Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 141May 20, 2013 8:23 pm Gotta say... why am I really appreciating the team at Kurmond Homes? Simple. Last Friday night, around 6:30pm, B contacted me with some modifications to our design - it wasn't just a tired B on the phone, but an absolutely exhausted team of draftsmen! They were all working back (well, there were lots of voices in the background, so maybe it was P shouting a Friday night drink!), but there he was emailing me some drawings - it was incredible. Then, on Saturday night, H emailed me to make sure I received the latest details from Kurmond. Then, today - we re-submitted our requests for some further design changes, and after 5:30pm, there was H emailing me the latest and greatest! So, I'm sure lots of builders are as committed, but these guys truly are great they are passionate and I think ironed out all their bugs - at least from my experience so far.'' To all at Kurmond Homes I just want to offer an unsolicited, and unpaid word of many, many thanks Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 142May 20, 2013 9:29 pm Unreal, Lol, our staffy used to do the same thing. Can't understand how that tasted any good. The worst the kids did was climb up the roof tiles. They exhausted themselves running around. DH said why do we bother spending a fortune on play centres. My typing is really bad in my iPad, with my bad typing and auto correct I think it is lucky my posts make any sense. The main brick will be sand and then instead of doing the rendering on the front patio of the house we are using a feature brick, which is the blue steel. Carak, your right the sand doesn't look good on the net or inside. In fact, I said yuk to the brick when shown inside the display centre, but as soon as I took it outside it looked totally different. I like it for two reasons, first being it is standard range and second it is a brick with colour all the way through, not like some bricks have the colour only on top. With fire places haven't actually picked one out. Very early in my investigations. What I gathered was though that you can pick and choose all different options. For example, you pick the size of the fireplace, then you pick the style of fire place (eg. Coals or driftwood, or wood & amber, etc) then you pick you frame. The other interesting thing was the wall cavity space, if it is an internal wall then you need 600 wall width to hold it, and to put the funnel to outside, if you use an external wall then depending where it is placed you can make it flush with the wall and let it hang outside. So, for us we are thinking putting it on an external wall, garage side, where we are planning to put the sheds so having it hang outside will not be a bad visual thing and it will not protrude into the house. The guy in the shop said they cover it with a box similar to the electrical box with a vent on the side. Want to go to a few other shops to see if they recommend the same. Unreal glad your getting your plans, I am hoping it will come tomorrow. Time will tell. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 143May 21, 2013 10:59 am Glad to see everyone had a good weekend. We've officially cooled off which is good, however we have to provide our Occupation Certificate before settlement, which is manageable but an extra headache because Council are very slow. A lesson learned, get OC sorted immediately rather than waiting years! Anyway Carak, I read your other thread on choosing a builder etc...wow...I felt your pain just reading it. Finished reading the thread into the early hours of Sunday morning as I was riveted. We popped down to Homeworld on the weekend...so convenient being 5 mins away, but the kids make it less than enjoyable. My DD wanted to go see the Alkira Sienna (as it is her name and has a slide from first floor to ground). We didn't make it, but we focused on laundries and home theatres. So peoples opinions... How large a laundry bench would you need? I'm thinking 30cm in addition to the tub is enough. Any ideas for ironing / ironing board? Currently this is in our main bedroom for convenience, but the new house will have less space. Also the home theatre, do you have the TV on the wider wall or the narrow wall? My preference is wider wall, so you sit closer and have more width for a wide lounge. Unreal, I phoned B yesterday about updating the plans...I felt bad because I know they're snowed under. I needed to discuss some of the changes rather than they just making changes based on my comments. This would save having to go back and forth which wastes the time of the draftsmen. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 144May 21, 2013 12:16 pm Every morning when I come on the forum I get so excited to see how everyone is going, it's great to be excited about your own home building but it is also exciting to see everyone else's building. unreal have to agree, Kurmond have been working their little butts off (pardon the expression) lately and nothing seems to be a problem, hopefully this will continue. I am sure there will be the ups and downs the same as all other builders, anyone that builds and says they don't have any problems must be very, very lucky, if you expect no problems along the way, then you could be in for a disappointment. Building is like life, you have to take the good and the bad, it's how you manage the bad that makes all the difference. unreal & upsize I'm still confused about fireplaces but as far as I know it is easier for the fireplace companies to install them on an external wall because of the ventilation issues. We will look into fireplaces but at the moment it is not a 'must have' but a DH 'would like'. unreal have you received your Tender yet - hope it is all o.k. Mars congratulations on your 'cool off', one less worry, pity about the next worry of the OC before settlement, Councils can be a real pain. I feel really bad now, with you not getting to bed until the early hours of Sunday morning. As you can see it has been a very long and painful journey, hopefully everything is now on the right track and we can finally have the home that we want. Pity you didn't get to see the Alkira Sienna (love that name) because she would have love the slide. There is a notice of weight restrictions but I have seen adults going down the slide, our DD wanted to have one installed in our home, the thought of a 14 years old, two cats and probably DH going down the slide, well lets just say I said NO. Mars our laundry bench is as long as I can get it, from the hall to the outside wall (we are having a drop in tub), the laundry was my bit of 'luxury'. We are also having a large linen cupboard in the laundry as well so the ironing board (hopefully) will fit in there. What I would really love is a TV on the wall in the laundry, watch tv while ironing and just close the door if anyone visits - not sure if our laundry is wide enough, will have to check it out. In regard to TV in the home theatre, our wall's are all about the same size but the outside wall has windows and the doorway will be recessed sliding doors, so really we don't have much choice. Agree about contacting B, sometimes what you write isn't how they read it - if you know what I mean. It's better to explain or show diagrams/drawings or even better still, sit with B and go through the plan. We received our External Variations late yesterday, just need to ask the very busy L a questions and then we can sign off on the externals - very exciting. Can't wait to hear how everyone is going, good luck with the tender UpsizeTime Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 145May 21, 2013 6:48 pm Quick update: Rang L today to ask questions about External Variations, all good. Even though we haven't signed off on the variations she is going to send us the colour sheet with an image of the house with the colours that we have chosen. Normally they don't do that because we have changed the bricks but haven't signed off so it will be great to see what the house looks like before we sign off. The BIG news..... a very large envelope arrived in the post today.... we have our CONTRACTS..... lots and lots of reading to do and then we will read them again and again... always good to cross your t's and dot your i's... so it is ALL happening.... finally.... Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 146May 21, 2013 7:17 pm mars well done on passing the wretched cooling off period That is usually more stressful than the selling part! Hopefully your Council who so lovingly (and quickly) take your quarterly rates will bestow good tidings upon you and deliver quickly! Nah - we can wish!!! Sounds like the Alkira Sienna is popular for all of us - yes, we've seen the slide too, tempted! Did you see how the Kurmond homes are coming on, by chance? In terms of laundry bench - I guess it comes down to using whatever space you can. We prefer a larger bench because there's usually so much going on in that room! But in the end, it's about being practical and going with what works. As for the ironing board - gosh my brother keeps telling me, just get an ironing board in the laundry (one of those pull down ones) - you won't regret it he tells me. Personally, I'm quite happy to setup the ironing board in front of the TV and do the ironing there rather than being stuck in the laundry - but that's just my humble opinion. I think we'll go for a broom cupboard before an ironing cupboard. Oh - and by the way all those DW out there - did you note that I said "I am happy to setup the ironing board and do it.." - the ironing is this DH job in my family ... hmm, lucky me! As for your home theatre mars - I think the TV has to go on the wall that presents the most obvious for the seating arrangements. Probably making sure that any window doesn't cast a shadow, etc on the screen. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 147May 21, 2013 7:19 pm carak777 Quick update: Rang L today to ask questions about External Variations, all good. Even though we haven't signed off on the variations she is going to send us the colour sheet with an image of the house with the colours that we have chosen. Normally they don't do that because we have changed the bricks but haven't signed off so it will be great to see what the house looks like before we sign off. The BIG news..... a very large envelope arrived in the post today.... we have our CONTRACTS..... lots and lots of reading to do and then we will read them again and again... always good to cross your t's and dot your i's... so it is ALL happening.... finally.... Another round of congratulations are in order by the sounds of it in the carak family tonight! Sooooo exciting! Well done I think the good folk at Kurmond who have worked three days solid on my stuff have now turned to yours - Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 148May 21, 2013 7:25 pm Agree unrealhome Kurmond is certainly working very hard at the moment. Wonder if UpsizeTime has received her Tender Floor Plans, Tenders, Contracts.... it's ALL happening..... Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 149May 21, 2013 7:42 pm carak777 Wonder if UpsizeTime has received her Tender ..... Ahh - good question! Oh Upsize you out there on your iPad in the world of HomeOne forum? Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 150May 21, 2013 9:41 pm Carak that's exciting contracts. Lots of reading of stuff I would understand. Not looking forward to that. Unreal, LOL, you do the ironing. Good to hear. The DH in this house is the iron man, also. Think I better ask him where he wants his ironing board. He just said if it fits in the laundry then there would be good. Wherever it is easily stored. With the media room, I would want to make sure the longest wall has the lounges. So, I think in our house the TV is going on the wall with the door and then we can line all the walls with couches. I am out hear on the iPad, LOL. Unfortunately no tender or plans for us. Disappointed as I am keen to see the plan & tender. Understand they are busy but think D should have emailed me to let me know the delay. Maybe I should be talking to P??? I sent an email to D just after 5 asking how they are going. I guess I will hear a reply tomorrow. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 151May 21, 2013 10:33 pm Thinking about tiles, wondering if Manago tiles have porcelain tiles in the standard range and what size they are? Carak do you remember what you saw? Angling to go and look at what the tankard range covers. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 152May 22, 2013 9:19 am So good to see that so many men 'love' ironing Unreal my DH is the same, ironing board in front of the TV, that's why I would like the TV on the wall in the laundry, he get's to do his ironing, he get's to watch TV and I don't get to have shirt's and trousers laying all over the house. Upsize sorry to hear that you haven't received your plans & tender, hopefully today will be the day... fingers crossed. Manago Tiles have ALL types of tiles but not sure if the porcelain tiles are in the standard range, probably not but they have some really beautiful tiles. I just checked and they now have a website, check it out, I also noticed their opening times M - F 8.30am - 5.00pm and Sat 9am - 3pm. After signing the contract they will contact you to make an appointment but go and have a look before hand just to get an idea of what they have. I know we are going to take a long time to decide because there are so many but there is a lovely young lady there who said she will help us and believe me we will need all the help we can get. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 153May 22, 2013 1:08 pm Just a quick one... Perhaps ironing is a man thing, because I do it also. Currently in our bedroom I can watch the TV whilst doing it. In the laundry I'm not so sure I'd be keen. Perhaps just to store. On the home theatre, not sure whether anyone is doing a proper home theatre or just a TV room because I've done a bit of reading. Apparently a square shaped room is worst for audio quality due to standing waves. A rectangle is preferable and the TV should be on the short wall. The rough dimension ratio is as follows: Width = 1.28 x ceiling height Length = 1.54 x ceiling height Of course many of us don't quite require the 'perfect' audio setup, so its only a rough guide. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 154May 22, 2013 5:12 pm UpsizeTime Unfortunately no tender or plans for us. Disappointed as I am keen to see the plan & tender. Understand they are busy but think D should have emailed me to let me know the delay. Maybe I should be talking to P??? I sent an email to D just after 5 asking how they are going. I guess I will hear a reply tomorrow. That's not so good, Upsize - yes, I think you should at least receive a courtesy email type thing to say everything is on it's way, thanks for your patience. At least then you know where things are at. Hoping you have received them today Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 155May 22, 2013 5:21 pm mars78 Perhaps ironing is a man thing, because I do it also. Currently in our bedroom I can watch the TV whilst doing it. In the laundry I'm not so sure I'd be keen. Perhaps just to store. - that does it mars ~ I never thought I would hear about three males (carak's DH as well) in the one forum being the ironers in the family! I declare that we must be great husbands! Does self-declaration count But have to agree - I think storing the ironing board in the laundry is for me, I don't fancy standing there doing the ironing for some reason. Oh - and I also do the washing - just sayin' As for home theatres - this is a bit of an important room for me (to relax) and for my DW who works in the media industry and needs to watch (a lot) of stuff ... strangely while I do the ironing Perhaps we can exchange notes re: home theatre (HT) research? Like you, I found square shaped rooms aren't the best for audio / acoustics. I read that if you have the option / space to make it a rectangular room then that is the "ideal" - but in the end, a room is a room if you're not picky. I guess I am when it comes to the HT (is that also a male thing?) Our HT will be 4.45m wide and 5.70m long, with a 9.5-foot ceiling (because we will have a slight split in the floor level, meaning a higher ceiling in this room) : it's going to be fantastic by the time we win lotto and fit it out with theatre lighting, sound and some of those nice reclining theatre lounges. Between this room, my BBQ and the fireplace + bookshelves, I think I'm set until retirement Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 156May 22, 2013 6:59 pm Mmmm, DH's ironing and washing up, sounds like some great DHs out there. But, don't go getting a big head about it as you don't want me or your DWs writing s list of what we do. Just thinking about that, DH and I actually did that for my eldest who was whinging how he has to do everything around the house, he is 7! So, I decided to actually write a list for him so he knows what we all do. LOL, he had 3 things on his list, and my list was about 3 times longer than DH. My son soon stopped whinging about everything he does. Still no tender here, not sure if we are on the back burned as our land isn't registered as yet so it isn't like we can progress to far. Thing is I think by the time we review the tender and figure out what we actually want and then choose everything, our land should be ready to go. Bank man coming out tonight to re do our land loan, the land is meant to register end of June, we previously did all the paper work but because registration got delayed all the paper work expired. Joys! Everything shouldn't be a problem as we have already talked about what we can afford based on the sale of our home, and we are working in a budget to make sure life doesn't get too hard. But, still daunting having to go through it all. Time to put the kids to bed, so we can actually talk to him. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 157May 23, 2013 9:46 pm What a domestic bunch of men live on this site..... I don't do much ironing.... try to buy clothes that don't need it... hate ironing. I got Kurmond to put a broom cupboard in our laundry linen up one end so I can store the ironing board, bucket etc.... don't think the iron has come out yet... My DH does the washing, I screwed up once and that was it.... I was banned from washing..... so there it is ladies..... stuff the chores up and you'll be free of them.... Glad everything is coming along for everyone. Sorry your still waiting Upsize - you shouldn't have to but I would email or call for an update, don't feel bad about keeping on top of them. With tiles, our wall tiles we did 300x600. Floors we did our own 600x600 format porcelain.... just watch out for the Porcelain though OMG, still struggling with the cleaning, the wax on them we got off but they streak terribly... I would never put down porcealin again. When you add on the labour we could have had floor boards, apart from being warmer, much easier to clean... just really think about the tiles....we had no idea about the post cleaning headaches. Contracts!! Well done Carak... how exciting, I didn't even try to understand them, I passed to my lawyer to sort through, he picked up things I would never know so i can recommend it. we changed a few things before signing, more around time extension rebates and there was a clause around natural disasters or something that we amended. Fireplaces - we don't have gas at our estate and didn't put the bottles in so we are doing a built in wood fireplace - also much cheaper to run. I can recommend checking out impressions at Castle Hill on Victoria Ave. We got Kurmond to put in the alcove, but then impressions will come and install. I have found the one I want and they can do it all. the Flu goes up through to the ceiling and out. Haven't done it yet - still got to finish the driveway but one day.... can't wait and DH can get wood very cheap. Anyway... so good to see everyone proceeding... Good luck for the next week Blog: http://cbcbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Building Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62155 Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 158May 24, 2013 9:31 am Hi Lilac domesticated men are a blessing Times certainly have changed, my dad would never even think about cooking a meal, he used to help Mum hang out the washing but according to Mum, "he never did it right", Dad and ironing - NO! Thanks for the warning about the porcelain tiles...if porcelain tiles = cleaning we will be going for bamboo flooring Still going through the contract, lots to read and even more to understand, if there are things we are not sure of we will definately be asking the experts. Lilac your fireplace sound exactly what my DH wants... a REAL fireplace. Unfortunately I don't cope very well with smoke, so if he wants a 'real' fireplace he will have to get rid of me Anyway living in a bushfire zone a real fireplace would be too dangerous because of any embers floating into the National Park. UpsizeTime have your received your Tender yet? Hope everything is o.k. Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 159May 24, 2013 4:51 pm The people at Kurmond are amazing Just received the colour board and photoshopped image of what our house will look like when built. I think our house is going to look great Can't seem to upload at the moment, will try again later. Thanks L and all the team at Kurmond Re: Building with Kurmond Homes 160May 24, 2013 8:04 pm carak777 Lilac your fireplace sound exactly what my DH wants... a REAL fireplace. Unfortunately I don't cope very well with smoke, so if he wants a 'real' fireplace he will have to get rid of me Anyway living in a bushfire zone a real fireplace would be too dangerous because of any embers floating into the National Park. Hi Carak, my first thought too until I saw them - fully enclosed, looks exactly like the built in gas ones - no smoke and stay hot for apprx 11hours and safe to leave burning through the night until the wood has burned out. Not like the open wodd fire places, this sits in the wall - I'll try and post a photo. I will find the brochure on the one I am wanting - also has a zero clearance surround so you don't need to worry about brick etc, it sits in a special casing so inside walls (blueboard/gyprock etc) are no issues - so much cheaper to run too. Blog: http://cbcbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Building Thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62155 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74701 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105533 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23481 |