Browse Forums Building A New House Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 21Feb 14, 2012 8:05 am Look into the bushfire rating on the block before buying it. Something we knew nothing about and "IF" we had bought the block next to ours, which was available at the time we would have missed out on a bushfire rating and had $9,800 in our pocket. If unsure our council gave us a kit to work it out, it was very easy to do and was spot on with what the council got. But like i said best to do it before you have bought the block..!! Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 22Feb 14, 2012 11:19 am jodge I'd like a commendation on my northness please! If you don't mind! please! Hahaha I gave advice to someone not so long ago, to turn their house around by 90 degrees. . . they didn't listen. Can't imagine why? They just wanted to build as quickly as possible. . . wonder how they're enjoying their stinking hot house now? HAHAHA! That's advice 'I' would have taken Building in Bacchus Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 24Feb 15, 2012 9:09 pm My partner and I have actually assigned a cost to our time when trying to decide whether to get the builder to do things or not... There are a few things that we have gone out and got quotes for already and we will ask the builder to price it in as well, so we know prior to going in... Things like painting... Its a big house and would take us a while and as we both work long hours during the week we may get thhe builder to do it. But things like blinds that i can order and we can install in a day we would do ourselves The one thing i am concerned about is our driveway... we want a concrete driveway so have deleted the paving. Problem being you have to wait until handover to get done and then it needs some time to cure which will delay moving in. But how much will the builder charge for the luxury of that being done and then having minimal trades to arrange as the rest we can DIY. Jodge.. awesome northness. Our block is west to east front to back, so our living area will be north and we are having a gorgeous white colourbond roof! so excited as i currently live in a hotbox that gets hotter on the inside then out on a 40 degree day.... with doors open, or closed go figure.... Jen Building with HomeGroupWA (started as Scott Park Homes ) - Grand Wisteria Check out my Build Thread!! Time line on P1. Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 25Feb 15, 2012 9:20 pm ^^^ Jennifer-just had a peek at your plans-well done! Your WIP reminds me of mine....I lurrrvvee it! Plus we have Colorbond Surfmist roof-as light as you can get! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 26Feb 16, 2012 11:53 am Thankyou! I love my plans!! The WIP was originally a WIR for the master off the ensuite, but I love having a large pantry so we moved it, and the WIR is actually still quite large! I have a unit that i rent now but used to live in and it had a 3 panel robe on a wall and its was ample, so i think the 4 panels we will have will be enough! Have you found the surfmist roof makes a big difference? We will also be putting in Viridian Smartglass (like Comfort Plus but not laminated so its cheaper, and almost as efficient!) to the Northern Elevation and possibly the east and west (i work at a window company so they are figuring out the areas i need it for me hehe) Pretty much my main concern is heat because at least with winter you can rug up and wear more but in Perth in summer the heat is almost inescapable! We are putting in an air con, but my partner has decided he wants a 5kw solar panel system as well which will be large enough to offset any air con use for super hot days... however we only intend to use it when required not all the time like some people i know Jen Building with HomeGroupWA (started as Scott Park Homes ) - Grand Wisteria Check out my Build Thread!! Time line on P1. Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 27Feb 16, 2012 1:15 pm We are doing a number of things ourselves after handover.. Our biggest so far is our stormwater and concrete. The builder wanted to charge $21k for both and we have just had it done (with an ADDITIONAL 44sqm concrete) for $11,500! That almost $10k will knock off a massive portion of our landscaping! Building in Adelaide, SA Slab poured 08/09/2011 Handover 18/01/2012! WORLD CONCEPT HOMES Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44725 Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 28Feb 16, 2012 8:04 pm enelya Thankyou! I love my plans!! The WIP was originally a WIR for the master off the ensuite, but I love having a large pantry so we moved it, and the WIR is actually still quite large! I have a unit that i rent now but used to live in and it had a 3 panel robe on a wall and its was ample, so i think the 4 panels we will have will be enough! Have you found the surfmist roof makes a big difference? We will also be putting in Viridian Smartglass (like Comfort Plus but not laminated so its cheaper, and almost as efficient!) to the Northern Elevation and possibly the east and west (i work at a window company so they are figuring out the areas i need it for me hehe) Pretty much my main concern is heat because at least with winter you can rug up and wear more but in Perth in summer the heat is almost inescapable! We are putting in an air con, but my partner has decided he wants a 5kw solar panel system as well which will be large enough to offset any air con use for super hot days... however we only intend to use it when required not all the time like some people i know We have noticed a massive difference to our neighbours ( who mainly have dark rooves) on those really hot days! In fact, so far this Summer we have only had two days when we have had the A/C on-and even then it was only for a couple of hours in the afternoon when the temp was over 40! We have a small solar system on the roof, which is offsetting nicely ATM! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 29Feb 17, 2012 11:13 pm Deemaree enelya Have you found the surfmist roof makes a big difference? We have noticed a massive difference to our neighbours ( who mainly have dark rooves) on those really hot days! In fact, so far this Summer we have only had two days when we have had the A/C on-and even then it was only for a couple of hours in the afternoon when the temp was over 40! We have a small solar system on the roof, which is offsetting nicely ATM! That's excellent!!! Very pleased to hear it actually works! Maybe one day they will ban dark colored grooves... at least tiled ones for our climate! Its just not functional... Not to mention surfmist looks so crisp and clean Jen Building with HomeGroupWA (started as Scott Park Homes ) - Grand Wisteria Check out my Build Thread!! Time line on P1. Re: What are the biggest money savers when building 30Jul 01, 2012 11:49 pm I thought insulation had been pretty much legislated on so that all new homes had to have it? ? R6 ratings are coming in soon or may even be in force by now as well. Despite extra initial costs it will mean savings in the long run and a much pleasanter environment in the home. We have saved quite a bit on cost of some outdoor plumbing to water tanks and aquifer by getting independant quotes. The builder won't allow us to get the same guy to do the inside plumbing- something about their insurance- but we've saved $6000 for the outside on what the builder had quoted. They will allow 2 nominated trades to do work for us, don't know if other builders will allow more or not... As a tradesmen get a private inspector although I don't think there worth it in their profession themselves the reminder they serve to the tradesmen doing the work is… 3 27367 I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 10934 |