My Metricon Bordeaux 56 build

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in the process of building the Metricon Bordeaux in Melbourne and will be sharing my progress photos in this thread for anyone who's interested. I'm happy to help answer any questions to anyone who's considering building this home.

Here's a summary of the build:
* Knock down and rebuild
* Builder:Metricon
* Range:Signature
* Model: Bordeaux 56
* Standard size: 56 square
* Final Size: 60 squares (due to outdoor room extension)
* Options: Matched the display home for the most part
* Swimming pool - Compass Pools

The original home:




Start of the demolition;



Cleared block:



Digging the hole for the lap pool. 12X2.5m


Craning the pool into position:









The "standard" pool cover supplied by the pool company.



Relocating the power pole to make way for my new crossover. Very expensive exercise:




Week 1: Start of construction. The site is being cut:







Retaining walls installed:



Drainage works done:









Pouring the concrete:







Metricon rejected my original pool cover saying that it's not engineered. They said that building works would cease unless this was rectified. The pool company had to redo it with a new cover. 2K extra charge.



Framing has started:










2nd level floor installed:








Master suite:


2nd floor corridor:



Master WIR:





Entry hallway:



Main living area:



Garage. The ceiling is meant to be dropped to 2.7m to match the left side however I asked the supervisor if it was OK to leave the height at 3.15m and he said it should be fine. Variation raised and approved at no cost:






Framing complete:



Extended outdoor room:





Inside the roof:


Sarking installed:



Roof tiles installed:




Temporary down pipes installed:



Weather wrap installed:



I noticed that the window is not sitting at the ground level. I measured it and noticed that the wrong size window has been delivered. Short by 10cm. Notified Metricon and they confirmed the wrong order so a replacement will be organised.



Stacker doors installed:




Zoning system for the heating/cooling system:



House has been plumbed:

Wow another beautiful big home, awesome pictures of build progress. I'll be following with interest. Love the wide entrance and grand outdoor room.

Hi, I just came across your post and love your house build. What's your change in the outdoor room that makes it 60sqm? Is it an extension out longer as we are thinking of the same. Also, can I ask how big is your pool and how much do they charge? is it fibreglass pool?

Many thanks for the post and keep posting we are thinking of the Bordeaux 50 at the moment but see how the budget goes. Which options did you choose or left out? Also, we are new to building as well, how much was your demolition and which company did you use? sorry to ask many questions as we are new to building and are first home owners with young children

Hi

Love your bordeaux!
May i ask why the pool goes in before as it looks like you have enough space(out of zone of influence?) from the house?
I am also going to have a pool and not sure whether it should go in before or after the pool.
Do you have footings for the house?
Thanks

Kind regards
HAL

Thank you.. The wide entrance is one of the main reasons why I decided on this home as well as the 3m ceiling. Gives a grand feel to it.

3 metre ceiling definitely going to be gorgeous

Hi Hal,

The decision of building the pool during construction or post construction was a decision that kept me up at night. It wasn't easy. I wanted to build after construction to be sure that the pool will be built at the correct level; i.e same height as the outdoor room concrete slab. However there is a clause in Metricon's 30 year guarantee document that mentions that the guarantee is void if building a pool afterwards. As my pool was within 1.5m of the house I didn't want to take this risk. Due to the height of my house and the accessibility for excavators and cranes it would of been difficult building the pool after the house. Therefore I decided to let Metricon know that I'll build the pool after they cut the site. Doing this also involves a bit of a headache because there is a handover process from Metricon to me and then back to Metricon after the pool has been done. As the pre-construction process was very slow I consulted my customer support consulted on if I should just go ahead and build even before Metricon do any site works. She told me just to go ahead which I did. It was a good decision because the pool was built just in time for Metricon to do their thing. The level of the pool was within 5cms of the outdoor room concrete slab which was actually planned. If you build the pool afterwards then make sure you let the builder know in advance so they can run the sewer pipes so it won't obstruct your pool.

You need to tell builder that you are building a pool and they will work out if piering is required. If the depth of the pool is greater than the distance from the slab then piering is required. In my case it was so so I paid an additional amount for piering at the rear of my outdoor room slab. From memory it was roughly 3K. See image below showing the engineering for the outdoor room slab. It has 4 bored piers.


Metricon requires that the pool has a OHS complaint pool cover which is engineered. Expect to pay 3K+ for this.


If building a pool prior to home construction I would highly recommend that you wait till you get the final plans for the house which show you the finished floor levels for your house. The pool company will use this to work out what elevation the pool should be installed at. The levels are measured by referencing the TBM(To benchmark) which is a nail inthe kerb that the builder installs during the site survey.

I hope that helps.

Hi aussiemunchkins,

Yes, the outdoor room is an extension of the standard one. Please see the area within the red section showing the extension.

Detail listed in my contract:


The standard outdoor room has timber painted beams which most people don't realize when building this home. I insisted on hebel rendered beams.

The pool is a lap pool and is 12m long by 2.5m wide. It was quite an expensive fibreglass pool at roughly 66K. 10K was on the infloor cleaning system. You can get them much cheaper by using cheaper equipment or going to another pool company. I knew I was paying a premium using Compass Pools which seems to have a good reputation so I thought I'd play it safe.

In regards to demolition, we used Melway demolition. It was roughly 13K Make sure you include a asbestos clearance certificate in the deal. We had to get them back out their to pick up all the asbestos peices that were visible after the rain settled down the soil.

No worries about asking so many questions. I know what it's like going through the pre-build process so I'm happy to help out any way I can. I wished I had someone who could of helped me to decide a lot of things prior.

I hope that helps.

Thank you for sharing your build experience. Hope to see more of your progress photos. Also, which options did you opt for to bring the final contract to $300K extra . Did you choose Hebel floor? Do you mind share options prices and anything we should watch out if we decide to build with Metricon ? We are thinking of the 50sq maybe less. Are you planning to use any landscaper?
Regards,

There's not much in the display home that is standard so you pretty much have to upgrade everything if you want it to look like the display home. The sales consultant gave me a "displayed options list" for the house. I asked for a list when i first enquired but she said one doesn't exist. It wasn't until I paid my initial deposit that she magically printed me a copy of the displayed options list. Make sure you request a copy of this. It makes your life much easier as you can see all the items that are options in the display home and the prices. This helps to educate you on what is not standard.
Big ticket items which I included were the following:
* Cabinetry throughout the house (includes miele appliances)- 107K upgrade. (i opted for laminate impressions instead of timber veneer which is much more expensive)
* Tiling to match display - 80K upgrade
* airconditioning unit - 25K upgrade
* outdoor room extension - 22K
* Stained timber doors throughout downstairs - 10K upgrade
* I did not opt for the bifold doors. This was an extra 16K.
* I did not opt for the hebel sub floor for the 2nd level. It would of been great but at 26K I couldn't justify it.
* There were a lot of other smaller upgrades which all add up! i.e. frameless shower, oval baths, electricals etc.

You might not be aware but the parapet mouldings and arched windows are only included on the front facade. The display home has it on the side and rear evelvations to. Expect to pay over 75K extra if you want them! It probably doesn't matter too much if you're not on a corner though.

I will be getting a quote for landscaping however if it turns out too expensive I'll end up doing a fair chunk myself.

I hope that helps.

Hi Vuster thanks for the information. I am in the early stage of building a doulton classique 56. I have about 5m distance between the pool(8x4m concrete pool and spa) and the house, so I think I will do it afterwards. I haven't been to selection yet but I am also thinking to tile the ground floor, and I do have corner big block , therefore the parapet mouldings and arched windows might need to be done on the side and rear. Did you opt for the heating and add on cooling coils? I heard from the electrician that it's low maintenance as they use the same duct although initial cost is high. I have a p soil and likely will need engineer footing design , can't imagine how much the site cost will be. Undecided about the hebel power floor. Thanks for the pictures and useful info, will be following your posts

My friend has just signed for the doulton 56 as well. It seems good value for money. Apparently there's a doulton display being built in Burwood atm and should be available soon so maybe you should hold out on your selections before seeing it. The doulton classique facade doesn't seem to have any arch windows. All rectangle from what I can see so it'll be less for you to do the side elevation. I'm guessing the eave and band mouldings as well as window mouldings should set you back roughly 6-9K. I've just asked my Meritron coordinator if it's possible to raise a construction variation to do the mouldings for my side elevation too. If she says it's OK I'll know exactly how much it will cost me. I was going to do this after handover but the money I save might be negated if scaffolding is required.

My home came with 2 gas ducted heating units as standard. I added the reverse cycle system and assumed that it replaces the gas heating units but I've checked my plans and it appears the gas heaters are still there. I'm going to have to follow this up.

Wow, thank you for sharing the information on the 'upgrades'. Metricon surely makes heaps of upgrades worth their while. I am sure when it comes to build like their display home, it would cost close to double the standard house they are selling. Love to see your progress and congratulations on the brave journey, hopefully everything goes smoothly for you. Also, do you plan to use a landscaper as we think if we max out our budget building, we just have to live with bare landscape for a while

Yes The slab of the doulton display just went in not long ago. It will be too late for me to wait for it prior to my selection did you add on another water heating unit? My friend who built their own house told me it's their biggest mistake not to have another unit as the water takes too long to go upstairs and longer time to heat up if someone also use it in another room . I am not sure whether I should add that. Thanks

Hi Hal,

I've got 2 hot water units installed which was a standard inclusion. 1 is an instantaneous system and the other is a solar powered system.

Hi HAL,

We are new to building and this is our first house. We are thinking of either the Bordeaux 50 or the Doulton 56 though it's a bit big for us (family of 5). What's the contract price for the Doulton if you don't mind we are asking and did you do any optional upgrades etc? Many thanks and good luck!

Hi
I think that is a 2 in 1 hot water unit, 2 solar panels wth continuos hot water from gas if not enough. that is also in my standard inclusion.
thanks

Hi Aussiemunchkins
i will start my thread rather than hijacking vuster's:)
will follow your thread closely Vuster. Love your build

Wow, totally missed this one. Beautiful house you're building mate, look forward to seeing more.

Wow. Your home is going to be amazing and a great location. I'll be following with interest as I know where you're building (we're doing our own knockdown rebuild in the next suburb). I thought your place was going to be about 50 squares when I drove past but I underestimated! Look forward to seeing your updates.