adding Glass shield or similar to both sides of shower screens. Checking all doors/windows open/close in preferred direction. Include doors on linen closet and robes. Have a separate area to store brooms. Pull out cutting board and pullout bin recess. Storage/screened area for wheelie bins. Junction boxes for downlights. Make certain they don't bury any rubbish on site. Get excess sand removed around house that is not required. Ask council/builder for refund of kerb/path Damage Bond, if it has been paid. Apply for Stamp Duty refund if built within the guildlines/time frame. Check that you haven't paid land tax on your improved land. Find out your land value through the Valuer General. Ask the Bank what they valued your house at once completed. Check the walls are straight and room sizes are correct. Get all warranties/serial numbers and instruction manuals for all products installed in the house from the builder. They can just disappear, into the skip bin. Make certain copies of your plans and personal details are not dumped into the skip bins. Think about where you are going to do your ironing. Shed, bbq, clothesline, water tank storage area, letterbox type and location.

all valid point, most of them have not been mentioned before either ... thanks for the input, i have already started my build but i think i will still apply a few of these if possible.

what a great thread and perfect timing for me!!!! thanks.
LOVE the powerpoint in the broom cupboard one (I have made a large broom cupboard...1700x700 thing) so if I have a powerpoint I could get one of those zoomy vacuum things that clean your house while you are out and then backup to the power unit..in the broom cupboard! thanks for that tip (and the 100's of others..most valuable)

thanks for bumping it...

I think the 2 way swtiches are very impt esp. if you have a double storey home or a garage door that opens at 2 ends.

Also, for ducted vaccum, we had to think about storage for it, even having store-away point buuilt for it- to tie it up on a post might be a good idea.

If your laundry is small, then even a post to hang the ironing board might be practical.
We decided to go with a laundry chute ( building double storey) and I think that might save some grief for later.

Good luck!

This Thread has dropped back 8 pages again already ... cmon guys, READ AND COMMENT .... this thread can help everyone with there dream home.

We had a double power point installed in the eaves next to the front door especially for putting up Christmas lights. No unsightly power cords dangling or running on the ground for people to trip over.

On top of all of the other great ideas...here are some more

* If you have a ducted vacuum system, measure on the plans to ensure the location will allow the hoses to reach the entire house...or invest in a longer hose.

* check dishwasher, washine machine, microwave and fridge spaces to make sure they fit the model you want...

* consider doors to the study if you are using it as a home office

* privacy locks on toilet and bathroom which guests will use

* ventilation in the laundry - openable window is great, and consider a sliding door in the laundry - easier when you are sorting through clothes etc Ducted heating point is also useful for drying clothes (can't get it in mine )

* we deleted all shelving in the WIR and BIR and did all our shelving through a wardrobe place post handover - excellent way to get the storage you need.

* 2 way switches on staircases and on entry

will come back when I think of more!

Removing anything with any information about our build.

I'm not reading back to see if this has been said .....BUT if you have a balcony on the second level, have a tap installed out there for easy cleaning.... we forgot this

what a good idea - I didn't think of it...

- lights in the roof/ceiling cavity with the switch just in the manhole opening. makes it easier to see if there are any leaks in the roof

Yes, my parent's house has this and it makes it so much easier whenever you are doing any work up there as well, no funbling around with torches or the like.

Make sure you take photos of all walls of all rooms before the gyprock goes on so you know where the studs and noggins are if you need to later.

I think this gets installed automatically if you have a central heating unit in your roofspace, probably as a requirement for the service guys.

Excellent point Joanna...This thread has been very useful and I have already noted down a few which we will need...I will soon update this thread on what is important to us....(still very early in the building cycle....)

Lots of extra power points (especially in the bedrooms) - if you think you might like a power point or light or light switch anywhere just fork out the extra dough and have one.

Seeing as builders charge so much for everything I only added some things at the electrical appointment and thought I'd do the "approach sparky on site and offer cash/beer" approach for everything else. Unfortunately it appears the sparkies are onto us; he had to call his boss who quoted more than my builder for some things (and we all know how exorbitant builders' prices are) and wanted to be paid in cash on that day. Lesson learned