Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 16, 2010 8:16 pm Hi everyone, it's about time we de-lurked and said hello. Love the Homeone forum and have learnt so much by sharing everyone's building experience and knowledge. It seems only fair that we share as well so have started this thread. [Sorry this intro is a bit long, but we've been lurking since the last half of Phoenix's build!!] We're in Melbourne SE ~ feeling shy about saying exactly where we are ~ in an older established area surrounded by lots of new estates in the same suburb (if that makes sense). We're a knockdown on a good-size block, around 960 sq mtr -ish. Around us, developers are buying the older houses on the bigger blocks like ours, and putting up 2-3 townhouses. Our current house is over 30 years old, not well designed, and riddled with problems (though I feel a lot of affection for the old house!). After weighing up the cost of what would have been *extensive* renovations, we have decided to just start again. This decision was reinforced after the demo company identified asbestos in the eaves. "Normal" people would have sold this house and bought a better (i.e., not falling down) house in the same area. But we love our block + the area ~ don't want to move!! Researching and planning this since around Easter 2008. Along the way we have fallen in love with Burbank's Stoneleigh, AV Jennings' Savoy, Porter Davis' Cremorne, Henley's Ascot, Carlisle's Prominence. Then just as we were ready to make the decision + go ahead, we had the GFC and were advised to "wait", so we stopped everything and sat back. When it became apparent by June 2009 that the sky wasn't falling (exactly), we started the search again. [Boy were we surprised at the price increases that had occurred in the 9 months we were "paused"!] But we were a lot more wised-up by this stage in regards to what we were looking for. We revisited all the previous designs we liked and cross-checked each of them again, to see which one would fit us the best. Then July 09 we discovered a new design by Fairhaven Homes. We had previously been to their displays at Fallingwater (or was it Cardinia Lakes?) in Pakenham and we were really impressed ~ but back in 2008 they didn't have a double-storey design so we had to rule them out. On the Fairhaven website we found the new Glenaire design + got excited right away! When we walked through the Glenaire the next day we knew it was the one! We've made some modifications, but the vast majority of our house will be exactly as the display at Cascades on Clyde. Through the process so far Fairhaven have been great, + I'm a bit surprised we haven't heard more about them on Homeone. We have our colours appointment soon, so I'm hoping we'll be able to get some opinions from all the design mavens hanging on at Michelle's lounge. Off to get onto Photobucket + figure out how to post photos! Looking forward to sharing the build through 2010. ~ J _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 2Jan 16, 2010 9:41 pm Good luck with your build guys, look forward to reading more on your building process. 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: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 3Feb 08, 2010 8:00 pm Hello! We are so pleased to see someone else finally building The Glenaire here. We only were looking for a short time before we found this house and instantly fell in love. We are building in the Melb S/E in Somerfield estate in Keysborough, but by the sounds of it, we are a little bit further behind than you. We need to sell our current house first and we are just about to put it on the market now. We are very keen to here how you go - So far they have been really great to deal with. Out of curiousity, what changes have you made? We have just taken off the theater room and half the lanai off the back (partly to have a bigger back yard/partly coz we are not sure how much use we will get/partly to reduce the price a bit!). Goog Luck! Kara & Andrew Building the Glenaire from Fairhaven in 1C Somerfield Estate Re: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 4Feb 09, 2010 10:39 pm Thanks pinkdiamond for your reply! Hoping all is going well with your Burbank build too... And hi KJ_and_AJ ~ how exciting to have someone else building the Glenaire! We have just moved to the rental + on temporary wireless internet which seems a bit temperamental to say the least! Is working tonight, hooray. Still clearing + finalising @ the old house ~ paperwork to organise for the demolition company ~ trying to organise the arborist report for the trees that have to come down (to meet council requirements, etc.) + checking the health of the trees we want to keep if we can. Still a bit to do before she can come down. Going mad as I can't find anything ~ why is it always the camera cables that go missing? KJ_and_AJ: one of the main reasons we love this house is the size of the family-meals-kitchen area. We'll be using the "Theatre" room as a rumpus for the time being (and trying to contain the toys + mess to that room!) But coming from a really old and very dark house, we've been fanatical about trying to catch as much "north light" into the house as possible. Unfortunately for us, we have north/north-east at the front of the block, while the back where the living areas are is south/south-west. So we pushed the garage over to create another "public" room at the front (yes, a "nana" sitting room/formal lounge) and a short corridor behind it for the door from the garage to go into, like a mini mudroom. After we did this, we mirrored the extra room on top (which is next to the master bedroom upstairs at the front of the house) to create an extra "public" room that takes the north light that people can use during the day. Not just a bedroom IYKWIM. I get your point about shortening the house to have more backyard. We've chosen to go upwards so that we can keep our backyard and a bit of space around us. Colour appointment done ~ separate post later on when we have the real internet back on! ~ cheers, J _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 5Feb 10, 2010 6:17 pm Sounds great look forward to seeing some of your selections. Quote: Hoping all is going well with your Burbank build too can't fault them TBH 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: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 6Feb 13, 2010 1:45 pm Hi Vanilla Tree, We loved all the space in the living area too, but as we are yet to have kids we are hoping to 'grow into' the house! I liked the idea of your extra front room, how wide does that make the frontage? Would be very interested to see pics when you are all done Keep us posted on how you are going! Building the Glenaire from Fairhaven in 1C Somerfield Estate Re: Hello :: Building our Fairhaven Glenaire [Melb SE suburbs] 7Feb 14, 2010 6:48 am Hi VT - love the design, just checked it out on Fairhaven's site, very nice! I think it uses the space wisely, but your changes sounds good too! What stage are you at now? Has the old house been knocked down yet? 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 External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 8Feb 26, 2010 11:14 pm Hi all, about time I got some of these up ... ~ Bricks ~ PGH Oyster: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ With Natural Grey mortar: Like this according to the PGH website.. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ My mockup (hoping the result is close to this).. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mortar to be raked.. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ~ Roof ~ I *did* want Colorbond.. but.. after to-ing + fro-ing + trade-offs with other items, have eneded up with.. Monier Horizon in Barramundi: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Would have loved to have been able to chose a lighter grey as per some of the range from Boral, but never mind. ~ Windows ~ Double-glazed, all awning (bar one), in Woodland Grey: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ~ Flyscreens ~ Very happy to be getting these done with the build, also in Woodland Grey. ~ Gutters | Fascia | Downpipes ~ Woodland Grey ~ Garage Door Front ~ PanelGlide Tuscan: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ in Windspray: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Colour selections meeting: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ ~ Entry Door ~ Corinthian Madison: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ .. also in Woodland Grey. [This could have done with a bit more thought on my part.] ~ Cladding + Render ~ There's a bit of cladding + render to the facade, which will be Haymes KoalaGrey 4017: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This same render colour will be used at the back of the house in the 'lanai' (outdoor room|alfresco-ish type room). ~ Feature Columns + Fireplace ~ There are x 2 "feature columns" to the facade, that will be stone clad. The product is Craftstone Quarry Stone, in colour Matador CSI-086: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We'll be going with the darker grout for this as per this example below, plus sealing it that will darken it a little, hopefully more of a satin-type finish than a glossy-finish: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We're going for a blending|layering type look rather than high contrast. I'll put some more up as soon as I can ~ cheers, J _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 9Feb 27, 2010 7:00 am Great colours vanilla tree. We initially were planning to build with Fairhaven but they didn't quite have a layout that suited us even though we did look very hard at them all. Our friends built with them and had a great experience. Look forward to following your build! Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 10Feb 27, 2010 9:54 pm Im loving your colour selections so far... your right we are both going for the same colours... so of course i think they are great : ) Building the Crystal in Wollongong NSW 26th Sept 09 - Paid $2500 1st May 10 - Slab poured 14th May 10 - Frame complete 8th June 10 - Roof complete 21st June 10 - Bricks complete 30th June 10 - Lock Up 6th August - PCI 18th August - Handover Our building thread - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=27639 Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 11Feb 27, 2010 10:31 pm Hey herbiecat, Quote: We initially were planning to build with Fairhaven but they didn't quite have a layout that suited us even though we did look very hard at them all. Our friends built with them and had a great experience. Thanks so much for the feedback (feeling a bit like a shag on a rock here! ) ~ it's great to hear that your friends built with them + were happy. Just gives me a little bit of extra reassurance that I could do with right now. Hey Caz, Quote: What stage are you at now? Has the old house been knocked down yet? I wish this was all done. But no. Demo guys + builder need council approval on taking some "significant" trees down. Went to see council. Let's put it this way, if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all. [There's plenty I could say but biting my tongue.] So moving right along... Just a bit frustrating when you want everything to smooth + easy! Expecting too much! Renee&Jarrad Im loving your colour selections so far... your right we are both going for the same colours... so of course i think they are great : ) Heh heh ~ excellent! Some mutual admiration! Go the grey lovers! _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 12Feb 28, 2010 2:42 pm Hey Vanilla Tree, Think your selections look lovely and I really like the feature stone you've chosen! The Glenaire looks like a great plan! Looking forward to following your build! Never argue with an idiot they drag you down to their level & then beat you with experience - Dilbert View Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=19733 Contract signed 14Sept Slab 30Sept Bricks laid 1Dec Lock up 26Feb Keys 10Jun Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics!] 13Feb 28, 2010 8:42 pm MrsRose Hey Vanilla Tree, Think your selections look lovely and I really like the feature stone you've chosen! The Glenaire looks like a great plan! Looking forard to following your build! Hi MrsRose, thanks so much for your kind comments ~ I've just had a look at your thread ~ what a beautiful house! And a new baby any minute! So exciting! Let's just say I admire your tenacity. New house PLUS new baby would be too much excitement for me! Especially loving the colour of your windows with those bricks... will have a good read when we have 'normal' internet again. _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: External selections :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pics 14Mar 07, 2010 11:08 pm Hi people, time for a quick update. We finally found an arborist and met him at the block last week to review: (1) the trees of concern to us, (2) the trees the builder needs us to take down for the build, and (3) the trees of "significance" to the council. This was not an inexpensive exercise as there are over 24 trees on the block, plus additional shrubs and bushes, and apparently they are supposed to report on *every* tree on the block, as well as any neighbour trees that come within 5m of the proposed dwelling. Given that we only *need* to take down 2 of the significant trees, but *want* to take down another 4 due to their proximity to the house, you would think that the council would be sympathetic ~ after all, we are keeping over 18 trees!! This is a lot more than most people are able to do. In hindsight, a lot of people have said to us "you should have just knocked them down" ~ but we are trying to do the right thing + be upfront! This could cost us. Anyway, to keep us entertained while we wait on this.... some pictures of the block that we can't bear to leave, the whole reason for us doing this in the first place! The block: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The new house will be placed just about exactly in the same footprint as the old house (but is a double-story). [Thanks to Anna1 for the tip with the NearMap website ~ the best satellite pic we have of the house, much more up to date than Google Maps and also more up to date than the council's pic! Thanks Anna!!] The front of the old house (dazzling! mission brown! possum damage to portico!): Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The backyard: We should have about 19-20m from the back of the house to the back fence. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ These fruit trees are staying: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This grevillea is staying: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This old 'big' shed is going. Over time we'll do something else in this spot, after establishing new trees along the fence line: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This little shed is being replace by a new, big shed: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We should have an extra 2m width down this side ~ this is where the outdoor room/alfresco/"lanai" will be, on this corner: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The whole reason we have to do this ~ look, no windows or living area onto the backyard W H A T S O E V E R !! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: Our block + our trees :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pi 16Mar 10, 2010 10:40 pm I've just looked up the glenaire - AWESOME plan!! I absolutely can't wait to see this one in progress =))) Beautiful! I love the flat profile of your roof tile, too. Looks almost like slate or shingles - gorgeous =) If we weren't using colourbond I would be going with something nice and unobtrusive like that =) Re: Our block + our trees :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pi 17Mar 13, 2010 7:45 pm Your colours look great and I love that you have posted the before pics so that we can see them. How is everything coming along? Any news on the demilition front? Bek I'm back Re: Our block + our trees :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pi 18Mar 13, 2010 11:25 pm Hi Vanilla, WOW, what a lovely floorplan the Glenaire is plus the modifications you've made will make it outstanding! This is the first I've heard of Fairhaven and I'm wondering how I missed them in my extensive search prior to settling for D3nnis Family Homes. I reckon it could be that at the time we started (back in end 2007) we were concentrating on builders with Dble storey homes and Fairhaven fell below the radar. Anyway, love your exterior choices! Can't wait to see it all progress! And can I say what a HUGE block you have! You've definitely been sitting on a gold mine and blocks the size of yours are hard to come by and as you mentioned in your intro, the smaller developers prey on blocks your size to knock down a 70s home and plonk 2-3 units. What sharks they are! But, back to your block. Your kids are absolutely lucky that they have a backyard the size of a park to play around in! Your council should be lucky that you've decided to keep so many of the tress on your block. I hope they don't give you too much of a headache. Good luck with your build! p.s. I'm also building in an established surburb. We loved the neighbourhood we've been renting in since arriving Downunder a couple of years ago that we couldn't bear to leave it! Plus my DD is nicely settled in her Primary school. Building thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22917 27.07.09 Contract signed. 08.09.09 Site scraped. 18.09.09 Slab completed! 23.11.09 Bricking done 09.03.10 - Tiling 15.04.10 PCI 01.05.10 Handover Re: Our block + our trees :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pi 19Mar 14, 2010 8:27 pm Thank you all for your nice comments! You are all very kind! herbiecat Wow Vanilla Tree you are not going to know yourself with the new house!! Thanks herb, yep it wouldn't be too hard to improve on what's there hey!! Seriously I am expecting this to be a life-changing experience! When will you start a thread?? Are you far off? somewoman I've just looked up the glenaire - AWESOME plan!! I absolutely can't wait to see this one in progress =))) Beautiful! I love the flat profile of your roof tile, too. Looks almost like slate or shingles - gorgeous =) If we weren't using colourbond I would be going with something nice and unobtrusive like that =) Thanks somewoman, we love the plan too. It's a big house (really) that doesn't feel *too* big. The rooms are not cavernous, they are just right. We wanted the *space* down in the family room where we'll be gathered most of the time. I'm hoping that the changes we've made don't ruin the feel of it, hopefully not. Yes ~ the Monier Horizon roof tile ~ the closest compromise we could get to the clean lines of Colorbond. I do like it as a tile, but I just wish it was a shade lighter... will live with it. bek7708 Your colours look great and I love that you have posted the before pics so that we can see them. How is everything coming along? Any news on the demilition front? Thanks Bek, it will be a heck of a transformation. No news yet on the demo, waiting on the arborist report. Hopefully this week. tc2000 WOW, what a lovely floorplan the Glenaire is plus the modifications you've made will make it outstanding! This is the first I've heard of Fairhaven and I'm wondering how I missed them in my extensive search prior to settling for D3nnis Family Homes. I reckon it could be that at the time we started (back in end 2007) we were concentrating on builders with Dble storey homes and Fairhaven fell below the radar. Hey tc, thanks so much! We first found Fairhaven sometime in 2008 but you're right ~ no double storey plans at that time (but we really liked them!). Then when we were starting again last year we discovered the Glenaire ~ I think it was newly opened in June or July '09. That Marsden plan of yours from DFH is great too ~ it just about ticks all the boxes for us ~ except maybe a little narrow for our block. The DFH Riverton was a contender too. tc2000 Your council should be lucky that you've decided to keep so many of the tress on your block. I hope they don't give you too much of a headache. Hmm, fingers and toes crossed on that one! I'm going to go and read your thread tc, from top to bottom (48 pages, oh my goodness!!) _______________________________________________________________ We're a knockdown | rebuild ~ Melb SE burbs Building modified version of the Fairhaven Glenaire Homeone thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28429 _______________________________________________________________ Re: Our block + our trees :: our Fairhaven Glenaire [with pi 20Mar 14, 2010 8:35 pm Hi VT, Wow! It's going to be a great transformation on your block from the old to the new! Will be great to follow your progress! BTW with the trees, those trees are no big deal compared the the massive ones we had to deal with - it'll be fine Bel Still not in. Don't ask!? Looking at some of the designs on websites, they are all selling very similar products. I get that you want something stylish. It's worth looking for search terms like SaveH2O… 2 7006 We are looking to do a KDR with fairhaven homes, Have seen plenty of good reviews about them pre construction and plenty of negative reviews about them during contruction… 0 18039 |