Thomas Archer Bayside Build

1

Jan 23, 2020 5:36 pm
Well hello lovely buildees,

After watching and lurking for some time, we are finally ready to share our build journey with you all

We bought a 650 sqm somewhat level (rise of 1.5 metres up at rear of block, out of build zone) in bayside Melbourne.
Our journey began with one builder, transitioned through 2 more until we settled on the best fit/design/budget arrangement from Thomas Archer Homes. They don't build a LOT of homes, but what we've seen, walked through and spoken to owners of, has impressed us greatly.

they heavily customised one of their Expressions homes - the Nouveau 41.
Both up and lower levels has had design changes.

Most notable on lower level

• Wider block enabled a 3 car agarage. Hubby is happy. A happy hubby is good.
• Guest bedroom and WIR plus the powder doubles as ensuite
• Extended Alfresco. (we have two sporty kids and spend ALOT of time outside.

Upstairs

• All befrooms have WIR's and esnsuites making it a true 4BR, 4 bath 3 car house
• kitchenette added into study area
• Balcony added to rear of Master. Views across backyard and potentially to water, but not holding my breath.

Block bought on June 22, 2019.


Cleared block with excavation works for pool and retaining walls

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Footings for retaining walls

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June 22nd 2019 - Vacant block purchased
July 2019 Soil and Survey done
August 6th 2019 Settlement of block
Sept 13th 2019 Process begun with Thomas Archer Homes (TAH)
Oct 10th 2019 Design confirmed and deposit paid. Building co Ordinator appointed
Oct 30th 2019 Style Appointment
Nov 6th 2019 Clipsal Appointment
Nov 12th 2019 Asset Protection Permit Issued (pool and retaining walls going in prior to build)
Dec 6th 2019 Tender Appointment
Dec 10th 2019 Tender signed. Further deposit made Pool not in, delayed /size]

Pretty much nothing happened over the Christmas New Year Break, as per building industry.

Jan 6th 2020 Retaining walls constructed on footings poured prior to Christmas
Jan 13th 2020 Excavation for pool
Jan 14th 2020 Pool shell dropped in to hole. Plumbing etc
Jan 14-22 2020 Pool plumbing and retaining walls continue. Waterproofing etc, Ag drainage laid
Jan 22nd 2020 Contracts presented and signed. Balance of 5% deposit paid



So, this is their design -

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and facade

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Here were our first lot of changes....

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https://thomasarcherbuild.blogspo

Nice looking block,strip footings,looks like the start of a quality build.

Looks good!

Hands down your modified plan is easily one of the best double storey floor plans I have seen. Great use of space and a very practical layout and the street elevation is fantastic. I love it!

Best of luck with your build, I hope it’s a very positive experience for you,

Hi Bebbsy,

Well, thank you.

It was important to get the home right for us and how we live, but also to offer something desirable come resale (hopefully many many years later)

This is what we chose at selections...

Internal:

• Flooring - Engineered oak straight boards - Champagne (Upgrade)
• ceiling heights raised to 2745mm down and 2590 up, except entry is 3000.
  

• Paint - Haymes Moon white on walls and ceiling

• Carpet - Mysterious (dark charcoal grey) by Redbook from Carpet Court
• Doors - flush. Painted in Moon White
• Door handles - Gainsborough Lianna lever set in chrome
• Windows - Stegbar Aluminium Awning in Monument
• Kitchen - Island bench 40 mm Caesarstone Organic White
• Backsplash and all benchtops are Caesarstone Organic White (butlers, Powder) (Upgrade from tiles)
• Kitchen Joinery a mix of Laminex Chalk white Natural finish and Blackened Legno Natural finish
• Appliances - all Bosch. 90cm Induction cooktop, Rangehood, 60 cm combi steam oven, 60 cm coffee machine plus warming drawer. We will supply everything but the induction and Rangehood.
• Laundry and Powder tiles - Riverstone Light grey
• Powder joinery - Decina oak
• All toilets (4 total) are Grace Wall faced in Wall Cistern (Upgrade)
• Stairs Open Risers Straight run (Upgrade)
• Balustrade glass set into stringer (gloss black) (upgrade) all void balustrades are glass (upgrade)
• upgrades all sinks, plus Butlers tap to a pull out sprayer in chrome.
• Joinery in Activity is in Decina Oak, soft close (no handles on any cabinets, either finger pull or push to open)
• Easy groove 150 feature primed panelling on 2 walls of Dining to be painted in Haymes Charcoal
• Window in Dining is a Breezeway Louvre window (custom order- had to have)
• Master ensuite has Georgian Bluffs Caesarstone with Blackened Legno joinery. Double shower. Freestanding bath. Shaving mirrors with power points inside. Tile is Rosalie Light grey
• Sons ensuite is also Blackened Legno but has Airy concrete benchtop. Charcoal wall tiles.
• Daughter's ensuite is Organic White and chalk white, similar to kitche Same tiles as her bro.
• Sliding stacker corner recessed doors to Alfresco.
• sliding stacker Double glazed door to Master Balcony.

External:

• Entry Door - Pivot 1200 mm PV 4S in Domino Gloss
• Gainsborough Trilock Omni Accent Allure entrance set in brushed chrome
• Main Render Colour is Dulux Vanilla Quake half (matches with Surfmist gutters etc)
• Alternate render Colour is Dulux Silkwort (matches with Shale Grey gutters)
• Garage and Surround clad in Shadowclad, painted Just Black
• Eco Semi Commercial Custom Tilt Garage Door with counterweight also in Shadowclad Just black
• Feature tiles on façade are Bluestone. Also on floor of Master balcony which has glad balustrades
• Roof is 18 degree pitch Colorbond Monument. Garage roof is 4 degrees (almost flat)
• 2200 L water tank in Surfmist added (Upgrade) with pad, power and pump to service all 4 toilets

Daughter's ensuite selections

Oooo exciting, design looks great, and your choices, will be great to see it progress over the coming months.

The brief was

Tropical Resort Luxe.

We'll see how close we get

Thanks for sharing! Excited to see how your build develops

Hi and thanks for sharing your build with us!

Will be watching closely on your blog for sure

We also paid the initial deposit to TA and have been assigned Jess to look after us..Colin was great during the sales process and hopefully Jess won't disappoint!

Initial plans to be in our hands next week and will be building in Melb East.

Hi roadie009,

That's exciting! Jess is our Building Co Ordinator too. What design have you chosen/modified?
We are hopeful that they'll start slab prep next week. Flurry of landscaping prep, walls and drainage again this week.

cheers

We are building a slightly modified version of the Que! Total size probably a bit over 42 sqs

Very excited indeed !

Hi lovely! Glad to see you put the blog up and was interesting to see your final selections! Can't wait to see more updates! xxx

Hi Blacktea2Sugars, thank you for sharing your experience! Loving your choices and I'm pretty sure you're house is gonna look amazing! This is my first time posting (i'm usually a reader not a poster ). We have just restarted looking at builders again after meeting TA 2 years ago then putting things on hold. Late last year they had a display home in Doncaster and thought we'd visit again and am still as impressed with them as I was 2 years ago. My only uncertainty was that there aren't many reviews abt TA online so am so glad to be able to read abt yr experience. We have a really awkward block and hard to find redesigned plans that fits. The Evoke 39 from TA looks pretty promising with modifications needed. The hubby wants to stick to a pretty strict budget so i'm just trying to get as much value packed in as possible. Any tips on yr learnings so far would be much appreciated! Looking forward to seeing how your build unfolds! I'm getting excited for you just looking at yr progress pics

Hi aang,

I'm honoured that you chose to post, especially onto my thread!
I do understand what you mean about not a lot of TA reviews/experiences on here. The other builders we considered were the same. Not much to see on there, and trust me, I scoured!

In the end I think it comes down to personal preference, quality of home, and budget, as well as flexibility. We knew from the beginning that we didn't want volume like Metricon, Henley etc. Looked at Boutique briefly, but nothing appealed. As far as getting a "custom" product, I'm glad we chose who we did, and hopefully our journey continues to be a positive one!

aang it's a good sign that there aren't many reviews about TA online. Most of the volume builders anonymous 'verified' 5 star reviews are fake, following a standard template. Its deceptive and misleading marketing however they get away with it because the review site is the legal publisher and the ACCC turns a blind eye due to the political lobbying power of the building industry. The stakes are high with all volume builders chasing a circa $500k sale in the current depressed home building market. To be sure any review is real you will need to speak directly to the customer. A good builder will have no problems providing details of 3 suitable satisfied referees happy to speak with you about their experience. If they can't question why not.

A very good point

I have personally spoken to 3 TA owners too. One from a house built years ago, two of the more recent ones. All positive (some minor issues but were all sorted out, and that's building, right?) My concern with a "mass produced product" is that attention to detail may be overlooked as "we've done heaps of these before" mentality, so I want my home a certain way, and I don't think that's being unreasonable.

Pool arrived























Pool arrived mid Jan. Plumbed, backfilled and cemented in week following. Aquablade has gone in to feature wall. All retaining walls have been waterproofed and lined.
Basketball court marked out, hoop anchor plate cemented in last Friday 14/02.
Building permit issued, site start set for Feb 19th (blue dunny arrival and temp fence arriving.)

Only job left for us to do in the meantime is to remove the section of fence that the garage is being built up to boundary on. Yay.

Correct! With volume builders there is no attention to detail or quality assurance during the build. The builders HIA contract effectively transfers the financial and time risk from poor quallty trades and variable site supervision to their customers. There is no risk to builders like Metricon, Porter Davis etc if they deliver poor quality so they really don’t need to invest in a proper Quality Assurance process. A smaller builder will usually have better quality tradespeople and suppliers, will check the workmanship and will take pride in doing things properly. Word of mouth reputation is important to them.

That is a good point Norfolk. Personal References are prob the most important. I guess no build is perfect but the culture of the company in resolving issues is most important. Heard too many examples of the big builders finishing a build and then not wanting to come back to rectify problems. Will def keep this in mind.