Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 241Jan 26, 2011 10:14 am this list is tops.. just what I need! i'm assuming that the items in the list are acheivable at an additional cost... if not all, what items can I haggle/bater with the builder? Things you forget - summary page 11 243Feb 10, 2011 2:43 pm A lot of discussions between Victorians has showed that none of the newly built homes have central drainage in their wet areas. Unlike here in NSW where it is mandatory. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 244Feb 10, 2011 7:17 pm I think it would be a good thing to make it mandatory in Victoria as well. We have a drain in our laundry which was sort of an accident. The sales lady thought we requested it but when we found it in the plans we decided to keep it. Hopefully we'll never need it but you never know. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 246Feb 11, 2011 8:41 am Having signed off our final plans recently and thinking there couldn't possibly be anything we've forgotten - until I saw someone mention the following.... Perhaps consider taller doors if you're raising your ceiling height. This didn't even occur to us however fortunately the only doors we have are to the bedrooms off the back hall, the rest are square set openings which we thankfully did raise. Also, didn't realise till it was too late but generally speaking, I think it's standard to only receive 1 recycled water tap (we assumed each outdoor tap set would have 1 normal and 1 recycling). Had we realised we would have only had 1 normal tap and 2 recycled taps. Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 247Feb 12, 2011 8:57 pm kyton A lot of discussions between Victorians has showed that none of the newly built homes have central drainage in their wet areas. Unlike here in NSW where it is mandatory. I also suspect that drainage for wet areas is not compulsory in Victoria, but it is still something to at least consider. On our plans we have flush tiling to the shower in both the bathroom and ensuite with the floor tiling sloped to direct any excess flow down towards the shower and we have added an additional charged drain point in the laundry just in case we ever have an issue with a burst inlet pipe or the bypass in the laundry trough drain becoming blocked while the washer is in use. In the end it costs a bit more initially but it is one less thing to worry about as I'd rather pay to have appropriate drainage in wet areas than having to rip up carpet/timber floors if something does go awry in a wet area later on (and accidents do happen). Some people apparently have nothing better to do than comment on other people's sigs. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 248Feb 13, 2011 8:42 am We moved our Laundry taps to be down in the cabinet next othe machine.... IMO i makes the laundry look cleaner. The CLO bought it up at Prestart. Building with Life$tyle Homes in Perth SOR Key Dates on First Page of my Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38761 Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 249Feb 15, 2011 5:44 pm karry327 Having signed off our final plans recently and thinking there couldn't possibly be anything we've forgotten - until I saw someone mention the following.... Perhaps consider taller doors if you're raising your ceiling height. This didn't even occur to us however fortunately the only doors we have are to the bedrooms off the back hall, the rest are square set openings which we thankfully did raise. Also, didn't realise till it was too late but generally speaking, I think it's standard to only receive 1 recycled water tap (we assumed each outdoor tap set would have 1 normal and 1 recycling). Had we realised we would have only had 1 normal tap and 2 recycled taps. Can you explain what you mean by 'recycled taps'? Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 250Feb 16, 2011 8:22 pm Quote: Can you explain what you mean by 'recycled taps'? Taps for recycled / grey water. Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 251Feb 19, 2011 6:50 am If you get the termite protection stuff, it might be a good idea to take photos of where the pipes go or get a diagram or plan of sorts so no accidental digging through while gardening. Don't want the chemicals exposed or the cost of repair or repalcing it. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 252Feb 20, 2011 8:44 pm Great summary list in this thread I'm just wondering, how many people have gone down the path of building but getting the carpet's , tiles, painting done by someone else? I'm considering asking my builder to breakdown the cost for Carpet / Tiling / Painting but the only thing I can think of getting done easily would be the carpet. Mainly to get something higher quality than the builders choice Thanks Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 253Feb 20, 2011 9:57 pm Double storey house? ... have your builder connect a tap to exterior balconies. Essential for watering plants and cleaning decks etc. Think about how you will clean the windows upstairs ... easy access will make life easier. See if you can make the staircase wider than normal -- this will be a godsend when you are moving in, and having mattresses and other large items of furniture delivered. The more power points the better .... think about where you are likely to want to charge your mobile and have an accessible p/p. Have your insect screens and window locks supplied at the same time as the windows. Consider having a water filter installed at the kitchen sink. A hand-held shower nozzle is fantastic ... makes cleaning the shower a breeze. Get enough towel rails to hang all the bathroom towels. If you're having instant gas hot water, get control panels for both upstairs and downstairs. Take plenty of photos of the frame under construction. These will be useful when you're trying to remember where the studs are when you want to hang something on the wall .. think flat screen tv. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 254Feb 21, 2011 5:15 am Hi theanonyuser, We too thought about getting things done ourselves, cos when we asked about the builder's choice for carpet, we weren't getting good quality carpets, so we decided to get the carpets ourselves, as well as the tiling, driveway & landscaping....the only thing we did get from them was ofcourse the painting & flyscreens, cos like Scrabblenut said, if you're building a two storey house, it's much easier if they do the flyscreens themselves. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 255Feb 21, 2011 6:58 am springtime Hi theanonyuser, We too thought about getting things done ourselves, cos when we asked about the builder's choice for carpet, we weren't getting good quality carpets, so we decided to get the carpets ourselves, as well as the tiling, driveway & landscaping....the only thing we did get from them was ofcourse the painting & flyscreens, cos like Scrabblenut said, if you're building a two storey house, it's much easier if they do the flyscreens themselves. Interesting, did you find the savings significant? Or just getting higher quality carpet/tiling/et cetera ? Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 256Feb 21, 2011 5:26 pm theanonyuser Great summary list in this thread I'm just wondering, how many people have gone down the path of building but getting the carpet's , tiles, painting done by someone else? I'm considering asking my builder to breakdown the cost for Carpet / Tiling / Painting but the only thing I can think of getting done easily would be the carpet. Mainly to get something higher quality than the builders choice Thanks It wasn't an issue for us as we stuck with category 1 for now - we found something we could live with for both carpets and tiles from the standard range. If you're going to upgrade and you don't mind still having things to do when they hand over the keys then don't bother going through the builder as their mark-up is a killer - organise to have it done post-handover instead (you also might get to save bit more if the tile/flooring/carpet firm you're buying off has a sale or special offer happening). You might also get a credit back on your contract as their is usually a stipulated allowance per square metre (for carpet) and per tile (for all tiling) included in your build price, although you getting this back isn't guaranteed if you're taking a "free" or "discounted" set of promotional upgrades that includes the carpet and tiling. Painting is more of a personal choice as it takes longer to get done than carpet or tiling (depending on how much tiling you're having done of course) - personally the painting is something I'd get done before the handover as it's generally always included in your contract price and if you want a paint upgrade outside their suppliers range then you may be able to organise to have your own paint delivered more easily than for carpet or tiles - the builder's painting contractors just use whatever has been ordered for the house so I can't see how having your own paint delivered would make much of a difference (which means it's still covered by the builder's QA guarantee). Some people apparently have nothing better to do than comment on other people's sigs. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 257Feb 21, 2011 6:16 pm Hi Guys, When we asked to see the range they were offering we found that the carpet wasn't what we wanted. This is the second house we're building ( We built our current one 20 years ago ) so we've learned what you need to do well from the start & what you can make do & change it later...believe me, if you need to re-carpet sometime down the track it's a real heartache, so we decided that tiling & carpets have to be good quality from the word go....that's my view anyway Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 258Feb 23, 2011 1:56 pm The thread is awesome!! Thanks to everyone who contributed. we are in very early stages of the process waiting for land to get titled atm. anyway, we have added a lot of things already mentioned in this thread and definitely made us thinking about lot of things we didnt know before. Additionally we have added; (sorry if they are already mentioned before.) water proof power points to our alfresco and balconies. We deleted one side of the wall shelving in the broom storage and moved walls to make the WIP bigger. and added the deleted shelve in the WIP. added power points in the master bedroom en suite for electric tooth brushes, hair iron and dryer. added TV point in the master bed room. added external lights to each corner of the house added eves for energy saving upgrade kitchen tap and sink. standard inclusions were not satisfactory. better check prior. added more cupboards in the kitchen. storage is never enough. Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 259Mar 02, 2011 8:44 pm I wished I'd asked about upgrading bathrooms to have floor to ceiling tiling at time of tender or contract Re: Things you forget - summary page 11 260Mar 03, 2011 8:18 pm Just wanted to say I am so grateful for this thread. There are so many things like mitred edges, waterfall benches, floor to ceiling in the bathrooms, ducted vacuum, raised ceilings, sliding wardrobe doors, larger mirrors etc. The beauty of this thread is I had them added to the original cost so I dont have to worry about it come prestart! Custom build Perth Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44112 Purchased block: May 2009 Building approval: July 2011 Bricks complete: Jan 2012 Depends what you're current inclusions are, but we're not including wardrobes and will just use second hand ones until we can save later on to get them built. Also have a… 3 11703 Looking to start the journey of becoming an owner builder in SA. Feeling pretty (overly) confident on the building and construction details, but really struggling to find… 0 8463 No. It's not original. Circa early to mid 90s would be my guess and maybe even as late as early 2000s 1 6680 |