Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 30, 2014 9:13 pm Complete change of plans - updated plans etc start on page 7
After 6 years of owning the house, and 8 months since I obtained my first quote on a house plan, we have finally decided what we want and paid our initial deposit. We almost signed on with a custom builder before discovering the Regent 300 by Sekisui and falling in love with it. I feel really guilty about the time that the custom builder put into quoting us and communicating after that, but Sekisui are $10k cheaper with 40sqm more living space and includes an alfresco in that price, when the custom price didn't. We are going to build the Regent 300. Original house plan: UPSTAIRS: We have changed the layout of the WIR and ensuite to add a freestanding bath. We were thinking about changing the layout of the minor bedrooms to make them bigger, effectively getting rid of the upstairs games room, but the games room windows face north and we thought that would make a lovely space to curl up with a book in winter I've put both versions below, what do you think? DOWNSTAIRS: We are adding 9sqm to the garage to get drive through access to the backyard. I'm not entirely sure this will work.... Our block is a strange shape, ill pop up our site survey shortly, and we were going to make the garage wall follow the fence line on a diagonal, creating a triangular shape on one side. I think we'll be able to drive through? Only other changes downstairs are in the kitchen; moving the sink from the island bench to where the oven is and add a window, moving the oven to next to the pantry; and centering the doors and windows along the back wall. We are making both the windows on the back wall 1.5m wide for symmetry. We will be going with the traditional facade, but extending the eaves along the lower floor in front of the house. At the moment we are thinking cream (PGH Bianca) bricks and shale grey colourbond roof. Traditional facade: Our block has a lot of challenges that we have discovered through the process over the last 8 months. Challenge no.1: narrow at the front, wide at the back. So 737sqm, but we can only fit homes wig a frontage up to about 12.5 m. Challenge no.2: no sewer connection, so we need to install a septic tank. Challenge no.3: a HUGE gum tree along the back fence line, creating a 13.5m tree protection zone. Challenge no.4 we are on the corner of a culdesac and about 3m of our frontage is covered by the footpath/kerb so our garage had to be on the other side- the south side of our block. Many designs have the living areas behind the garage and many aren't all that easy to flip just the front bit so that we can have north facing living areas. Our block (ignore the house, the custom builder placed it on there to show us siting): Luckily, the Regent 300 fits on our limited building envelope and has everything we wanted + more! I am feeling very excited but also very nervous about all the challenges and potential things that could go wrong! Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui 300 2Jul 30, 2014 9:42 pm We bought this house in 2008 when I was still in uni. We intended to either completely renovate or do a KDR after I finished uni in November 2009, but instead, in November 2009, my now husband was made redundant. We ended up having to move to QLD in 2010 so he could get work, and we stayed there until late 2013 when he was made redundant again. We lived in the house from 2008-2010, and moved back in last November. We are SO OVER living here, it is awful. I thought I would give a photo tour, or 'before' pics for your enjoyment: Floor plan - house is around 93sqm we are currently using the bedroom next to the bathroom as the master, and the master as a combined study/TV room. Fun fact: The door on the plan between our bedroom and the lounge wasn't actually there when we bought the house. That's right, the only way into that bedroom was through the bathroom! We stripped the wall of the wood panelling and found a doorway on the other bedroom side of that room and put a door back in. We think the previous owners may have decided they wanted a WIR off the bathroom The very stylish green, brown and now, white on one wall, bathroom (the opposite wall has wood panelling, classy): The kitchen. The genius previous owners thought it would be lurverly to have mosaic tile for the benchtop, and to put a fake brick archway on top of the counter to reduce the already very limited working space. It is almost impossible to cook in this kitchen. The bench gets so cluttered so quickly. There is a walk in pantry with really deep shelves that you can only access the first 30cm or so of, so things get lost. They could have utilised this space so much more effectively with additional benches and cupboards, it is so ridiculous. Our tree. Bane of my existence, although pretty. Drops so many ,eaves and gum nuts, plus all the trees on our block attract possums. We have to clear our daughters trampoline of sticks, leaves, nuts and possum poo every time she uses it! Oh, and did I mention that the bathroom window doesn't close, nor does the toilet window. There is a hole in the bathroom door and our airconditioner is on the directly opposite wall in the living area. So much wastage of energy! Also, the living areas face south, so FREEZING in winter, especially with e shade from the gumtree. Can't wait for our new house! Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 3Jul 30, 2014 10:05 pm Wow Bobbin! That old house walk through is fantastic! You will feel soooooo good when you get to demolish the house!! The rooms are almost comical and who knows what was going on with the bathroom/bedroom. Our knock down had a pink bathroom with a baby blue basin. But yours... yours wins for colour... combo? I must say with a custom build I would have expected a house that would be more suited (shape wise) to the block... The Regent seems like a great plan!! It looks fabulous. I think I prefer the room upstairs rather than as is. I really like the change you made to the ensuite to fit a bath tub. Very jealous! The block looks lovely. What are you thinking of for septic? We had a worm farm based system installed in a rural property and it's going great and no maintenance. Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 4Jul 30, 2014 10:28 pm Agree with yvonneh - can certainly see why you like the idea of demolishing and starting afresh rather than trying to renovate your way out of the old house! A couple of thoughts on your plans: - I like the first option for upstairs with the living area on your North. It suits the space much better. - Your other changes upstairs are great. Consider though putting the access to the WIR at one end or the other (perhaps the eastern wall?). This way you have a full-width usable wall (maybe to put a TV on the centre etc) and also you don't look straight into the ensuite from the bedroom. - Downstairs, your kitchen changes make sense. - I can see what you are trying to do with the drive-through garage and I think it will still work even with the angle like that. Try to get a rear door as wide as possible just to make it as easy as you can to get through. - To make it even easier (and also easier for regular parking) maybe consider an extra-wide double door at the front instead of two singles? - And I know it's not part of the basic house/facade cost, but definitely don't do that funny little island in the middle of the driveway that is shown on the facade photo you posted. You will be forever trying to avoid it as you drive in and out of the garage as you swing the car to line up with the fence line! My thoughts for a Wednesday night Seksui KDR in Sydney (2015-2016) Links --> | H1 thread | Final plans | Timing of works updated 9/3/16 | Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 5Jul 31, 2014 2:44 pm At least living in this house gives us some good stories to tell! We joke that we will get lost in the new house as it will be TRIPLE the size of this one! The bathroom was just brown and green + wood panelling when we bought it, but when we rented it out whilst living in QLD we had a crappy tenant and long story short, there were a few tiles broken/missing on that wall that we had to fix. So we just bought standard cheap white tiles as we had to do the entire wall. Living in this house has also convinced us to stay with classic colours for bathrooms/kitchen. We will be going with a charcoal and white theme throughout the house. The ensuite we might make a bit more dramatic with black and white though. Septic tank - our property is connected to the council's community waste management scheme so we only need a basic septic tank. Fluid waste goes to the CWMS, and the council comes and pumps the tank every few years. The cost for the tank and connection was only $3900 Through sekisui, which we were very happy with, as he cost to purchase a tank without installation is about $2000 so they haven't put much markup on it. Yvonneh - do you like he games room version or the activity version? There are things that I like and dislike about both versions. Eg in he games room version I am not sure our WIR is wide enough but I don't want to eat in to the bedroom space anymore. I also don't like the way the minor bedrooms are positioned, it upsets my OCD that they don't line up with the house and that bed 3 overlaps bed 2. However, we have been to the display home and when you are actually inside the house, it looks fine. It is hard to remember that when looking at a 2d plan things like that will stand out more than when you are in the real 3D version! But I love the idea of a big north facing living area up there. I have plans to make one end a library with shelves of books along the wall and big comfy chairs, and the other end a literal games room - shelves full of boardgames and puzzles, a coffee table and more comfy chairs. The activity version I like the symmetry of the rooms, I love our WIR layout and I like the open landing when coming up the stairs. But we lose the north facing windows, and bed 4 might be a bit narrow (2.5m wide, 4.5m long). We definitely won't be getting the island in the driveway! That would drive me nuts! We had thought about a single garage door. I guess it may come down to cost, although I would be concerned also about getting a single door far enough to the right of the garage to reduce the angle. Re the WIR, do you mean keeping the ensuite door where it is and moving the WIR DOOR. I like the idea of the unbroken wall. The WIR is only 1.5m wide there, which I now think is too narrow if I want hanging space on both sides, and I would be concerned about having to walk the length/half the length of the WIR if it is a narrow space to get to the ensuite. Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 6Jul 31, 2014 3:49 pm Bobbin Re the WIR, do you mean keeping the ensuite door where it is and moving the WIR DOOR. I like the idea of the unbroken wall. The WIR is only 1.5m wide there, which I now think is too narrow if I want hanging space on both sides, and I would be concerned about having to walk the length/half the length of the WIR if it is a narrow space to get to the ensuite. Yes, keep the ensuite door where it is (or you can move it just slightly one way or the other) and then move the WIR "entry" to one end (probably adjacent the external wall) - for reasons I mentioned in previous post. For the width of the WIR you want 500mm for each row of hanging space and then a central pathway which should be at least 600m and ideally 700-800mm. Our is 700mm which we feel is a good compromise between WIR space and bedroom space. Keep in mind that the "feeling" of the WIR will be a little larger as it will most likely be open (not having doors on it) and you therefore get a bit of extra space (the clothes won't take up the full 500mm width on each side). Note too that the above dimensions are internal, so you need to add an extra 90mm for the wall between the WIR and the bedroom. What is the total internal dimension from the north wall of the bedroom to the south wall on the ensuite? I could then give you an idea of what space you could contribute to each element (bedroom, WIR, ensuite) plus walls and some advice on whether it might just be all too tight. Seksui KDR in Sydney (2015-2016) Links --> | H1 thread | Final plans | Timing of works updated 9/3/16 | Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 7Jul 31, 2014 6:08 pm I will have a look again when I get home but I think it was roughly 5m. I am thinking about putting the WIR where it is in the activity version, although a bit smaller, I will have a play later. Also just had two phone calls and site survey plus soil samples will be happening tomorrow. We actually arranged and received a proper site surey through the custom builder which we have to pay for but didn't want to quibble over Sekisui using that for the sake of a less than $500 credit - if something was wrong, we'd be responsible for the full variation I bet. Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 8Jul 31, 2014 9:28 pm It is 5.3m from North wall of bedroom to South wall/ensuite wall. I redid it in the way you suggested and increased the width of the WIR to 1.65m. That leaves the bedroom at 3.65 x 4.5. I think that is okay. I tried it the other way, with the WIR eating into the games room, but I didn't like it - didn't like losing the space and open feeling in the games room as you come up the stairs and didn't like having three of the walls off the main bedroom having a door or window off of it. It also left some 'dead' space in the bedroom that I didn't think we would use (it would have been 5.3m x 3.9). Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 9Jul 31, 2014 9:37 pm Bobbin That leaves the bedroom at 3.65 x 4.5. I think that is okay. But if your intention for the bedroom is mainly to sleep - and not to have things like a breakfast table or a settee (some of these master bedrooms seem more like self-contained studio units!) then that size is more than sufficient. We left ours with a larger space (5.3 x 4.5) as we are considering potential re-sale within 10 years. If it was just for us for the rest of our lives, then some of the master bedroom space would have been put towards something else! Seksui KDR in Sydney (2015-2016) Links --> | H1 thread | Final plans | Timing of works updated 9/3/16 | Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 10Jul 31, 2014 11:58 pm I agree with you - it isn't big by today's standards. However, we do only want the bed + bedside tables in there! with room for a bassinet for when we decide to have another baby. I drew the dimensions of a king sized bed on there. It looks like there will be 1.65m from the end of the bed to the WIR wall, and i to looks like enough space to me. We intend to stay here at least until the kids leave home. Our daughter is 2, so we will be living here a while! Ignore the wall + door that I drew in the games room - I was playing with increasing the width of the master and ran out of whiteout! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 11Aug 01, 2014 12:03 am I think that looks just fine. A good sized bedroom with plenty of space to walk around the bed but not wasting any space that could be put to better use elsewhere. Good job Seksui KDR in Sydney (2015-2016) Links --> | H1 thread | Final plans | Timing of works updated 9/3/16 | Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 12Aug 01, 2014 5:15 pm Yeah i agree, looks good! (The latest plan). I definitely prefer the games room the way you've shown it (original position i think) on the north wall. Will be lovely and bright most of the day Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 13Aug 01, 2014 8:06 pm I have another idea for you as I thought it might be nice for three of the bedrooms to enjoy north facing windows. I know this is only a scribble but I hope it makes sense http://i894.photobucket.com/albums/ac146/MDCL77/Mobile%20Uploads/20140801_191157_zps3db3e610.jpg Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 14Aug 01, 2014 11:10 pm Thanks for thinking of me and putting in some time to come up with a plan Fairmont. It looks like one of our original choices but removing the activity area? Bedroom4 would be about 7m long, haha, lucky kid I am pretty sold on the north facing games room now. I have so many plans... Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 15Aug 02, 2014 7:43 am No problem, I made slight changes to main bedroom in regards to accessing the robe and bed location so you could have north face window
The southern side you could keep activity room or make bathroom bigger. I didn't think you would be keen so just did a quick sketch focusing on having most bedrooms used regularly having northern light Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 16Aug 02, 2014 8:35 am Plans look great BLOG: http://www.ourphoenix38.blogspot.com.au H1 THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70454 Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 18Aug 05, 2014 10:54 pm So as we have about 4 weeks before anything else happens, I of course have been obsessively trying to plan our selections. The main one I am stuck on is the kitchen. This is the kitchen in the display: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We are moving the sink to where the oven is and the oven to next to the pantry, but otherwise the layout will be the same. Our budget doesn't extend to stone benchtops unfortunately, so we are having diamond gloss laminate benchtops. Either 180FX Carrera marble or whit Valencia, depending on cost (we had a tour of the Sekisui selections centre before signing and the lady there hadn't heard of the 180FX range before so they would have to get a quote on it which might make it a bit exxy for laminate). We will be having an R2 servery (extending the laminate side panel out to meet the edge of the benchtop) The overhead cupboards will be white. I just can't decide on the lower cubpoards colour! For ages, i have wanted darker cupboards, and my Pinterest page is full of inspiration pics like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ If we went darker lower cupboards, our kitchen would look a bit like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ But with white tile splashback and different colour wood floor. But recently, I have seen a few all white kitchens in person that I have loved, and I am now really confused. All white wasn't something that I ever thought I would want, I like a bit more of a vintage look and white seems very modern, but the wood floors seem to soften it. Anyway, I loved these kitchens: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I want this colour wood floor (spotted gum I think) - quickstep laminate version though! White seems like a much easier choice, particularly with the R2 servery. With dark cupboards I can't work out whether the side panel should match the benchtop or the cupboards? But I feel like I might regret not going with the colour combination of dark and white that I have loved for a while.... Thoughts anyone? Re: KDR Adelaide - Sekisui Regent 300 19Aug 05, 2014 11:00 pm I love all white. I'm a big of all white fan. If I could have my way (and my husband never piped up with his opinions) then the entire house would be different variants of white inside and out I think it's classic, won't go out of fashion like colours might, and can be made fun and in fashion with coloured accessories, art, furniture, rugs etc. And yeah a wood floor with the white kitchen... love love love! 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 13443 |