Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 26, 2009 9:18 am Way back in February, I had this brilliant idea: Hey, let's buy a house! A quick check of our savings showed that we could afford a very grand....tent. But with a bit fo work and the FHOG of $21k, we were able to look at building what we realy wanted to start off with. Buying established would have found us in nothing better than what were renting, so it was out of the question. With some convincing, we worked out we could probably afford to have a mortgage of $350k and still feed ourselves. So off we went a-looking for a builder. Since moving to Cairns 5 years ago, laying my eyes on Redlynch Valley, I fell in love with the area and dreamed of being able to live there. Obviously, with a view to building in mind, we headed straight to Redlynch Valley Estate to check out the opportunities. The first plan we looked at was good for us, with a minor modification. As we had only just started looking into building, we had not much of an idea as to what to expect, but we spent the next few weekends looking into different builders and estates, all with different designs and land sizes, and of course, different prices. After nearly a month of looking around the area, we ended up back at Redlynch Valley Estate and the first house design we looked at! We paid a deposit on a 600m2 block on the edge of one of the last development stages; the land next door hasn't even begun development yet, so for a little while it will be nice and quiet on that side.
Our House plan: The media room and lounge room have been swapped around. A wall with double sliding cavity door is across the gap there and has become an art studio for the missus. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The house is rendered concrete besser blocks with a timber internal frame. The standard inclusions from the builder were good, but the choices weren't huge. We did make some upgrades to standard items but were on a tight budget (which blew out by nearly $40k!) Colour selections: Exterior walls and roof: Colorbond Classic Cream Gutters and fascia: Colorbond Deep Ocean Front door: Colorbond Deep Ocean External door frames: Dulux Classic Cream Half Interior walls: Dulux Sarah's Place Ceiling: Dulux Ceiling White Interior Doors: DuluxSarah's Place Interior Door Frames: Dulux Curd Quarter The house is tiled to all living areas, studio and bed 4/office, including the patio and porch. The main floor tiles are Limestone Dark (400x400), wet area walls are Sanctuary Cool White and the kitchen splashback is Sanctuary Bone Off-white. The kitchen is all laminate as the stone benchtops would have been another $2.5k. Benchtops are are Laminex Bluepearl (Diamondgloss), with doors and panels in Laminex Coral (Flint finish). The best part about all of this? They did the site level and boxed up for the slab last Friday (24 July)! Fingers crossed, we'll be in by Christmas, coz that is when the baby is due too! Front View from the street. Across the front I've got planned a retaining wall, but not sure as that would make side access difficult for a vehicle. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ View from the front corner. We got a rude shock when seeing it all boxed up like this. It's so small! The neighbours are building the same house design, but mirrored. They have the roof on, so we went for a wander through their house. The builder has pencilled the layout onto the slab, so we could see how big it all will be. It made us feel a bit better. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And a view from the back. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise 2Jul 26, 2009 10:09 am How exciting! A New baby and a New house for christmas! It is looking really good. I find the house goes through stages of looking really small and then really big. Was the house a display or off a plan only when you picked it? *Built with Gemmill Homes in WA* Slab - 1st June 2009 Plate Height - 17th June 2009 Lock Up - 18th August 2009 PCI - 5th October 2009 Hand Over - 15th Oct 2009 https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20844 Re: Our little corner of paradise 3Jul 26, 2009 11:19 am Plan only. We did walk through a couple of the builder's other homes, but not that exact one. One we looked through was very similar but the entrance was wider and the media room was moved out to the side a bit more. The bedrooms, kitchen and garage were the same however. It's our first home, so if it isn't big enough, then we have plenty of time to build another one later! Re: Our little corner of paradise 4Jul 29, 2009 8:13 pm The slab was laid today! It's moving along nice and fast. View from the back corner. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ View from the Front. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Water tank slab. I'm sure we are getting a round tank, not a slimline one. We wanted the slimline but didn't want to pay the extra. I might keep my mouth shut for the moment. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise 8Jul 29, 2009 9:51 pm Carmel OMG your new home is going to be awesome. I've got no idea where that is, but it's gorgeous. Congrats on the new baby too Thanks on both. We're excited about both too. our place Redlynch Valley Estate - what a beautiful part of the world, we seriously considered buying land there. Your house is looking great...who are you building with? The builder is Bridgewater Builders. I think I said above how much I love Redlynch. Fell for it the first time I saw it, the hills and the trees and Crystal Cascades are only just up the road. I don't need a pool when there is an awesome set of rockpools that flow almost all year round just 5 minutes away. This is a little vid (just under 2 meg) that I made a couple of months back. It shows the view all around the block. The weather was a bit "how's ya father" but it's really green. http://users.tpg.com.au/digamma/homeone/MVI_1104.avi Re: Our little corner of paradise 9Aug 05, 2009 9:16 pm They must have started bricking either Friday or Monday. I've been thoroughly happy so far with the performance of this company! It's looking good so far; I reckon the brickwork will be done tomorrow, with the roof and gutters on by the end of next week! We ran into the sales lady/inspection person while we were at the site today and she pointed out something: they've changed the windows in the office (room at the front of the house) and the window in our bedroom from 1218's to 1818's. We don't mind as that was what we wanted but due to some budget constraints, we made them smaller! Also, we thought we were getting a 5000L round water tank, but it turns out it will be a rectangular one, again, what we wanted! So, a few little surprises, and all welcome! On with the photos! View from the front: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And from the back: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Inside, to the front: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ A couple of odd things though, there are water pipes coming out of the floor where the pantry will be, not on the plans, but they also don't exit the side of the slab like all the other water pipes. There is also a 90mm pipe in the floor of the laundry that will have a wall built on top of it. We had a look in the neighbour's place (same design, a few changes) and sure enough, they have the same 90mm pipe with a wall built half over it. Meh, they're small things and won't affect anything anyway. Re: Our little corner of paradise 10Aug 05, 2009 9:32 pm It looks like a gorgeous area, all those lovely hills around you and the house is moving very quickly. We had pipes in the middle of a wall too and apparently it was normal...and I can't see it anywhere now and a baby at Christmas that is really nice good luck digamma, I hope everything goes smoothly for you so the little baby has a brand new nursery it looks hot there, I like hot Re: Our little corner of paradise 11Aug 05, 2009 9:57 pm Oh my goodness what beautiful surrounds. I couldn't resist checking out the avi. congrats on getting your home underway and on the bub to be. Re: Our little corner of paradise 12Aug 08, 2009 12:21 pm Uh Oh! Houston, we have a problem. The tile company rang during the week to tell us that the tiles we picked, for the floor, they can no longer get. We chose some lovely tiles for the floors, called Limestone Dark (middle of the photo), Sanctuary Bone Off White (on the left) for the kitchen and Sanctuary Cool Pure White (on the right) for the walls etc in the bathrooms. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise 13Aug 08, 2009 12:36 pm Congratulations on both a lovely new home and a new baby. We are almost in the same boat - but fingers crossed our home will be complete within the next 8wks whilst the baby isn't due until after Christmas. It is always a worry when the slab goes down. I made DH bring the tape measure and measure every single room because it looked so tiny compared to the plan. But once again my spatial guesstimates were out and the builder was right on spec. Love C/B Deep Ocean (doesn't seem to be used nearly enough!!) - and will be excited to see your home come together over the coming months. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Our little corner of paradise 14Aug 08, 2009 6:19 pm It's going to be really nice and looks like a great estate with lovely surroundings. What state are you building in? (sorry if I missed this in previous posts). Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Our little corner of paradise 15Aug 08, 2009 7:57 pm In QLD. The bricking is complete and the roof trusses arrived yesterday. I don't think they have filled in the bricking over the doors or around the patio. I took some shots of them and some of the bricks have no mortar between them and some have mortar that has pulled away from the next brick, leaving a gap that light can shine through. I'm not too bothered by the "interesting" bricking techniques here as all the places where these shots were taken are actually going to be infilled with concrete to make them solid. I'm just a little surprised is all. Done with the bricks Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Roof trusses Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Gaps in the dried mortar Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And no mortar! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ All the way to lots of mortar Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise 16Aug 17, 2009 9:10 pm Since last week, there has been more work done. I'm honestly surprised at how fast it is all going. In 7 days, they have gone from trusses on the ground to having the roof practically completed. Our Roof and gutter colours. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Trusses up (last Wednesday) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Halfway done. This was Friday. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ When I went last Friday, there was a backhoe rolling around covering up the drainpipes and other external plumbing to the tank. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And then today, Monday. I'm gobsmacked. Roof, gutter and fascia in a day! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise 17Sep 05, 2009 5:36 pm Time for a huge update! Things have been moving along quickly. And so far, no more hitches (except for those damn tiles!) Last time, the roof had just gone one. Now we are a week away, if that, from lockup. Although, I must say, "lockup" is a very loose term with the builders. I've walked through a couple of houses that have been "locked up" because doors and windows are left open. I'm not worried though, anything goes wrong, it is the builders responsibility. And with only one road in or out of the community with cameras recording night and day, good luck to anyone "borrowing" items. Last week on Wednesday, we had the sparky come through and he put in a couple of extras on the side for us, (Thanks Geo) and all the plumbing was in too. I'm really annoyed at the extra cost we had to put in an extra tap in the garage. $500 for that, and I was assured by the sales woman that it was all copper piping. So I went away annoyed at paying it, but at least for real piping, I could live with it. Oh no, it's all plastic. The only copper is where it exits the slab and the pressure cuff holding the plastic pipe to the copper one. $500 for a couple of metres of plastic pipe and the taps. Grrrrr! Who knows, maybe they will forget that I didn't ask for a tub there and they will install it anyway? We also chose our tiles too. Hopefully these ones won't up and disappear on us. Anyway, on with some piccies! The framing is done! Really gives more of an idea of what the place will be like. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Cavity sliders for the studio. With the plastering now done (not shown), the wall seems very flimsy. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Plastering is all done (kitchen). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Some of the doors and windows. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the place is painted! Very roughly though, the paint isn't even all over, so I'm going to assume it is only the first coat. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Plastering rough in. (Dining area) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ One sliding door, not very interesting, but exciting to me! (studio). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ What the house looks like so far from the left. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ From the right. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ When putting in the connections for the downpipes, they cracked the corner of the render. Have to get them on to that. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And I'm not sure about this, but they haven't rendered in these two spots. 1) Under the external door from the garage and 2) Beside the front porch. The front edge of the porch isn't, but it will be concreted up to, along with the driveway. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ All in all, I'm very excited by the whole thing. It's looking more and more like a house. Re: Our little corner of paradise 18Sep 25, 2009 4:05 pm Well, so much has happened in the last couple of weeks. The doors and windows are in, the tiles are down (and up), the place is locked up, the kitchen is mostly done, the carpenter is there today doing the skirtings, doors and frames (looking good). Some little mistakes are being made now, as there were changes made from the standard house design. I'm sure they will all be corrected, but it is annoying that they are happening. I'm keeping on top of the mistakes and keeping on the builders to make sure things don't go too far and can't be fixed. Anyways, here are the floor tiles. Look pretty schmick if I do say so myself (and I do!) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The bathroom tiles (same in ensuite) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The bathroom vanity. The one in the ensuite is the same style, except shorter and has only one door. I didn't like it at first, but it has kinda grown on me. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is where they have put the soap holder in the bathroom. It's too close to the tap and different from the position in the ensuite. The ensuite one is in a much better position and I've asked that the one in the bathroom be changed. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Ensuite soap holder. It's higher up and not so close to the taps. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the wrong sliding cavity door! The first image is what we got and the second is what we asked for, to match the third image, the front door! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Image borrowed from the Corinthian site. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The wrong laundry tub. It's the right style, just the wrong tub type. We paid for SS for the longevity and because laundry chemicals tend to make the plastic one look a little second hand after a while. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And finally, the kitchen half done. I'm guessing that because the bench is a Diamond gloss surface, they will do it as late as possible to avoid wrecking it. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I'm actually more pleased with the kitchen than I though I would be. The colour is Coral with the flint finish, with brushed SS kick panels. So long as they position the sink right, all will be well. I'm not holding my breath though. Re: Our little corner of paradise: Tiles and kitchen almost done 19Sep 28, 2009 3:24 pm The bench was put in today. It's Laminex Blue Pearl Granite in Diamondgloss with Coral in flint finish for the cabinetry. Looking good! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The sink though, that was supposed to be put as far over to the right as possible. That's at least another 100mm of benchspace, which by the images, you can see there isn't much . Somehow I don't think they are going to fix that up as they would ahve to replace that entire side of the bench. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 8 6426 4 15011 Dear all, Requesting your help in relation to a CDC code. We are building a new home in NSW on a corner lot (500m2, 15m wide) following Greenfield CDC code. Our design… 0 6421 |