Hi forg,
Thank you for sharing the progress updates. We are currently on the concept plan of the facade,Windows position and size will have big impact on the street view,your experience is valuable to us.
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Roofing done 61May 14, 2014 5:59 pm Hi forg, Thank you for sharing the progress updates. We are currently on the concept plan of the facade,Windows position and size will have big impact on the street view,your experience is valuable to us. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Roofing done 62May 15, 2014 5:52 pm blackbeauty We are currently on the concept plan of the facade, Windows position and size will have big impact on the street view, your experience is valuable to us. Sometimes there are just things which nobody has thought of, either because something was done unusually or it's not been done recently. To give an example; aircon ducting to the ground floor. We were talking to the aircon guy today, apparently they usually put those ducts inside cupboards - however we're doing built-ins after handover (not totally for cost reasons, also because we really wanted to SEE the spaces before designing a complicated set of shelves & drawers & hanging-spaces etc for each one). There aren't a lot of choices regarding where those ducts go, but they presented the options & we've run with what they've suggested. It seems as though the location of the ducts was never considered when the floor-plan was re-drawn. One of the original ducting locations remained in the drawings, but can't be used so we're having it removed. We've also been making a few electrical decisions, the electrician has had a few good suggestions to make regarding minor changes. He also suggested we ask for a bit of extra support (bracing) to go into the frame, where we might be hanging a heavy TV. Anyway, in terms of progress it looks like the majority of wiring etc will be done by the end of Saturday, and we may see gyprock being installed starting form next week. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Roofing done 63May 17, 2014 11:50 am There's been progress over the last couple of days, as the electricians have been in doing all the wiring which they do before gyprock arrives (which we're told is supposed to start at the end of next week). Have to say that, now we're dealing with a few things which have already been written-down but could do with some thinking-about, the site supervisor and electrician have been great. Checking we really wanted a few things which seemed odd in the plans, checking about a few things we might have not even though of; for example, they saw where the power/aerial/networking was to be installed and checked whether maybe some extra studs should be installed in the area to provide a decent mount-point for a large TV bracket. Anyhoo - have taken a few photos (not great 'cos too much contrast/glare for camera-'phone to cope with), but you can see what it currenty looks like. Floorplans also linked, to get an idea of what the photos are. First-floor floorplan: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_First_Floor_Plan_zps597fd866.png From upstairs balcony looking into "Media Room" (actually loungeroom): http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081045_In_From_Balcony_2_zpse2817e1d.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081038_In_From_Balcony_zps4a564754.jpg In upstairs hallway, looking into "Bed 3" (actually a hobby room) then Bed 4 then the main bathroom: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081111_Hobby_Room_zpsbde2f523.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081121_Rear_Bedroom_zpseba79239.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081220_Main_Bath_zpscdb4086f.jpg Looking into Main Bedroom, then from the bedroom looking into the WIR: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081232_Man_Bed_zps7300453c.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081242_Looking__Into_WIR_zpsfff961c2.jpg Now the ground-floor floorplan: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_Ground_Floor_Plan_zps0152c97e.png From the "Family" room, first the Alfresco, then the "Rumpus" then the Kitchen: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081856_Alfresco_zps47fb9276.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081910_Rumpus_zpsf975e1f2.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081933_Kitchen_zps8261655d.jpg The staircase (*giggle*) & the laundry behind it: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081956_Staircase_zpsc48a0bcc.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_081922_Laundry_zpsef2b2daf.jpg The guest bedroom: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_082014_Guest_Bed_zps15848d9d.jpg Looking back towards the man-shed, and then the distance from house to shed: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_082046_Manshed_zpsec62a510.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_082122_House_To_Manshed_Gap_zps5cca0db7.jpg And finally, what it's now looking like from outside. The view from further back up the street shows it's no taller than the one next downthe hill; so it doesn't look all wrong in the street (IMHO): http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_082157_Scaffolding_Gone_zps848b2ba4.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140517_083344_Street_View_zps36f569ae.jpg Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 64May 17, 2014 5:50 pm Hi Forg looks great, coming together very well!... if you don't mind I would like to drive by and see it in the flesh (my wife selected the same colour brick as yours) cheers Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 65May 17, 2014 10:18 pm Hi Forg, Great house and good choices! We amended our facade with their head office ladies,they are absolutely professional and helpful. Looks like we need to study a bit about aircondition now,from the plan,we can see lots of spaces left for the aircondition. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 66May 17, 2014 10:22 pm Hi ,forgot to ask, anyone changed the internal doors? The one they supplied id so plain. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 67May 18, 2014 9:36 am To be honest, we didn't think they were plain enough ... We got that Indulgence Package, which includes some upgrades to doors, but we preferred the plain ones to the ones with the recessed lines in them. So we downgraded most of our internal doors to just flat ones. We're also getting no cornices ("square set") and no window-sills, so lack of detail on the doors matches the lack of embellishment elsewhere. We did change a few internal doors to sliders, though, for space reasons. The double-doors leading to the upstairs lounge, and also the single slider leading to the laundry, have glass in them (fairly sure frosted or patterned glass). Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 68May 18, 2014 8:40 pm Interesting! We looked into each detail, especially my husband. We upgraded to indulgence package too,but seems no choices for internal doors at all, maybe something missing from our color pack,will ask. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 69May 20, 2014 7:59 am Are you on the current Indulgence Package? There might have been changes. We didn't actually get "choices" for internal doors per se, the colour pack just had a brochure for the doors we were getting & we saw somewhere that the standard package had a lower spec - so we chose the lower spec. I've just had a squiz at the Hume Doors site, I'm pretty sure it's the Accent range our "upgrade" was for, and yet now it looks like maybe the Accent range is their base spec; so it's possible there aren't any choices & all packages get the Accent range? Our sliders weren't on a list from Alkira, we just asked about whether we could get cavity sliders in a couple of places & chose a pattern for the frosted glass in two of them. Going "off selection" is probably why our admin phase took so long. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Electricals started 70Jun 01, 2014 3:01 pm A little bit of an update ... well not much, just that we went shopping yesterday. We've ordered a King Furniture "Jasper" set of bits. The closest online photo I can find is this: So imagine the image at the top was taken from where our TV will be. The "chaise" or whatever it's called at the left will be close-ish to the stackers (which run almost the length of the room), we've inserted an armrest between that "chaise" and the couch next to it, and the single-seater on the right is replaced with another big 2-seater. They're modular so you can shuffle them around & move armrests, shelves, backrests etc; we'll usually have it in "slouching in front of the Teev" mode, but the "chaise" can be dragged forward a bit & we're getting enough backrest-bits to have a U-shaped suite if we do that. We're going a lighter wood (pretty sure it's "teak"), and the cloth colour is this: It's just about the perfect shape to fit in that room. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Gyprock nearly done 71Jun 02, 2014 1:50 pm Some updated photos ... now with added gyprock! Study & Garage: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_154944_Study_First_Gyprock_zps65300bde.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_154925_Garage_First_Gyprock_zps69a82930.jpg Through the front door: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155005_Through_Front_Door_zps5d8a2396.jpg Guest Bedroom & "through" the staircase to the laundry: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155024_Guest_First_Gyprock_zps8538ffe9.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155144_Stairway_First_Gyprock_zps9ebd43e5.jpg Rumpus & Kitchen: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155246_Rumpus_First_Gyprock_zps98f260ac.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155303_Kitchen_First_Gyprock_zps46678e3f.jpg Our walk-in wardrobe, down towards the ensuite: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155448_WIR_First_Gyprock_zpsdaf34bd9.jpg The "media room" (ie. loungeroom): http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155537_Media_1_First_Gyprock_zps5fa40c5b.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155556_Media_2_First_Gyprock_zps3b55b796.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155606_Media_3_First_Gyprock_zps4e92e128.jpg Through the aforementioned lounge, from the balcony: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155625_From_Balcony_First_Gyprock_zps089b2f28.jpg Bedroom 4: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155654_Bed4_First_Gyprock_zps54287164.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155726_Bed4_Robe_First_Gyprock_zpsa5258289.jpg Looking back from the hallway towards that loungeroom (there will be a pair of cavity sliders which open-up flush to the doorframes): http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155839_Hallway_Into_Media_First_Gyprock_zps62d2f7de.jpg Looking towards the shed: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155944_Laundry_To_Bricked_Manshed_zps6fe29057.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_155952_Shed_From_Laundry_zps420d599d.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140601_160052_Shed_Gap_zpsd69c9ceb.jpg Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Gyprock nearly done 73Jun 03, 2014 8:33 am It feels like it! Additionally there's a smaller house than ours, being built by the builder who rejected us after 9 months of "being in tender", which I walk past on the way to work. It's lagging further & further behind ours, I noticed there was an "Interior Linings" guy at our place today & they're smoothing/finishing the gyprock whereas this other place doesn't even have cladding yet let alone interior walls. So I feel all "nya-nyah-nee-nya-nyaah" better on that front. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Gyprock nearly done 75Jun 03, 2014 6:25 pm Hey Forg Looking good mate, not long now and before you know it you'll be back in there living in a new house!... I've just made it to Part B and after 6 months of to'ing and fro'ing and am looking forward to moving it to submission with a positive reply from council. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Gyprock nearly done 76Jun 03, 2014 10:13 pm Hi Forg, looks great and areas look bigger! Hi AvaG, we are in the same pain... Hi deluded, since pay for the contour survey in mid Nov and signed the tender in Mid March, we have not even get a draft full plan yet! Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - Gyprock nearly done 77Jun 08, 2014 1:06 pm Wow - that's quite a long time to not get at least a draft plan. I'm pretty sure we had ours more quickly than that; yeah, I just found some draft plans from 7th February 2013 - our quotation date is 20th December 2012 - and everything shuts down for 3-4 weeks over Christmas. Anyhoo had a look yesterday - and we have a front door! http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140607_093402_New_Front_Door_zps4b568b0a.jpg Also a staircase: http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k124/originalForg/th_20140607_093906_New_Staircase_zpsbf3afc84.jpg I really need to see if this new camera 'phone can be adjusted to not take 16:9 photos ... Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - We have a front door 78Jun 09, 2014 11:06 am Hi Forg, looking sooooooooooo good!your laundry door is exactly the same as the display home's,so cool! guess some factors contribute to the slow processing-changing of key personal, high market demanding, and the complicated modifications we requested (adding the extra home office, different facade to their standard). Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - We have a front door 79Jun 09, 2014 12:11 pm I posted the original of ours on the first page of this thread - did you change as much as we did? My guess is you'd be right about turnover of staff though, things were pretty consistent for us - we weren't ever handed onto another person in the middle of a stage or anything like that. Unsure what you mean about the laundry door, also? The external one? We're just using the standard door they provide, wood with a window in it. The internal one is a cavity slider that's mostly glass with the "rice paper" pattern in it - don't have a pikky of that one yet. Re: Alkira Homes KDR (Ryde Area NSW) - We have a front door 80Jun 30, 2014 10:32 am So we seem to have hit a bit of a snag ... the tiles were delivered (we're having tiles throughout, upstairs & down), the tilers started organising & planning ... and it seems the entire batch of 900mm long tiles are bowed. So we're in limbo to some degree; we don't know what the next step will be. We might have to choose different tiles, which will kinda suck as we were particularly attached to the distressed-wood-look ones we chose. 3 6412 Hi, I am looking into doing a KDR in Melbourne and am contemplating using Kialla Homes. I am looking for feedback on them from others who have built with them. 0 13447 |