Browse Forums Building A New House Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - double glazing or not? 82Mar 08, 2014 9:10 pm Depends, if you use the rooms at the front a lot, I'd keep the glazing, otherwise I'd get rid of it. Our house is on a main road too, but we only have a guest bedroom and the garage at the front, so don't need double glazing. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - double glazing or not? 83Mar 09, 2014 12:48 am Not sure of your climate there but it will also keep house cooler or warmer. I would keep it and you will save on your bills over time. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - double glazing or not? 84Mar 09, 2014 1:52 am Are they quoting upgraded glazing or double glazing. Big difference! I think 4 or 5 mm is the standard glass thickness so a 6mm thickness is an upgrade but does not necessarily mean double glazed. If it was double glazed if keep it, if it was only upgraded glass thickness I'd spend the money elsewhere. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - double glazing or not? 85Mar 09, 2014 2:18 am KiwiGalAbroad We have had some interesting information come to light in the past 24 hrs. When we received our first lot of contracts the builder had included an extra cost for 6mm glazing as we apparently had to have it as we will be near a fairly main road. We were a bit annoyed at the is unexpected cost but had to wear it. Well I have just met someone who lives around the corner from us (closer to the main road than we are) and they did not have to get extra glazing done. So i made some enquiries with the developer and sure enough our address is not listed as one of the properties that required the extra glazing be done. The dilemma now is - do we keep that glazing as it is already account for cost wise, or do we go back to normal glazing and use the extra money to either get the things we couldn't afford at pre start or pay for the things we did add at pre start ! so keep the 6mm glazing or get rid of it and use the money elsewhere? I work as a building rep. The 6mm glazing will not help with noise that much. It's not double glazing. Double glazing is substantially more expensive. 6mm will reduce noise, but not enough that you would notice. Spend the money on the things you couldn't afford at pre-start. The issue you have now though is they will charge you to take it out now most likely. It's a structural change after final plans, but then you could argue you never needed it in the first place and it was their stuff up for charging you in the first place. Good luck. Working as a building rep in WA. All advice will be general and I won't give any opinions on specific builders. The name is fake and I won't say who I work for. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - double glazing or not? 86Mar 09, 2014 10:17 am Thanks Tomxavier, good to know and yes I would definetly argue the fact it was never needed. Dukecaddy I do have to admit my ignorance, I did not properly research the difference so I realise I was proberly not using the correct term when I said double glazing . I am pretty sure we will not be keeping the 6mm glazing and will use the money elsewhere . I'm sure it's going to go down like a lead balloon with the builder but tuff titties ! Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 87Mar 10, 2014 11:34 pm Final plans arrived today, my excitement was short lived as I think they need to be redone depending on the window outcome. It was still nice to see the changes we made to the ensuite, kitchen and laundry. We also asked for the front tap to be moved but they now have the original and the new position showing taps so we might end up with and xtra tap ! Will post plans of unaffected areas later Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 88Mar 11, 2014 1:55 am KiwiGalAbroad Final plans arrived today, my excitement was short lived as I think they need to be redone depending on the window outcome. It was still nice to see the changes we made to the ensuite, kitchen and laundry. We also asked for the front tap to be moved but they now have the original and the new position showing taps so we might end up with and xtra tap ! Will post plans of unaffected areas later Your final plans are your baby. Do not sign them until they're 100%. If you ever challenge anything, they will refer to the final plans which you signed. Get everything taken care of first and tell the client you won't sign them unless they're correct Working as a building rep in WA. All advice will be general and I won't give any opinions on specific builders. The name is fake and I won't say who I work for. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 89Mar 12, 2014 1:46 pm Hey KiwiGalAbroad I like your colour choices. I am looking forward to watching you build. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 90Mar 13, 2014 4:01 pm Have finally heard back about my glazing saga, and I am please that we have been given a full credit to have the 6mm glazing removed and replaced with whatever is the normal size (3mm i think?). Well my pre start is now two thirds paid for , Yay We had received final plans, but now have to have them redone to show the change in glazing. However the kitchen and bathrooms etc are not changing so here they are : Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Sorry not great pictures. Fingers crossed we get the new plans through quickly. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 91Mar 13, 2014 4:39 pm looking good, fingers crossed they come back quick. Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 93Mar 16, 2014 9:46 pm Love your plans! There is one thing I would change ......... I would change the Ensuite door to hinge the other way. That way you don't walk in looking at the toilet - Its hidden behind the door. Andrew Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 94Mar 17, 2014 10:52 pm Haha, I just changed the direction of the ensuite door as the toilet is the most used item in the bathroom and when I stumble in at 3am half asleep , it's right there for me ! Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 95Mar 18, 2014 6:12 am Looks great. My only question is you didn't want the bath to extend to like 1800 to utilise the space more? Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans 96Mar 20, 2014 12:04 pm Hi TiredHalo, If the bath is too big, your feet don't reach the end and you just end up sliding down all the time . Plus we are on a tight budget and thought of better things to spend the money on Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans v.2 errors ! 97Mar 20, 2014 12:10 pm So i raced into the builders office on Tuesday afternoon to pick up version 2 of the final plans with the intention of signing and returning them Wednesday morning to get the ball rolling. Well we went through the plans with a fine tooth comb, were about to sign when we noticed a fundamental blunder.........our 31c ceiling had vanished ! We checked the other versions of the plans and it seems they were there for the PWA but vanished sometime after that. I have email the builder expecting that it was just a typo, but apparently that would be too easy !! It seems somewhere along the line they have deleted the 31c ceiling from the family/dining//kitchen area WTF !! So now we wait while they "investigate" the problem I still live in hope that we can have them signed off this week Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans v.2 errors ! 98Mar 20, 2014 5:49 pm hope they fix the errors quickly for you Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans v.2 errors ! 99Mar 20, 2014 7:48 pm Thats a bit of a setback. I hope your hopes are not dashed and you get the contracts signed off this week Re: KiwiGalAbroad's Build - Final Plans v.2 errors ! 100Mar 20, 2014 10:22 pm This afternoon we received a "variation" to sign , of no value, to reinstate the 31c ceilings . So that's that problem solved it's back to drafting to hopefully have version 3 tomorrow and hopefully correct ! The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8706 Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. 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