Who's building with Clarendon??

do you know what caused the trusses to sag ?

Whenever i was concerned about something i tried to reach out to a supplier such as Boral to get an opinion...they might be able to advise if the uneven tiles will cause issues down the track...

not good enough get it fixed God knows what else will go wrong I have colour bond on my roof my garage sagged down one end my builder fixed it what did your inspector say

Not exactly. Site Manager showed me the sagged truss in the ceiling. He said that timber probably just wasn't strong.

Oh, my giddy Aunt, stop it Mr Sm, Oh Crikey...."the timber probably wasn't strong...." one of the best builder excuses of all time, merits a big fat kiss and an award of some sort.

Hi All,

Another n00b Clarendonite here, wife and I + bub are planning on building the Sheridan 38 + granny flat in Woodpark NSW. We have been to the show home at The Ponds and have modified the basic plan as follows;

1. Large home theater (delete dining)
2. Redesign main bed to be like the Sherwood 35
3. Kitchen to be the same as the Sheridan 34@The Ponds
4. Extend laundry to be in-line with meals
5. Make WIP larger to suit (4)
6. Oxford facade + render(ive read some ppl say its cheaper to get render done post handover?)
7. Add alfresco

We wanted to make sure the plans were ok before paying the $1K, so we would have been at the Parklea office every weekend for about a month talking to Gaven about our changes, im surprised he put up with it all so well. We have asked for the plus pricing in the tender.

We are at the tender stage now and during the meeting would like to (anyone have ideas on the costs of these?) -

1. Sarking
2. Increase wall insulation to 2.5, any thoughts on this ive read the thread about the diminishing returns and it seems 2 or 2.5 is the go?
3. A/C upgrade (read on this thread that this is basically a must, cause the one included wont cope with a size 38 home?)
4. increase size of two bedroom robes
5. Ducted exhaust + heat lamps in ensuite and main bath


We are building with the Sapphire grade and they had a EOFY promotion which included 10 free things. Tender walk through is booked for 3rd Aug 2015.

From reading here again, and following some blogs ive allowed for the following -

1. Electrical - 15K (down lights, outdoor junction boxes, cat 6 outputs to each bedroom, speaker cables + hdmi in home theatre)
2. Tile upgrade - 10K (looking here everyone has to do this)
3. Demolition - 25K
4. Blinds - 10K
5. Driveway and concrete - 16K
6. Kitchen upgrades - 5K (glass splash back, again apparently any decent cabinets are an upgrade?)
7. A/C upgrade - 5K

Post build we would like to -

1. Convert to butlers pantry (have asked for hot and cold water points + drainage to be added to plans already)
2. Fit out robes
3. Install outdoor lights (electrical allowance above includes about 10 outdoor junction boxes)
4. Fencing
5. Deck (mod wood or something over alfresco and extended as seen on roseandparveen's blog i think)

That's us in a nutshell, thanks for all the posts so far there have been some def good tips and i have been following some of your blogs to understand the process.

Any advise or questions, please shout. Will post up the plans once we have a decent copy hopefully we get this out of the tender. Can i please ask any who has done the below for some feedback:

1. Doing own flooring post handover
2. Talking to contractors during build for any additional work, is this frowned upon?. E.g. speak to sparky to add power points and lights for direct payment to the sparky. Would Clarendon say this is not to plan and tear it all down?
3. Houspect - when did you engage them and which stages, is there a recommended path?
4. Knock down - any thing i need to look out for here, or is it getting a few quotes and getting it done


Cheers and thanks for reading

Hi I realise this post is from a few years ago but I am struggling to find anyone who has extended the laundry and the WIP on the Sheridan. We are looking to do this and was wondering if you went ahead with it and do you have any plans with how it worked - we are debating not having a WIP and just opening the kitchen wider to create more space. (did you end up doing a blog?)
All help appreciated at this stage - we are still debating between a Madison and a Sheridan at this point!

Thanks

Are you building in QLD or NSW? The Madison is different depending on location

We're going with the Madison - the Sheridan wouldn't fit on our block otherwise I'd likely have chosen it.

Our plan was to turn the WIP/laundry into a long laundry, then convert Bed 5 into a bigger WIP and increase the storage nook in the garage.
That or keep the configuration, but extend the laundry to the back wall (in line with Meals), and split that whole WIP/laundry space 50/50

I think Madison has the better downstairs, Sheridan has the better upstairs

Hi. Thanks for the responses. We are building in NSW. We need the downstairs study/guest in both designs so taking them for pantry space is not an option.
We also need 5 full bedrooms upstairs so would go for the ‘Bed 1 to front ‘ lifestyle option on the Sheridan. Looking at pushing the laundry to the edge of meals and going 50/50 WIP/Laundry.
We like the Sheridan as it has more of a ‘zoned’ feel to the rear with a set meals and family area. Also. You can access the powder room from the guest room and the stairs are more to the front so it’s better for noise control. However, because of the ‘zoned’ feeling it feels a little more boxed in and I think we won’t be able to see our pool (back right corner) from the kitchen area.

Reasons we like the Madison is the openness at the back and the whole yard can be seen from the whole back area but it feels like the meals table is in the main walkway, the stairs open directly into kitchen/meals (noise at night going upstairs if kids are asleep)
Powder doesn’t open into guest room and no robe in there (already small room) Also, our alfresco has to be off the family so it’s a ‘long way’ from the kitchen to the outdoors
Ahhh decisions!

Have you seen the fairmont range? The 34 and 35 might also address your needs.

It has 5 beds upstairs, downstairs bedroom/study with dual access bathroom.
Stairs are facing the front of the house
Has the kitchen, dining and family in zones.
I've seen people put a big picture window at the rear of the family room which gives a nice outlook to the back yard/pool
Add a grand alfresco and you have a really nice space

Could also close in the living room to make a small media room.

We had a look at the Fairmont range but we don’t like the kitchen in the middle of the house, the family off the back like that and the guest room at the front. Overall we preferred the Sheridan 34 or Madison 35 but still do t know which one more!?!
Thanks for the suggestions though - appreciate the replies

We had a look at the Fairmont range but we don’t like the kitchen in the middle of the house, the family off the back like that and the guest room at the front. Overall we preferred the Sheridan 34 or Madison 35 but still do t know which one more!?!
Thanks for the suggestions though - appreciate the replies

We have heartwood blonde and absolutely love it. This photo is before silicone and cleaning.

Our build is almost finished and we are now in the process of getting Interim Occupation Certificate. Apparently we need to provide Surveyors Certificate and have some questions.
1) What is it?
2) How to get one?
3) Did Clarendon pay for it or yourself?
Council said they don't issue it and I should contact the builder to find out. I've asked Clarendon and waiting on their response.