Thomas Archer Nouveau 41 Glen Eira Build [2021]

Hi guys! Thought we’d share our build journey here given we’ve seen a lot of great inspo and advice on here.

We are building a slightly modified Nouveau 41sq home in South East burbs, Victoria. We started our journey a while back but secured our land in November 2020 and paid our deposit with TA in December 2020.



Our S3 facade selection (which we were surprised to find the concrete effect to be extra even though this is advertised as the S3 facade! A little misleading in my opinion!)


We received Tender V1 in late July, and we are currently finalising our choices for the changes in Tender V2.

We are pretty happy with the Tender V1, we have to make some changes such as changing from quartz countertops to natural stone (which has been a pain - it’s like they can’t be bothered dealing with their stone suppliers and providing quotes), and a few minor electrical changes.

We are doing most lighting post handover and our stove and oven installation post handover too.

One thing to note is that we chose S2 stairs as we wanted the underneath storage but luckily we checked as they have not provided a door to access the underneath. Which was quite annoying in itself because we specified we required the storage - and now when inquiring about it - our building coordinator seems quite peeved even though she’s been great so far.

Is there anything we should be aware of before sending through our amended Tender on Monday? As we don’t want to have to pay for a tender v3!

We have been told that site start is penciled in for November 2021.


Some questions we have for the experienced here!

1. How long was it between your ‘Site start’ after receiving ‘final tender’?
2. I can see a lot of you have beautiful landscaping, and was wondering how much we should be budgeting for landscaping (especially if you had to have a retaining wall at the back)?
3. We are thinking of engaging Darbecca as our private building inspector, but didn’t seem to make Thomas Archer too happy. Did you use your own private inspector? And if so, how was it? Do you recommend it?
4. Did anyone do their WIR post handover? Any recommendations? Any idea on ballpark pricing here?
5. Has anyone done ‘Crimsafe’ security doors? Are they worth it?
6. Did you have to get a Power pit installed? If so, how much did you get quoted?

Timeline to date

• December 2020 - Deposit paid to TAH
• January 2021 - Soil & site survey
• February 2021 - Met with our building coordinator
• March 2021 - Master/Siting plans V1
• April 2021 - Master/Siting plans V2
• May 2021 - ResCode assessment
• May 2021 - Joinery plans
• June 2021 - Style & Electrical appointment/plans
• July 2021 - HVAC appointment
• July 2021 - Tender V1
• July 2021 - Electrical/Gas abolishments
• July 2021 - Power pit quote application

Floorplan Changes

• Extended garage
• Added study
• Added doors
• Moved entrance to Bed 1 WIR
• Changed family bathroom layout

Big Upgrades/costs

• Site costs estimate was 35k. Tender shows $42k + 3k for cranes
• S3 Facade with (additional cost) Concrete effect paint finish
• 3 phase power to the house
• ActronAir Platinum Que 21KW (3 phase) Ducted RCAC with 8 zones with individual thermostats
• Direct Stick Engineered Oak Flooring
• Square set cornices to the whole house
• Floor to ceiling tiling to Bathroom/Ensuite
• Mitred tiling
• Natural stone benchtops/splashbacks to kitchen
• Finger pulls on all cabinetry (cost surprised me!)
• Heat pump hot water system
• 2000L Water tank
• S3 Woollen carpets
• 60mm Anticon Blanket under Colorbond roof
• Soundscreen insulation

Joinery Additions

• Additional overhead cabinets to whole butlers pantry
• Additional drawers/shelving for a coffee station
• Under-bench microwave space
• S2 Kitchen island (Waterfall stone)
• Triple pot-drawers to kitchen island & rear kitchen bench
• Shaving cabinets to family bathroom & ensuite
• Living room full wall length joinery
• Custom bar-like joinery and shelf to Master Bedroom
• Raised bottom of overhead cabinets in Laundry to allow for black rod to run the length of the cabinets for hanging clothes
• Custom WIR to Master Bedroom (Post-handover)

Appliance Selections

• Qasair Lismore 90cm Twin Motor Rangehood (concealed)
• ASKO 86cm XXL Dishwasher
• Electrolux 90cm Induction cooktop (post-handover)
• Electrolux 90cm Pyrolytic oven (post-handover)

Electrical Selections

• Batten lights (to change to downlights post-handover)
• Provision for pendant lights to Void, Dining, Master bedroom side tables
• Black can lights above kitchen island
• Black rail lights in living room
• LED Light strips under kitchen overhead cabinetry
• Extra double power points throughout
• 3 phase solar panel pre-wire (aiming for 10kw post-handover)
• NESS Alarm system
• Wireless CCTV system (Post-handover)
• Ceiling speaker pre-wiring
• Custom in-drawer power point in kitchen island
• Black external flood lights
• Pre-wire for garden lights & electric front gate

(reserved)

Thank you for sharing!!! Very informative. We are in an earlier stage; so would not be able to answer your questions. But I have some questions for you, if you don't mind:

- ActronAir Platinum Que 21KW (3 phase) Ducted RCAC with 8 zones with individual thermostats. What is the cost to upgrade from the standard inclusion to this? And, may I ask why you are not choosing the Daikin system?

- Finger pulls on all cabinetry (cost surprised me!) Curious to know how much?

- Heat pump hot water system / 2000L Water tank I heard that you have to include the water tank if you opt for heat pump hot water system - is it true? Are you taking the Rinnai heat pump? How much do these 2 items cost you?

- Pre-wire for garden lights & electric front gate How much does this cost?

Thanks a lot!

Thank-you for sharing, will be following along with interest as we are looking at a very slightly modified Nouveau.

We are in the early stages with TAH. Trying to get the design right, along with preliminary costs.

Hopefully there is someone here who can answer your questions. You could post on the previously posted threads of people who have built with TA.

I didnt realize you had to pay for changes at tender stage. That sucks.

Good luck with build, such an exciting time.

Hey! Awesome! How have you found it so far?

1. This upgrade is easily the biggest for us. Just under $28k! The Daikin came in at about $16.5k. I chose the ActronAir system because of the functionality behind its zone control, better efficiency (input to output Kw ratio) and the ability to work at just 20% capacity for even better efficiency when conditioning 1 or 2 rooms. Efficiency is very important in the long run for us with the house being fully electric. Designed, fabricated, built in Australia, and built to deal with our climates. Another bonus is the outdoor compressor unit discharges vertically, so it doesn't create a sauna in the side of your house

2. I think it ended up coming up to like 3k for the entire house. About 2k for the kitchen alone! I was like, it costs me this much to remove handles!?!? haha. It's because they have to cut each panel with a 45 degree angle to allow for the finger pulls I suspect. Still, blew my mind.

3. Originally I wanted a different heat pump hot water system, but unfortunately TA doesn't supply anything other than the Rinnai. I did opt for the 315L version though. The heatpump upgrade itself wasn't much, about $500. The water tank was the killer, over $5k for it. The tank is needed to reach 6 star energy rating because of the removal of the solar HWS, because for some reason, building regulations (which are outdated imo) don't recognise the heat pump system as an eco-friendly option, when it is actually very enviro friendly and efficient. I find this so silly as Heat pump hot water systems get a government rebate in the "Solar water heater" category.. haha.

4. This technically isn't a full prewire - more like outdoor GPO's that the landscaper can tap into when doing the garden lights/gate. We also asked the outdoor GPO to be able to be shut off by a switch inside the house, which would mean we could turn the garden lights on/off from inside. This was about $200 for the outdoor GPO.

Hopefully that helps! Happy to answer anything else

Hey! Thanks for following along. Hopefully we can help anyone that may be in a similar situation to us or looking for the same info we were seeking.

You get 1 variation to the tender included. Find it a bit weird given they wont quote on multiple things (for example, multiple natural stone types), so you get put into a scenario like we are in, We got the price for 1 stone (Tender V1), but want a quote for another stone (Tender V2), but if we want to revert to the first stone, this will be Tender V3 and we will have to pay. Feels a little unfair and forced to me.

Hi JayxZara, we are doing a knock down and rebuild in Cheltenham, and we have also chosen the Thomas Archer Nouveau, with a study too, so very close to your plans. We have chosen the S2 facade - we love the S3 aesthetically but we prefer the window configuration in the S2. Thanks for all of the info as we have only recently received our master siting plans and are about to make some minor changes before making our next (2nd) payment.

Thanks for the tip about the doorway to access under the stairs. We haven't seen internal elevations yet but will definitely want that. It's funny as our PSQ included carpet under the stairs as opposed to the expensive oak flooring, it wouldn't make sense to be paying for any flooring if there was no door...

Please keep us updated thanks. the more we read the more we hear about additional costs - either build costs we hadn't thought of, sites costs or landscaping, so please include as much detail as you can thanks.

Also any details with dealing with Thomas Archer/council/Darbecca/other trades, or even timeline info as you progress. At this stage I don't think we will be starting until April/May as it has taken since March (when we paid our 1st deposit) to get our siting plans just 2 weeks ago), so we still have months ahead of us prior to tender being completed.

Thanks for the detailed reply. For ourselves - so far so good. But have seen TA getting more businesses and busier - not sure if they could still maintain the expected "boutique" level...

The cost of the tank ($5k+) is really an "OUCH"... I am still very struggling whether we shall move to full electricity and opt for heat pump. Obviously the tank itself would not be able to justify the so heavy investment.

Congrats on your build and will be reading with interest on your progress. To answer your questions:

1. How long was it between your ‘Site start’ after receiving ‘final tender’?
It was approx a month between signing and site start. This was back in 2020.
2. I can see a lot of you have beautiful landscaping, and was wondering how much we should be budgeting for landscaping (especially if you had to have a retaining wall at the back)? Retaining walls shouldnt be that expensive. If you don't have a pool and not having many hardscapes i'd say may be about 60k? Really depends on your design.
3. We are thinking of engaging Darbecca as our private building inspector, but didn’t seem to make Thomas Archer too happy. Did you use your own private inspector? And if so, how was it? Do you recommend it? Didn't use Darbecca, however someone else who seems to be ok. Just be aware that using a private inspector adds days to contract. 30 I believe.
4. Did anyone do their WIR post handover? Any recommendations? Any idea on ballpark pricing here? No
5. Has anyone done ‘Crimsafe’ security doors? Are they worth it? No
6. Did you have to get a Power pit installed? If so, how much did you get quoted? United Energy installed about 12-15m from pole for approx $5k for 3 phase.

In terms of what you should be conscious of.. I found it of benefit having a landscaping plan drawn up before finalising the house plan so you can see the whole thing together. Ours was a bit more complex with a pool, so possibly if you don't have this it may not be needed.

good luck

Congrats, will following along with interest

Hi Kelmartian, thanks for following! We were actually tossing up between two properties for this project, and Chelthenham was one of them!

Yeah, We opted for S3 floating stairs to begin with, and was warned constantly that "You would lose under-stair storage!" until we eventually agreed. Now to only see that it isn't even included or was put into our PSQ (with them knowing it isn't included) was quite disappointing and another added cost to our already inflated Tender.

We will definintely keep updating. You can follow us on Instagram if you have it, we will start doing more frequent updates there!

@ jay.x.zara on Instagram

Hi sifntdaz - Thanks for answering what you can! Very helpful.

1. Did you have any complications after signing regarding council/permits/demo/etc. that we should be aware of?
2. We don't have a pool and want a fairly simple yard, concreting down the sides of the house, outdoor paving/tiles for for about 2 meters off the back of our house (so I'd say approx 32m2), a retaining wall with steps up to a flat grass patch. Happy to start with small trees/bushes. We budgeted for 40-50k for this but I'm slowly realising that this probably won't cut it.
3. Were you happy that you got a private building inspector? If you could go back would you do it again?
6. We have submitted for the quote, hopefully it stays at 5k, I've read stories of some people getting quoted 20k!

Thank you re: tip for getting landscaping plan drawn. To get this started, do we decide on the landscaper we want to go with, and ask them for a paid consultation session where they can draw up our landscaping plan?

No worries. Happy to answer any questions. Re, below:


1. Did you have any complications after signing regarding council/permits/demo/etc. that we should be aware of? No issues with council / permits / demo.

On the demo, you should get this done sooner to allow for the soil to settle before they start doing their set outs and surveys.

On the permits / council, this should be determined based on your design (at least it was for me in Monash). So unless you are doing something outside of what is allowed you should be fine.

2. We don't have a pool and want a fairly simple yard, concreting down the sides of the house, outdoor paving/tiles for for about 2 meters off the back of our house (so I'd say approx 32m2), a retaining wall with steps up to a flat grass patch. Happy to start with small trees/bushes. We budgeted for 40-50k for this but I'm slowly realising that this probably won't cut it.

I think you will be close to that budget, possibly a bit more? As a comparison, we got about 110m2 of paving and I think it was about 30k supply and install. Retaining walls of under about 10m (which were basically 2 sleepers stacked on top of each other) for about $2.5 - 3k. We decided to excavate the back of the house instead of having steps up to the grass area. You may consider that as well.

3. Were you happy that you got a private building inspector? If you could go back would you do it again?

Yes happy to have got a private inspector. I probably did most of the job for them in terms of picking stuff out, but good to have someone in the industry to bounce ideas off. In the scheme of things, it is of minimal cost compared to overall build and peace of mind.

6. We have submitted for the quote, hopefully it stays at 5k, I've read stories of some people getting quoted 20k!

If you are with United then they are pretty good with their quote. I think prices have increased slightly since I did it in 2019.

Thank you re: tip for getting landscaping plan drawn. To get this started, do we decide on the landscaper we want to go with, and ask them for a paid consultation session where they can draw up our landscaping plan?

TA have a recommended landscape designer that they can put you in contact with. Otherwise just have a look around on the net / instagram for ones in your area. Lots of people showing their work off online. The landscaper we went with don't design but use designs from the one that TA refers.

Thank you for staring this thread JayxZara. Yr layout looks great and so is your facade of choice! I'll be following along yr journey We signed with TA in March and still yet to get any plans after our PSQ. It is supposedly coming mid Aug so our journey seems a long way to go. Can i please ask if you could share your costs for the following:
- changing the kitchen splashback to stone?
- To add overhead cabinets (and i presume bottom cabinets and a benchtop as well) to the butlers pantry?
- To raise the bottom cabinets in the laundry to add a hanging rail
- Changing to triple pot drawers on island bench and rear kitchen bench? We are going with the S2 kitchen (and thinking of changing from the S5 island to a S2 but would like a waterfall edge and pot drawers as well).

Sorry for the many questions. I have tried to ask TA for an indicative amount but hmmm they came back with joinery options and not really being able to answer my questions.

Hi JayxZara


May I check with you the RCAC cost ?

28K for the Actron 21KW system sounds right , but how can Daikin only cost 16.5K (assume similar output system) ? seems too good to be true

:lol

The system they put in the tender was:

Daikin FDYQN180LCV1/RZQMY1 18.00kw Cooling & 20.00kw Heating (3 phase) inverter reverse cycle ducted system with four zones. This was $16.5k.

That model is the standard (not premium) inverter from Daikin. It can only power down to 50% power, and has a higher input kw meaning higher power consumption over time.

I'm sure if you aren't so picky (I am suuuuuper picky with heating/cooling haha) it would be okay!

our Daikin they quoted was 3 phase BRC24Z4, four zones, R1.5 ductwork & R0.4 insulated fittings is $20,152.
Not sure what is the difference.

Once i get my head around our build a little more, i will also post my build journey. First time building for us, its so exciting but also completely new, can i say i hate budgets haha.

Can i ask how much it cost for:
- carpet upgrade?
- square set - whole house
- flooring? Is it through made by story?

Before ths style appointment do they give you a list of options of different products for each space ? I think id be uncomfortable making a definite decision on the day of style apt, without looking through options first. How will i look up make and model of items haha.

We are looking to get 3m ceiling to gf but worried it will blow the budget!!

Thanks for sharing