Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara - Landscaping time 161Apr 18, 2013 3:30 pm I'm not building a Livingstone (but I am building with PD)...I've just read every page of your thread and I think your place looks incredible! Well done, love the gates too! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara - Landscaping time 164Apr 23, 2013 7:47 am Hi, wow your house looks wonderful! I've only just found your blog and am at work so can't wait to get home tonight and look through it all properly The way I found your blog was I googoled MAXFL8021 as this is the tile we have chosen. We are in the early stages so have only just chosen tiles, colours etc. I was just wondering, how did the floor tiles turn out? They look great in the pics, but sometimes pics can be deceptive. Are you happy? What colour tone does the tile have? We live in Central Qld so are a million miles away from shops and were rushed into making our selections at our colour selections appointment in Brisbane. I've just been looking at our sample tile that we got to take with us (MAXFL8021) and am a little worried its not exactly what I am after? When I look closely at the tile it seems to have a lot of little tiny dots and a lot of the dots seem to be a dark colour? Our colour scheme is browns and creams. I really liked the Porcelain Tile MAXFL128 Stratos Bianco Polished but they are soooo expensive. So the sales lady said that the MAXFL8021 was the cheaper tile closest to the porcelain tile I liked. What do you think? Its so hard when you can't seem them laid in a bigger area Also, they will be the tiles used on our bathroom walls as well. I'd love to hear your opinion Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara - Landscaping time 165Apr 23, 2013 7:57 am Sorry, me again, i'm being a bit naughty at work and having a quick look through your photos Did you use the MAXFL8021 on the shower walls and bathroom floors too? Do you have a close up pic of the shower at all? BTW, LOVE your kitchen! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara - Landscaping time 166Apr 23, 2013 8:53 am Hey Kelz im glad you like it, thanks!
Yeah we are really happy with our floor tiles. We would have LOVED the stratos bianco as well but like you said it's usually way out of the budget. Initially I was really worried about them, the little sample they give you does not at all represent what it looks like as a whole. I was worried yes because they look speckled with white and darker bits, but you don't notice it much, it just gives it a nice 'washed' look... I just pulled that word out of nowhere... not really sure how to explain it!! hehe And yes, we used the same tile everywhere including the shower walls and floors - except for our laundry splashback (they recommended a smaller tile, it's slightly different but it doesn't bother me). I DO worry a lot about our grout because it get dirty easy. We considered colour sealing our grout but didn't have any experience so just didn't bother. My god the amount of dog hair that collects on the tiles though.. I'm having to sweep it everyday haha. So my advice would be to stick with your gut instinct, and go with it if you like it. We did actually change to a creamier/warmer tile at one stage but went back to our initial choice... and I'm SO glad I did because I'm not big on creams. I would say it's beige... has a warm (kind of light brown) look to it but suits neutral colours. The grout is off white. I'm glad we got the polished look, it feels nice to walk on and is very easy to wipe clean. But our SS did mention they show a lot of marks in the sun after mopping but if you go over it with a dry towel it won't matter. Oh and our tiler wasn't the best... overall it looks good but up close I can notice bits here and there that aren't right. Our grout is uneven depths on the floor. Our kitchen splashback tiles are uneven (when I turn on the rangehood lights I can see half of them sticking out from the wall and the rest are flush, doesn't necessarily look bad though). And the way he positioned the tiles in the main shower is a bit odd, as you can see in the photo. But overall I still love it! Are you building with Porter Davis by any chance? Good luck with your choices! Happy to answer any more questions. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It's hard to get a quality photo off my phone but these still give you the idea. Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 167Apr 23, 2013 10:00 am Thanks so much for the quick reply and for all the info & pics (not looking forward to trying to keep them clean and keep all the dog hair off them! haha) I definitely can't notice the speckely dark bits in the pics, especially on the floors, but i'm wondering if you can notice them when you are standing in the shower looking at the wall up close? Or does it blend in more in the bigger tiles (rather than just looking at the little sample)? What size tile did you go with? I like it how it has that washed/hazy look, I'm jsut hoping you cant see those dark speckles, I think it might be someting taht will annoy me. Although, i'm sure I owuld get used to it in the long run! But like I say, its looks great overall in your pictures, i'm just hoping that when i'm up close on the walls it looks as good - my gut instinct is saying to go with teh stratus bianco porcelain! haha too bad its way over budget! I'm glad to hear it has a beige, light brown tone to suits nuetrals as that is what I am looking for. I was just worried that in one of your photos it seemed to look a bit grey? (the photo with your dark wood bookcase) but it must just be the light or something cause the other photos they look more browner. What wall paint colour did you use. I'm worried our colour might be too creamy now. sorry i'm sure all this is listed in your info, but i'm trying to do this quickly whilst at work and cant look through the pages No we are not building with PD. I don't think they are in Brisbane??? The prices with our builder just keep on adding up and up! So frustrating! Especially when we felt very rushed making all of our selections and now if you want to change your mind you have to pay huge fees! I notice you went with the long shower floor waste thing? Was it expensive? We have to use one of those otherwise they won't gurantee that the tiles won't be laid diagonal! And I think they quoted them being like $400 each? I'm still waiting for them to get back to me with the exact price, but i think thats what i remember her saying at the selections appointmetn! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 168Apr 23, 2013 10:16 am Oh yeah, duh! Didn't even think about you being interstate, PD are vic based. The tiles do look different in different lighting, but they don't look grey. I wouldn't worry too much, they are definitely beige. And I never notice the dark speckles, it's more the white. The shower drain was standard... I didn't even know that it would look like that... I thought it was just a normal round drain. But I like it. I haven't tried lifting it up to clean under it yet. Our walls are 'whiteweave' by Wattyl... I wouldn't recommend it. I don't like it... too grey/white... It doesn't match the warm neutrals. I'm going to paint most of the walls at some stage, but not for a while! In terms of upgrading to the stratos bianco... think about what is really important to you, and whether or not it's something you can't easily change later on (like the tiles). I chose to upgrade other things instead and I'm really happy with our floor tiles. But that's completely up to you! The tiles are 400x400 - good size. Wouldn't go any smaller. Hope this helps Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 169Apr 23, 2013 11:05 am Oh that is so great to hear that thy are definitely beige and that you don't notice the dark speckels I think I will stick with these tiles We went with Dulux Hog Bristle for the walls, but thats just the colour the lady firstly showed us that she recomended and we just went with it as we had no idea. But getting the colour card home i'm just not sure now?! I think it will be fine though. You are lucky your shower drain came standard like that, as I'm pretty sure thats the most upgraded one that we could choose and the most expensive! Thanks again for your advice Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara - Landscaping time 170Apr 23, 2013 11:25 am ftdt7882 I'm not building a Livingstone (but I am building with PD)...I've just read every page of your thread and I think your place looks incredible! Well done, love the gates too! Thanks! It's nice to hear people like it! Have you got a thread? Which house plan are you building? Our front deck is being done now, will upload pics later Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 171May 18, 2013 2:56 pm Well I haven't posted for a while... we finally finished our front landscaping... looks great, just how I wanted it. Getting a little frustrated as there are THOUSANDS of little weeds popping up now in the new soil! We ended up getting instant sir-walter buffalo lawn and so far it's great. Hopefully it thrives. Still need to fix up the edging of the garden beds. The backyard is a slow process... shovelling dirt by hand into the trailer so we're in no rush. No money for a decking yet so will have to wait. But the mud is driving me crazy! Told my dog she's staying outside for the entire winter.... haha... just joking We got some of our blinds installed yesterday, but still waiting on our romans... every time I call they say "another 2-3 weeks" or "end of this month"... last I was told the end of June (ridiculous!!!!) SO angry but what can I do?? GAH! Here's some pics! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ If anyone notices what is stupid about our letterbox... blame my husband. haha it made me laugh! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 172May 18, 2013 3:00 pm Oh yay! It looks fantastic! Will you be staining the timber to match the front door, or leaving it as is? I can't notice anything about the malibox...what am I missing?? 1st build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59376 *New*-2nd build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70324&p=1154282#p1154282 Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 173May 18, 2013 3:44 pm We just have to oil the merbau... not painting it. I didn't realise they weren't supplying the oil but that's ok! The letterbox is only 90mm wide... and he put the round paper holder in it because it looks good... but not very practical!! If you were to put something in it it would probably just fall out the back. Haha. Even the top part is only small, but it still works. How's things going with you?! Been watching your thread it looks great. Having a bit of a get together tonight for housewarming.... finally got a TV aerial so will be watching the footy... go cats!! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 174May 21, 2013 12:08 pm Looks fantastic! What did that decking cost you to have done, if you don't mind me asking? Do you know what your setback is in the front? Our is 4mts, we wanted a deck similar to yours, but don't think we have enough room for one, i can't really tell at the moment.. Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 175May 21, 2013 12:24 pm Hi guys, just put the deposit down on a Livingston 23 and this thread has been amazing to help us get our head around it all. Great job and the house looks fantastic Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 176May 21, 2013 1:04 pm The decking cost us 2600... and he made the letterbox from the cut offs for no extra cost... still sounds like a lot but we really had no idea about doing it ourselves and it's exactly how I wanted it. They did an awesome job. I'm terrified to quote a decking for the back!! But I want it done by summer Our frontage is 4m too... I'm pretty sure that is the minimum standard! But that's from the front of the portico of course... and the garage/bedroom is set back. I'm sure you'll be able to do the same... even if it has less steps? Maybe it just looks like there is less room because of the particular facade? The deck style is not uncommon so maybe have a look around the estate and get an idea of how it will look. jlgal1 glad to hear my thread helped! I couldn't find anyone with the livingstone on here initially which would have been good. Where are you building? The display home in Leopold really helped us decide what we wanted... nice to see the plan before it's built! Anyway good luck with it all! Any questions just ask. Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 177May 21, 2013 1:11 pm Is it the same bloke who made the gates too, Geelong decks & pergolas? I don't mean to be a pain, but do you know much they charged per square meter? We need the alfresco done too so i am trying to work it all out and see if we can afford to just do it all at once.. Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 178May 21, 2013 1:17 pm Yes Nick it's the same guy from Geelong decks and pergolas. Highly recommend if you can afford it. I have no idea about price per square metre... the quote wasn't broken down... but you could always ask. Oh a piece of advice for anyone building the Livingstone... I would really think about the orientation of your house to the block and what heating/cooling you will have. At the moment without any blinds... the rear of the house (kitchen/family/dining/study) is VERY warm on a sunny day. Yet the front of the house (facing South) is nice and cool... the way I like it. As soon as I walk from the kitchen, down the hallway towards the front entrance... the temp feels like it drops at least 5 degrees! It may be different if you like it really warm... but as someone who works nightshift... I need a cool bedroom for sleeping in the day. Our gas ducted heating is great... but we will definitely need to buy an air conditioner for the family room when summer comes around. So for us = south facing house is perfect. But I can't wait to get our roman blinds installed. Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis - Grand Lakes Estate, La 179May 21, 2013 1:20 pm LMcNish89 Yes Nick it's the same guy from Geelong decks and pergolas. Highly recommend if you can afford it. I have no idea about price per square metre... the quote wasn't broken down... but you could always ask. Thank you!! Re: Our Livingstone by Porter Davis, Lara 180Oct 16, 2013 4:54 pm Well, 6 months on and we can finally say this place feels like home. We have recently started painting the entire house (walls only), and even after buying countless sample pots we still chose the wrong colour! The main colour we chose looks a tinge pink in the evening sun... so, back to the drawing board. The feature walls look great though, still waiting another coat or two. As for the backyard, we had a friend quote us for a 3.5m x 12m merbau deck with pergola... and I am pleased to say the quote was less then I'd worried about! So hoping to start ASAP. It really will be the icing on the cake. Plus we scored a free bbq today... I can just about smell the snags! As soon as the deck is done we'll be grassing and planting the rest. Oh and still yet to oil the front decking, may as well do it at the same time. As for me, I will have a lot more time on my hands in 3 weeks time once my final uni exam is over! 3 weeks off from work coming up which will be perfect for some gardening and painting! Hope everybody else's plans are coming along nicely! Will post photos when it's all complete Our external decking was only installed 2 months ago, and already moulded, with cracks, and some timber decolorated. The decking is in an exposed area, uncovered in our… 0 1502 I second taking your plans elsewhere. They're yours (unless you ended up in one of those cheaper arrangements where you don't own the rights and the build will be tendered… 2 802 of course there are legal avenues. You've already mentioned it. Sue them. I find it odd that lawyers wouldnt be willing to take on the case, given CCT evidence and… 1 24746 |