Have I missed anything?

Hi guys

I have an appointment with 'M' coming up to get some rough estimates of the costs we will be up against. We have a base price for the house we want + the cost of adding on a room and alfresco, we are just looking to get a quote for some of the additional items/extras we want.

We have put together a list of things we want/need in our house but I just want to make sure I am not forgetting anything. Some of the things I listed are by no means essential items, but we just want to get a quote from 'M' on all the items we will consider so we can plan our budgett accordingly..

Ok here goes
1) Site costs
2) Air con
3) Heater upgrade to 5 star
4) Flyscreens to all openable windows/doors
5) Fan/drain for laundry
6) Glazed bathroom windows
7) Upgrade caesarstone to 40mm in kitchen/bath/laundry
Ceiling height increase to 2550
9) Microwave provision
10) Dryer noggin
11) Door/Window locks
12) UPgrade stair threads/risers
13) Electrical add ons (tv points, foxtel, internet, phone, more pp's)
14) Tap behind fridge
15) Extend fridge space
16) Gas fireplace
17) Glass splashback in kitchen
18) Lights (front/back door)
19) Various upgrades to bricks/tiles

Ok so am I missing anything? (probably something so obvious!! ) I have not included landscaping, floorings, window coverings, driveway, misc items such as letterbox, clotheline etc as these are things I plan to do outside of 'M'

Other questions I had were;
1) Is ceiling insulation of R 4.0 and wall insulation of R 2.O enough or should I upgrade more?
2) Do people think it is necessary to make doors higher than 2040 if the ceilings are going to be 2550? Would it look funny to have standard doors with higher ceilings?
3) Do people generally get robe fit-outs? Is this an expensive upgrade?
4) For people who are not getting downlights what alternatives are you using? I went to a display home today and I did not like the look of all those tiny downlights everywhere, I would rather a space be lighted by 2-3 larger lights rather than 6-8 smaller ones? However I don't just want a standard batton coming from the ceiling....

Ok I think thats it, any help would be great! I'm not asking for quotes btw just wanting to see if I am forgetting anything to get quotes from 'M' for...

Thanks heaps everyone
Cheers
Belinda

Hi Belinda,

Not sure which design you are building, but if it allows for a "butlers' pantry" you will find that this is not standard - standard is open shelving in the room, the benches and cupboards will cost extra.

We also upgraded our toilets to the 4* Regent (you will see all the options at 501).

Not sure if you like/want them but mirrored robes may be a choice as opposed to the vinyl look.

We also opted for brick infills above all windows and doors, as opposed to the cladding - which will be more noticable with higher ceiling heights. Have a look at places as you are driving around and you will know what I mean.

Tiled shower bases as opposed to the plastic pre-moulded ones.

Last, but not least - remote control garage.

Ray.

-privacy lock for bathroom and wc and masterbed
-downlights?
-sliding doors for robes/linen

Been there, done that, Belinda! Some of the things that we've selected have already been mentioned, so I've included prices as well. Remember though we made our selections about 9 months ago, and on a smaller house, (Montego) so don't be surprised if the prices are a bit different.

-Garage remote with a total of 3 hand held units ($844)
-Window locks ($325) as well as flyscreens (free for country residents)
-If you've got sliding doors to your alfresco, get a lock on it too, ($49) and maybe flyscreen doors as well ($405, size specific)
-Obscure glazing to the bathrooms/toilet ($292)
-Outdoor power points, ($88 each) and a power point to your island bench too. Cost of additional power points depends on what they are, i.e. white or stainless look.
-Wardrobe shelving. Ours is only going to cost $504 for the whole house through M. The kids rooms will have 1/2 hanging and 1/2 shelves, while the WIR will have shelving to its short side
-Upgraded front door furniture, i.e 'Trilock' mechanism ($142)
-Overhead cupboards in the laundry ($942)
-Eaves. No, seriously. Less than $3k.
-Rendering our portico will cost approx $1400
-Replacing the yukky looking freestanding cooker with a separate 900mm cooktop and 900m underbench oven will cost approx $1300.

Theres more but it gets a bit messy, when you go to '501' for your colour selections and electrical options, it is stepped out for you a bit better.

G'luck!

Forgot to mention a few things!

Your island bench should already have microwave provision unless it has 2 pot drawers on top of one another. We went ahead and ordered the Technika stainless microwave and trim kit so it all looks integrated in the bench. If you can, have a look at the Montego display at Berwick to see what I mean.

R4.0 insulation is fine, and a lot thicker than what some builders use. One builder we sussed out only used R2.5 in the ceiling but his house still complied with 5 star energy rating, so I can only assume that with R4.0, double glazed windows, solar hot water and correct orientation, M comply easily.

We're getting 2550m ceiling height as part of the M Style package and sticking to standard size doors; all the display houses are like that and they look fine. Think of Grandma's old house on the farm with 10 ft ceilings and standard doors, it doesn't look out of place at all.

Extra batten holders only cost about $40 or so but they don't give you bulbs with any of them!

We've upgraded to 4 star heating mainly because basic 3 star units can be noisy. 5 star should be even better I guess. We have also organised to get a separate circuit 'pre-wired' in preparation to getting a split system air con installed after handover. With eaves, tinted windows, lots of tiles, high ceilings and the split system we reckon we've got our cooling licked. DO NOT get evaporative cooling. They are primarily designed to work in inland areas where there is little humidity. In coastal areas they are no better than a ducted fan.

Thanks everyone - I knew I would get more ideas from here

Ray - I am most likely building the Laguna - it has a WIP which is fine by me, so do you mean I will have to pay extra for a door for the WIP? If so I will definatly have to do that my pantry is a mess at the best of times

Toilets is a good one - One I didn't even think of!!

They had mirrored robes in the display home but with my two kidlets I can't imagine wiping them all day I'd be happy with standard there

I get the tiled showr bases/remote control for garage as part of the promo pack but I may have to add another remote for my husband....Good point!!

With the brick infills above windows I know what you mean, I've just had a read of M's Standard Inclusion list and it states 'Double story home - All elevations except single story selection - Brick infills over all windows. Single story selection - side or rear. Fibre cement sheet infills.

Does this mean if I am building a double I will get brick infills above all windows or does it mean I will still have to pay extra for brick infills above ground floor windows...if so another upgrade I didn't think of, so thank-you!!

Oz now - Privacy locks is a good one!!! I didn't even think of it. Downlights I am stuck on, I really don't like the look of heaps of little ones lighting up a room, in the display home they had like 8 downlights for the TV area I would have prefred 1-2 bigger ones but not sure if it is an option?

Eager - Wow thanks heaps! You have given me heaps of extras to enquire about. I like your thinking for the kid's wardrobe fitout - very clever!!

What is a portico ? Also eaves? I think I have an idea about eaves but would like to see a pic of a house with them and a house without them....Alot of the upgrades - window locks/flyscreens/upgrade cooker etc are alot cheaper than I thought, got to be a good thing right

Thanks again - and keep them coming!! I have 2 pages so far!!

Cheers
Belinda

The portico is the "arch" or pillars at the front of the house that you walk through just before you get to the front door. The eaves are the overhang from the roof that provide shade for windows/paths etc...

It's so good to see people using this website BEFORE they have a contract. If only we all had that much information before signing our contract

We used Adlei glass for our glass splashback and found them to be a lot cheaper than others, we found them via their website www.adleiglass.com.au hope i can save you some coin.

haywgl, theres always going to be upgrades that you will see when you go in to chat to them...Paint quality, more expensive tiles for the wet areas, more expensive caeserstone door handles, taps....all can be upgrades if you want?

There is also things like sound-proofing which is often overlooked? We soundproofed the theatre, the walls between the kids rooms & the entertaining areas, the bathrooms etc.... might be something else you might want to consider.

An external gas point for an outside bbq if you want to? A ceiling fan for the alfresco area??? Heat lamps/fans in the bathrooms instead of the plain exhaust fans. Security system?

Ask them for a list and you should have plenty of options available to you???

Good Luck!!!

Belinda,

You can turn a WIP into a "butlers pantry" by adding a kitchen bench with cupboards above and below - but this is an extra. You should have the door on it already, but we didn't find out until our walk-through that the bench in the display was extra.

As your design is double storey, you should have brick infills already - the only thing to check would be that the windows on the top floor have them too, as the bottom floor ones have to have brick above them, as this becomes the wall of the top storey (hope that makes sense).

Robes - you can opt for sliding vinyl or solid doors (hinged) at no cost, so unless you want mirrored, they should be standard. As far as robe fit outs, the lady that did our walk through said that they are quite expensive to do through M and in her opinion not worth it - it would be better to get it done afterwards. We didn't upgrade this, but probably wouldn't hurt getting a price for it. The shelf with a hanging rail underneath comes as standard.

Shower base - like you we had one included in our promo package but upgraded the other one too.

Also, your portico will likely be determined by the facade you choose (what it looks like from the street), but render is usually extra.

As far as the doors go, we have some 2040 (standard height) and some 2340 (higher) with the 2550 ceilings. IMO the 2340 look better and make the roof look higher. We have the higher in the entry/master/kitchen with the standard for the back passage/bedroom and pantry doors. It was $66 per standard door to upgrade to the higher ones, and in hindsight probably should have done that throughout but the line has to be drawn somewhere otherwise we would have EVERY upgrade! We also have 2 sikkens (Corinthian Windsor 21) doors (they are the ones they normally have on the displays - wood surround with glass centre) and depending on the size can be about $1000 ea, but they are a feature.
You will also probably find that the higher ceilings are for the ground storey only - I don't think any builders provide higher ceilings upstairs.

Going through our contract, extras were:
1) Temporary site fencing - most councils require this.
2) If your garage is right ont the boundary you require "boundary flashing" to conceil the gutter so it doesn't poke onto the neighbouring land and you don't end up with a minute gap between the houses.
3) Extra cavity sliding doors on places like the ensuite and back passage (may not be applicable)
4) Upgrade the standard sidelights to match the upgraded front door (I didn't like the standard glazing)
5) Shelf/wine rack above the refrigerator space
6) One cupboard converted into a full sized drawer to accomodate the bin
7) Drawers in the ensuite/bathroom as usually only the doors and possibly and open shelf are included
Semi-frameless shower screens (personal preference - again, chosen at 501)
9) Tiling/floorboards to floor areas apart from "wet areas" (if you decide to go with them)
10) Dimmer switches if you require them
11) Telstra connection including the trench

Oh, and we were told that M don't do refrigerated cooling - only evap. If you do get the evap cooling you can opt to get the heating and cooling both wired to the same controller for a small extra cost (saves having 2 panels on the wall).

The list is endless and will depend on your design and personal tastes.

All I can say is include EVERYTHING you can think of, then you can do various calculations and decide what stays and what goes.

Ray.

Eager - Forgot to add we will be getting refridgerated air con - it is my husbands one and only wish for the house

Southbris - thanks for that info - I now understand why Eager would render the portico - would look good, will definatly add that to my list!! I agree before i found homeone I had no idea the house building game was so full - on, this site has saved us so much money and provided us with so much useful information - it is unreal!

MelC- thanks for that will definatly check them out!!

Phoneix - I agree - it is more about missing the things you can't see that I am worried about - I also think these are the type of things you can't 'fix'as easily after handover. The soundproofing is a good idea, we have a portable BBQ so shouldn't need the gas outlet, the fan in the alfresco is a good idea I was thinking of just asking them the price for the bathroom and kitchen I saw 'as displayed' and then remove the extras/change the colours of what I didn't want....

Ray - You have brought up some great points! I do get what you mean about the brick infills, we are probably going for the contemporary facade - which is an extra - I remember the one at Pt.Cook was painted - so we would probably have that upgrade! Damn - I would have thought M would do refridgerated cooling, hmm that has thrown a spanner in the works - I hope they will let the guys on site to do it if thats the case as I am assuming it would be much easier to do it b4 handover...

The 2550 ceilings are only for the ground floor so we will also opt to upgrade the second story - probably a few thousand more I would assume...

Gosh there is so much to think about!!

Thanks again!

Hi Belinda,

I missed this topic!
Anyway, lots of people have already contributed and almost everything were already mentioned.
Why not book a walkthru at 501 so you get an idea what are the options available to you during your colour selection (you can do this online).

In addition to what they mentioned, you may want to upgrade:
- acoustic insulation (if you want a HT area)
- upgraded internal doors (solid, instead of cori-tech internal doors)
- sliding doors (pantry, laundry, etc) - around $300+ to add cavity sliders
- window to the kitchen (to give natural light)
- the privacy locks to the powder, toilets, etc will only cost you $35-$40 each

and yes, having eaves depend on your chosen facade.

Well, er, yes, no, maybe, depends!



This is a representation of our facade, with a prominent portico. We are also getting eaves, so the solution is to extend the portico towards the street by the same amount as the width of the eaves, 600mm overall. This keeps the portico standing proud of the house by the same amount as if eaves are not there.

Thanks VJ - Will definatly book a walk through of 501 - I got some great ideas of colours from the display home - I know I want an all white kitchen and the bathroom in the Laguna was perfect so I'll have to find out the names of the colours and then check them out at 501 - I'm sure they are upgrades

Oh while I'm at it I'll ask you V - Did M give you an option of refridgerated a/c, or did they tell you the same as Ray - that it wasn't an option? Also did you keep the standard R 4.0 Ceiling and R 2.0 insulation for Walls or did you upgrade? (Excluding home theatre)

The solid doors and sliding pantry/laundry is a good one!!!

Hmm I'll have to see about the eaves etc, i can't remember if the one at pt. cook had them or not

Thanks again guys - I have a list of 35+ extras to get quotes for!

Belinda,

If you want the same colours/finishes as that of Laguna (Pt Cook), you just have to ask your colour consultant during your colour selection appointment. When you go to Studio 501 for a tour, the people there don't have a list of the colours used in different display centres. You will be able to get those colours, as I've said, during your colour selection appointment.

We weren't interested with refrigerated a/c that is why we didn't ask.

Re: the insulation, we didn't upgrade.


Definitely, saves space!

Re: the eveas, I checked your facade, it doesn't have the eaves yet. So, you need to upgrade if you want one, and it might not look good on that facade.
The Modern facade is a nice one and it's got eaves already!

VJ - We must have very similiar tastes as the modern facade is actually my favourite one!! I'll get a quote tomorrow -(yup I have my appointment finally!!)

I will definatly ask about the bathroom colours in the Laguna display home - one less job to have to decide on too!

That's good I don't have to worry about upgrading insulation either - I am saving more money as I go!!

There is a new current promo offering 1 of 2 options for free, you can choose from one which includes driveway, paths, tiles to ground floor, carpet to the remainder and flyscreens to all openable windows OR one that includes higher ceilnigs, downlgihts, pivo front door, caesersone benches to kitchen, o'head cupboards, stainless dishwasher, tiled shower base and laundry fitout (very similar to the indulgence promo they have for $5000 but a few changes) so I think I may pay he $5000 for the indulgence ack and choose the first option so I can get the driveway etc for free, however, I will just tell them to exclude the tiles (as I want timber) and instead upgrade the carpet....hopefully they will agree

I'll find out about the refridgerated a/c tomorrow too!
Very excited - will let you all know how we go!

Cheers
Belinda

If you decide to change any items in the promo, it will be costing you more.
You would get a small credit for item replaced (eg. tiles) and an expensive cost for the replacement (e.g timber flooring). That is, if they agree.
I reckon the carpets and tiles are all category 1. Compute first whether you would save more by choosing option 1. I have the quote for category 1 floor tiles/carpets (but it's for the signature houses).

Hmm I see your point V - your right, I was originally just going to pay the $5000 for the indulgence pack and then they told me about choosing one of these options for 'free' and it sounded to good to be true

I'll just get all the quotes tomorrow and work from there...