Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 01, 2009 12:53 pm Hi Everyone, We are about to sign off on our tender real soon and I just wanted to get some opinion in regards to High Ceilings (throughout) and Bifold doors to the Alfresco. The reason I ask if its worth it its because these luxury features have been quoted alot more than what we have expected. It adds $11,000 in total to the price of the house. It's a small house (22sq) its our first house so we are really excited. Its gone over our total budget but looking at the difference in repayments it hardly makes a dent??? Has anyone passed up this feature and regretted not getting it? or anyone taken up these feature and felt like it was no big deal and they could have spent that money on other things?? Building at Kellyville Ridge - First Home buyer 11/5/10 - Port-a-loo delivered hahahaha 14/5/10 - Land was scraped (NEED TO GET RID OF ALL THIS UNWANTED DIRT) 20/5/10 - Concrete Piers all 45 of them. 21/5/10 - Plumbing 27/5/10 - concrete slab completed Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 2Dec 01, 2009 1:14 pm I would definately go with the high ceilings. The alfresco doors can be changed if you really want to later on, and it may not bother you so much not having them. Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 3Dec 01, 2009 1:22 pm Hi There We too were faced with this decision. When we looked into it we got some advice that the Bifold doors are noisy when it is windy and can be a finger hazard too. After looking at the alternative options we have finally decided on stacker doors. Half the price of Bifold doors (I think we paid $3,100) - flyscreens can be fitted and more importantly we can afford to have the high ceilings throughout. We are going with Jason Windows stacker doors however I believe a number of window/door companies make the stacker doors. If you search this forum I'm sure you'll find some more info. Good luck and keep us informed of your decision. jbarry My build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25713 13th Oct - Offer on block 4th Dec - Settlement of block scheduled (delayed due to titles) 22nd Feb - Titles Issued 17th Mar - Land Settlement 17th Mar - Pre-start meeting Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 4Dec 01, 2009 1:24 pm I would probably go with the high ceilings and stacker doors to the alfresco rather than bi-folds. We wanted bi-folds and so many people warned us away. Few things have been because they bang if its windy and you have them open, you either then have them open or not - it is difficult to screen them... I cant think of the other things. We are on waterfront and really did want them but have decided against it. We are getting stacker doors instead which will open up to one side, so its essentially going to be the same. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 5Dec 01, 2009 1:45 pm I would definately go the higher ceilings but not the Bifolds. I actually prefer the stacker doors but my other half wants Bifolds, but if I could choose I would choose really nice stacker ones, flush with the two floors (that's what we are going to do but with bifolds). DA approved Waiting on a few more Builder's quotes. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 6Dec 01, 2009 2:04 pm We have both, but only have the bi-folds because they were part of the promotion so were free. We are 2 weeks away from handover, and I absolutely love our high ceilings and would get them again without hesitation. The bi-fold.... take em or leave them. You can always change a sliding door to a bifold, but you can't really make your ceilings higher. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 7Dec 01, 2009 2:09 pm joles We have both, but only have the bi-folds because they were part of the promotion so were free. We are 2 weeks away from handover, and I absolutely love our high ceilings and would get them again without hesitation. The bi-fold.... take em or leave them. You can always change a sliding door to a bifold, but you can't really make your ceilings higher. I don't want to hijack this thread or anything, but I've only just discovered what stacker doors are! I really like them - but don't see myself being able to afford them at this point. Is it possible to replace a sliding door with stacker doors sometime down the track (as in, after the house is handed over)?? P. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 8Dec 01, 2009 2:11 pm You could, but to upgrade from a normal sliding to a stacker is around $600 (from memory). If you can possibly stretch your budget it would be considerably cheaper to do it now. But it is possible to change them over I believe. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 9Dec 01, 2009 4:12 pm Thanks everyone. Your reply's have been really helpful and informative. Yeh I think the stacker door would be a really great alternative plus its only $700 to upgrade as oppose to $4,500 for the bifolds. However my wife really loves the bifolds and you cant put a price on that. The high ceilings was my "wish list" and I know that if I dont get them I will regret it down the track. Plus I really think it will open up our 22sq house alot more giving it a more spacious feeling to the house. Building at Kellyville Ridge - First Home buyer 11/5/10 - Port-a-loo delivered hahahaha 14/5/10 - Land was scraped (NEED TO GET RID OF ALL THIS UNWANTED DIRT) 20/5/10 - Concrete Piers all 45 of them. 21/5/10 - Plumbing 27/5/10 - concrete slab completed Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 10Dec 01, 2009 4:35 pm We have used our stacker doors to open on a corner so you don't have a corner post, which will really open up a room, we choose trend windows as we could get them 2400 high, as mentioned above loved the look of the bifolds but living in qld you really need to put screens in a it was going to be to hard to do with bifolds. I would def go with the higher 2700 should not increase your costs too much as it fits with standard plaster & timber sizes, it is when you start going for 3000+ when labour cost really increase as advised by our builder. Cheers Lou http://take2-customdesigndownslope.blogspot.com 07-10-09 omg they have cut the block 14-05-10 we finally have the keys Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 11Dec 01, 2009 4:37 pm I think 2.7 ceilings are an absolute must. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 12Dec 01, 2009 4:54 pm The 2700mm Ceilings is $6,500 - I really think this is a about $1,200 over from what others have told me but the builder wont budge at all. Building at Kellyville Ridge - First Home buyer 11/5/10 - Port-a-loo delivered hahahaha 14/5/10 - Land was scraped (NEED TO GET RID OF ALL THIS UNWANTED DIRT) 20/5/10 - Concrete Piers all 45 of them. 21/5/10 - Plumbing 27/5/10 - concrete slab completed Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 13Dec 01, 2009 5:43 pm I agree that high ceilings are a good inclusion. The bifolds are a "nice if you can afford them" thing. As for the claimed disadvantages: We have two sets of bifolds and they're not noisy when it's windy - we've lived here for a year and it's ALWAYS windy here, so I think I'd have noticed. Haven't heard a peep out of them. The seals on them are super-duper and we get no rain or dirt coming in - unlike our French doors. As for banging in the wind when open, who has them open when it's windy? I prefer not to have my house full of dust, so they stay firmly closed... The only problem with them (apart from the cost) is screening them - and there are retracting flyscreens now available if you want them. We find that with the evap cooling running and the ceiling fan on in the alfresco, flies aren't an issue. I get more flies in from my kids going in and out a normal hinged door. If the budget is feeling strained, give them the chop for sure. Stacker doors are a good option. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 14Dec 01, 2009 7:06 pm With the 2700 ceiling, are you going for the 2340 high doors and robes, 2100 high windows in main rooms, larger cornice and skirting? My opinion these are a must with 2700 ceiling to do it properly. Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 15Dec 01, 2009 7:53 pm Dylan With the 2700 ceiling, are you going for the 2340 high doors and robes, 2100 high windows in main rooms, larger cornice and skirting? My opinion these are a must with 2700 ceiling to do it properly. Good point.. I didnt even know about those things.. jeez will it look weird if I stick with the standard stuff?? coz thats going to cost extra $$$. Building at Kellyville Ridge - First Home buyer 11/5/10 - Port-a-loo delivered hahahaha 14/5/10 - Land was scraped (NEED TO GET RID OF ALL THIS UNWANTED DIRT) 20/5/10 - Concrete Piers all 45 of them. 21/5/10 - Plumbing 27/5/10 - concrete slab completed Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 16Dec 01, 2009 8:07 pm Dylan With the 2700 ceiling, are you going for the 2340 high doors and robes, 2100 high windows in main rooms, larger cornice and skirting? My opinion these are a must with 2700 ceiling to do it properly. great info i knew about the taller door to robes & through out the house but didnt think of the taller windows - well done cheers rocket Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 17Dec 01, 2009 8:13 pm With 2700 ceilings I did the higher doors everywhere ($1.2k on 40sq house, 25 doors in total). Didn't upgrade cornices, skirting or higher windows. Some pics to give you an idea.... haven't got many pics of the doors. http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u353/joles_photo/2009-10-08_14-29-25_081020091287.jpg Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ http://i519.photobucket.com/albums/u353/joles_photo/2009-11-18_12-36-29_181120091412.jpg I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 19Dec 01, 2009 8:38 pm ^^^Yeah forgot about that. With the skirting... I think if we were doing a contrasting colour, we may have upgraded. But we actually wanted them to blend in. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: High Ceilings (2700) & BIFOLD DOORS to Alfresco is it Worth? 20Dec 01, 2009 9:15 pm joles, nice pics... i'll ask the builder about that.. fingers crossed the price they quoted me already includes it.. (i'm dreaming i know hahaha) Building at Kellyville Ridge - First Home buyer 11/5/10 - Port-a-loo delivered hahahaha 14/5/10 - Land was scraped (NEED TO GET RID OF ALL THIS UNWANTED DIRT) 20/5/10 - Concrete Piers all 45 of them. 21/5/10 - Plumbing 27/5/10 - concrete slab completed Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 39728 I was quoting framing timber sizes from Australian Standard AS1684.4 Table A13 for 2700mm wall heights Tile Roof, single storey. This Australian Standard doesn't refer to… 8 7335 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73492 |