Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 25, 2009 6:55 am Hello Everyone.
First off Merry Christmas to everyone! I have been watching and reading here for a few weeks now. I am also starting down the path called home building, and thought this would be as good a time as any to introduce myself! It is my first home, and already been fairly stressful, with contracts, getting loans approved, etc. The construction will only start in about April next year, but am looking forward to the whole experience! Have my colour selection appointment for towards the end of January. I am sure I will have lots and lots of questions but hopefully you won't get too upset with me for asking the dumb questions. I hope you can enjoy the ride with me..... I am building the Eden Brae Memphis 28 - Main Bed to rear of house. I have read of some of the issues others have had with EB, but I hope to keep on top of them. I have not added a lot of things to the basic house (want to avoid those variations and 20% builders fee). I will make my changes when they have done their thing. Thanks and enjoy the ride! Regards Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 2Dec 25, 2009 12:02 pm Hiya! Congratulations on getting the paperwork out of the way re contracts, loans, etc. ! We'll be heading down that road very soon, so we're preparing ourselves for the waterfall coming up (so to speak ). Look forward to following your progress as it's nice to read about someone else's house development that will start from 2010. Good luck and all the best for the new year. Plastering 02/03/11 Roofframe 31/01/11 / Electrics,plumbing,gutters,downpipes 12/02/11 Bricks 10/01/11 / Pad 10/12/10 Retainingwalls 5/11/10 / Re-peg 14/10/10 Bldlic appvd 10/09/10 / Plansappvd 12/07/10 Bldcontract signed 19/02/10 / Landsettlement 25/01/10 BlockUOffer July 09 Forum: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=27512 Re: My First Home! - EB Builders advice needed 3Jan 10, 2010 11:24 am Hi All, I am after some advice as to what I can expect over the next few weeks. I have signed with EB to build the memphis 28 rear main bed design. This is the floor plan just for everyones info: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I have made some very minor adjustments, as I wanted to avoid those astronomical builders variations. I also opted for the rear bed, as if I went with a standard design the main bedroom would have been smack bang on the corner of the block. I have a corner block btw... Now to the questions! I have my colour selection appointment at the end of January at Home Option Gallery. I have already chosen my Brick and Tile colours, so what else will I be choosing? Does anyone know what the colours of the main items are in the Display Home at Kellyville are? Walls, Carpets, Tiles, Cornices, etc? I am considering going with those colours as they really complemented the home nicely imo. I assume things like tiles, carpets, wall paint, etc. Is there anything else I should prepare beforehand, ie should I have also chosen my gutter and downpipe colour? Does anyone know the "Standard" garage door is for the Memphis (Prestige) range is? Is the Wooden look going to cost me extra as far as anyone knows? How much extra? If I choose a front door other than "Standard", how much would this cost me, ie if the door was $500 as a "standard" inclusion, but I wanted a door that cost $1,000, would I end up paying $1,200 (with the builders variation margin), or would I end up paying $600 (with the builders variation margin)? To break it down: $500 + (($1,000 - $500) x 20%) = $600. Once I have done the Colour selection, when do I do the Kithen or Electricals? Or has this all done at the same time? I am planning on doing my main electrical's after the house is handed over, as I have a good relationship with an electrician that has done work for me for many years. I am going to go the whole hog with Home Automation, but not going to give EB the pleasure of adding their 20% on top of that!!! Southies and KID, I have enjoyed watching how your builds went, and am going to try and keep on top of EB after seeing how things did progress and seem to stall half way through the build, so that had been invaluable information! Just a few more pictures for your enjoyment: Facade will look something similar to this (Hotham Corner as displayed at The Ponds) and yes I am thinking of that Deep Purple colour!: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Face Brickwork will be "Chatswood" by PGH: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Roof Tiles will be "Traditional Sambuca" by Monier: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Thanks a lot for any advice or comments in general! Kind regards Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 4Jan 10, 2010 11:34 am Hi hsv216 Congrats on moving ahead! Good idea moving the bedroom around, it looks like you have a good grasp of visualising and planning practically. The purple/aubergine colour is very classy, if your roof tiles/render have a slightly blue/red/purple base to them then it'll look stunning I think all builders do things slightly differently pre-build but I'll try to help you. Make sure you know what is included in your contract - many builders don't provide for things like carpets and blinds. Quote: I have my colour selection appointment at the end of January at Home Option Gallery. I have already chosen my Brick and Tile colours, so what else will I be choosing? In my experience: INTERNAL: kitchen and bathroom benchtop/cupboard laminates, wet-area floor tiles. EXERNAL: gutters, fascia and downpipes. As for your other questions, I'm afraid that I have no idea! Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 5Jan 10, 2010 11:37 am Vundaful! As for your other questions, I'm afraid that I have no idea! lol no problem. I have a bit of time at the moment. The contract does include carpeting, tiles, driveway, paving, foot path, etc, so am happy about that, but I have no idea about colours... Thanks again. Kind regards Re: My First Home! - EB Builders advice needed 8Jan 10, 2010 2:35 pm YOu should have a general idea of what you like before you go, otherwise your consultation will take longer than necessary & you will be rushed by the consultant. Take pics, names of colours, magazine cutouts - whatever gives the consultant an idea of what you want. Then they will steer you toward colour selections that are based on brands/products they work with eg Taubmans, Laminex, Formica, etc..... Quote: should I have also chosen my gutter and downpipe colour? Quote: Is the Wooden look going to cost me extra as far as anyone knows? How much extra? Quote: Once I have done the Colour selection, when do I do the Kithen or Electricals? Or has this all done at the same time? Quote: I am planning on doing my main electrical's after the house is handed over Built the Eden Brae Cambridge 34 Family with Boston Corner Facade Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 9Jan 10, 2010 2:38 pm [quote="hsv216"].....but I have no idea about colours... /quote] The consultants don't like it if you turn up without a clue as to what look you want - I was told as much, when I had my appts. So I'm glad I took photos, mag cutouts, etc...... YOu had better start your research now otherwise your consultation will not be a happy experience. It will be very stressful for you because they only allocate a certain amount of time for each consult. Built the Eden Brae Cambridge 34 Family with Boston Corner Facade Re: My First Home! - EB Builders advice needed 10Jan 10, 2010 3:16 pm Southies YOu should have a general idea of what you like before you go, otherwise your consultation will take longer than necessary & you will be rushed by the consultant. Take pics, names of colours, magazine cutouts - whatever gives the consultant an idea of what you want. Then they will steer you toward colour selections that are based on brands/products they work with eg Taubmans, Laminex, Formica, etc..... Thanks Southies! I have a general idea, just my colour choices will probably be ummm well... interesting. Quote: Quote: should I have also chosen my gutter and downpipe colour? Alright. I kinda have an idea as well, but wasn't sure, so thank you for that. Quote: Quote: Is the Wooden look going to cost me extra as far as anyone knows? How much extra? Alrighty, thank you again. I best be saving then. Quote: Quote: Once I have done the Colour selection, when do I do the Kithen or Electricals? Or has this all done at the same time? Ok that kinda sucks. I have to take time off work to do these stupid things. I will see if they will do all in the one day. Quote: Quote: I am planning on doing my main electrical's after the house is handed over I will let EBH do the basic stuff, ie what they do as "standard". After that I will have my electrician quote and do what they need to do. I will be putting home automation into the place. The worst part will be getting them to put the cabling in, but I have seen them work in a LOT smaller spaces, with excellent results, so not too concerned there. About the only thing I will get EB to do, is put downlights in certain locations. Thanks again Southies. Appreciate your feedback greatly. Wish I could have built in the shire as well btw. Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 11Jan 10, 2010 3:18 pm Southies hsv216 .....but I have no idea about colours... /quote] The consultants don't like it if you turn up without a clue as to what look you want - I was told as much, when I had my appts. So I'm glad I took photos, mag cutouts, etc...... YOu had better start your research now otherwise your consultation will not be a happy experience. It will be very stressful for you because they only allocate a certain amount of time for each consult. Hehe np. Thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated. Re: My First Home! - EB Memphis 28 mk3 Rear Bed 12Feb 14, 2010 9:19 pm Just a few updates. Colour Selection was not nearly as stressful as I thought it might be. Disappointed as the brick I had wanted was way out of my budget. I always knew I had expensive tastes... The consultant was really pretty good, and we flew through it all. I am not one to dwell on things, so she showed me the options, I made my choice. Nice and easy. Same with the Plumbing, Blinds, and Kitchen. All up took about 6 hours. Although it didn't feel like that long at all. Time flies when you having fun! Then had the Tiles/Carpet selection at Di Lorenzo. The tile's was also pretty easy. I know what I like, so the consultant just showed me some options, and I told her what I liked or didn't like about the choices. Was all pretty easy. Hardest choice was choosing between the length of the tiles for the bath! Long story short, but I wanted the nice long thin tiles (mounted vertically), but they would then have to end up chopping them to make them fit, so I went with slightly shorter tiles that will fit nicely. All is good with the world. The carpet selection consultant seems pretty uninterested. I knew what I wanted, but that was also a lot more expensive so I just stuck with the builders range, same colour but not quite as good quality. Oh well. I am going to go for the more expensive underlay though. Also had my landscaping done. I really love what they have done. She was proposing SW, and I asked about EZ, based on Fu's advice to others (thanks Fu), so she said she will put both in. I don't think it really matters, but I also went down to Bunnings one day and they had samples of the various grasses, and in all honesty I liked the feel of the EZ over the SW. Anyway here is the Landscape Plan (hope it is clear enough to read) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I have put a lot of the details on what doors, and stuff I chose, in my blog. Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Plans in Council 13Feb 14, 2010 9:35 pm Hi Hsv216, Congratulations on getting all of your selections done! It is certainly a load off once it is completed. Now the fun comes when they tell you how much all of your upgrades are going to cost! Good luck, and I hope everything goes smoothly for you in council. Cheers, CMET Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Plans in Council 14Feb 14, 2010 10:41 pm CMET Hi Hsv216, Congratulations on getting all of your selections done! It is certainly a load off once it is completed. Now the fun comes when they tell you how much all of your upgrades are going to cost! Good luck, and I hope everything goes smoothly for you in council. Cheers, CMET +1 Built the Eden Brae Cambridge 34 Family with Boston Corner Facade Re: My First Home - EB - GAH! Bi-Folds rejected by Council! 15Mar 20, 2010 9:32 am Not happy.... Council has requested that I remove the Corner Bi-Folds as I cannot provide a screen to the Bi-Folds to satisfy the AS3959 requirements for building in a bushfire prone area... I can understand the reasoning, but also cannot believe that there are NO screens that I could install... If anyone knows of any screen companies I can talk to about this, please let me know. I need to let the builder know on Monday as to what I am doing. Not their requirement, but mine. The builders suppliers do not do screens... Council have said that this is the only thing holding up the application. Also only have 30 days to respond to Council. My other alternatives are to install a corner stacker, but still have the same situation with the screens, as apparently all the screen companies I have spoken to, need something to lock the screen onto. I was hoping that I might be able to use a removable type post, that could then be removed if necessary to open up the house. Haven't had much luck with that either. The other alternative is that I put in a post on the corner, and just have two regular bi-fold type doors. Kinda defeats the purpose though, so would probably end up dropping the bi-folds altogether and just go with stackers, or something. Anyway, not happy, but if anyone can think of anything I could try, or have come up against something similar, and how they solved it would be appreciated. Cheers Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Council Plans Approved! 16Apr 24, 2010 8:24 am Hi All, Just a quick update. Council has approved my plans finally! I ended up dropping the Corner Bi-Folds, as it was going to cost more than I really wanted to spend, so I ended up going with a Corner Stacker instead. The Bi-Folds would have needed hardier/tougher (and more expensive) wood to satisfy the Bushfire requirements. When time and money allows, I may consider getting the Bi-Folds put in. I am still happy as I will still have the "open" feel of the Alfresco, but without the expense. Another week or two for EBH to get their act together and hopefully can get a start soon. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Plans Approved 17Apr 24, 2010 8:49 am That's excellent news. The Building Cert will follow in the next few days. Make sure you get EB to advise you in writing the Contract Start Date. Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Plans Approved 18May 15, 2010 9:19 am FINALLY! We have action on site! 4 wonderful red stakes! YAY! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Hopefully have some more action in the next two or three weeks!!! The anticipation is killing me... Many more pics to follow over the next few weeks/months. Re: My First Home - EB Memphis - Site Action! 19May 15, 2010 10:55 am Woohoo! It's a staaaaart I think we can expect satisfactory photo coverage from you in the coming weeks Hi All, see above image. The required setback from the rear boundary in my case is 5m, as you can see the shape of the site and location of the boundary is slightly… 0 8463 Do you have solar on the roof, because if its not a laying defect it looks almost like someone has been walking all over the roof in the mid section of the tile (weakest… 2 1935 |