Kelsey78’s Home in Honeywood DAH Build-KEYS!!!

Hi Everyone,

A little bit of back story,

My Fiancé and are 21 years old. We have been together for 5 years. Probably about 4 of those years we have been planning to build.
It has taken such a long time to get to this stage. Especially after trying to pay off debt/then start saving with the OH being an apprentice.

We originally were trying to secure a 15m block. But unfortunately our estate is in such high demand all of the bigger blocks had already been snapped up by cash buyers.
Luckily we have secured a 12.5m lot in the Honeywood Estate Wandi. We are planning to build an altered version of the Catalunya with Dale Alcock.

We are still living at home trying to save all our pennies for this build.
We are slowly growing our glory box with things for the home.

2014 is our year for the Build
2015 is our year for the Wedding!!
I’m sure the next two years is going to be very stressful but In the end in know it will be worth it.

Any comments of feedback is greatly appreciated. I promise I don't bite

Here is the original plan:



Here are the final plans



Elevation:



Our DA sales consultant has been amazing. He gave us the confidence to sign with Dale Alcock even though we were seriously considering Shelford. Even since we signed he has continued to give us outstanding service by answering our endless questions and calls.

Timeline:
14/09/2013 Secured Land in Honeywood Estate, Wandi
11/01/2014 First Meeting with DAH
05/02/2014 Signed PPA with DAH
13/02/2014 Meeting with Resolve Finance
27/02/2014 Preapproval for Finance
27/02/2014 External Colour Meeting
02/04/2014 Titles Issued
26/04/2014 Singed Building Contract
02/05/2014 Prestart Meeting
24/05/2014 Tap
06/06/2014 Conditional Approval for Finance
09/06/2014 Final Plans Received
19/06/2014 Final Plans Signed
23/06/2014 Building Permit
30/06/2014 Unconditional Approval for Finance
16/07/2014 Land Settlement
17/07/2014 Moved to Construction
28/07/2014 Earthworks
04/08/2014 Footings
05/08/2014 Slab!
19/08/2014 Bricks delivered
20/08/2014 Frames delivered
24/09/2014 Sand delivered
07/10/2014 Brickwork commenced
09/11/2014 Roof timbers delivered
10/11/2014 Roof carpentry commenced
13/11/2014 Roof carpentry completed
17/11/2014 Plumbing completed
17/11/2014 Electrical completed
17/11/2014 Gutters and down pipes installed
17/11/2014 Roof tiles delivered
20/11/2014 Roof Cover!
24/11/2014 Plate Height!
24/11/2014 Grey float commenced
27/11/2014 Grey float completed
28/11/2014 White set commenced
02/12/2014 White set completed
02/12/2014 External render completed
04/12/2014 Ceilings installed
08/12/2014 Cornices installed
12/12/2014 Doors and shelves fitted
15/12/2014 Lock Up!
16/12/2014 Skirting boards installed
07/01/2015 Ceiling, doors, frames, hardiflex and undercoat seal painted
19/01/2015 Cabinets installed
21/01/2015 Grano poured
21/01/2015 WIR fitout
29/01/2015 Tiler meeting
29/01/2015 Tiling Started
30/01/2015 Stone installed
05/02/2015 Tiling completed
09/02/2015 Toilets installed
09/02/2015 Final Electrical completed
09/02/2015 Final plumbing commenced
15/02/2015 Insulation Installed
19/02/2015 Render Painted
19/02/2015 Painting Completed
19/02/2015 Garage Door Installed
20/09/2015 Sliding Robes fitted
20/02/2015 Shower glass installed
20/02/2015 Garage Door Installed
20/02/2015 Mirrors installed
24/02/2015 Timber flooring installation commenced
03/03/2015 Air Conditioner installed
03/03/2015 Kitchen and Bathroom Cornices installed
06/03/2015 Kitchen and Bathroom Cornices painted
06/03/2015 Toilet roll holders, Towel rails installed
06/03/2015 Door handles fitted
06/03/2015 Oven and Hotplate installed
09/03/2015 Rangehood installed
10/03/2015 Silicon gaps around cabinetry
10/03/2015 Flyscreens fitted
11/03/2015 Final Plumbing fitted
12/03/2015 Aggregate poured
14/03/2015 Wood flooring installed
19/03/2015 Carpets installed
19/03/2015 Practical Completion Inspection - Pre Handover!
27/03/2015 KEYS!!!!

Very exciting!! I love a big pantry, so looking forward to seeing the amendments. It looks like you've changed it from a 4 bdrm to 3 bdrm? And you've changed the orientation of the alfresco etc too, is this to suit the block better? Which way is north?

Thanks CountryHome!!

Our block is north facing. DA designed our home around this to best maximise the sun.

When we were deciding what we wanted it was important for us to have storage and space. In order to extend our bedroom/ ensuite add WIP and WIL we had reduce to 3 bedrooms instead of 4. We would rather have 3 good size rooms instead of 4 smaller rooms. Also this design was too long for our block. That also played a part in our decision to reduce the house to 3 bedrooms.

Nice design, and your changes look good. I also love having storage and space. So your kitchen and WIP should be great.

Along with all the structural changes here are the upgrades we made in the contract
Clay Tiles
2nd entry to garage
Laundry Bench tops and Cupboards
Under mount Sink
Close Home Theatre
4 Panel sliding door
Internal Paint
Dakin Air Con
920mm Entry door
31c Ceiling to Entry
Coffered Ceiling to Home Theatre
Highlight Window to Home Theatre
Overhead Cupboards to Fridge Recess
Microwave Recess
Bin Drawer
Double Robes to Bed 2&3
Extend Vanity in Bathroom
Door to Linen
Doors Upgrade
Nib walls to ensuite and bath
WIR Fitout
Poured Aggregate
31c Plasterboard Alfresco Ceiling
HWS Upgrade (we are thinking of changing this to a continuous water system. has anybody upgraded to this is it significantly more expensive?)

As we have signed already we are limited to making big structural changes however any input would be great!

We haven’t really started making a list for prestart yet but my fiancé and I would like to make the following changes to our plan.
-remove 25c opening in entry
- waterfall edge
-extend width of kitchen bench to at least 1m
-add soffit/bulkhead to recess in living

Thanks Mia

even though we are on a small block it was important for me to try get as much storage as possible. I hate clutter!

Welcome Kelsey, your plans look fantastic!! We also have a 12.5m block...it's so tricky trying to fit everything you want in there isn't it! Love your kitchen and storage, you've done amazingly well with the space you have!

Can't wait to see it all come to life for you, will be following for sure

Thanks so much! I've been secretly following your build! I love your layout! Especially your grand entry! Also very jealous of your pool! We really wanted one but didn't have the space !!

Oohhh a secret admirer thanks! We're very excited about the pool but it has been a drama fitting it and making it work.

Fingers crossed the next stages go a lot quicker for you than they did for us!

The plan looks great and the changes you're considering sound ideal to me. Fingers crossed your title comes in on schedule!

Thanks so much FP! I loved all your ideas with your build so it's really nice to hear you like mine! It's funny you mention titles. We got an email from Satterley today saying they have now been delayed until mid April! Oh we'll I'm sure it's the first of many delays in this process!!!

We received a letter from Satterley saying that Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) on lots had been updated and now we are subject to 12.5 BAL rating.
This is really frustrating as we chose that block on the basis that we did not have to pay extra to meet that rating. We are now looking at an extra 10K to get it up to code. Our builder is already drawing our plans and our finance is already conditionally approved. This just means we are going to have to wait longer for our drawings and have to go back to Resolve Finance with these changes. This is not something we have budgeted for

Apologies for the rant!!!

Hi Kelsey78, subscribing so I can follow your build!

-Shannon

Well that's crap! Sorry to hear your block has been rated differently. Shouldn't they have finalised all of that before the sale? Aren't you supposed to be fully informed of what it is you're buying? Fingers crossed it won't cause too many problems with finance.

Thanks Shannon!!

Thanks FP! I'm trying not to get too upset its still early days. We are trying to fight it, it was not mentioned in our contracts or by the agent (He actually made a comment about how lucky we were not having to pay for a BAL rating). Apparently within a month of signing (early October) they made this decision, I feel that's so wrong especially considering we only just found out about it!

We had the same thing with our block in Hammond Park.
It was about 2 months after settlement on the block that we got a letter from the developers advising that our block had a BAL of 12.5. Before that nothing was mentioned, we tried to fight it but all it did was cause delays, apparently not advising you at settlement of the fire management plan is not any kind of breach of contract and they did nothing wrong, we even contacted some fair trade government department or something (can't remember what they were called).
Finance had already been processed so all extra costs had to be paid by us so good thing we had extra saved up.
It also put a 2 months delay on construction starting because our builder had to get all these reports done to know exactly what was needed etc.
Our developer paid for a fire assessment on the block since the fire management plan only covered the estate and gave each block a rating but not enough detail. That would have cost about $800 our builder said.
Ended up being abiout $5k though, that include weep holes covers, garage door seal, the front door frame being made of different wood, and sarking in the roof (which was the biggest cost of about $3.5k for our 260m2 roof (rough size).
The sarking does help with insulation so we should have reduced energy costs going forward BUT it was the biggest nightmare of our build.
Hopefully you can get your costs down to around $5k like ours was.. your house is fairly similar in size to ours so shouldn't cost so much I would think.

All I can say is GOOD LUCK! And don't let it get you down, with building, nothing ever goes to plan so you have to take it all in stride.

The bush that caused our BAL is already planned for development so we paid for BAL rating and won't even live there a year before the bush is long gone.

Wow felicity01 I can’t believe you didn’t have a leg to stand on considering it wasn't until after you settled that council enforced the BAL rating. I feel like I’m fighting in a losing battle with this. I don’t want it to hold up our build. I may just have to accept it. DA has given us a PS of $8,257.00 to meet the rating, I wish it was closer to your amount

Recently we had our Pre-Contract Meeting where we selected the exterior colours of house. Overall the whole experience was a bit overwhelming. I wasn’t impressed with our pre-start consultant. Being young I felt like she didn’t take us seriously. She was also really pushy. I came out of that appointment more stressed and confused than when I walked in.

Here are our colour selections

Brick – Collie 1c
Tile – Vienna Cocoa
Facia, Garage Door, Entry Door – Surfmist
Frames – White Lustre
Render – Solver Vitesse
Feature render – Solver Lundy Grey 200%

I’m really uncertain about the feature render we were wanting a brown that contrasts well with the tile but I’m really unsure

Hi Kelsey78,

This is exactly how I felt after our exterior colour meeting. I was so unsure and ended up changing the exterior colours to the same as the display a week or so later. I them changed it all again at pre-start and I am so glad I did as it was the right decision. If it is any help I think your colour choice is great! Everything is the same as ours except roof colour as we went surf most colorbond. Check out my thread if you want to see lundy grey and vitesse together.
I will try and get another close up pic for you today.