Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 02, 2014 3:44 pm Hi all, I've been stalking this forum for a good year, and have picked up so much valuable info and can finally start my own thread We've recently bought a battleaxe block in Lathlain (450sqm, not including drive), titles will be issued in late feb. In the meantime we're keen to decide on a builder and get our plans sorted! We are leaning towards Redink as we've seen a few of their battleaxe plans that we've liked and communication with them so far has been great (especially given that it's the holiday period) but I've recently seen a few posts about problems with RI builds. I'd love to hear from anyone who has/is building with RI, and if you've got a battleaxe - who did you build with? I'm open to all recommendations and feedback. Thanks ADVICE FOR NEWBIES LIKE US (since signing with Redink) - It's a no brainer, but do your research. We'd seen almost every display home in Perth before we'd even found our block. There will be sales consultants at display villages who think you are getting ahead of yourself by looking at floor plans before you even have somewhere to build, and you'll feel silly too...but so what! The best thing we did was to figure out exactly what we wanted, and got a grasp on house plans and pricing during the process. - Go with your gut. My parents have built several times before and as a result I went into design meetings with a good idea of what to expect. We had sales consultants treat us like we had no idea what we were doing, which was disheartening. We found from day one that Redink were by far the most understanding and easiest to deal with, and that's who we signed (although we did get plans drafted by other builders). - Your builder should want to get to know you (within reason, obviously not your whole life story!) They should want to know what you want to use your house for, whether it's for entertaining/raising children/investment. A builder once started sketching house plans before he'd even asked how our day was, for me that's like baking a stranger's birthday cake without asking them for their favourite flavours - If there's not much room for movement in your budget, ask your builder what they suggest you do afterwards (our builder was very honest about this). - Get everything you can costed into your PCQ. If we hadn't of done that, we would have blown out massively at prestart. We added something like 20K onto our kitchen in one sitting, which wasn't a shock when we did it, but it would have been at prestart. TIMELINE 08/12/13 - Put offer on block 09/12/13 - Offer accepted 31/12/13 - Bank finance unconditionally approved for land 31/01/14 - Signed with Redink 13/02/14 - Home loan pre-approval 24/03/14 - Working drawings completed 26/03/14 - Full Compliance Assessment completed by Redink shire dept 08/04/14 - Settled on block 23/04/14 - Interior Design Consultation 13/05/14 - Prestart 16/06/14 - Finance approved 26/06/14 - Shire approval (round 1) 27/06/14 - Submitted for building permit (round 1) 10/07/14 - Plans need to be resubmitted (move house 60mm for water corp) 22/07/14 - Shire approval (round 2) 07/08/14 - Shire approval and building permit (they didn't need resubmit for a new permit) 26/08/14 - Site works started 11/09/14 - Slab! 25/11/14 - Brickwork started 11/02/15 - Brickwork finished 19/02/15 - Roof timbers started 20/02/15 - Roof timbers finished 24/02/15 - Roof prep (gutters, tubing) 03/03/15 - Colorbond started 05/03/15 - Colorbond finished 11/03/15 - Grey float started 13/03/15 - Grey float finished 17/03/15 - White set started 27/03/15 - White set finished 28/03/15 - Glass installed 31/03/15 - Doors delivered 02/04/15 - Lock up! 06-10/04/15 - Cabinets, internal doors hung, tiles delivered, ceilings painted 20/04/15 - essastone installed 21/04/15 - tile prep commenced 26/04/15 - tiling commenced 05/05/15 - tiling completed 04/05 - 08/05/15 appliances installed, garage pad poured, lights, electrical fit out 11/05 - 15/05 - soakwells, tapware, cook top install, exterior render 18/05 - 22/05 - paving, alfresco pour, down pipes, doors gloss, front door stain, air conditioning, internal clean 25/05 - silicone seal, fly screens 26/05 - splash back installed Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build 3Jan 02, 2014 4:14 pm Where are you building asj25? Are you liking redink so far? My parents built battleaxe a few years ago so 'turning circles' etc too foreign to me but I've heard the shire of Vic Park can throw some curve balls when it comes to building requirements. My DH on the other hand is still getting his head around how much space will be used for the turning circle - wants to know we if get one of those fancy turntables in the garage will we still need a turning circle I'm more so worried about how much siteworks are going to cost! Did you find yours overly $$$? Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 4Jan 02, 2014 4:20 pm Hey - we are building in Hilton. Welcome to have a read through my thread. So far I am still feeling more positive than negative for RI. Though it seems to swing. Overall I really cant complain too much, and I think all builds will be up and down. Yes, I have heard some things about vic park and building requirements. Do you need to include heritage aspects of the area in your build? We are thinking of putting a bit of a deck and garden bed out front to camoflauge turning circle and all of the paving . Though some plans can be nifty - I like how navs (another poster) has fit in their turning circle and ensuite. We were told we couldnt put the garage straight down the driveway because you need a driveway facing window - but I have since noticed that heaps of builds have their garage straight down.... kinda wish we had done that now.... I have sent a PM about site works. I can be more specific if needed. Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 5Jan 02, 2014 4:35 pm Built Battleaxe ( tho not with RI, wouldnt recommend the idiots that built the rear house, on the other hand the front house was with Ventura , I found them very good) just across orrong rd from you in Rivervale. Town of Vic Park is a bit more open to driveways and other stuff than the city of Belmont ( including the garage location where you must have a habitable room with view down the driveway to the street , which didnt fit in with my plan at all, tho i found that with plenty of photo examples councils can be shown the error in their ways ) Good Luck and enjoy the ride Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 6Jan 02, 2014 5:13 pm Hi Jusy and welcome We're in the process of building our battle-axe in Carlisle so we will be neighbours almost. We met with Summit and Dale Alcock but ultimately went with Dale as they had a 4 for no more offer at the time but in hindsight all those things were probably factored into the cost. We built with Town of Vic Park and they were mostly okay, they just had a few things that was annoying like the necessity of having a store room a certain size and they also made us raise our slab adding an extra 6k for a one in 100 year possibility of a storm. They also took 3 months when we were told it would take 2 so allow plenty of time. If you would like to know anything specifically feel free to ask. https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64434 Building our own custom design based on the Elwood by Dale Alcock Land settled - November Plans submitted to council - January Prestart - March Slab - 18 September Brickies - 23 October Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 7Jan 02, 2014 6:01 pm Many thanks for the replies everyone Thanks for the PM asj25! Not sure about heritage requirements, will need to look into that. The decking and garden will break up the paving nicely - great idea. I think we'll be looking at doing something similar in the long run. Echo, a friend's partner works at Ventura and he's given me the details of a guy at Ventura ID, so I'll be giving them a buzz next week, hopefully they'll be back from holidays. Thanks for the welcome navs, neighbours indeed! Did you call the VP shire and find out what you can/can't do? That's nuts about the raised slab!!! At least you'll be safe if you forget to turn off the retic...for a week . We have an easement (along the boundary) which we'll probably need pilings for if we want to build up to it. Sigh. We might look at DA as well, my folks just finished their build with them (the Stoneleigh, which we're in while we're building) and were happy minus a few problems before handover. Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 8Jan 02, 2014 6:08 pm We met with DA and loved their plans / attention to details. As I have said before, was turned off by some site works requirements and unlike navs they wouldn't give us the 4 for no more despite saying 'for every build' (so I got a little sulky with them! Haha) Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 9Jan 02, 2014 6:22 pm Ventura ID? ( Peter or Mike ) Does this mean the block is Strata Titled ? Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 10Jan 02, 2014 6:24 pm Na we didn't call them or really have much direct contact with them except to get money when we replaced the fence as we are bordering a sump making the Town our neighbours. Mostly the builders will liaise with them on your behalf and submit your plans and get your building permit and everything you need to make the build happen. We basically sat down with a guy from dales, drew our plans - he knew about their requirements and had dealt with them for previous clients so we kind of knew what we needed pretty much from the get go. The only real surprise was the raising of the slab (and yes would be good if we did forget haha) and also just fyi we have easements too but we got back about 6k that they had set aside for pilings so it kind of all worked out - so it's not always bad if the initial figures look huge because at least you won't be in for any nasty surprises. We had to build right up as our land is 370 and the actual coverage only allowed for 200sqm so we were willing to pay to maximise it but was a nice surprise when they didn't need the whole allowance. Another money sucker are bloody soakwells - hopefully you won't need too many but I wouldn't bank on leniency when it comes to that sort of thing being the town of VP. (We are strata btw) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64434 Building our own custom design based on the Elwood by Dale Alcock Land settled - November Plans submitted to council - January Prestart - March Slab - 18 September Brickies - 23 October Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 11Jan 02, 2014 7:07 pm Not a strata Echo - told the guy from Ventura that we had a battleaxe and he gave us details for Peter from Ventura ID. Do ventura hand ball all the rear builds to ID? That's good to hear about the pilings Nav...I'll remember to keep an open mind! With our easement we'll be forced to have at least 3m of garden from our fence even if we build up next to it, I blame Mr Just, he always said he wanted a large enough space for backyard cricket haha. Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 12Jan 02, 2014 7:25 pm Not strata , Good for you. Original block for me was 61 meters deep, making the driveway 40+ long. Builder threw in the usuall 6 meters paved and I had the alfresco paving allowance added to that ( didn't want paving in alfresco, went for decking instead ) for a turning bay, still cost me 10000 clams for the remainder in paving to the street to complete driveway ( approx 3.5 meters wide ). This includes two 1.8 x 1.8 concrete soak wells with trafficable lids. Site works and bringing in services to the front house cost 1.5 K but for the rear 18K. Hope this is of some assistance Peter quoted some projects for me in the last year, he has been helpful. Again, good luck. Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 13Jan 02, 2014 7:44 pm Thanks Echo - I had a snoop at your alfresco, looks rather lush Ours is 50m deep - but pretty much square (22.5mx20m) once the drive is out of the equation. 18K doesn't sound as bad as what I've read from some other posts, hopefully ours won't be more than that (touch wood). Thanks all for the replies - I'm sure I'll have some more questions once we're moving onwards and upwards. Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain - meetings with potential bui 14Jan 07, 2014 3:08 pm It's all happening this week...meetings with builders here, there and everywhere. Any suggestions with regard to questions to ask and things to find out when speaking to project builders? Cheeky pointers most definitely welcome! (methinks this will be relevant for any other first time builders who stumble across this thread) Thanks all! Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 15Jan 07, 2014 6:23 pm I think going to display homes and spending a lot of time getting an idea of what you want is probably the best first step to decide which builders will meet your needs. For myself it was important that they have a specialist developments section with experience building but other people don't mind as much. Ask to see previous drawings of plans they have done for other people with battle axe blocks. They will probably be reluctant to give you a ball park price and expect it to come in a lot more than you have budgeted for Ask about what is included in the base model and what are upgrades. Make a list of everything you like in a display home and ask if its standard or an upgrade. How experienced are they with complying with the Town of Vic Parks building codes. Have you narrowed down your choices to a few or you still not sure? https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64434 Building our own custom design based on the Elwood by Dale Alcock Land settled - November Plans submitted to council - January Prestart - March Slab - 18 September Brickies - 23 October Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 16Jan 07, 2014 9:15 pm Yep navs makes a good point about councils. See how well thy know what needs to be done for your area - I was always impressed if they had done some homework on the block and the council. Think development depts are better versed in what is needed or these builds. Redink have gotten there in the end for us even if we dragged them there kicking & screaming haha Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 17Jan 08, 2014 10:24 am Thanks navs and asj25! I think we've been to every display home in Perth over the last year and noted the layouts we liked and what we liked about them, so luckily we have a fair idea of what we want! Have a friend building atm that went into a builder and picked the first plan they saw and signed then and there (without seeing any displays)...cray cray in my opinion but each to their own I will be sure to suss out how much is known about VP's building codes (thanks for that!) Got a meeting tonight and one on Friday...fun times ahead. Have a great day all! Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain 18Jan 08, 2014 11:26 am This is the fun part, or it was for us anyway. Good luck and enjoy https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=64434 Building our own custom design based on the Elwood by Dale Alcock Land settled - November Plans submitted to council - January Prestart - March Slab - 18 September Brickies - 23 October Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain - Plans! 19Jan 20, 2014 9:20 pm Been hard at work on the plans and are slowly narrowing down the options. We've had a few plans sketched up but this custom design is the front runner (let me know if the link doesn't work!) Our brief was a large, wide open plan area with a long island bench, with enough room to fit a plunge pool in the left hand corner (yes a pool...that's the husband's doing). Our block isn't massive (450 once the drive is out of the equation) so we didn't want to waste room with corridors hence the master being straight off the living area. We also wanted the master BR to be at the opposite end of the house to the other bedrooms. These are the changes we will be requesting, - extend alfresco to line up with corner or living area - replace sliding doors from master and with a wall, otherwise we won't have anywhere for the BBQ - theatre to be squared off and main entry to be wider - rear door of garage to be changed to either double doors or roller doors in case we've got anything bulky to fit into the house - ovens to be set on the wall, not underneath the island - cavity in front of WIR will be fitted with a cupboard post build (for extra storage) I'd love any thoughts - feel free to go nuts!!! Our build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68804 Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jadeshereejust/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jadeshereejust/ Re: Battleaxe build - Lathlain - plans! 20Jan 20, 2014 10:20 pm Good ideas to change. Like the plan. Can't believe you have room for a pool! Though in hindsight we could've made our minor beds smaller. You have a small amt of dead space where the toilet is I guess... Don't know how to fix that - ours has dead space for the entry. Could you move the entry wall around so you walk in parallel with theatre and have a wall there so you don't walk straight into entry. Again don't know if that will work. We cut up our plans and moved everything around heaps to try and work stuff out! Can drive you mad! Goodluck! Looks good! Thanks for the insight! My plot is a new development so hopefully I won't have too much problem during build as everyone should be roughly building together. I also… 2 3373 Thanks Draftroom that definitely helps a heap. We are still at the very early stage of planning to see what kind of house would fit on our plot. While we are on a… 3 15770 Joe, it depends on your certifier but we are noticing the ones we deal with are really cracking down. So i would recommend you follow your approved landscaping plans to… 4 10974 |