Finding a design

Phil · Apr 05, 2006 11:03 pm

HI All,
have just found trhis great resource and wish to sponge some thoughts of you guys.

I've got a block of beachfront land in north queesland and will build a new home there in the next 12 months (I hope). Sounds easy hey! Actually I'm a bit stumped as to whether I'll find a suitable home design from a builders list of standard plans or whether I need to go to the expence of an architect to get something suitable.
Is there some easy one-stop shop with all the predone plans for looking through or is a case of doing the rounds with oodles of building companies and hoping?

Thanks for your advice.

Glint-Bladesong · Apr 06, 2006 6:44 pm

Quote:

Is there some easy one-stop shop with all the predone plans for looking through or is a case of doing the rounds with oodles of building companies and hoping

And its door number 2 for you! (unless someone comes along and surprises me big time here)
There is, to the best of my knowledge, no 'one stop' shop for house plans, which means picking 4 to 5 companies and seeing what they have to offer.

My suggestion is to see them all, let them know your are looking at other companies and take a copy of the plans home with you to compare with all the others (plus most companies would have their plans on their company's web site - if they have one).

Some thing that may be of some use to you when you are trying to decide on the layout etc of your home is this site http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/t ... /index.htm (particularly the "Passive Design" section).

Good luck.

karap · May 05, 2006 1:59 pm

My Husband and I purchased a blcok of land in Jindalee -Brighton Beachside Estate Perth WA last October and are now in the process of deciding on a builder/design. This has been nothing but hell, We finally decided on a design and a builder and were so happy, but the slimy sales guy wanted us to sign contracts to build before we had the final drawings and final quote, he was so persistent. He was using the old " there is going to be a price rise" sales tool, to try and rush us into signing. Anyhow the drawings came back and then the pricing which was double what he told us it would be.

With that aside what has really really angered me is I spoke to a few people from the building company this week who confirmed there has been NO price rise and they dont know what I am talking about. This slime ball also told us that he had spoke to his boss who said he will hold off the price rise till this weekend so we can come in and sign, to which I later found out that his boss is overseas and not contactable until Monday. HMMmmmm

Makes we wonder how many people he has sucked into contracts this way, he did however make the mistake of messing with me because I like to investigate everything and I hate being * to. And Unfortunately I have caught him out, so I wonder how he will get out of this.

I still want to go through this builder, so I will be calling the owner on Monday to complain about this guy and to request we be passed onto someone else.

Petrified Pom · May 07, 2006 4:34 pm

Hi Karap

We've just bought a plot at Burns Beach, so looks like we'll be near neighbours.

We're also going through the choosing a builder stage, complicated by the fact that we currently live in Singapore.

Could you let me know which company the Slime Ball works for? I'd also appreciate your feedback on the other builders you've dealt with (you can PM if you don't want to post here).

Thanks a lot in advance.

homeone · May 07, 2006 4:38 pm

Petrified Pom,

Great suggestion...

So for valued members, if you're needing to share company names with each other, those that fall in some negative context, please communicate these via PM (personal message).

Thank you, and happy posting.

Shane · May 08, 2006 6:03 pm

WOW, I really feel for you. I agree there are some really slimy operators out there who are more concerned with their commissions then getting the right house for their clients.

I would recommend strongly that if you are looking to build a home for yourself, try and avoid “project builders”. I know they are generally cheaper but cheaper is defiantly not the better way to go when investing in a new home. There is a saying that says; If you choose the cheapest quote you find, it is wise to add a cost for the risk you are running, and once you have done this you may just find that you could have afforded the product you felt was better. Basically not all houses are built the same, and not all builders offer the same level of service.

I hope this might give you some food for thought

Kind Regards
Shane Wright.

Phil · May 17, 2006 9:43 pm

Thanks for all the ideas, I'm now believing there is no "ideal plan" in existence but have found a few of the larger companies who have their own designers agree they always adapt an old one or redo from the start. This is fine except that going down that track I feel ties me to that builder and whatever his quote comes out at. Maybe going straight to an independant designer and paying for his services is better from this perspective. But then again unless you specify exactly everything for the quotes its meaningless as Shane just said,the cheapest quote is not necessarily the best.

Sorry to hear of your experience karap, that really sucks. Personally I turn off anyone trying to hurry anything "on paper" or "in cash", there is NEVER a reason to hurry a big transaction like this. I hope your guy gets the Ar@e any wisens up the operator to get good help.

Cheers Phil

wander25m · Jun 29, 2006 3:53 pm

Shane

I saw your company profile and the buildings shown are all classy and look expensive. We're planning to build our home near Forest lake, but only 1 storey 4 bedrooms home so don't know if your company would be interested ? I am dealing with another builder now but i somehow don't have a good feeling, for a start they did the soil test and it was shown as M/H with a P (?) and salesman said we'll have to fork out extra for the P (?). Which doesnt' agree with the soil test from adjacent lot, and the area was totally cut, not filled. So I'm a bit suspsicious maybe i should order an independent soil test ? and considering another builder. Think yours interested ?

regards
Dan.

mek · Jun 30, 2006 3:24 pm

As to suitable designs, big builders like Metricon or Simonds have their brochures available at every display site with pictures and plans of their homes. You can get a lot of ideas from there - just take a brochure and go through it, it doesn't cost you anything.
But if you wanted design that would exactly fit your land, orientation, etc., you might want to go to a smaller builder. Our proposed builders gave us professionally drawn plans with all specifications - at no cost and no commitment from our side - but I know some builders will want a deposit before they draw up anything (or anything detailed).