Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 20, 2013 10:57 pm The story so far So, after seven months (and 82 inspections) searching for a house in Brisbane we have decided to build our own. It has been quite a process and although the market has been relatively flat in Brisbane we have not been able to find value for money for what we are after. I can only imagine what it must be like in Sydney and Melbourne, but that robust discussion is ongoing elsewhere. The block is part of a small subdivision development located about 10km north north west of Brisbane City. The block is only 400m2 so we will need to abide by Brisbane City Council’s Small Lot Code. The block slopes up from the road, just over 3m over 30m which we will be taking into account with the house design. We still need to choose a builder, just waiting on some quotes and marked up plans to make the final decision. http://s958.photobucket.com/user/hondaeuro/slideshow/Our%20new%20home/131026%20-%20Vacant%20Block After reading several building threads and blogs here and elsewhere we have been inspired to do our own. We have learned so much reading about other people’s experiences and in the spirit of paying it forward we hope that someone might learn something from reading about our experience too. At the time of writing this original post, we currently have a conditional contract over the land. We have financial approval for the land purchase and have signed the mortgage documents all ready for settlement. We have ordered a soil test and a detailed site contour survey which should come through sometime this week. Thankfully the builders we are talking to use the same companies so no double up on costs. Timeline I will update the timeline below as significant milestones are reached. I might even add a few along the way. There is not much to report since it is early days. But for now: Obtained Expression of Interest 21 October 2013 Signed Contract for land purchase 6 November 2013 Finance Approval for land purchase 12 November 2013 Unconditional Contract for land purchase 22 November 2013 Settlement of Land Purchase 21 January 2014 Fixed Price Contract signed 1 April 2014 Commencement of work on site 18 August 2014 Slab complete 30 September 2014 Frame complete 3 October 2014 Roof complete 10 October 2014 Lock up complete 10 November 2014 Fixing 27 November 2014 Practical completion / Handover Inspection 19 January 2015 Handover 30 January 2015 I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build 2Nov 21, 2013 1:04 pm Quick update! We got the soil and wind rating test results today. Fill on the block means we have a “P” class site, but suitable for H1 raft due to controlled nature of the fill. Wind rating came back at N2 so no problems there. Work is still ongoing at the development but there is still a (slight) chance that settlement will fall this side of Christmas. I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build 3Nov 21, 2013 3:06 pm Good luck with the build process! Welcome to the waiting game Re: So, we have decided to build 5Nov 22, 2013 4:37 pm Sorry there has not been too much progress to report to date. Today the contract for the land purchase went unconditional. We have also lined up a contour survey which should happen next week. There are a few more things that need to be completed by the developer before they can seal and register the plans. I think there are a few light poles that need to be installed plus a few other bits and pieces that need to be completed before the council does their final inspection before sealing of plans. There is still a chance settlement will happen this year but I am not holding my breath!! I do have one small lesson to share. If you are organising contractors (soil testers, surveyors, builders etc) to go onto the site make sure they have the correct address, even if you think you have spelled it out for them. I gave all the correct details to the surveying company but they got the address wrong on the quote. They had some Sunshine Coast address with the same street name about 100km away! I corrected the address on the quote and sent it back to them with the authorization. When they sent me the invoice it still had the wrong address!! A quick call and a follow up email ensured they got it right third time around. You just can never be too sure… I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build 6Dec 02, 2013 11:05 pm Unfortunately there has not been more to report over the past week or two. In hindsight I probably should have started this thread a little later. There have been some developments though. We got the contour survey done and received the drawings. Quick little tip, make sure you ask the surveyor for the AUTOCAD DWG file. It makes it easier for your builder to then place the plans on the block. Streetlight poles have gone up in the development. Hopefully this is a sign settlement will be sooner rather than later. On the flip side, a few “For Sale” signs have gone up as well. I was under the impression that all the blocks had already sold, perhaps a few people were still on expressions of interest and pulled out. Either that or they did not get finance or got scared off by bad soil test results. We are close to selecting a builder, just waiting on the costs of some minor changes to the design. To date, one builder has been faster in their responses and has demonstrated a better understanding of the small lot code. We will see how the costs come back. I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build 7Dec 05, 2013 10:04 pm Got some minor progress to report: streetlights are on! The development must be close to completion so settlement can’t be too far off. It also means we might need to get a jiggle on in choosing our builder. As an aside there is a child care centre being built at the front of the little estate and it too looks to be well progressed. We drove past a great big pile of asphalt out the back of the centre tonight which I assume is going to be for the carpark area. This is a really handy long term growth feature for the area and the owners seem keen to have it done before the housing construction in the estate finishes. Hopefully the updates will start to come more regularly now. Exciting stuff! I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build 10Dec 10, 2013 7:23 pm After many long days, nights and weekends of comparisons and deliberations we have finally selected a builder. In the end we have chosen to go with Planbuild for three main reasons: • Price (value for money really) • Understanding of the BCC small lot code • Quick and complete responses to queries We have gone with a modified version of the Avoca design to suit the block and small lot code. The standard design looks like this: http://planbuild.com.au/property_creator/avoca-2040/ Our plans are still a work in progress so I will post something up once they are locked down. We are basically looking at less than $550k for the land plus build, plus some contingency just in case so we are pretty happy. I have also realised it has been some time since I posted any pics. Here are a few of the estate and the childcare centre: http://s958.photobucket.com/user/hondae ... -%20Update The developer is still expecting the council to sign off this side of Christmas. If that happens we will need to move quickly and also drove our decision. I am still doubtful this will happen, but we will need to be ready if it does happen. I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 11Dec 20, 2013 9:25 am Quick update: We have not received any notice from the developer regarding sealing and registering of the individual lots. Given it is the last working day before Christmas it is pretty obvious it is not going to happen until early next year. On the bright side it gives us more time (especially over the break) to prepare for things like the colour consultation and the electrical layout. I drove past the block yesterday afternoon and it looks like the developer has put up little signs on each sold block with the owners names on it: http://s958.photobucket.com/user/hondaeuro/slideshow/ We got confirmation that the preliminary deposit was received by the builder, plus we received a nice red document wallet from them in the mail! It is only a small thing but for some reason it makes the process seem more real now. Plus it gives us somewhere other than the kitchen table to store all the hard copy documents. We were not able to schedule an appointment this week though, being Christmas and all. But we did get to talk to our client liaison officer and have booked an appointment in for the first business week next year. Thankfully we have the break to help prepare, we have set ourselves plenty of homework over the break! I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 12Jan 07, 2014 5:23 pm Finally, a major update. We received word today that the plans for the individual lots have been sealed with the council and the individual titles have been registered! Settlement will happen two weeks from now. We have our colour consultation next week and we have fair idea of what we want but we still need a bit of guidance from the consultant during the appointment for internal colours . Final electrical layout and other details will probably be the week after that so it looks like we will be holding the land for a bit before construction commences. In hindsight we probably waited too long for the other builders to get back to us with prices and should have made our final choice sooner. Ah well, it is done now so I guess we will just need to do our best to keep the process moving. At least we know finance is sorted!! I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild - lots seale 13Jan 09, 2014 2:36 pm Hi all, quick question with regards to retaining walls: Who is responsible for building/paying for it? For our situation, the block slopes up from the road a little over 2m for the building footprint (~20m length) and about 4m over the whole block (~30m length). If we consider our block in a vacuum we need to cut across the middle of the block (parallel to the road) for the stepped slab design as well as along both side boundaries to the neighbouring blocks. However, I am sure our neighbours will also need some sort of retaining as well. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of situation? Any advice anyone can share or point me to relevant legislation?? I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 14Jan 22, 2014 9:39 am This update is a little late, but settlement went through yesterday so the block is officially ours (along with all the holding costs I might add ) and we now have a street number! Everything at settlement generally went well, although for some strange reason I can’t see the loan on my online banking but my wife can see it on hers . I will be contacting the bank to make sure the loan has been set up properly. We also received the first revision of the working drawings and have already made some minor changes. I am so glad we made extra allowances for things like power points, downlights and fan lights ! I will post something up when I get the updated drawings. We also had our colour appointment with the builder last week. It went very well and was over in about 1.5 hours !! I guess the tip there is to be well prepared with your comments on working drawings and give the builder a scan of them in advance so everyone starts on the same page. Also, keep some money up your sleeve just in case you want to upgrade anything from the standard offering. For example, we knew they only offered a 2 coat paint system so we came in prepared to add a third coat without having to stress about covering the extra cost. The outside colours are Ironstone Colorbond roof and garage door with Surf Mist paint on the render and will generally look like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The main differences will be we won’t have any lightweight cladding (it will be all smooth rendered brick veneer) and although we will have the stacked stone finish on the front columns (only about 1500mm) we will have smooth rendered columns instead of the timber posts. I have not gotten around to getting the photos of the internal colours yet, will post them later. The builder is now in the process of putting together the fixed price contract. I am sure we will need to tweak it a bit once we get it, but it should be pretty close. In other news, the block next us has been sold so we officially have neighbours on both sides!! I am hoping to get in touch with them soon to discuss retaining walls and fences. I think there is some opportunity to save a bit of money, especially with the retaining walls. I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 15Jan 22, 2014 9:59 am Congratulations on your settlement! The house looks lovely, you've chosen a really good plan for your block I think, lots of home and in a great layout. The frontage will look really lovely. Good news on the neighbours too... always makes it a bit easier. The block next to us just got sold and the other side of us was already sold when we bought, we are still a few months from settlement, but it's nice to know we'll have neighbours to share costs with when it comes to fencing. 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: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 16Jan 22, 2014 10:23 am Thanks deluxes!! We have had to make a few changes due to Brisbane City Council small lot code restrictions but there is still plenty of house and the layout is still good. We were getting a little worried about not having neighbours. The developers seemed to be struggling to get interest in the remaining few blocks, but it looks like they have just about all been sold (it must have been the Christmas break). By the way, just having a look at your build thread. I love the pic of the bathroom you posted! We actually selected a very similar colour for our vanities and were a little hesitant to start with but the concept has grown on us!! All the best with everything, will definitely be following your progress!! I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 17Jan 23, 2014 11:56 am More colours as promised. Picture quality is a little poor but you should get the idea: Exterior colours: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Colorbond Roof – Ironstone Paint over Smooth Render – Surf Mist Stacked Stone – I think it is called Yellow Limestone Internal Colours: Walls – Parchment by Solver (sorry, no sample atm) Tiles – We have picked a palette, just waiting on details from the builder. This is one area we might look to upgrade to better quality. Kitchen Colours: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Bench – Caesarstone Linen Cupboards – Porcelain OH Cupboards – Caraway Bathroom Colours: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Bench and cupboards – Truffle. The idea with this is to make the vanity appear to be a separate piece of furniture. I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 18Jan 23, 2014 3:20 pm hondaeuro Thanks deluxes!! We have had to make a few changes due to Brisbane City Council small lot code restrictions but there is still plenty of house and the layout is still good. We were getting a little worried about not having neighbours. The developers seemed to be struggling to get interest in the remaining few blocks, but it looks like they have just about all been sold (it must have been the Christmas break). By the way, just having a look at your build thread. I love the pic of the bathroom you posted! We actually selected a very similar colour for our vanities and were a little hesitant to start with but the concept has grown on us!! All the best with everything, will definitely be following your progress!! Thank you! I had that in mind very early on in the piece, someone else on here also posted it as their inspiration pic as well We were very fortunate that we managed to select the colours as close to the pic as possible. Your kitchen & facade colours look lovely. I love Truffle Lini. It was my 1st pick back when we had the browns & tans theme in mind. When hubby chucked a spanner in the works with liking everything grey, we switched over to Grey, black and wood and I had to chose Cavia Lini instead! Which i now love... 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: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 19Feb 24, 2014 2:32 pm Hi all, we have just returned from 2 weeks holiday which is why I have been so quiet lately. Obviously we have not been able to do much while we have been away, although the builder has made some progress in putting together the pricing schedule for the contract. We have to adjust a few things here and there, but on the whole it looks like the fixed price will be about $10k under what we allowed!! Yippeee!! We should receive the contract drawings today, once we have those we can finish our checks. We don’t have a build time yet, but we will be pushing for 12 weeks. My father in law built in 12 weeks for a slightly bigger house so it is definitely do-able, especially for a low set. Also, it looks like the owners of lot 3 have commenced building, they have a slab poured already! They are using a builder called Street Appeal Homes. This builder also has another sign up in the estate so that might be starting soon too. The childcare centre looks just about finished as well. A lot can happen in two weeks!! I'll take liberty thanks. Re: So, we have decided to build with Planbuild 20Feb 26, 2014 10:29 pm We got the contract plans through this afternoon. The builder missed a few mark ups we put on the preliminary drawings so those will need to be added. I am not so sure we will be ready to start forming the contract by the end of the week now...bugger!! On the bright side, we definitely confirmed the stacked stone we want for the front pillars: http://www.featurestone.com/productpanels.php?p=3dimentional&img=14:F We are going for the Yellow Limestone colour which should look great. We are hoping to match it with some textured concrete sleepers: http://www.stevejones.com.au/landscaping-c27/concrete-sleepers-c44/stretton-p385/ Should look good altogether. I'll take liberty thanks. Can you give advice on how to get missing certificates needed for a form 21? Our bank requires us to provide one but we are missing 4 building certificates from our first… 3 71805 yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 5322 Your house should come in "as new" condition. It should be clean, and without stains 1 4553 |