Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 22, 2008 9:57 pm Hello guys,
We're planning our first house (SO exciting) and are currently talking with Rivergum and Sarah Homes. Both are nowhere near our dream home (sustainable). But we like the style and both are in our price range, which is rather nice in the current climate. Plus both are building on sloping land. I found a few reviews on Rivergum (some good, some bad) in the Internet, but absolutely nothing on Sarah Homes. Has anyone here built with them by chance??? margoo Re: Sarah Homes 3Dec 23, 2008 10:57 am Hi Margoo
You must be from SA ? Somebody we know built with them a few years ago and didn,t seem to have any problems with them and our neighbour to be is building with them(nothing has started yet) their block is quite steep and I think it,s going to be a 2 storey. Sorry that I couldn,t be more helpful Good luck with whoever you decide to go with Cheers Mel Building on 9 acres Re: Sarah Homes 5Dec 24, 2008 9:59 am Quote: Anyway, we'll see and write a review when it's over and done with Margoo Margoo Start a thread on here and write a running commentary of your progress, we don't want to wait until its all over to read the review Re: Sarah Homes 6Dec 24, 2008 5:37 pm Margoo - Have a chat the Emilis - he is very good at building sustainable houses and can do them in the same price range to suit your budget.
So you only have to build once. And you get a sustainable house from day one Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ These are the Pelican Lagoon KI and Lobethal projects. http://www.emilis.sa.on.net/projects/prj_fram.htm Steve Re: Sarah Homes 7Dec 25, 2008 8:10 am Hi Steve,
many thanks for that link. I have never heard of him! I have sent him an email... we'll see. We had contact with a few architects, who have specialised in sustainable building (Pritchard, Next, Bohdan) and were recommended to me as an 'affordable option'. But when they heard about our budget, pretty much everyone said 'go away' (or gave us a quote for a tiny 2 BR house far beyond our budget.) And OK... I'll keep posting about our progress Merry Christmas everyone! margoo Re: Sarah Homes 8Dec 25, 2008 10:22 am margoo1 We had contact with a few architects We are building an eco-friendly house and this is what I have have learnt: 1) You don't need an architect (a building designer can achieve the same level of functionality at a quarter of the cost) 2) For the most part you can use conventional materials and building techniques (if not try www.ecospecifier.org) 3) Although it is a 'fringe area', the building science is reasonably straightforward. 4) Having solar PV panels. evacuated tube solar heaters, solar hydronic heating and other fancy items is not necessary to build an comfortable home. What you will find useful is: 1) Do a little research yourself to familiarise yourself with the principles and application http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/index.html, www.sustainablehouseday.com 2) Having a building designer, project manager and tradespeople who listen and are willing to be flexible in how they do or incorporate new ideas. The good ones don't give token reponses but are willing to listen to the specifics e.g. how much insulation, how deep the eaves should be, how much glazing is enough, how best to use thermal mass. 3) Keep the concepts simple. Don't overcomplicate the construction. The major energy-saving things to consider are orientation, glazing proportion and aspect + thermal mass, correct shading, insulation and cross ventilation. You should also plan your plumbing ahead of time for rainwater collection and grey/wastewater handling. Getting these right at the initial construction is critical because they are harder to modify later. Other things usually can be incorporated later. I note that Hickinbotham in conjunction with Max Pritchard are producing a set of volume built affordable energy efficient homes. You may wish to enquire. Re: Sarah Homes 9Dec 26, 2008 6:04 pm Margoo - Ask to have a look at a few of emils's houses. I love his designs and they are very comfortable to be in.
He has built / designed quite a few houses in lower cost housing areas such as holiday houses on KI, and homes in murray bridge. IMO - Emilis is one the best sustainable designers in SA and perhaps OZ. He did some of the sustainable house in inner Sydeny a few years ago that features in many publications. He's not your standard sort of character, but good at what he does - so persever and I think you'll have just the sort of house you desire. Good luck and email me if you need a hand. dyno - you are correct. Thing is most people can't get their head around it - otherwise everyone would be a designer and architect wouldn't they. Steve Re: Sarah Homes 11Apr 11, 2009 8:55 am Sorry Norsha, I haven't been on here for a while due to lets just call it... extensive work committments Have you signed a contract with Sarah Homes yet? And whereabouts are you building? We have finally signed a contract with Sarah Homes. I tried to contact Emil a couple of times but he never got back to me and in the end we just had to move it to not miss out on the FHOG. We're building an altered version of the Mcubbin3 to fit our plot. We signed the first contract (A$ 2000) for soil tests sometime in February. The sales person was really helpful and patient with us. We're both not from Australia so very unaware on how this whole building thingy is working. He must have explained it 3 times by now . After they had done the soil tests we met again to sign the final contract (A$ 2500) and to chose the colors. At this stage we had 7 more days to make final adjustments to the plan. Chosing the outside colors wasn't a problem. They offer a good range for what we wanted. We're now going for a deep blue colorbond cladding I would have loved orange but my partner refused... 'too girlie' The inside colors were a bit of a problem, especially the kitchen. I didn't really like any of their choices and the kitchens themselves aren't that great either. The only choice for upgrading you have is to add cupboards on the wall (are they called overheads???). They're also not doing white tiles on the floors, which is a bit of a shame. So we're having an all white bathroom with a dark grey floor If colors are very important and you're not sure about Sarah Homes perhaps try to get into the selection room in Mile End before you sign. Just to get an idea if you'd find anything useful or not. They have just submitted the plans to the council (Mt. Barker, which is by the way an absolute pain in the bum!!!). They already responded with what else they need to even look at our plans. By the way, are there any other people out there building in Mt Barker, SA??? How are you guys getting around this ridiculous requirement of a 90,000 l rainwater tank? margoo1 Re: Sarah Homes 12Jun 10, 2009 11:18 am We have just built with Sarah Homes, we love the house, however have had a number of issues since handover. Items that were identified as defective or needing more work, at handover and in the 3 months afterwards have still not been resolved. It has unfortunately been a battle and we have now sought further help from the Office of Consumer Affairs. So something to look out for! Re: Sarah Homes 14Jun 21, 2011 11:28 am Hello Margoo1 & kaa1508. I'm just about to sign with Gallery Living (part of Sarah Homes / Londridge Homes). They share the same HQ, selection offices etc. Could I ask you both a question - did you get charged an 'area surcharge fee' for building outside the city? Gallery Living want $ 7000 extra to build up in the Barossa to cover delivery charges etc. Is this normal? Also, once you had received all the final costs prior to signing the contract, did you haggle as if you were buying a normal used home or are the costs fixed? And finally, how accurate was the contract cost compaired to the final bill (not taking into account things you may have added during the build). Many thanks. Re: Sarah Homes 17Nov 10, 2015 5:20 pm I built with Sarah homes also, and in the Mt Barker district. We did not have a 90 000L water tank requirment. Im in a township and there is only a 1000L for fire fighting and 2000L For the laundry requirment. We do require solar pannels to meet energy rating, and Base in fill or latise, as its on stumps and thats about it. Am very happy with the build. Went with a light blue weather board, and personal touches inside. After hand over there has only been a door that need reajusting and the paint in the bathroom got a bit affected from the steam, but thats all. Re: Sarah Homes 18Nov 10, 2015 5:30 pm also to spanners, i built on the murray bridge side of the mt barker district and was not charged $7000 for delivery of materials. the final price on contract, once finals plans were in place did not vary much, $500 to $1000, so as long as whats planed is going ahead and there is no nasty surprices, then yes thats about the price spot on. Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74714 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105586 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23501 |