KDR in Melbourne SE suburbs- Carlisle - Montpellier 51

No EPS is really only used for 1st floor not ground floor. It is very popular but not the only option. Lots of houses are built with brick to both ground and first but now you are restricted in your house design (no offset between ground and first floor, boxy design) or you need a lot of structural steel which is mega $$s.

Did they say what the stud centres were? 90mm x 45mm would be standard for structural but you can use thinner ones for noggings etc. I assume for 1st floor, they will stick with Hyjoist. Enquire about Hebel powerfloor for 1st floor if you want that solid feel. Also ask whether they fix ceiling plaster to aluminium battens for large areas like LDK,

Hi Kirashogun,
I looked at the frame specifications. It says MGP10 Pine plates and MGP10 studs, with 950mm x 35mm nominal width studs at 600mm centres to be used for non load bearing walls. Ground floor load bearing walls to have studs at 450 maximum centres. - Is this good? We had no idea that we had to look into these things.
First Floor Joists - Pine joists to suit spans installed at 450mm centres. What is Hyjoist that you mentioned? Is Pine Joist bad?
Never heard of Hebel Power floor. Will definitely ask if they provide or not. Have you taken this for your house?
Ceiling - It only says - 10mm plasterboard screw fixed directly to upper floor or ceiling joists. Does not mention anything about aluminium battens. What is LDK?

Hi Lucky7,

Strangely in the pre contract documents it does not mention what is being used for the First Floor or for that matter the ground floor. I will ask them that question and post the answer here when I get it. Is foam cladding bad? I read that Rmax is actually good in terms of strength and insulation.

I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just majority of the houses here are brick veneer or weatherboard. Foam cladding and hebel are not as common in Australia despite being widely used overseas so there’s not much reviews or feedback locally.

The drawings we received during the sales quote has notes that point where the cladding will go. That should at least give you an idea as to which parts of your 1st floor will have them.

Here are my plans. From what I can see, the foam cladding is just above the garage and top of the feature pillar in Elevation A, on the side wall above the garage - can be seen in Elevation D. So is that the only places they will use foam cladding? Not sure what they use in the walls that are plain and have no shading? Face Brick Work? Must ask Carlisle

Yes, it looks like only the areas above the garage will be using foam cladding and the rest looks to be brick.

Hmmm. That's what I though too. However I am sending them an email. Will post what they say.

This is normal for first floor sections above alfresco/garages, it’s pretty standard.

The walls of your ground and 1st floor for this design all align. So u can use bricks for almost all external walls if u want.

Unlike many other house designs the external wall between 1st and ground floor don't align hence if u want brick it will require extra steel frame support.

90x45cm with 450 Centres is best. Looks like they went with more economical 90x35cm @ 600mm for all non load bearing walls, for waffle pod design, it means pretty much all internal walls. It's not a big deal, standard for volume builders but make sure you specify your noggins for when you want to hang anything heavy. 600mm centres mean it's a long way between each stud if you have no noggins.

Pine joists are fine, they are a bit bouncy and it means more work for them to drill holes for services. Again standard for volume builders.

Hebel Powerfloor gives you that concrete floor feel for upper floors. Unfortunately I didn't go with it and kind of regreted it.

Aluminium ceiling battens ensures for big rooms like your Living/Dining/Kitchen (LDK), your ceiling is perfectly straight as your ceiling plaster is fixed to calibrated aluminium rails that are within 1mm tolerance over very long stretches. If they are directly attached to first floor joists, it's very hard to get that perfect finish.

Looks like you are getting rendered foam over a very small section of your house. It's a good way for CH to deliver a big house for a lower price as they don't need as much structural steel and also, they are not building anything over the garage which will also save structural steel. However, the pitched roof over garage means your windows on 1st floor just behind the garage will be obstructed. What they can do is use a flat colourbond roof instead to give you full views from those windows but that's just more $$s.

One thing you do need to pay special attention is the downpipes especially to the front of the house. I can't see them being specified in the drawings you uploaded but you don't want ugly downpipes ruining your facade. Find out their location and type.

Hi Kirashogun,
Thanks, your information is quite comprehensive. The down pipe locations will be on the final working drawings that will come with the contract. So will have a look at them then. You are right, they should be spoiling the facade.

Few steps closer to getting our dream home. Got our asset protection permit and electricity got abolished today. Waiting for the gas meter to be removed so that demolition can start.

They use A&L windows

Thanks kirashogun for highlighting these points..i will keeping an eye out for all of these when i get my drawings!

We too went with DD- as not only were they recommended by CH, but also had good reviews.
I did got a few quotes from various demolition cos...but found that they were scheduling issues (they couldn't do the job when we needed them to) or we found it hard to communicate with (English wasn't their first language), hence weren't clear what they would or wouldn't do

Hi Krishnakdr
Kim at DD is really good. She helps with all questions. I was told by a couple of sales agents of other builders - when we were looking at display homes- that though DD are a tad more expensive they leave the site absolutely clean and ready for the builder. Otherwise with others you may end up spending more to clear the site after they leave.
Another thing you should look into is hiring an independent Home Inspector. We were recommended New Home Inspections on this forum and a couple of our acquaintances. They are good and though pricey, they are worth every cent.

I noticed your house had a lot of sliding windows instead of awning. Is that what you wanted?

Yes Kirashogun. Why is that a bad thing? Are awning windows better?

Our CLE has left the job Now waiting to be allocated a new CLE. She left 2 days after our contract appointment. We will have to have another contract appointment. What a bother!!!!

The problem with sliding windows is you need to split your window into 2, fixed pane and a sliding pane which lets in less light.

Awning windows is probably more popular since you can have one big piece of glass so you let in more light.