Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building in Brooks Reach 61Apr 01, 2013 4:45 pm Hi everyone, Just wondering if anyone is going to organise to have a private inspector/certifier visit their site at any point(s) during the build. It is my understanding each visit is around $500; I think most people get an inspector pre-plaster and pre-handover (making sure you don't sign any paperwork until any issues have been fixed by your builder.) All that needs to be done is arrange it with your SS as to when the private can be onsite with you and the SS. Does anyone have any contacts or hired someone already? -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 62Apr 03, 2013 1:41 pm Hey Ruby! Hubby RSVP'd this arvo but hasn't received any response but I'd like to think they would have responded to you considering you RSVP'd last week! Ah well, I guess we turn up and hope for the best Looking forward to meeting you!! Re: Building in Brooks Reach 63Apr 03, 2013 9:17 pm Hi friends, Exciting news; we got an invoice from Clarendon yesterday (for 20% of our entire house cost; OUCH!) saying our slab was complete. DH and I were shocked as the SS called hubs on Thursday to say our slab should be finished around Friday 5th April. We weren't going to sign over that much cash if the slab wasn't even done yet!!! To our wonderful surprise when we rushed over after work we found this: That's right; it's a slab!!! Unfortunately it rained so much today (and is forecast to rain every day for the next two weeks!!) guess it just gives the slab more time to cure, right?! Still having a few issues with that stupid tree that's where our drive way HAS to go: got a confusing email from Wollongong council saying this: "Normally the removal or relocation of a street tree is considered as part of the DA process. If approval is granted appropriate conditions will be attached to the DA consent such as the following condition. "Compensatory Street Tree Provision Prior to the issue of an Occupation Certificate the developer must make compensatory provision for the existing street tree required to be removed as a result of the development. In this regard, a mature plant stock of the same maturity and species shall be placed in an appropriate location on the road reserve."" ^^^ can anyone provide any insight as to what is actually being said here? :S Nat84 Hey Ruby! Hubby RSVP'd this arvo but hasn't received any response I guess we turn up and hope for the best Looking forward to meeting you!! Nat!!! I got an email this afternoon saying 'Your RSVP for the Home Expert Panel Event has been received'. Yay!! I really am looking forward to meeting you too -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 64Apr 03, 2013 9:35 pm com-slab-ulations! Well done Ruby, looks bee-u-ti-ful!! The bits about the tree? You're on your own there lol I have no idea...sorry! Council speak is beyond me I'm afraid. Cheers Wiz Wiz Built @ Brooks Reach Built the Verdelho Guest with Beechwood Re: Building in Brooks Reach 65Apr 05, 2013 1:56 pm Awesome Ruby! I was just out there on my lunch break and saw your slab - looks awesome! How exciting for you guys Re: Building in Brooks Reach 66Apr 05, 2013 6:20 pm Had a great visit to Brooks Reach this afternoon. Hubby and I took the dog for a walk (kids at the park) and we went by our block. We noticed a very large newly piered site behind us, and our neighbours were there checking it out!! It was so nice to meet them and say g'day....and their Clar3ndon house is massive! Can't wait to see it go up! Our build is slowly, slowly getting closer to something happening on site! Plans have been approved by council, received them from BW on Wednesday. Spoke to them today and we are waiting on final sewer plans to come in. Once we are told they have received them, BW will book us in for our colours selection and FINALLY, contract signing. Hopefully that will happen next week (fingers crossed!). Then within 28 days....we might actually have movement on site!!! We're still heading up to the home expert panel event on Sunday, so hopefully will be able to meet a few more Brooks Reachians Cheers Wiz Wiz Built @ Brooks Reach Built the Verdelho Guest with Beechwood Re: Building in Brooks Reach 67Apr 05, 2013 6:56 pm That's awesome Wiz! I think I know who you're neighbours are, they have 2 little girls yeah? I saw on her FB that her home was getting piered this week and I know she's building with Clar3don, wonder if it's who I think it is! Would have been awesome to meet your neighbours! We were checking out the house next door to yours Ruby as the guy who owns it works with my hubby (and Wiz!) and we actually met your neighbours! They are building the MJH behind / diagonal to darrenh's. They are lovely! Can't wait til we can get to the stage where we meet our neighbours. The block next door and behind us have sold so at least we know we'll get a fence nice and quickly LOL See ya's on Sunday! Re: Building in Brooks Reach 68Apr 05, 2013 7:02 pm Nat84 I think I know who you're neighbours are, they have 2 little girls yeah? I saw on her FB that her home was getting piered this week and I know she's building with Clar3don, wonder if it's who I think it is! Would have been awesome to meet your neighbours! Hey Nat, I don't think it's them. This was two guys, and they didn't mention any kids, so I don't think it's them. But two blocks over is another Clar3ndon, so that might be who you're thinking of. lol - it's great meeting people, hope we all stay happy with each other down the track! We had the dog with us, so introduced her to them and also warned them that we have 3 kids and we're gonna have a pool...so might be a tad noisy over their back fence See you sunday Wiz Built @ Brooks Reach Built the Verdelho Guest with Beechwood Re: Building in Brooks Reach 69Apr 05, 2013 7:14 pm Oh, whoops haha! OK she must be a few blocks over then Cool, see you Sunday Re: Building in Brooks Reach 70Apr 05, 2013 8:08 pm WizardofOz Had a great visit to Brooks Reach this afternoon. Our build is slowly, slowly getting closer to something happening on site! Plans have been approved by council, received them from BW on Wednesday. Then within 28 days....we might actually have movement on site!!! We're still heading up to the home expert panel event on Sunday, so hopefully will be able to meet a few more Brooks Reachians -- hope we all stay happy with each other down the track! Cheers Wiz Hey Wiz, Glad you had a nice afternoon in our new neighbourhood!! I am so envious that you've met people already!! You too Nat! Hubby and I are always looking to try and meet our neighbours but it hasn't happened yet (maybe it's also because we're shy haha) It'll be nice getting to put faces to names on Sunday I can't wait til you ladies both start seeing progress on your lots - I look forward to reading along on you Blog wiz (Nat, are you going to start blogging too?!) Not sure how many people will turn up on Sunday; the last few Stockland events have been pretty small number wise. Wiz, a question; why did you spell Clarendon with a 3? :p Quote: Nat84: We were checking out the house next door to yours Ruby as the guy who owns it works with my hubby (and Wiz!) and we actually met your neighbours! They are building the MJH behind / diagonal to darrenh's. They are lovely! Woo; nice to know our neighbours are nice Do they have kids/pets?! We'll be quiet neighbours for them at least for a little while as we have no pets and currently no childen and we'll be living in a 4 bedroom home I feel like the Macdonald Jones homes are going up so quickly; i think they are one of the builders that had the deal where you only pay 5% upfront and the rest on completion (so they want the homes built so they can get their monies!) See you Sunday everyone -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 71Apr 05, 2013 8:53 pm We moved down from Sydney in 2011 and couldn’t wait for flat land to be developed at Tillimbar, Horsley or Haywards Bay, the rent would have sent us broke. The unslopiest (is that a word?) block we could find was on Mount Brown so we built there. When I drive down to the lights on the highway I can see across to all the action happening in your part of the world. We are an older couple with grown kids (they finally left!!) and do not regret our move south at all. There are so many attractions and we are slowly discovering them to the north, south and across to the southern highlands. To everybody building at Brooks Reach I would like to say welcome to the area if you haven’t lived here before and I am so looking forward to following your builds. Regards, Grumbles Re: Building in Brooks Reach 72Apr 05, 2013 8:56 pm ---Update on our Kenthurst build @ Brooks Reach --- Just thought I'd post a quick update on where we're at with our build, council (tree) issue and private building inspectors. Site update DH spoke to our SS today and he confirmed that they'd had three rain days this week (I am recording these in a journal. Unfortunately no good build apps on android phones; lots for silly iOS though.) Thankfully our slab was poured on Tuesday and it's just curing now. The SS said that external drainage (stormwater, sewage) is booked for the 10th April. Shrimpy also said that frames have been ordered and are expected to be delivered on the 18th of April with 2-3days for them to be installed. Then it's on to the bricking!! STAY AWAY RAIN! Removal of tree issue We contacted Council again and were then given this response "As your dwelling was approved as Complying Development you should contact the Private Certifier appointed for the construction of your dwelling house (Local Group Certification Services Pty Ltd) to ensure all necessary approvals have been obtained including the street tree removal. I note Clarendon Homes have made an application to Council for the construction of a driveway crossing. This application is currently under assessment." -- SO we've contacted Local Group and asked for the info but we are doubtful they will have the approval we need. We will wait to hear back from then and then try contacting someone else at council. Thankfully my colleague at work and his lovely wife have faced a similar issue and passed us on the details of the person they spoke with so we will try him next if we don't get anywhere. I know we still have at least 5 months to worry about this but i am still anxious that a) further paperwork will need to be lodged or b) the builders will damage the tree. Side note - not sure why Clarendon has lodged for the driveway though as they aren't installing the driveway for us :S so many things that are so confusing. Private Inspections during the build I have been doing a bit of research and came up with a few contacts for potential private inspectors in the Wollongong area. Some of the Sydney companies will travel to Wollongong but for an extra fee. Feel free to add any that you know of to the thread. I think we'll have 2-3 inspections but we haven't decided who we're using yet. The few companies I have found so far are: Jim's building Inspections http://www.jimsbuildinginspections.com.au/new_constructions-renovations-and-extensions-inspections Hnk Ryan http://www.hnkryan.com/report.html Houspect http://www.houspect.com.au/construction ... ?state=nsw Safe House http://www.safehouseconsultants.net/index.html Restwell Property Inspections http://www.restwellpropertyinspections. ... bout.shtml IBC http://www.illawarracertifiers.com.au/services.html Hope someone finds this helpful -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 73Apr 05, 2013 9:05 pm grumblebum54 We moved down from Sydney in 2011 and couldn’t wait for flat land to be developed at Tillimbar, Horsley or Haywards Bay, the rent would have sent us broke. The unslopiest (is that a word?) block we could find was on Mount Brown so we built there. When I drive down to the lights on the highway I can see across to all the action happening in your part of the world. We are an older couple with grown kids (they finally left!!) and do not regret our move south at all. There are so many attractions and we are slowly discovering them to the north, south and across to the southern highlands. To everybody building at Brooks Reach I would like to say welcome to the area if you haven’t lived here before and I am so looking forward to following your builds. Hi Grumble I have lived in the beautiful Illawarra area for most of my life (Spent 4 years in Canberra after High School) and it is such a gorgeous place if you know where to look!! Have you ever done the Illawarra tree top walk? So beautiful! Kiama blow hole, Sea cliff bridge.. So many beautiful places. I know what you mean about slopey land!! Hubby and I are youngish (mid twenties) and were looking to buy early 2011. We soon found that it would be cheaper to BUILD what we wanted and thus began the long and painful search for non-slopey land. We looked at a lot of lots in Lake Heights and the Mount brown area too. Eventually we were still looking when Brooks Reach estate was released and we deposited on our lot within the first week (over 100 lots went those first four days!) We were told to expect land to register in May 2012 so we agreed as newlyweds to continue living at home with my parents.. But as land delays pushed registration back further and further we decided we had to have our own space (both for our sake and my parents/sisters) fast forward 9 months and we're still renting but thankfully our house has begun construction!! -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 74Apr 05, 2013 9:37 pm Our sons helped us move down here to the rental and when son 1 was on his way back to Canberra he stopped off at the Illawarra fly and highly recommended it so we must go soon. Not long back we were over at Flinders and able to look down at a block that we could only look up at before and it was built on three levels and the roof at the back was level with the grass. Old age is not far away so we were so glad we hung out for single storey even though it cost us thousands for drop edge beams and fill. We didn’t have a private inspector but the building company used these blokes. Accredited Building Certifiers - http://www.abcert.com.au/index.html Regards, Grumbles Re: Building in Brooks Reach 75Apr 06, 2013 3:14 pm Rubyam ---Update on our Kenthurst build @ Brooks Reach --- Just thought I'd post a quick update on where we're at with our build, council (tree) issue and private building inspectors. Site update DH spoke to our SS today and he confirmed that they'd had three rain days this week (I am recording these in a journal. Unfortunately no good build apps on android phones; lots for silly iOS though.) Thankfully our slab was poured on Tuesday and it's just curing now. The SS said that external drainage (stormwater, sewage) is booked for the 10th April. Shrimpy also said that frames have been ordered and are expected to be delivered on the 18th of April with 2-3days for them to be installed. Then it's on to the bricking!! STAY AWAY RAIN! Removal of tree issue We contacted Council again and were then given this response "As your dwelling was approved as Complying Development you should contact the Private Certifier appointed for the construction of your dwelling house (Local Group Certification Services Pty Ltd) to ensure all necessary approvals have been obtained including the street tree removal. I note Clarendon Homes have made an application to Council for the construction of a driveway crossing. This application is currently under assessment." -- SO we've contacted Local Group and asked for the info but we are doubtful they will have the approval we need. We will wait to hear back from then and then try contacting someone else at council. Thankfully my colleague at work and his lovely wife have faced a similar issue and passed us on the details of the person they spoke with so we will try him next if we don't get anywhere. I know we still have at least 5 months to worry about this but i am still anxious that a) further paperwork will need to be lodged or b) the builders will damage the tree. Side note - not sure why Clarendon has lodged for the driveway though as they aren't installing the driveway for us :S so many things that are so confusing. Private Inspections during the build I have been doing a bit of research and came up with a few contacts for potential private inspectors in the Wollongong area. Some of the Sydney companies will travel to Wollongong but for an extra fee. Feel free to add any that you know of to the thread. I think we'll have 2-3 inspections but we haven't decided who we're using yet. The few companies I have found so far are: Jim's building Inspections http://www.jimsbuildinginspections.com.au/new_constructions-renovations-and-extensions-inspections Hnk Ryan http://www.hnkryan.com/report.html Houspect http://www.houspect.com.au/construction ... ?state=nsw Safe House http://www.safehouseconsultants.net/index.html Restwell Property Inspections http://www.restwellpropertyinspections. ... bout.shtml IBC http://www.illawarracertifiers.com.au/services.html Hope someone finds this helpful -Rubyam Hi Ruby, I will certainly use building inspectors, as I would rather be safe than sorry. Thanks for providing the contact details of some of the building inspectors. One of them (houspect) even had a self-inspect checklist under the Help & Advice section on their home page. Not sure how useful they would be if I were to do the inspection on my own. The only provider of inspection services that I am aware of is Compete Building Inspection Services @ Thirroul. The building inspector is Nigel Walsh, 1300 799 434. The name rings a bell, but I can't pin it... JIM Inspection services - is there anything that JIm does not offer? Will the familiar name ultimately tempt me to choose him over others? Time will tell. Went for a drive today, your slab looks great! Venkat. Building Phoenix 41 in Brooks Reach, Horsley Blogging about our build at: http://ourmetriconphoenix.blogspot.com.au/ Re: Building in Brooks Reach 76Apr 09, 2013 5:30 pm Nat84 Oh, whoops haha! OK she must be a few blocks over then Cool, see you Sunday Hi Nat, are you building the Nova in stage 9 at brooks reach? we are also building the Nova (country facade) in stage 9. can you private message me what lot you are? you must be near us? what stage are you up to? are you doing a 5% deal with MJH? we are at exchanging contract stage, been waiting 32 days to exchange so far. not sure whats going on but hoping it will be this week. Building the Nova with MJH http://thehousethatj-lbuilt.blogspot.com.au "When you are arguing against Him, you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all." C.S. Lewis Re: Building in Brooks Reach 78Apr 11, 2013 8:27 pm Hi everyone! Hope you're all well. It was so nice to meet Wiz and Nat at the Stockland thing (though I feel like that event went reallllllly long and didn't really apply to many of us there in the room.) External drainage and stormwater things were meant to happen on site yesterday, we've had beautiful weather so hopefully things have been moving along. Frames are due to be delivered on the 18th and will take around three days to go up apparently. We had a slight scare with our bank/broker this week as our bank only released the payment right before close of business ON THE 7th DAY!!! But that all got sorted. *phew* Not sure if anyone had given much thought to the Independent Inspector thing but hubs and I have decided on a company we're going with. I posted about a few companies, their prices and what they offer here on my blog if anyone is interested http://rubyam.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/ ... our-build/ (that way I'm not clogging up the Thread!!) But we decided to go with HnK Ryan. Hoping to head out to the site on Saturday morning and determine if there is progress to be seen. -Rubyam Re: Building in Brooks Reach 79Apr 12, 2013 3:17 pm yay, just got word that our contract should exchange tomorrow! Building the Nova with MJH http://thehousethatj-lbuilt.blogspot.com.au "When you are arguing against Him, you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all." C.S. Lewis Re: Building in Brooks Reach 80Apr 12, 2013 3:24 pm Hey Ruby - it was lovely to meet you both as well (I mean you and hubby, as I already know Nat )! It did go for a while on Saturday didn't it?! But my girls got a photo with Phil & Amity and we got food, so we were happy! Not sure about the independant inspector, if we ever get to that point (sigh, see rant below!) we probably will. Congratulations Joh + Lach!! How exciting for you guys! Now I'm going to vent a little! I am getting soooooo frustrated with the slowness of everything at the moment. I'm not sure if BW check this forum out, I'm imagining they do, so they may know who I am! We are waiting on a report from the engineers regarding the sewer, that's it. Been waiting nearly three weeks now, which is absolutely ridiculous. Once we get that report, we sign the contract and do the colour selections, then off and running, the build will finally start. But omg.....feels like I am moving in super slow motion! Or more to the point BW are moving in super slow motion I don't want to get cranky, but it is fairly obvious that my expectations are not even remotely the same as BW's, and that is the part that annoys me. I like knowing what's happening, what's next and how long (even approximately is good!) things are going to take! And I'm not getting that. Driving me nuts!! (I have discovered that I am a little bit of a control freak and am hating having absolutely no control over this ) Vent over Wiz Wiz Built @ Brooks Reach Built the Verdelho Guest with Beechwood Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 12591 Hey guys building a new place through a volume builder and just wondering if i should complain to the site supervisor as we just had plasterboard installed. Looks like… 0 11828 |