Our small build (NOR WA) - two years down

fmac · Oct 05, 2012 11:51 pm

Well my partner and I jumped into things when an attractive block NOR (WA) turned up.

We saw a very friendly person at Aussie living homes, we never felt pressured to sign up, but we've wanted to have our own place for a long time.

The block is small, only 300sqm and 10m frontage. So choices were limited. We are hoping, finance willing, to build the terrazzo, we've made a few changes including pushing the house out 1m to make the kitchen bigger and flipping the ensuite to have his and hers in front and the ensuite behind.

When I figure out how to post plans I'd like to post ours to get suggestions on home to lay out the kitchen! I love cooking but progressive rentals have had very small kitchens with almost no bench space!

I am so happy to have found this site as I have a long list of things to clarify!

Our colour choices
Kitchen and main area flooring

Bathroom and ensuite, bench tops will be the same stone as the kitchen

Our timeline (I'll need to find some dates) I wish I had started this sooner as I don't have dates for when some things happened.
9/9/2012 first meeting with sales guy
15/9/2012 Signed PPA
Offered on the block somewhere in here
12/10/2012 Signed contracts
24/10/2012 Finance approval
9/11/2012 Settled on block (I think)
30/11/2012 Prestart
16/1/2013 Recieved final plans
5/2/2013 Recieved final variation after scheduling
7/03/2013 Retaining walls went in
27/3/2013 Slab went down
In here somewhere they did some pipe laying, cleared the slab and the bricks and other stuff was delivered to site
22/4/2013 bricks started
3/5/2013 bricks completed (8 days, one day rained out and a public holiday
15/5/13 Roof timbers all up!
17/5/2013 Roof timbers finished, eaves, facia and plasterboard done
20/5/2013 plumber and electrician been to run wires and stuff
24/5/2013 Roof plumbers finished and tiles delivers to site
27/5/2013 Roof completed in one day! Metal beading on all corners ready for float
28/5/2013 grey float has begun
31/5/2013 Grey float finished, front render done and ceilings up!
04/5/2013 Cornices went up today and all the nails and joins in the ceilings have been covered
06/5/2013 Windows and sliding doors installed
12/6/2013 The plasterer was back to start the white set
18/6/2013 Locked out, internal doors fitted, linen cupboard shelves up, bath delivered
26/6/2013 Cabinets installed!
28/6/2013 Garage floor done!
05/7/2013 Bench tops in, oven installed and other kitchen stuff delivered, hot water system delivered, tiling finished, electricians been in and installed powerpoints, lights etc, bathroom sinks and taps etc installed and pretty sure toilets are in, can't see them but there were boxes for them in the skip!
12/7/2013 Cooktop in, first coat of external paint, mirrors and shower screens in
15/7/2013 First site clean, I can now see in the windows! Pavers delivered
18/7/2013 Driveway cleared and sand delivered for paving, second coat of paint gutters and facia
19/7/2013 Fly screens went up. Door handles installed and sealing splash back and bench tops

23/7/2013 Main area flooring installed and blinds!
24/7/2013 Carpets down
05/8/2013 Paving finished, painting finished, kitchen tap in, hot water connected
07/8/2013 PCI completed

andystar70 · Oct 05, 2012 11:59 pm

Look forward to seeing your plans!

fmac · Oct 29, 2012 11:35 pm

Well we have had finance approved. Very exciting and stressful at the same time.

This site has been a wealth of information. So I thought I would share my story.

My partner and I put an offer on a block about two months ago, its 300m2 with a 10m frontage. So we didn't have a huge choice of plans but are happy with what we have ended up with. We made a few changes from the original and are happy Weill be left with 4m of backyard! Since meeting we have lived in a 1x1 apartment and currently in a 2x1 town house so for us this place will be huge for us!!

We have prestart on the 30th of November so a lot of choices to make!

This is our plan

It was based on this http://www.aussielivinghomes.com.au/home-designs/the-terrazzo-range/the-terrazzo.aspx

We can't make any structural changes but I would be interested in feedback on the plan. We are planning on moving the cooktop closer to the fridge recess and to have an undercount sink to one end of the island.

Thanks

andystar70 · Oct 30, 2012 11:46 am

Congrats on your finance coming through!

First off, where will North be please?

fmac · Oct 30, 2012 4:29 pm

We are building Pearsall which is about 20km north of Perth. I grew up North of the River not to far from Pearsall but have spent the last 5 years living less then 10km from the city (we even lived in the city for 18months) so it will be a change! But looking forward to the space and having a place that is ours.

We could have got a bigger block further out and built a bigger house but decided to compromise on size for location. My partner is also from the UK so this will be the largest house he has ever lived in.

Tippy Toes · Oct 30, 2012 6:42 pm

fmac

We are building Pearsall which is about 20km north of Perth. I grew up North of the River not to far from Pearsall but have spent the last 5 years living less then 10km from the city (we even lived in the city for 18months) so it will be a change! But looking forward to the space and having a place that is ours.

We could have got a bigger block further out and built a bigger house but decided to compromise on size for location. My partner is also from the UK so this will be the largest house he has ever lived in.

Hi fmac,
I think he meant which way is north (as in compass direction) based on your block and the plan. This is so we can give you ideas on the lay out of the house.

Cheers,

fmac · Oct 30, 2012 8:08 pm

Thanks Tippy Toes I feel a bit 'special' now. I hadn't realised I cut it off when I cropped it to remove our details.

North is the right side of the plan the garage wall, living and dining room (the back of the property faces west).

MalinViktoria · Oct 30, 2012 8:46 pm

Looking forward to following your build!

I like your plan, it'll definitely be a huge step up from your previous 1x1 and 2x1's!

fmac · Nov 04, 2012 10:37 pm

We did some looking around at colours this weekend.
At this stage we are going to go for vinyl planksin the kitchen/living/dinning in one of the oak colours.
We are sticking with white in the kitchen... Just need to decide one which of the essastone colours is the white we want.
Our bathroom we are hoping to do grey on the floor and white on the walls.... Problem being the floor times I found are outside of the builders standard range.... Why am I not surprised?
Going to take some pictures while out looking this week and will try to post.

Now to work out the layout of the kitchen.... Everyone seems to centre everything but to get two longer stretches of bench we are considering pushi g the oven to one end of the bench and the sink to one end of the island... Just don't want to put people off when we do end up selling, hopefully to for a while though!

spottie · Nov 04, 2012 10:45 pm

Hi!!

AWESOME plan for your block size. I can't believe you have squashed a double garage on!! We too have a 10x30m block and have tried to optimize space!

We have gone with an all white Kitchen (with essastone tops!) and pretty light through out really so make our place seem bigger then what it really is :lol:

Cheers
Sam

fmac · Nov 04, 2012 10:54 pm

Hi Sam
Almost all the plans we looked at had a double garage. The one that didn't had all the bedrooms together at the back so we went with the alfresco and separate minor bedrooms.
The other similar blocks in our area have a double garage so we were worried if we didn't have one we would disadvantage ourselves down the track.
I love what you've managed to get in your block! We were worried not having a second living area and small minor bedrooms but at the moment it is just us and if we are lucky to have kids hoping we can upgrade or build up by the time we need the space!

Which colour essa stone have you picked? We had one chosen but after looking at displays have changed our mind (going for one with smaller stone chips!)

Looking forward to watching your build!

fmac · Nov 04, 2012 10:58 pm

Just went back and read your post and I think we will have a very similar kitchen! Your essa stone is one of the two we are now deciding between! Just not sure we can get the gloss finish on the cabinets!

We have the same plan, keep it light and bright and hopefully it will feel bigger and not date as quickly!

turtleschell · Nov 04, 2012 10:59 pm

Looks pretty spacious despite the size of the block, well done! Pearsall is a great suburb, close enough to CBD and coast and fwy.
We considered it but wanted something coastal and bigger, so we chose Butler. Definitely need lots of bedrooms as we hope to have at least one more child (we've currently got two).

spottie · Nov 04, 2012 11:03 pm

We would have loved to go a double garage but our estate is a Lend Lease one and whilst awesome they will only allow 10m frontage blocks to have a single garage.

We were lucky enough to get gloss cupboards as a standard otherwise I would doubt if we could afford the upgrade

And yes, I agree with you in regards to the dating. So many houses I see date so quickly and go out of fashion fast. I hope we are both on the right track

fmac · Nov 04, 2012 11:06 pm

Turtleschell: you build looks great I've checked it out!
We don't have any Kids yet so hoping this build will suit us for the next 5 years at least, only planning one but you never know!
We currently rent in Mount Hawthorn so the move to pearsall will be a big change! But I grew up in the area so know it well. I remember when I used to be picked on for living in the sticks when I grew up in edgewater! I remember before joondalup was there and those who lived further north did so because the worked up that way.
I am hoping to get a job in the area in the near future!
Hope your build goes well! We are happy to have bought a titled lot!! One less thing to wait for!

turtleschell · Nov 05, 2012 2:55 pm

Haha yes I remember when I was in highschool and we met these cute 'country boys' from MERRIWA! We would wait for weekends when they'd come down to Perth!! ROFL!

fmac · Nov 10, 2012 8:03 pm

Well we went and did some shopping today. Have decided on the tiles, unless we change our mind.

I am going to try and post photos, can you let me know if they work, they look fine on the preview and then seem to not work!

Main Bathroom and Ensuite, opal dark grey for the floor, fashion white for the walls, New Crystal Salt tops (were having these throughout) and Asphatt formica for the cabinets.

Kitchen (white!) the New Crystal Salt bench, Polar white cabinets and we need to get the glass tiles costed (they look brown but they are grey), if they are too expensive we are going with a white gloss tile thats 100x400

The Laundry, we want to get a built in costed if we can it will be the same cabinet and bench as the kitchen. We have gone with lighter tiles, as it is off the kitchen, it looks a little brown but is light grey. The wall tile behind the laundry sink will be the narrow white tile we might have as the kitchen splash back.

We have also almost picked the flooring, we are going with the vinyl plank rather then tiles. below are the three colours (all very similar and an example of what it should look like)

Now so many other choices still to go, assuming we don't change our minds!

fmac · Nov 15, 2012 7:08 pm

We were notified today that we became the official owners of the block at lunch time today.

Now two weeks to make the last of the decisions before prestart, like the layout of the kitchen!! We're hoping the building will start early next year! Less time we will have to be living with my mum!

chripark69 · Nov 15, 2012 8:58 pm

Congratulations your own piece of Australia!

fmac · Nov 15, 2012 9:07 pm

Thats how we put it! My partner is from th UK so its all about being Australian! Though when we tell them the size of our block they think it's huge!!