Better late than never - I have finally got around to starting my own thread.
We became fed up with renting in March 2009 and spent several weeks looking around established properties but in the end decided that building was the best option for us. We started looking around several land parcels, and finally found a cottage lot that we liked in Aubin Grove overlooking a park.
On 21 March 2009 we bit the bullet and put a $1000 deposit down to secure the land. All we had to do now was find the perfect house for the block. After visiting all the usual Display Villages in the region, we went back to one of the first houses that we viewed a few years ago, funnily enough! Most of the current designs are a little too contemporary in style for our liking and so we found ourselves comparing them all with the Lime Tree Cottage design which we initially liked.
There are a fair few covenants to adhere to in Aubin Grove, for example, the need for rendered front elevations, verandahs and gables and this design complies with all of these luckily.
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On the 18 April 2009, we met with our Building Consultant from New Generation Homes to sign the Preparation of Plans Agreement. She had already done a fantastic job of positioning the Lime Tree Cottage design on our block making sure that we still had a lot of garden to the front and side of the building and emailed it to us for approval so signing the documentation was just a formality in order to get the building process underway.
We also had to increase the depth of the front verandah by 15cm to comply with LWP regulations but apart from that the other changes to the design were minimal and of our choosing. We had to make a lot of decisions fast as we received the phonecall from our Contracts Administrator less than a week after submitting the signed contract. We were going to have our Pre-Start in two weeks so some decisions needed to be made and fast.
Our selections were as follows:
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BRICK - Naturaliste
MORTAR - Cream
JOINT STYLE - Rolled
We have chosen the following as the render colours for the front of the house.
MAIN COLOUR - Creole
FEATURE WALL - Magic Flute
Driveway & verandah paving
BLOKPAVE Sandstone - Main
BLOKPAVE Terracotta - Border
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COLORBOND ROOF - Bushland
COLORBOND GUTTERS, GABLES, SCRIBES, BARGES & FINIALS - Bushland
COLORBOND GARAGE - Paperbark, Tuscan Profile
COLORBOND DOWNPIPES, VERANDAH POSTS & EAVES - Surfmist
WINDOW FRAMES, SLIDING DOORS & SCREEN FRAMES - Pearl White
EXTERNAL DOOR - Woodvale profile - Surfmist with double-rebate entry and white translucent glazing to side light
INTERNAL DOORS - M & B Rockport White tone
KITCHEN:
CUPBOARDS & DRAWERS - Formica Silver Shadow
BENCHTOP - Laminex Ash Dust
TILES - Gloss White 300x100 horizontal with border of Silver Inox steel mosiac
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LAUNDRY:
BENCHTOP - Formica Earth Wash
CUPBOARD - Formica Silver Shadow
TILES - Lanka Gloss White 200x200 with border tile of Latte Glass Frieze
FLOOR TILE - 200x200 Waringa Mocha
TOILET FLOOR TILE - 200x200 Lanka Cocoa
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BATHROOM:
CUPBOARDS & BENCHTOP - Laminex Stipple Seal
TILES - 200x400 Unker Fashion Blanco horizontal with border of SCC Geneva Woodland under the vanity mirror and below the 1st row of tiles from top in shower
FLOOR TILE - 200x200 Lanka Cocoa
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EN-SUITE BATHROOM:
CUPBOARDS - Polyrey Sandstone
BENCHTOP - Polyrey Brushed Copper
TILES - 300x600 Rectified Halcon Talitha Crema with border of Stone Fusion Travertine 2 vertical columns in shower recess
FLOOR TILES - 300x300 Rectified Halcon Talitha Crema
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Plans were submitted to Shire on 26 June 2009 and we received the building application on 29 August 2009 after an agonising wait!