Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 22, 2013 1:11 pm I've been randomly asking questions here along our 12 month search for established property, then land, then back to established property, then land to subdivide then back to just house and land in new estate. We now have signed land contracts, and own 51.2m2 of our block, and are getting close to signing with a builder too, so I thought it would be a good time to start my very own thread! Yay!
We are building on the Bellarine Peninsula (east of Geelong in Vic) and look to be building the sThree with 8homes. We'll be within 1km of the school our kids attend, and will be scoring an extra bedroom and living area compared to what we're renting now. In addition I'm particularly looking forward to planting a garden that contains NO prickly plants. So all in all except for the usual hiccups I think its going to be great in the end. This is the standard floor plan Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ However we are making a couple of small alterations - extra windows along the entry wall (its north facing so want to make the most of it) turning the laundry into a WIP and putting a european laundry in the back of the garage, extending the island bench, taking 600mm out of the kids bathroom and relocating the linen there - leaving a "nook" in the living area where we can build in some sort of mini study, and adding some doors/changing some doors to cavity sliders. We don't get to do colour selections with our builder - to keep costs down you just pick from one of four exterior colour boards and four interior ones. Ext we're currently looking at: Roof: Monier wild rice Brick: Austral Chestnut Windows: Merino Garage door: Paperbark Gutters: Evening Haze and the front door is listed as Merino but I really would like a bright pop of colour on it so I'm thinking of painting it a green after handover - something like dulux pea case. What does everyone think about bright colourful front doors? I love them but realise I might be in the minority. Although we really aren't sold on the light roof tile, its still our front running choice. I think we just have to "own it" and "embrace" that its going to be different. Its strange how light colourbond doesn't seem anywhere near as strange but light tile is just a bit odd. I haven't really decided on the interior yet, I want to have a closer look at the board on Sunday when we next meet with our sales consultant, but all 4 are very neutral and inoffensive. Land should title in April as site works are almost complete and we got hunted down today by our broker for some signatures so it looks like it should all start moving in the next few months, and with a bit of luck we'll be in by Christmas Re: S.Three - Building our first home 2Feb 22, 2013 2:05 pm congrats i think the colors are good and having a bright door is fantastic at one stage i was considering a red door Re: S.Three - Building our first home 3Feb 22, 2013 2:19 pm Thanks 1rocky, do you think its a bit too much beige though? Or do you think the door would break it up enough? I'm not sure what colour they do for the fascia and downpipe, but I'd say it will be evening haze as well. A red door would be sexy as all get out, but I'm now a mum of 4, I don't feel that I'd live up to it! Plus having 4 boys, the more calming and harmonious vibes I can get, the better - hence my recent attraction to all things green (like my apple green kitchen aid) Re: S.Three - Building our first home 4Feb 22, 2013 3:11 pm Love your layout, it looks very practical! Settlement: 10.02.13 Slab: 06.03.13 Frame: 08.03.13 Lock-up: 05.04.13 Handover: 03.06.13 Build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59555 Brisbane Photography Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 5May 30, 2013 1:34 pm So after a world of drama: think doubled site costs simply because of a batter in the first 1m of the block, nowhere near the building envelope, then a battle to get it back to something reasonable, incorrect information that doesn't even make sense passed on, and over 2 months to get answers to simple questions, we have had our deposit refunded. Onwards and upwards to the next builder! We're looking at a similar sized house, although things aren't quite zoned as well. But the builder is much more flexible. We're deleting the alfresco and using the space created to put a WIP in the kitchen and add another 1m to the living. We should be getting the initial drawings this weekend, which I will post if we're still happy with this builder! Our land titles Tomorrow which is very exciting, not really the March or April we were expecting, but theres a silver lining - we get some extra FHOG to build with now, and got the chance to save a bit more money which is always handy! Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now that we can start things moving. Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 6May 30, 2013 2:31 pm staceyd So after a world of drama: think doubled site costs simply because of a batter in the first 1m of the block, nowhere near the building envelope, then a battle to get it back to something reasonable, incorrect information that doesn't even make sense passed on, and over 2 months to get answers to simple questions, we have had our deposit refunded. Onwards and upwards to the next builder! We're looking at a similar sized house, although things aren't quite zoned as well. But the builder is much more flexible. We're deleting the alfresco and using the space created to put a WIP in the kitchen and add another 1m to the living. We should be getting the initial drawings this weekend, which I will post if we're still happy with this builder! Our land titles Tomorrow which is very exciting, not really the March or April we were expecting, but theres a silver lining - we get some extra FHOG to build with now, and got the chance to save a bit more money which is always handy! Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now that we can start things moving. Sorry to hear of your setback. We did a similar thing 2 weeks ago... cut our losses and moved on. We had signed the pre-lim contract but had yet to transfer the deposit. We were waiting on the variations/changes that we'd asked for repeatedly and were told "yep, yep that's fine - no worries, I know about that". Then they werent on the contract. Got a variation in the post the next week (finally) and surprise surprise an extra $20,000 added on. When we'd been given the impression it wouldnt be extra, or a hassle. Clearly it was, so it was left off and sent out after in the hope we'd just suck it up and go with it. Much like you, we snapped and decided these werent the people we wished to trust and pulled out. We have decided to wait a few extra months, save even more and get exactly what we want somewhere else. Hope your new builder comes through for you! Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66299 Slab: 16/6/14 Frame: 4/7/14 Roof: 22/7/14 Lock Up: 20/8/14 Fixing: 26/8/14 PCI: 9/10/14 Handover: 20/10/14 Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 7Jun 05, 2013 4:43 pm Deluxes - I finally had a chance to read your thread - your house looked beautiful, but good on you for sticking to your guns though. The plan you have drawn up is great Well, we went in on Saturday to get the drawings and were told our complete contracts were ready to go. We opened them up and it was a shambles The price had jumped considerably, the floorplan didn't have many of the changes we'd discussed on it, and some of our deletions weren't noted (eg flooring) the plans had the wrong street name and possibly the wrong customer name too. I was so bummed. I got home and wrote up a complete list of changes to the original plan (inlcuding additions/upgrades/deletions) and sent them off via email so that everything was in writing in the one place, even included a layout of how I want the kitchen. I also asked a couple of questions - "when in their process do we select colours so I can allow for $$ for brick upgrades etc if we need them" "can we supply our own oven, if not, what are the specs for the 900mm upgrade you provide" and a couple others but have got no reply. Is this just typical of the building industry as a whole? Its so frustrating, if most other professionals acted in such a way they'd be fired, yet it just seems par for course when building. Its becoming clearer why people buy established houses!!! Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 8Jun 06, 2013 5:31 am sorry did not answer sooner i would go for a pop of color in your front door. also sorry to hear abour your troubles we also had another builder and they did the same to us we waited for several months before being told we had more important clients. then we cam across our amazing builder who was building their display home. they let us go through during construction and never pushed when we decided it took them only two days to have a custom design for us to work on. we have moved in now and still they are going out of their way to make sure we are happy with the home we still talk to our SS etc. so i think if your builder is doing this now how will construction go. start looking at different builders and see what other homes you like all the best Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 9Jun 06, 2013 8:34 am Hey staceyd seems most builders give people the same run around. we got a tender from one of the big builders here in Sydney and got stuffed around so badly we also pulled out before it got out of hand. We figured if it was this bad at tender stage it could only get worse once the build started Keep looking and dont get to disappointed by it all. Things will get better and you will propably end up with an even nicer home than you originally thought If you really liked the first house why dont you try finding a builder who will build what you want, not just what they offer. Maybe they can adjust the plans enough to get you away from copyright laws Its just a thought Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 10Jun 06, 2013 8:50 am sorry to hear you're having such trouble with builders. I am sure you will be able to find someone Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 11Jun 06, 2013 9:16 am It's definitely worth finding the right builder. You can expect some level of organizational issues, they do have a lot on their plate but at the same time the kind of issues you're experiencing wouldn't be forgivable in my books. They have to be available to answer your questions and communicate efficiently or any problems you do have won't be resolved. I spoke to 4 different builders in face to face situations, asking questions and getting to know how they operated, not even for a specific tender. I called one of the bigger ones twice, leaving messages and never got a call back which was an instant no. I would get out when you can and spend a bit more time finding a builder that isn't too busy for your build and who answers your questions promptly. Blog http://tobuildahomeimprobable.blogspot.com.au/ Settlement Apr Council Jul Contracts Dec Earthworks Dec Frames Jan Trusses Feb Roof Feb Windows Mar Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 12Jun 06, 2013 9:39 am staceyd Deluxes - I finally had a chance to read your thread - your house looked beautiful, but good on you for sticking to your guns though. The plan you have drawn up is great Well, we went in on Saturday to get the drawings and were told our complete contracts were ready to go. We opened them up and it was a shambles The price had jumped considerably, the floorplan didn't have many of the changes we'd discussed on it, and some of our deletions weren't noted (eg flooring) the plans had the wrong street name and possibly the wrong customer name too. I was so bummed. I got home and wrote up a complete list of changes to the original plan (inlcuding additions/upgrades/deletions) and sent them off via email so that everything was in writing in the one place, even included a layout of how I want the kitchen. I also asked a couple of questions - "when in their process do we select colours so I can allow for $$ for brick upgrades etc if we need them" "can we supply our own oven, if not, what are the specs for the 900mm upgrade you provide" and a couple others but have got no reply. Is this just typical of the building industry as a whole? Its so frustrating, if most other professionals acted in such a way they'd be fired, yet it just seems par for course when building. Its becoming clearer why people buy established houses!!! Oh that sounds horrid! Much like our experience... it just wasnt sitting right in my gut (or my husbands) and we just both went (almost in unison) "Nope, no more". I think the same thing! I work in the heavily regulated financial services (Insurance) industry where every thing that is said or sent needs to be compliant and major penalties apply for misleading or even what can be conceived as misleading comments. These are put in place to help protect customers who are trying to protect their biggest asset, their home. Yet, when when that same customer goes to a builder to construct their biggest asset, it's anything goes! I know that the the building code has imposed certain standards and requirements for the actual construction finish to protect us there, but as far as the sales and tender process goes.... Wow, very shady indeed. As lmille32 mentioned, no one will be spot on perfect, but it's finding that company that you trust enough to get the job done and that works well for you. Thats currently what we are trying to find now as well.... Thankyou, we love the new plan... the old one was nice too, but what we wanted to do with it wasnt being met with enthusiasm (or competence) from that builder. So onwards and upwards I say! I hope you find your answers soon and get what you need. It's so stressful and frustrating! Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66299 Slab: 16/6/14 Frame: 4/7/14 Roof: 22/7/14 Lock Up: 20/8/14 Fixing: 26/8/14 PCI: 9/10/14 Handover: 20/10/14 Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 13Jun 06, 2013 1:18 pm Some things are meant to happen. Looking forward to seeing your new plan. Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 14Jun 24, 2013 2:13 pm Thanks for all the support, its nice to vent to people who understand! We ended up getting a new set of plans 8 days ago, went through them and took in a list of corrections the next day. We had been told we would be getting the pricing at the same time too but that didn't eventuate. Then I was assured that I would have revised plans and pricing by the end of last week, which also didn't happen. Late yesterday afternoon I sent another email chasing it again and was told he'd get the info for me this morning. And surprise surprise - nothing yet. We were hoping to sign contracts on July 1st so that we could get it started and be in by years end to avoid the Jan shutdown, but its looking less and less likely. I'm not exactly a patient person at the best of times but this is something else! And to make it worse, the kids are always saying things like "when we get our new house we can have a **insert any number of different types of pets here** and we'll call it *insert some crazy name here* and it will be so awesome" Poor little guys just want a cat, or dog, or rabbit, or chicken, or whatever! Edited to add current and not quite correct plans (kitchen/living is still a bit off) Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 15Jun 24, 2013 3:44 pm sorry to hear staceyd. We had the same thing happen to us and we pulled the pin on them. We figured if things were this bad before tender acceptance how good will it be during the build process. Nobody is perfect but some people just have no idea on what is acceptable. Who are you building with? Apolgies if its been said but being at work i havent really had time to look back Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 16Jun 24, 2013 10:15 pm hang in there. I can vouch for not all builders are "like that". My build is going really well. I think the key is in the communication. If you're having trouble in early stages with lack of communication it's not a good sign. We've had over 500 emails from our builder (most of those in design stage, we went with the one company doing custom design and build). I'm loving the process so much I wish I could do it again already. Have you got a builder yet - I couldn't see? You would think builders would be busting themselves to get your work. Have you thought about maybe going polished concrete for your kitchen living area? I reckon it'd be great. Like the separate WC set up. Perhaps add cavity slider to master bedroom to not block WIR if door open? Hope things start to move better for you. Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 17Jun 25, 2013 10:14 am We're building with who we thought were a fairly small local builder - they seemed great, we were dealing with the owner of the business and he was happy to give us addresses of current builds, let us onsite to do the electrical etc (other half is a sparky)
We get the plans back and discover that they actually subcontract the ENTIRE build out to an entire different company. So despite the fact that he owns the business (which I guess is more of a marketing company, not an actual builder) he doesn't really have much sway with what we are allowed to do. We're not 100% happy that this wasn't mentioned before we paid our non refundable deposit, but seeing as we've already been to almost contract stage with another builder already its getting harder to decide to pull the pin again. Plus I got to change my kitchen to something quite different from the standard kitchens builders put in these days and I'm a bit attached to it now! Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 18Jun 25, 2013 10:46 am There is no such thing as a non refundable deposit. If you have been mislead in any way you will get your cash back. There was a time when a deposit was non refundable, but gone are those days. I paid my $3000 to a big building company and after pulling the pin went to the owners, who i guess normally dont speak with customers, and after telling him what happened was given my deposit back. Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 19Jun 25, 2013 12:21 pm I think in our case it will be non refundable - as we have made changes to the base plan, they have had custom plans drawn up which they also outsource to an actual builder so could likely provide invoices to support.
Its only $1000 though so its not a huge loss compared to what it could be, but it if we do decide to give this one the flick too then I think we might just sit on the land a bit longer and save enough to open up either more options with builders or even the opportunity to owner build. Re: Building our first home - the search continues! 20Jun 25, 2013 12:46 pm $1000, yeah I'd be cutting and running. But would understand what a turmultious time you guys are having. So sorry for you. Shout out to Geelong area people - know any good builders to help staceyd??? STEFF62 Framing should be fine, but he will only be able to nail the baseplates in, I wouldnt think you can dynabolt them after 24 hours. My question is, how is he… 1 5914 8 9981 Houses have been framed on floor joists since settlement, chipboard flooring is only around for 50 years or so, so why would it not be satisfactory? However exercise skill… 3 16974 |