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Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the boards. I've been lurking for a bit and am really impressed and pleased with the level of knowledge on the forum and the wonderful people full of honest and helpful advice. (Thanks to JohnandTarin for pointing us here!)
My husband and I have been househunting for a few years and just couldn't find something that suited our needs. We have two small boys (3 1/2 and 1 1/2) and one of our requirements was that we have enough yard space for the boys to run around in. Every house we saw that was fairly newish had almost no yard space. So we finally decided to knockdown and rebuild.
We're building the Santorini Grande with Masterton Homes in the Bankstown City Council area. We've been told by our Masterton Sales Consultant that we should expect at least a four month wait before approval, assuming nothing goes wrong. Sadly, it is likely to be worse. The house behind us is in the building process and we remember getting Council's letter last April advising of the build. They finally knocked the house down about a month or two ago and have just bricked up in the last week. So a full year to get to this stage (and probably a lot more, taking into account all the work that goes into it before Council notifies neighbours). They're building with Roselea Homes.
So, we got our draft plans and last week met with our Sales Consultant. We made our final changes and are now waiting to hear how long it will take before they're ready for Council. SC was very vague about timing. She wanted us to sign all the go ahead documents before the plans were finalised so that we wouldn't have to wait. My husband and I are quite pedantic though, and I have a Legal background, so we declined to sign anything until we were completely happy with the final plans. I'm trying to chase up our SC to see what our new timing is but suspiciously, since we paid our $4000 deposit, she's been a lot harder to get a hold of. (Trying not to be cynical at this early stage...)
We have a few dilemmas at the moment. One is involving our stove but that's a story for another time. Our current problem is our external colours. We made our selections with PGH and handed them over the our SC but we've been stressing about them ever since and we're just not happy with the choices we've made. We really don't want to go to Schofields again! After three trips, dragging the boys around and trying to wrangle them while concentrating on colours we were happy just to be done with it but I don't think we are. So we are hoping for some advice...
We are building the Executive Facade:
http://www.masterton.com.au/MASTERTON/LIVE/RESOURCES/IMAGES/Facades/Santorini/Santorini_Executive_jun05.jpgOur colour selections have been (using Michelle's colour template):
Roof - Monier Traditional in Sambucca
Gutters - Colorbond Monument
Fascia - Colorbond Paperbark
Bricks - PGH Cement (with PGH Greenway feature bricks for the Portico - the orange bit in the picture)
Downpipes - Colorbond Monument
Eaves - Paperbark
Soffit to underside of Eaves, Verandas & Portico’s - Paperbark
Balustrade - Black
Windows - Black
Doors - (Not sure yet)
Garage - Colorbond Paperbark.
We have decided against the Greenway, which is a turned brick, but can't decide on a suitable replacement. We're thinking about Nutmeg. We've also decided to change the Garage to Colorbond Monument which I think will link it all back together.
Having read a few of the colour selection posts, Dune seems to be quite a popular colour and we're also wondering whether we should replace the Paperbark with Dune, given the grey colour scale that we're using.
The colour consultant at PGH wasn't all that helpful so I'm reluctant to go back and ask for advice. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Otherwise, just happy to be here and sharing this journey with you. Good luck everyone!
Hi Lizzy!
Welcome to the forum. Good to see you have started your own thread.
I'm currently in Council with Masterton. It's taken us about five and a half months to get to this point (including the 1 month christmas break). We've just had one neighbour obection so I'm expecting at least another month before we are approved. We will probably lapse our tender but are hoping to negotiate on any price rise.
Masterton seem to be quite slow at getting things done in regards to drawing up plans (although I find the service we have had to be great other than that) but I guess being a volume builder in this market it's a good sign that they are still busy.
I wouldn't stress about your colours too much. I'm sure it wouldn't be too late to change them. My understanding is that they just need to know whether you are having a light or dark colour for Basix. There is no way they would have set it in stone until you go into council I would say.
Can I ask what the stove issue is? Nothing too serious I hope.
Feel free to PM me or check out any of my posts.
Good luck!
Good luck with your build Lizzie. Our temporary residence is in the Bankstown area (east side), but I have no useful advice to impart - my dad built this house in 1950!
Thanks buildingadreamhome and HellDad.
The problem with the stove is not too dire, just a bit annoying. As part of their package, Masterton supply a 60cm wall oven and separate cooktop and rangehood. We asked for a freestanding 90cm oven and they came back with a quote of around $2300 for an Omega oven. The same oven is around $1990 on sale at the moment at the Good Guys. I figured, that's fine since they'll also do installation although it seemed a bit steep.
Shortly afterwards our SC told us that the evaluators wouldn't be able to do that price for the oven and instead it should have been something like $2700. And, by the way, that was to
upgrade from the 60cm oven. This is a problem because I wanted to keep the 60cm wall oven as well. As it was an upgrade, they'd have to requote so I can just imagine how much more expensive it was going to be. Well, we were then told that they no longer deal with Smeg/Omega and couldn't supply that oven at all. They could only supply ovens by AEG now, except that AEG don't make 90cm freestanding ovens.
We think we may be able to supply our own oven, which I'd prefer since then I can just get what I want, but Masterton won't install it so I'm a bit nervous about exact fit. Our SC is still trying to find a supplier that she can get a comparable oven from (she said they may still be able to do something with Smeg/Omega) but based on the prices already quoted, I'm not sure it will be worth it.
So, we're just waiting to see what happens with it...
Hi Lizzie,
Always great to have another Sydney sider! Good luck with your build!
I've found the more knowledgeable the builder is with your council's requirements, the better and hopefully quicker the turnaround.
Any chance of a floorplan?
Bel
Hey there Lizzy and ghost,
You will love it here and the people here are Awesome
Big Welcome huggles
J & T
Hi All,
Like Lizzy, I too have been lurking in the background until this point...muahahaha.
We are building a modified Allcastle Maxworth 38.7 in the Ryde area of Sydney. See:
http://our-sydney-house.blogspot.com/Lizzy seems a few steps ahead of us, as we have our colour selection appointment set down for the end of this month. We are doing as much as we can to make choices prior to this time and are also running around town pricing everything so we don't get any nasty surprises. I found your story about the cost of the stove most illuminating on this very point!
Some good news for you Lizzy -- one good thing (perhaps the only good thing?!?) the former NSW Planning Minister did was to overhaul the council approval system meaning if everything with your plans is straightforward and all the boxes can be ticked so to speak (eg: roof pitch not too high and in keeping with surrounding neighbours, no boundaries encroached etc, etc) turnaround in Council can be as quick as 10 days!! Although this came into effect in February 09, it is yet to be tested so I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed. I definately agree with Bel re: the builder's knowledge of your particular Council's requirements making it easier to get a project through.
In the meantime, good luck with your build and I will be following your adventures with interest. When hubby and I 'lock in' our materials and colour selections I will post something too
Thanks everyone for your lovely comments.
Pixelated, I hope you're right. Our SC did mention something about a streamlined process that apparently all local councils had agreed to
except for Bankstown! I don't remember the details but it included something about floodplanes so hopefully it was something different. I know that Masterton have done quite a few homes in the Bankstown Council area so fingers crossed we won't have too much hassle.
Here are the basic floorplans. We've made a few modifications to things like doors and windows but the rooms and dimensions are pretty much the same as the standard. We've removed the spa from the ensuite and instead have a double shower. We also have a balcony added to the top floor, from the upstairs lounge, which comes with the Executive Facade.
Front Elevation from our draft plans, showing our facade:
Ground Floor:
First Floor:
I'll put up the actual floorplans as they're finalised.
So, I did end up going back out to Schofields today to the PGH selection centre. We've decided to change the contrast colour on our portico to Nutmeg. Still not sure if that's the right move to be honest. I feel like these colours have just been running around in my head now that I can't possibly make a rational decision.
The colour scheme as it stands now is:
Bricks: PGH Cement
Feature Bricks to Portico: probably Nutmeg (but maybe Loam which looks exactly the same except is wirecut)
Roof: Monier Traditional concrete tiles in Sambucca
Gutters, Downpipes and Garage Doors: Colorbond Monument
Fascia, Eaves: Colorbond Paperbark
Windows and Balcony rails: Black
To complicate matters, I've asked Boral to send us some brick samples of Graphite (for the primary house colour), and Blackheath and Labassa (one of, for the Portico). They should arrive in around a week as they're being couriered over and we can do a comparison with the PGH bricks. I'm working from home tomorrow so I might try to go up to Badgery's Creek tomorrow and get their samples sooner.
I just wish I could see what the finished product will look like! I've tried doing a mockup of the colours but it's not quite the same thing...
In other (better) news - our CSC came back to us today with an offer to supply and install a Smeg SA9066XS oven for not much more than the original quote for the Omega - AND with us keeping the other oven too. VERY excited about this.
Hi Lizzy,
If you have a look at Southies thread and blog, she is using Boral Blackheath so it will give you an idea. It's a great brick
I also have it on my blog, just haven't built a house yet!!!
Bel
Thanks Bel,
I did see Southies' pics and Blackheath looks amazing. We'd only be using it as the darker contrast colour on the portico though so our dilemma is trying to find a lighter brick that matches for the rest of the house.
I think my mind is at ease now though. There's a new house being built near us, the bricks of which we really love. Today, I drove past and the gate was open so I popped in and asked if the owners or builders where there. The builder was on site and told me the bricks were PGH Smoke. That colour is almost identical to the Cement colour we picked - except that ours is wirecut rather than smooth faced, so there are a few very faint gravel specks on the face. So I think I can finally relax now...
Great - it's nice to have have the externals sorted!!! Now onto the internals......
Hi everyone - I'm gald I found this forum.... We have been on our new home project for over 1 year. We are using Roselea Homes and I am interested in lizzie's neighbours in Bankstown and their experience with Roselea. I am just about to sign the Building Contract after many many iterations on drawings and quotes. I intend to start my own thread (as soon as I can) on our experience and will also share some learnings.....but for now, if there are any other people using or have used Roselea Homes - I would love to hear about your experience and finished product....
Hi francesco,
Welcome to the forum.
I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help. We haven't really spoken with our neighbours at all... we knew the mum of the woman who is building. The mum lived there when we first bought our house and then sold the house to her daughter and son-in-law. We seek to keep different hours so have not spoken. I wouldn't be able to identify them in a line-up, say.
In April last year we got a letter from Bankstown council advising us of the DA with details of the elevations and the builder. We didn't object and we don't know if any of the other neighbours did but it wasn't until early
this year that they actually demolished the house and started building. We did hear from another neighbour that they had problems with the council approval but we have no idea what the problem was (which made us very nervous for our own build). They did the demolition, slab, frame, bricks and gutters/fascia quite quickly, probably over a 6 week period - but they've now been stuck at this point for about a month. No roof tiles yet.
I know of another house in our suburb being built by Roselea Homes. They are at lock up stage and the house looks amazing. We don't know anything about the owners though, we just drive by the house on the way to my parents' place.
Good luck with your build!
I just got off the phone with our CSC. It's been three and a half weeks since we'd signed off on our plans and they're still not submitted to council. When we signed she said it will take around three weeks. Now? Who knows. When I asked if she had a timeframe she said they were still waiting on the NAThers report. Oh and the statement of environmental effects. And the BASIX certification, and some other stuff.
So, I wonder what they HAVE been doing in the last three and a half weeks. She reckons she'll have a better idea of timing next week... so no chance of submission to council in the next few days then.
Hi Lizzy!
I understand your frustration...
The timeframes provided by Masterton are never those stated... to be fair, maybe it was true before they were so busy... i.e. a long time ago...
Have you done colour selection yet? What bricks did you end up deciding on? you were going to have 2 different kinds?
Cheers
MrsRose
Thanks Mrs Rose.
I do understand they're busy. Our CSC said they'd had hundreds of new signups, particularly coming from other builders who'd gone bust. Knowing this though, I wish they'd given me a more realistic estimate of the time it would take.
We've done our external colour selection.
We went with:
Bricks: PGH Cement (REALLY like these, let's hope they match up to my image of them when they're built up)
Portico Feature Brick: PGH Loam (not sure about this one but best of a mediocre bunch. very similar to PGH Nutmeg but instead of smooth faced, the Loam is wire cut. we were just a bit worried about the smooth face given some of the pitting and chipping problems we've seen with other builds)
Roof: Monier Traditional tiles in Sambucca
Gutter/Fascia: Colorbond Monument
Eaves/soffit: Colorbond Paperbark
Windows: Black
Garage: Colorbond Monument
When we were picking bricks, we went to Boral and they had this software that let you choose the colours on an example house and it would show you what the facade would look like. I know a few other places do it (like Burbank homes in Melbourne?) but I really wish PGH had something similar. It's so hard to picture what the end result will look like until it's built... and then it's too late if you don't like it!
Hi everyone,
We to are building with masterton,we signed off our plans 6 1/2 weeks ago
.I rang them on tuesday and they said it would all be ready hopefully today,just waiting on the phone call!!.At the beginning they said it would take 4-6 weeks....All the paperwork stuff takes longer then building the house does LOL
Hey Lizzy!
Sorry I missed your post back! thought I'd selected to be notified when one was posted!
Your external selections sound good! I agree its so hard to imagine what they'll look like! Poor DH was madly trying to photoshop facades for me as I kept having brick dilemmas! Didn't really want to pay for an upgrade but not really liking any of the bricks.
Hope your plans are progressing nicely in Council? We're supposed to be doing Complying Dev but apparently they (M) are having difficulties! maybe we should've tried council... oh well... have you done your colour selection yet?
Hi KKatt,
good luck for you too!
We're in Council!!! We think.
After constant calls last week, our CSC said that it looked like our plans had gone in on Friday. I'm taking her word for it so I'm choosing to celebrate.
Although... shouldn't there be an update on Pathway? Should we be expecting something from them in writing? I'm assuming they at least need to notify us of a DA number or something so we can track progress on the Council's website.
Hey kkatt and MrsRose, I completely missed your comments!
MrsRose, choosing external colours was so hard!! And yes, we had trouble visualising what the end result would look like and to be honest we won't know if we're really happy with our selections until the house is built! So let's hope we did okay.
Hope you get through quickly with your Complying Development app.