Browse Forums Building A New House Page 1 of 1 18 replies Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member 1 Jul 13, 2014 11:32 pm Hello everyone out there!! My boyfriend and I have recently bought ourselves a block of land in Riverstone estate, Doreen. It's been a few months now and the excitement has passed as we realise the overwhelming task ahead of us; building a house! A little bit about us: We are young (21 and 23 y.o) and have no experience or knowledge about building! We are not planning to build for 2 - 3 years, but the idea is to research and plan as much as we can so we can so we feel prepared to build our dream home! Our block is a corner block facing park land and is 530m², we currently live about 10 - 15 mins from our block. Here is a list of questions I have for you (anyone from anywhere, feel free to help!!) - The name of the builder you chose, why you chose that builder - Did you go with a big builder/ small builder / custom builder, why? - What set backs did you come across? Any complaints you have? - What was the most stressful part about building? - What mistakes were made during the build? - What would you do differently if you had your time again? - Did you leave out/forget anything? - The amount you paid for site costs (what is the size of your land and the house?) - What extras/upgrades did you choose? - What extras/upgrades are a MUST or are worth it? - What extras/upgrades can be put in later for cheaper? - Any general advice for us? things to watch out for? how to make sure we don't get ripped off? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks! Reply Reply Like Share More 10 Dec 2012 3,332 NSW Gold Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 2Jul 14, 2014 6:57 am hi and congrats on your new land researching is the key i built a custom home with adenbrook homes and had a great experience. before i built i went with another builder and the stress levels were terrible and the things i was told well. one of the many reasons i left builder 1. i researched so much and some builder would not build on my land. i have a sloping block and have views over the estate to national park 818sqm. house is approx 40 sqm. the builder i chose even suggested the split level which is great. one thing i would have next is timber floors instead of tiles and timber look garages instead of colorbond dune. being a custom built house it had nearly everything i wanted in the house. spend the time you have visiting display homes get a book together of your ideas. look at plans ,research this site. check out things i forgot thread. if you fin a plan you like but it is not quite there you can always adjust it. research the builders you are interested in. some of the extra upgrades i had was a butlers sink. my black and white bath . you can always check out my thread. also the display home you visit are always cost more then the base price of house. enjoy your journey. Reply Reply Like Share More 15 May 2014 19 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 3Jul 14, 2014 8:38 am Congrats on your land! We went with 8homes because they were selling a design at a really good price as well as being the sister company of Urbanedge. As Urbanedge also do custom designs, we knew that 8homes would also be flexible. The real big thing that really annoyed us so far, was that the Sales persons weren't comfortable to give you the prices of the upgrades as we were asking for alot! They were also reluctant to restructure the design as we would like it and continue to push for the initial deposit. I had to go through three sales reps till we found one we liked and was down to earth! Our sales rep advised we could restructure with the approval of head office and gave us the upgrade prices! Once we were handed over the our administrator, upgrades seemed to have gone missing which required the hubby and I to chase up, constantly. I recommend to always make a checklist and triple check everything! We did and it really paid off! Make sure at contract signing, you goes through the contract and tick everything off because it'll cost you to adjust anything later on. We're currently in the process of building and we haven't encounters any problems yet. It helps to have tradie friends and relatives to review it for you Just ensure the quality of the build is there before agreeing to pay the installments. What would I do differently? Question and check everything! And to be more stern with my administrator. They deal with so many files that sometimes you can feel like a number. We didn't forget anything after contract but they did, which resulted them having a waive multiple things. If you have evidence that you mentioned it but they forgot to add it, fight for it to be waived. We currectly have 601sqm corner block with no easement. Our site cost was around the 15k mark. Our house is 33 squares. Every company is very different in regards to their inclusions and extras but we have a lot of extras. It'll be too much for me to type out! Haha. Just be make sure you get a walk through and get all of the extras pointed out. You'll be in for a rude awakening. Close to everything is an extra and some "extras" the company doesn't even do. The extras we had to have was the stone benchtops throughout, higher ceilings, extra internal doors, downlights, separate toilets, linen, wardrobe sliding doors, robe towers, broom closet, upgraded carpet underlay, powerpoint to the island kitchen bench, glass splashback, porcelain tiles, refridgerated cooling and shower niches. Everyone has their own definition of what they want in a home. Just continue to research your requirements. I'm more than welcomed to help out if you have any questions. If you want a fireplace, definitely do it after handover. Make sure the provisions are done by the builder and then install it later. Same goes for timber decking, some electricals, driveway, fencing, landscaping and pergola. Advice: If your land is already titled, tried a build and occupy the premises within 12 months as you'll lose out on your stamp duty concession. We did and that could've been an easy $6000 taken off the mortgage. Also, make sure you know what you want and stick to it. Builders try to avoid the whole modifying thing because it's a headache for them NOT for you but at the end of the day, it's YOUR house! Let me know if you need anything! Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 4Jul 15, 2014 5:37 pm Hi 1rocky and RoseN! Thank you both for your reply!! 1rocky we would LOVE LOVE LOVE to build a custom home but unfortunately it is out of our budget (I think anyway, I should do some more research!) and I have read through the things I forgot thread and have made a huge list! Thanks for the suggestion! RoseN, 8homes is in our top three builders so far! I know the list is bound to change multiple times over the coming years but so far its 1. Porter Davis 2. Burbank 3. 8homes (based on floor plans we like, customer service, reviews online and the overall quality and feel of the homes) We have found the same with sales people too! They are really pushy for all our information but then when we tell them we're not ready to build for 3 years they don't want to know us but with Porter Davis the sales lady was so helpful and emails me every couple of months to see if I have any questions. I will defiantly remember to be stern with everyone I deal with and triple check everything! As for extras/upgrades, it does seem like everything will need to be upgraded, I have a very long list of things that I want added in or upgraded, so we might be up for an extra $100,000 on top of base price not to go into the full list but here are a few of the main ones - downlights - stone bench tops throughout - raised ceilings - upgraded tiles and carpet - doors added to WIR and ensuite - Alfresco - Upgraded facade with balcony - Upgraded stair case - feature window upstairs - internal access from garage - overhead cupboards in kitchen - upgraded internal doors - upgraded sliding doors or bifold doors - under stair storage - extending the garage - out door lighting and thats just the beginning, I have a lot of 'wants' that might have to be cut Driveway will DEFINITELY be done after handover, but I need to do a lot of research into what can be done after and for how much cheaper? and is it really worth the haste to do it ourselves after handover? This may be a silly question can you negotiate with the builders over the price of things? such as extras and upgrades or changing plans? and can you put in things like tiles and carpet after hand over if it works out to be heaps cheaper? and RoseN, thanks for the advice about building and occupying within 12 months, we wish we could but we saved our butts off to buy the land and are not quite ready financially to build! Plus I have not finished my university course yet and we will wait until we are both in full time work Reply Reply Like Share More 19 Apr 2014 38 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 5Jul 15, 2014 6:16 pm Hi KKphilly, Here are our responses! -We went with Burbank because they were very open to designing a custom plan for us, and drew up 4 or 5 different plans with no charge until we settled on one we liked (we have a rear access block with garage at the back of the house and we wanted a detached garage, and some builders flat out said no to us!) -No setbacks so far! Some parts feel like they take ages (prestart), but it takes a while for everything to get approved and signed off -No stresses so far. We are at the fixing stage at the moment and so far are happy with everything. We haven't noticed any mistakes (yet!) -Maybe one stress is the colour/selection/electrical appointment. It was great fun picking everything but also overwhelming - thinking about costs and style - and they don't allow any changes after this (unless you pay a variation fee which it wasted money!) so it pays to do your research before going in - know what you want and where you can compromise -If I could do my colour selections again I might consider adding more storage in the kitchen, maybe more downlights - but overall pretty happy. We only have a small block (12x30m) and our house is about 21 squares so we tried to use the space really well. We didn't bother with things like a theatre room or powder room simply because we don't have the land (we still wanted some backyard!) and we wanted to have a big open living area rather than having smaller separate rooms -Our block was on a bit of a slope so the house is higher than the garage. Having said that, our site costs were good - maybe $4k? (from memory - this might not be accurate) But it was very reasonable. -Upgrades and extras - this is the fun part! Well we found it fun. We used the promotion Burbank had going which gave us lots of free upgrades, and we paid for some more. In a nutshell: raised ceilings and door heights, upgraded facade to weatherboard, colourbond roof, upgraded carpet, upgraded laundry (more storage), stone benchtops in kitchen and bathrooms, tiled shower base in ensuite, bigger shower in ensuite, upgraded taps/shower heads, upgraded stove to 900mm, glass splashback, upgraded bricks (our developer rejected our initial choice of standard bricks!), upgraded bath, sliding wardrobe doors, floorboards throughout house, downlights and oyster lights, gloss cabinetry in kitchen and bathrooms, extra powerpoints (inside and outside), upgraded front door to timber - that might be about it! You could go on and on forever. We compromised on the laundry (no stone bench there - just laminate and matt cupboards), and little things like door handles and stuff that weren't important to us. We didn't get cooling because we are going to put in a split system after handover. -Most of the extras/upgrades are based on personal choice and style, and you can decide whether to do it before/after handover. After is no doubt cheaper, but we are not handy people so decided to get blinds and lights done as part of the build. I know a lot of people do these afterwards but I knew if we didn't get it done for us at the start, it would probably never get done! -General advice - just make sure you check everything carefully (at one stage we were being charged for both floorboards and carpet in the study), and keep on top of communication. -I don't think (but I don't know for sure) that there is much room for negotiation with building. All prices are calculated carefully (e.g. per square metre of carpet) to suit your plans, and as the builders purchase their materials from suppliers I doubt there is much wiggle room in price. For us so far it has been really fun and exciting. It's been about 6 weeks since the build started and they are already in fixing stage - painting has begun and tiles have been delivered. I hope you enjoy it as well! Cheers! Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 6Jul 16, 2014 8:36 pm Hi Prescott_Build! Thanks for the reply! Burbank is in our top favourites for exactly that reason, being able to make changes without it being the end of the world! 4k seems amazing for site costs!! We have been very roughly quoted between $10 - $20k Upgrades and extras are definitely the fun part! but my list just keeps getting longer the more I research! and I do agree with you, I think the things my partner has said we can get done after may never get done!! More questions for anyone out there: - How much did you pay for extras/upgrades? for example we have been told very roughly our upgrades may add up to $100k on top of the base price - and a random/silly question: did you and your partner/wife/husband/who ever you built your house with disagree over things like colour choices, flooring, styles of things etc... so far (touch wood) we haven't disagreed over anything, but i'd hate to fall in love with tiles or carpet and have my partner hate them! A bit different to disagreeing over what movie to watch haha Reply Reply Like Share More 21 Dec 2013 123 WA Senior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 7Jul 16, 2014 9:52 pm Congrats on new land purchase! When is the title due? If the title is due in few months/already titled, then why wait 3 years to start building? You would be losing more than 30k during that period in holding cost in addition to your rent! It takes about 18 months to build anyway. As you guys are very young, I would suggest not to think it as if its your forever dream home. Down the years you'll build many more for sure and gain experience . As a first home, I would probably think about maximizing for resale (even though after 10 years). So I would probably try to build the biggest house available within the budget, choose mid-level project builder, upgrade and add values to house e.g. making the bed rooms bigger, higher ceiling, bigger garage etc. instead of fancy things that can be added later e.g. expensive kitchen, luxurious bath, glossy cabinetry etc. Most of the mid-level builders have similar pricing (at least here in WA); so looking at the plans from their website is a good starting point. Once you shortlist a few, inquire about the built area, inclusions and pricing and compare. Don't forget to appoint a building inspector Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 8Jul 16, 2014 10:49 pm Ozlizz Congrats on new land purchase! When is the title due? If the title is due in few months/already titled, then why wait 3 years to start building? You would be losing more than 30k during that period in holding cost in addition to your rent! It takes about 18 months to build anyway. Hi Ozlizz! okay this is going to make me look REALLY stupid (sorry but I am really new to all of this!), but I don't know what you mean by the title? We didn't buy off the developers/estate, it was a private sale as the young couple that owned the land before us went bankrupt and they were forced to sell. They bought off the estate/developers and we saw it on domain.com. We got the land for a steal, we paid $52k less than what they paid and what the land is apparently worth! As for why we are waiting 3 years to build: - We saved our butts off to the extreme to have enough money to buy our block (or have enough for a 20% deposit anyway!) My partner and I were both in casual jobs while studying at uni full time when we bought the land!) - When we do build we are thinking of resale value, so we want to build a double story with a balcony for the beautiful views we have, with 4 bedrooms (probably around 35sq is a nice size!) and we want quite a few upgrades/extras - To afford the house I have in mind AND live, eat, put petrol in the cars, bills, uni books and fees etc... would be impossible at the moment! - My partner only just finished his course and just landed his full time job - I still have 2 years full time left of my uni course and want to wait until i'm in full time work as well before we build. That way when we do build HOPEFULLY we have a bit more saved up and can afford the things we want and can still buy furniture, food etc... - This is going to make us sound really young, but we both still live with our parents and don't pay board! (we were paying board but the parents were nice enough to say we don't have to pay after we bought the land) At the moment we probably could afford to build a small, single story 3 bedroom but we have fallen in love with double story houses with beautiful balconies! So at the moment pretty happy to live with the parents and throw as much money at our loan as we can! and research, research, research so we are ready when we do build!! Maybe if we win the lottery we will build soon haha Reply Reply Like Share More 21 Dec 2013 123 WA Senior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 9Jul 16, 2014 11:06 pm Good work there kkphilly93; you guys are actually an inspiration for the Gen Y . The land is titled as you have bought from the couple; so its all about building now . Generally speaking 4 br 30-35 sq double storey house will cost 350-400k depending on specifications and level of finish. Generally FHBs don't go for 2 storey builds as it is a bit more expensive and complex process. But if you have decided, you'll have to research if 2 storey houses are popular in that area, how long it takes to sell if you have to etc. As a vague real estate guide, one should not spend more than 90% in construction to that of land value. Good luck and happy researching Reply Reply Like Share More 22 Nov 2006 772 Melbourne Gold Member Building our first home -- HELP!! 10Jul 16, 2014 11:48 pm Firstly, congratulations on your land purchase and getting an awesome deal on it. Secondly, bigger congratulations on having the will power and patience to hold off on building! Haha I couldn't wait to get in my first house! You have a lot of good and important questions and I don't quite know where to begin answering them so I'll just leave you with a few things... Be prepared to spend an extra $100k on top of the base price especially if you want to include all (or most) of your wish list. Site costs could eat up a good chunk of this 100k. Some of the stuff on your wish list come standard with some builders while some builders offer them as upgrades. It's just a matter of comparing them and sorting through who offers what. As a guide, with my first build I added 65k to the base price, and this second build will be roughly another 90k extra. Also, think about your plan for the future and how long you plan to stay in/keep the house. As PP said don't over capitalise for the area. Pick/add things that will contribute and retain their value to your property. Oh, and don't let all the flashy fancy display home decor and lighting get to you. Be more vigilant in looking at the spaces and how they flow/relate to each other and the sizes of the spaces etc. Good luck with it all! [sneakersss] Reply Reply Like Share More 05 Mar 2012 207 VIC Bronze Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 11Jul 17, 2014 10:35 am Congratulations on your land! We signed with 8 but changed our mind due to some problems with site costs and some things being promised, and then all of the sudden not able to be delivered when it came time for contracts. I love their designs though, and still kind of prefer that floor plan to the one we went ahead and built. We thought we went with a smaller builder, but discovered they are just sales agents and they sell the contract to a large builder. They have been really flexible, but we have had loads of trouble (which I won't bore you with!) As for upgrades, at our selection appointment we only added less than $700 of stuff (taps, double kitchen sink instead of 1 1/2, door handles etc) but prior to that we had raised the ceiling, absorbed the alfresco area into the actual house instead to get a WIP and additional linen, added double glazing, custom designed the kitchen, increased the size of the sliding door and added a splashback window. We tried to keep the upgrades to ones that we couldn't easily do after, or the ones that weren't going to be much cheaper to do ourselves later on. We also deleted alot of items to do ourselves - I sourced my own oven (a black falcon - LOVE IT!) and range, deleted the heating, deleted the flooring except for wet areas. And as well as that, hubby is an electrician so we had it included in the contract that he completed the electrical work, that way we have been able to put in what we want without paying for upgrades there which add up pretty quickly from what I hear. He works in heating and cooling primarily so was able to install ducted a/c at the same time, as well as the pipes for hydronic heating so that has saved us a ton. If we were to get that through the builder it would have added up big time! We have disagreed on quite a few things, but have managed to get a good compromise happening. The colour selections appointment went really smooth, its just been everything else since then haha! A builder can change a lot in 3 years, so just make sure you have researched again when its closer to when you plan on building. And keep on top of things once the build starts too, building companies are run by normal people who can make mistakes just like the rest of us, and if they don't get picked up in time then it can be torture to get them rectified. good luck! Reply Reply Like Share More 14 Apr 2009 720 Central Queensland Gold Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 12Jul 17, 2014 1:48 pm We built with a small local builder. They offered a decent price for what we wanted (we got a few quotes, from big builders and small). They also offered a great degree of flexibility in terms of who we could do our selections with, kitchen design, electrical without adding a big builders mark-up. Not too many setbacks; our main complaint comes from poor communication really, we always had to chase them for updates/information once the build started. Most stressful was dealing with the banks, and the waiting. We had minor mistakes only, which were quickly corrected. We visited site frequently, so we were always aware of what was going on. I can't remember what our site costs were, they were part of the slab cost. We had class H soil so needed a thick slab, but the site was flat and didn't require any cut/fill. One thing we did forget was to take photos of the electrics before the plaster was on, it would make putting stuff on the walls easier now (we do have a stud finder thing but it seems to give inconsisent results). This thread has a pretty comprehensive list - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=5823&start=620 We increased the size of our kitchen, increased ceiling heights, changed windows. What is a must comes down to personal preference, I would always increase ceiling height though. Most of our tapware, light fittings, we left as standard, but this comes down to what you like and what is included as the standard. Also strongly consider solar orientation in your design (viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057). What's worth putting in later depends on what markup your builder charges, I know many people put the flooring (carpets etc) in after handover, we didn't as our builder didn't charge markup. Things like gardens, fencing, turf you can do yourself afterwards (although if your neighbours build now they may wish to have fencing costs shared). Keep everything in writing (especially if it involves 'free' upgrades, or the price for changes). Make notes in your meetings. Get a few quotes, and ask about upgrade costs in advance. We have similar tastes, so we didn't disagree on too much. For resale, stick to more neutral schemes than big bold statements. Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 13Jul 17, 2014 10:54 pm Ozlizz Good work there kkphilly93; you guys are actually an inspiration for the Gen Y . aww thank you ozlizz! We are quite proud of ourselves! It's a big thing for us!! and you're pretty spot on, we are thinking of around 350k for what we want! staceyd And as well as that, hubby is an electrician so we had it included in the contract that he completed the electrical work, that way we have been able to put in what we want without paying for upgrades there which add up pretty quickly from what I hear. He works in heating and cooling primarily so was able to install ducted a/c at the same time, as well as the pipes for hydronic heating so that has saved us a ton. If we were to get that through the builder it would have added up big time! So jealous! We don't have any family or friends who are tradies/electricians It must be very nice and handy!! Another question: - My Dad told me that if you tell you builder for example not to put carpets down or delete things to save money, they will just up the price of other things to cover themselves True, not true? Does my dad have any idea what he's talking about? Thank you everyone for your advice, I am learning fast and keeping notes!! Reply Reply Like Share More 05 Mar 2012 207 VIC Bronze Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 14Jul 18, 2014 1:01 pm kkphilly93 Another question: - My Dad told me that if you tell you builder for example not to put carpets down or delete things to save money, they will just up the price of other things to cover themselves True, not true? Does my dad have any idea what he's talking about? Thank you everyone for your advice, I am learning fast and keeping notes!! Not entirely true from what I've seen. You don't get much off when they delete things generally, we got $800 to delete the 600mm range hood and cooker, but if for example we wanted to add an additional 600mm range and cooker instead of deleting it might have cost us $1000. We have only ended up ahead with the things we have deleted either because hubby can get them at trade price and we don't have to pay someone to install them, or because they are things we would have had to upgrade anyway eg, they wanted an extra $1200 to upgrade to the 900mm cooker/rangehood. So add that to the credit from deleting it was 2k for a builders standard techninka one, just over double that and I got a falcon one! Or the flooring, we are putting eligna laminate throughout. To upgrade to that from the standard tiles/carpet would have cost almost as much as it has for us to buy it ourselves, so by the time we factor in the credit we're doing ok (although we're installing it ourselves too, so thats saving a ton of money as well.) And if you have a quote then delete things, they can't just increase the other costs willy nilly. They have to justify why. If you aren't happy then you walk. Reply Reply Like Share More 15 May 2014 19 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 15Jul 21, 2014 12:34 pm Hi kkphilly93, I can help give you the prices for upgrades with 8homes. Just that you'd need to be a little bit more specific in what category of upgrade you want to know the price off. You can visit the colour selection office (The Hub) by emailing the head office, which would then give you an appointment and you can browse around and see what you like. For the time being, I can provide you with the cost of the upgrades we've gotten. Just remember that double storey home extras costs more than our single storey. - downlights - We got the Luxury Package - $4609 - stone bench tops throughout - 40mm Cat 2 Ceasarstone kitchen benchtop with Waterfall panels with 900mm extension in length and 1000mm width extension - $4990 20mm Cat 2 Ceasarstone Bathroom benchtop for main bathroom and 1832mm long extended laminate vanity unit - $1358 20mm Cat 2 Ceasarstone Bathroom benchtop for ensuite and 1832mm long extended laminate vanity unit - $1909 - raised ceilings - 2590mm ceiling height - $3232 - upgraded tiles and carpet Cat 4 600mm x 300mm Porcelain tiles - $11243 Cat 2 Carpets - $2248 - doors added to WIR and ensuite Single cavity sliding flush door to WIR - $488 - Alfresco Alfresco - $9073 Brick Pier $640 - Upgraded facade with balcony - Depends which facade you want to go for and if you want any rendering it'll vary - Upgraded stair case - Sorry, not sure but from what I hear, it can go up to $15k. :S - feature window upstairs - depending on size of window - internal access from garage - $253 - overhead cupboards in kitchen - included - upgraded internal doors - Depends which category. We didn’t upgrade. - upgraded sliding doors or bifold doors 2110mm high x 3573mm wide aluminium entertainer door to family - $726 2110mm high x 2673mm wide aluminium entertainer door to rumpus - $616 I heard from the Sales Consultant that Timber stacker doors can go to up to 9k for both. :S - under stair storage – Not sure, sorry! - extending the garage – Not sure again… - out door lighting – Came with package - To separate toilets - $849 each. If you need anything else, let me know. Reply Reply Like Share More 30 Jun 2014 225 WA Bronze Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 16Jul 21, 2014 2:02 pm Hi all, (RoseN) just in regards to this "Single cavity sliding flush door to WIR - $488 " we are in WA so the price will obviously be different, but we have a his / hers robe design and then you walk into the ensuite, but there is no door. is it difficult to put the sliding door in. and is this design the one where the door goes inside the wall? I think we definitely need one of these for noise & steam reasons also. We have not signed the final design just yet, but looking to do it today / tonight. Do you have any advice regarding this particular door? 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Reply Reply Like Share More 13 Jul 2014 12 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 17Jul 21, 2014 6:01 pm wow RoseN thanks!! This really helps me gain a rough idea of things! How many down lights came for that price? I'm also thinking I want down lights under the kitchen over head cupboards. are you getting light switch dimmers for the down lights? These are called picture windows (the ones looking over the pool), we want something similar but maybe a bit smaller, we have been roughly quoted between $6 - $7k for this size window Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Share I also LOVE LOVE LOVE these big sliding doors Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Share I think we are going to avoid timber stacker doors! Other things that I think are a must on my wish list: - soft close feature to all draws/cupboards - double sink - pot drawers - pull out bins in kitchen - upgraded garage door (love that wooden look!) - extra heating ducts - extra heating/cooling controls upstairs - extra power points (including external power points and in garage) and extra TV points - upgraded cornices - doorbell - laundry cupboards - larger fridge space - wall niches or shelves in showers - frosted glass to bathroom windows - upgraded front door - glass panel next to front door - render to the alfresco pillars - lights in the staircase - something like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Share Here are a few others that my partner thinks are not as important (but I still want ): - upgraded light switches - heater lights in bathrooms - sensor lights for outside and inside the walk in pantry - some sort of security system - man hole and extra storage in garage roof and here is a big want that I probably won't get : under floor heating to ground floor Pretty sure that will blow the budget!! I would love to sit down with sales people from my favourite builders and do a full quote but not sure if they would if we are not ready to build right away? I just would love to get a very rough idea of what things on my wish list will be doable and wish I will have to scrap. Reply Reply Like Share More 15 May 2014 19 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 18Jul 22, 2014 9:35 pm Kaylz Hi all, (RoseN) just in regards to this "Single cavity sliding flush door to WIR - $488 " we are in WA so the price will obviously be different, but we have a his / hers robe design and then you walk into the ensuite, but there is no door. is it difficult to put the sliding door in. and is this design the one where the door goes inside the wall? I think we definitely need one of these for noise & steam reasons also. We have not signed the final design just yet, but looking to do it today / tonight. Do you have any advice regarding this particular door? Hi Kaylz, good luck with your build! Yes, so the Cavity Sliding door is the door that goes into the wall. From what I hear, it's hard to install it after handover, hence why we wanted the builder to do it or else you'd have to hire a plasterer. Just be wary that some builders don't allow adjacent cavity doors because it may go crooked after a while and they don't want to be made responsible for that. Reply Reply Like Share More 15 May 2014 19 VIC Junior Member Re: Building our first home -- HELP!! 19Jul 22, 2014 9:49 pm Hey kkphilly93 Have a look of my electricals and entertainment doors on my building thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72422&p=1206987#p1206987 extra downlights are around $150 each? - soft close feature to all draws/cupboards - depends which catergory - double sink - Cat 2 is $253 - pot drawers - Around $1500 - pull out bins in kitchen - $1200 - upgraded garage door (love that wooden look!) - $500 - extra heating ducts - not sure - extra heating/cooling controls upstairs - we got refrigerated cooling - $11483 - extra power points (including external power points and in garage) and extra TV points - $120 per internal double power point $110 per external double power point Just to mention, you can make up to 5 changes at no charge. 6-10 change comes with a $300.. etc. - upgraded cornices - didn't upgrade - doorbell - didn't even think about that - laundry cupboards - Laundry option 3 - $2399 - larger fridge space - no charge - wall niches or shelves in showers depends how big. ours was 600mm x 300mm at $380 but if you want feature tiles it'll be more - frosted glass to bathroom windows - around $200? - upgraded front door ours was Cat 4 Timber which was $1400 for both? - glass panel next to front door Comes standard however if you want it glazed then it depends which one to determine the cost - render to the alfresco pillars - Not sure. I paid an extra $640 to have a brick post as it's only timber that's standard. - upgraded light switches - not sure - heater lights in bathrooms - not sure - sensor lights for outside and inside the walk in pantry - comes with luxury pack. I did get dimmers though. - some sort of security system - not sure - man hole and extra storage in garage roof - not sure. sorry! Reply Sign in or Join to reply to this Topic End
Tags Riverstone ⋅ Victoria Page 1 of 1 ⋅ 19 posts
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