Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 29, 2009 10:29 pm Welcome to Bacchus Marsh. A country town west of Melbourne renowned for its market gardens and magnificent avenue of honour(above). Surrounded by forest and hills with just one set of traffic lights, a fully staffed police station, and a grand new library on the way. My brother already lives there with his family. My small estate is just off the main street, so it's in walking distance to everything. This is my dream house This is what it will look like when its finished The colours are pretty accurate except the garage door will be a panel lift and in jasper. I'm thinking of making the dream house image(Howl's Moving Castle) into a wallpaper feature wall. There's a company that can do that if you give them a good enough image. I'll put a frame around it, like it's a painting you can step into. This is a good idea of my interior. The tiles are a marble ivory, a lighter creamy pattern. The cupboards are bark velour a solid medium brown. This is the block as it currently stands. The developer did the site cut. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I'm building the generation 2200 from Burbank, one of their future series of homes with double glazed windows and water tank plumbed to the toilets. I did my research and found a builder with consistent flaws. Flaws I feel I can work around. That's the theory anyway. For those who are interested the 22 square house came in at $160,000 with a final energy rating of about 7.5. I'm going to try a few devices in my home simply because I'm curious and I might not get another chance. I'm going to install the HRV SolaMate device. The quote was $5600, $2350 of that was the SolaMate panel(just one, they usually need two). Its a new device and I can't find an unbiased review of it. It's a solar heating panel on your roof with a small fan and filter bringing outside air into your home. HRV claims it provides all your heating during spring and autumn, 50% of heating during winter. They claim it will reduce the cooling bill by 20%. It doesn't say what type of house this was based on. I'm hoping my 7 star home will retain the heat better and almost take out my heating bill entirely. It has few moving parts but the filter gets replaced every two years at $175. HRV also claim it reduces dust and moisture. Even if their claims are correct I still have a question mark over summer because I'm going to do without a cooling system. Instead I'm going to use block out awnings outside the windows, cellular blinds inside, sarking in the roof, ceiling fans inside, the night air cooling of the SolaMate device and slowly upgrade the insulation in my roof(initially R2.5). For this to work I need some cooling at night and I need the house to retain the cool during the day. Beyond this I have some outside factors that might help a little when I include them. A water feature on the north side(cools the north wind), liquid limestone paving in the outdoor area on the north(non-reflective and doesn't absorb the heat), and deciduous trees on the east and west side(for shade in summer). I'm still debating about a 1.5kw solar system. To be honest it's not a great investment. The rebates in Victoria are less than the northern states and REC's right now have dropped in value. If I bought a decent system now it would cost me about $6500 and if my power bill broke even every year(the best you can do in Victoria as of Nov 1st) it would take me 18 years to pay it off. I'd be more comfortable if it was under 15 years, or 13. Thirteen's the magic number, if it comes down to that I'll definitely take the plunge. Enough with the technical stuff. Here is what I really want, I want my sideway to be so inviting people feel free to wander in that way. They can go straight to my outdoor area and from there through the sliding door into my living area. I grew up in a house like that. The only people that used the front door were salespeople. Also there isn't much to the front of my house. I think they call it a single front house(one room facing the front). I reckon a good side gate could be an extension of the facade. I haven't had to mess around with gardens much but I'd like to try a vertical veggie patch. I'm certain I can build a passive evaporative cooler for the outdoor area too. Anyway, if you think of any gadgets or systems that'd be fun to try and not outside my budget(low to nil) let me know. Or you can just look at the pictures, that's what I look for in people's build threads. Cheers, Trepidman Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 3Oct 30, 2009 10:17 am Hi Can i ask about your interior colour selection, did you select individually or did you just choose one of the color board ? With regards to Solar, i just signed up with State Solar Services for their 1.5Kw system at $2500. Prices might have just increased though Cheers Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 4Oct 31, 2009 8:56 pm hysterical1144 Can i ask about your interior colour selection, did you select individually or did you just choose one of the color board ? With regards to Solar, i just signed up with State Solar Services for their 1.5Kw system at $2500. Prices might have just increased though I worked off the colour boards. I made one or two changes based on other colour boards. All the boards are neutral schemes so if that's what you want... I looked up state solar. The inverters good, sunnyboy. The panels are CEEGSST. On the energymatters website there's a discussion about them. They seem questionable but I haven't done a thorough search. The website for CEEG comes with a warning on google "This site may harm your computer". Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 5Oct 31, 2009 9:22 pm Got some great news today. I haven't seen the site for awhile. The neighbour has done me a favour. I was going to need a retaining wall between my house and neighbours($2400). This is what it was like from the back of the block. Neighbours house is left of screen Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is from the front of the block as of today. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The drop is about thirty centimeters now. My house price is now down below $157,000. I've had bloody good run with my builder so far. When I signed the contract the price was $163,000. BTW the neighbour's builder has already agreed to clean up the rubbish he put on my block. Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 6Oct 31, 2009 10:41 pm trepidman The drop is about thirty centimeters now. My house price is now down below $157,000. I've had bloody good run with my builder so far. When I signed the contract the price was $163,000. You mean the house price has reduced ? That is strange as i thought house prices is going up. Cheers Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 8Nov 01, 2009 1:10 am Great stuff Trepid. Considering I'm building the same house, and its costing me $175k, I think your doing alright Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 9Nov 01, 2009 1:33 am Can I just make one small suggestion? Is there any way you can move the rainwater tank from the wall of bed 3? The pump can be quite noisy (kind of silent, but still recognisable), so it's best to have it alongside a non-sleeping area IMO. Judie Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 10Nov 01, 2009 6:44 am trepidman This is my dream house Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is what it will look like when its finished Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The colours are pretty accurate except the garage door will be a panel lift and in jasper. I'm thinking of making the dream house image(Howl's Moving Castle) into a wallpaper feature wall. There's a company that can do that if you give them a good enough image. I'll put a frame around it, like it's a painting you can step into. Hi Trepid - if you are after that image as a feature wall, my brother-in-law is a muralist and does huge murals on walls that look awesome and really lifelike. He's done work in castles in Scotland and all sorts of places. He did a gorgeous one of my daughter for me, its on his website too. PM me if you want his details, or you can look him up on his website web.me.com/scenicartandmurals Cheers Caz Caz & Co ALL MOVED IN!! Now comes all the hard work-decorating.... [b]Blog: http://cazoraz.blogspot.com/ Settling in Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36993 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 11Nov 01, 2009 5:53 pm hysterical1144 trepidman The drop is about thirty centimeters now. My house price is now down below $157,000. I've had bloody good run with my builder so far. When I signed the contract the price was $163,000. You mean the house price has reduced ? That is strange as i thought house prices is going up. Sorry hysterical I didn't make that very clear. In my contract I was being charged $3,500 for the site cut and $2,400 for a retaining wall. The estate developer did the site cut, and I no longer need a retaining wall. Base price for my house is up slightly($142,500 then to $144,500 now) but it doesn't affect me, the price was locked in when I signed the new house order. judie Can I just make one small suggestion? Is there any way you can move the rainwater tank from the wall of bed 3? The pump can be quite noisy (kind of silent, but still recognisable), so it's best to have it alongside a non-sleeping area IMO. That's good advice but I'm stuck. Burbank doesn't accept variations beyond a certain point. Would have been a good idea to put it next to the garage. I'm going to cover that area so the gutters could have fed into the tank. Oh well. cazoraz Hi Trepid - if you are after that image as a feature wall, my brother-in-law is a muralist and does huge murals on walls that look awesome and really lifelike. He's done work in castles in Scotland and all sorts of places. He did a gorgeous one of my daughter for me, its on his website too. PM me if you want his details, or you can look him up on his website web.me.com/scenicartandmurals I checked out his website, he's very good. I particularly like the underwater scene he did for someone's bathroom. It's got me thinking beyond just a feature wall. I bookmarked his site for later on. Thanks Caz. ibfragalot99 Considering I'm building the same house, and its costing me $175k, I think your doing alright If you take into account my after handover stuff(SolaMate, ceiling fans, driveway, cellular blinds) I think we're about on par. Difference is the bank will only lend me $165,000 toward the house based on my wage. I can cover much heavier repayments but the bank doesn't take my part time income into account because I work for myself and I don't have an IBN. Thanks everyone Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 13Jan 25, 2010 10:28 pm Quote: well, hows it going trepid? we want photos! Yes we want pics!!! I love Howl's Moving Castle, I am big fan of Hayao Miyazaki movies. Love getting them for my boys...ok myself . BE PREPARED TO BE LURKED for those update pics http://burbankascent2500.blogspot.com/ https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28503 [url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/] HOUSE COMPLETED IN 119 DAYS PCI Complete Handover 24th August Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 14Jan 25, 2010 10:44 pm pinkdiamond I love Howl's Moving Castle, I am big fan of Hayao Miyazaki movies. Love getting them for my boys...ok myself . BE PREPARED TO BE LURKED for those update pics A lurker with good taste in movies. Nice to meet you. I have some catching up to do with this thread so expect alot of photos tomorrow and perhaps after until I catch up. Cheers. Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 15Jan 25, 2010 10:45 pm I've been hangin for those construction pics myself... post. lots. =) Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 16Jan 27, 2010 8:00 am First off I should mention I was told I would have little contact with the builder. However he has contacted me a few times to run through the process. He's also been easy to contact although I've only ever felt the need to contact him once. So far he inspires me with confidence. He planned to have the slab, frame and roof done before Christmas and the bricks dropped off so the brickies could start early next year if they wanted to. He lost about a week to rain but still managed to hold to that plan(apart from the bricks) The build technically started on the 10th of December but after a quick site scrape they had to stop until the 15th because the ground was to wet for the slab. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ No photo's of just the slab, next visit the frame was up. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is my open plan family/meals area Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ These pipes are where my island bench will be. The kitchen is just off the family/meals area(looking over it) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This is the view from the master bedroom. It faces west so lots of light in the evening(I'd prefer light in the morning) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This photo's for people building with Burbank. This small step before the garage(where the support is) worried me a little. If Burbank is doing your driveway you don't have to worry about it. If they aren't(like me) they've left the verandah and porch a step down so you can put pavers or whatever style you want leading to your front door. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Lots more to come. I'll separate the photo's from each visit to make it easier to post Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 17Jan 27, 2010 8:27 am Awesome. I see you moved the large rear window/door and replaced it with a window, and put the door on the side of the house. Had me confused for a moment! Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 18Jan 27, 2010 8:31 am The roof is up this visit and that's it for construction in 2009. I managed to visit the site myself this time, just after boxing day. I'll start with the good news. This was taken from the front door. Garage is on the immediate left, the kitchen is dead ahead, master bedroom to the immediate right(can't see the entrance in this shot) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This I was really happy about. They put the plumbing in early Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I added foil insulation to the roof, this is what it looks like. Note : if you get this done remember to get roof ventilation. Your exhaust fans will take moisture into your roof space, the foil won't let it dissipate. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Now for the bad news. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mine was the only property to have rubbish dumped on it despite being the only one with a fence around it. Luckily the police were very good about this. The dumper left mail with an address on it, he was fined and forced to clean it up(he did). Happy to say the police were very quick, I thought they wouldn't put an effort into it, busy with other things. Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 19Jan 27, 2010 8:45 am Looking great. How did you go with putting in the roof foils yourself? Must of been a bit of a challenge? What did Burbank think of this? Geeze what is with people dumping rubbish on new lots...?! Re: Trepidman's Pseudo Eco 20Jan 27, 2010 9:04 am Trepid nice meet you too , It's great to see things coming along nicely and quickly too. Quote: Mine was the only property to have rubbish dumped on it despite being the only one with a fence around it. Geez some people are pigs. Quote: What did Burbank think of this? Yes I am curious about this too. http://burbankascent2500.blogspot.com/ https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28503 [url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/] HOUSE COMPLETED IN 119 DAYS PCI Complete Handover 24th August 1 4698 |