Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 41Nov 04, 2014 9:43 am we live 15mins away from the clyde north display. I love love the house. You wont be disappointed. Its beautil. In the display they had a libary nook in front lounge and it looks amazing. Are you having the nook in the dining aswell? Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 42Nov 04, 2014 11:51 am justheart we live 15mins away from the clyde north display. I love love the house. You wont be disappointed. Its beautil. In the display they had a libary nook in front lounge and it looks amazing. Are you having the nook in the dining aswell? Is Clyde North easy to get to from the CBD? We have a rental car booked and are staying just off the freeway on Flinders St. With our design, we have put a wall between the lounge and library so i can turn it into 2 rooms, a study and home theatre, but am very unsure as to whether that area is big enough to split. I'd rather have one bigger room and have the house appear more open than have a tiny study and tiny home theatre No we arent having the dining room nook. We moved the fridge from its recess so that removed the need for a nook. We want to put a decent sized dining table in there so i felt the nook would be a little more restrictive for furniture choice Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 43Nov 04, 2014 2:45 pm Its about 45mins from the cbd. Dont drive during melbourne rush hours thats from 6am-10am and peak hours are from like 2pm-7ish. Traffic is bad here. And thats driving on the freeway... all the way to clyde north. Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 44Nov 04, 2014 2:48 pm If it was me... i would leave the lounge and library as one open room. I remember stepping into the avalon for the first time and because of the openess and the amazing libary bookshelf they had on display it wowed me.. i was like omg woooooowww. I wish i had the money to built it hahe Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 45Nov 04, 2014 5:55 pm justheart If it was me... i would leave the lounge and library as one open room. I remember stepping into the avalon for the first time and because of the openess and the amazing libary bookshelf they had on display it wowed me.. i was like omg woooooowww. I wish i had the money to built it hahe tis what we're doing ... Thanks Justheart. We're building the same house as Nathan. Great Nathan. Can't wait to hear what you think and see some photos Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 46Nov 07, 2014 12:38 am I'm building the Cleo with Simonds Homes in SA, it's not the same floor plan but if you want to go walk through another similar two story build just pm me for address & I'd be happy for you to go have a look before it gets locked up. We are northern though so not sure if that's out of your way. When we signed there were no houses similar in Adelaide for us to check out, drove me mad! Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 47Nov 07, 2014 5:52 pm Simondscleo I'm building the Cleo with Simonds Homes in SA, it's not the same floor plan but if you want to go walk through another similar two story build just pm me for address & I'd be happy for you to go have a look before it gets locked up. We are northern though so not sure if that's out of your way. When we signed there were no houses similar in Adelaide for us to check out, drove me mad! Am PMing you. I'm interested in your castle. As you know I LOVE the Cleo! Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 48Nov 11, 2014 5:32 pm Ok so i just got back from our trip to Melbourne and lets just say the trip was very....informative to say the least. So, we planned on hitting up Clyde North first to have a look at the Avalon on design there and i'm not sure what was worse, the lack of service we got (as soon as i said we were from SA they knew they werent getting a sale so they seemed disinterested, but thats not all......) or how the house was decorated and set up. The front room was full of large furniture so it appeared so small and narrow. The colour scheme was basically white throughout with hints of colour so the house appeared very stale and lacked interest. The staircase was upgraded so it didnt have a wall for the living room TV so they had a large lounge set up nearly touching the kitchen bench. It was very congested and really had us second guessing ourselves. Upstairs was actually very nice and open. The upstairs rumpus was bigger than i thought it was so that was good to see. The main bedroom was large and roomy , a complete contradiction to downstairs. We thought we would spend the whole day there so we planned on Clyde North first, but we were in and out in about 15 minutes - it took us an hour to get there - because the more we were there the more we second guessed ourselves. So we decided to make the 2hr journey across to the Mt Duneed display, unfortunately the two consultants we dealt with at Clyde North had never heard of this display centre and then had the nerve to say we must have confused Mt Duneed Avalon with the Grovedale display centre Cleo design. They even rang Grovedale thinking they were correct and then continued to give us directions for Grovedale. OMFG i was frustrated. So, i pulled my phone out and shown them how to get to Mt Duneed and then we left on our way to Mt Duneed. What a breath of fresh air that was. The Avalon there was absolutely perfect. The design was spot on and really showcased the real potential of the house. We couldn't fault it. Plus the consultant there Tania was fantastic, she walked us through the house and gave us ideas, even after we introduced ourselves from S.A and she knew there would be no sale. It was a complete change from the sub-standard service at Clyde North We decided to go to the Grovedale display on the way back to the CBD to suss out the Cleo and Valencia for ideas. Once again, like Clyde North, once they realised we were from S.A, and it was 4:30pm, we were practically invisible to them. So, in short. If you're planning on going to see the Avalon in Melbourne, head to Mt Duneed. We were so happy to have had the bad experience first so that we left on a high. Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 49Nov 11, 2014 6:21 pm Oh no, what a shame for that horrid experience! Sometimes when they go all white and pop it with colour, it looks awful, as you say, stale. Sounds like the consultants you encountered where terrible too... Coming from the Haydn experience, must've been a shock! I'm so glad Mt Duneed delivered for you... Both in terms of the house and getting to meet a nice person as well! A high note to finish up on is the best way 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: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 50Nov 11, 2014 6:24 pm Wow what an event! We're going over in February and by then our house will be underway (so I believe ... Could be wrong!) Bit risky but I'm going with it. I worry downstairs kitchen/living might be cramped and BR1 too big (for my liking) but its all total luxury regardless. Which was Mt Duneed? The one with the zebra and rainbow decor? That one put me off a bit. I loved the pics Rob posted of the other. Didn't like kitchen design at first but I keep going back to look at those pics and get really excited. I get confused because we've flipped our floor plan to suit our block. From the display home photos on Robs thread it looks like the front of the house has been flipped. I have to wait until I walk through to really understand. Robs house is looking great now. Thanks for the update! Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 51Nov 15, 2014 8:07 pm TomCat Wow what an event! We're going over in February and by then our house will be underway (so I believe ... Could be wrong!) Bit risky but I'm going with it. I worry downstairs kitchen/living might be cramped and BR1 too big (for my liking) but its all total luxury regardless. Which was Mt Duneed? The one with the zebra and rainbow decor? That one put me off a bit. I loved the pics Rob posted of the other. Didn't like kitchen design at first but I keep going back to look at those pics and get really excited. I get confused because we've flipped our floor plan to suit our block. From the display home photos on Robs thread it looks like the front of the house has been flipped. I have to wait until I walk through to really understand. Robs house is looking great now. Thanks for the update! The Clyde North one is the one which was predominately white with a splash of colours. The kitchen/living areas in that one were definitely cramped. It was actually so offputting that my wife said to me that if she didn't know about the plan and if it wasn't the house we were considering building that she would have overlooked it and not considered it. Yes, it was that depressing. Yeah the Mt Duneed one had the living and library on the left hand side as you entered, with the kitchen and laundry also on the left too (switched the rear). The Clyde North had the living and library on the right and then the kitchen and laundry on the left (the same orientation we will be having) The bedroom is quite massive but for us that was one of the selling points. A nice little oasis away for ourselves in our own house i suppose Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 52Nov 15, 2014 8:09 pm deluxes Oh no, what a shame for that horrid experience! Sometimes when they go all white and pop it with colour, it looks awful, as you say, stale. Sounds like the consultants you encountered where terrible too... Coming from the Haydn experience, must've been a shock! I'm so glad Mt Duneed delivered for you... Both in terms of the house and getting to meet a nice person as well! A high note to finish up on is the best way Yeah so were we. Clyde North really left a bad taste in our mouths and we knew if we didn't get to the other Avalon display that day we'd be up all night stressing and second guessing ourselves. It was good to end on a positive and reaffirm our original feelings towards the design. Plus the next day we didn't have to worry about running around before our flight home Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 53Nov 16, 2014 3:06 pm nathanc01 My brother who built with MainVue built in Blakes Crossing and he wasn't allowed to build on both boundaries. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, but he had to change the design slightly and now has the side of his garage on the boundary of his neighbours property. Hi! Sorry I haven't been on here to check this - busy times at work! ^Same issue in Springwood! Haydn tried his best to get approval from council, as apparently they were able to do this with some properties in Blakes Crossing, but it got rejected. So, back to the drawing board. The options are now: a) continue with the Palisade but build off the boundary (council have said it needs to 600mm off the boundary - WTH??? What can you do with that space?!) b) look at other designs/builders It's pretty disappointing as I am just really in love with the design, but am worried about the loss of space down the other side of the house with having to move the whole house 600mm to the left. I'd hoped to be able to do a bit of planting down that side to make the view from the bathroom nicer than just staring at colorbond from the bathtub. On the positive side, my courtyard space will become bigger, and I could just fit a slimline rainwater tank in that stupid gap. I am also, like you, really impressed at the service and care taken with Simonds so am reluctant to go to another builder. The quotes I have gotten from a couple of others have not left me feeling too confident that I will end up with a house that I love that also fits the budget. Anyway, I just have to sit and think for a bit - when I have the time to. It's Week 6 - so things are pretty crazy at work as we get reports written and wind up another school year. I'm looking forward to summer holidays so I can sort this out. We'll also head over to Melbourne again in January. I didn't get a chance to check out the displays the other week. Thanks for your feedback on them. Glad you had some positive experiences to help you in making your decision. Can't wait to see what you end up building! 2016 is going to be AWESOME! Building the Simonds Palisade Land settlement: 15/10/14 Contract signed: 8/10/15 Build start: 6/5/16 Slab: 9/6/16 Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 54Nov 16, 2014 9:54 pm Risachan nathanc01 My brother who built with MainVue built in Blakes Crossing and he wasn't allowed to build on both boundaries. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, but he had to change the design slightly and now has the side of his garage on the boundary of his neighbours property. Hi! Sorry I haven't been on here to check this - busy times at work! ^Same issue in Springwood! Haydn tried his best to get approval from council, as apparently they were able to do this with some properties in Blakes Crossing, but it got rejected. So, back to the drawing board. The options are now: a) continue with the Palisade but build off the boundary (council have said it needs to 600mm off the boundary - WTH??? What can you do with that space?!) b) look at other designs/builders It's pretty disappointing as I am just really in love with the design, but am worried about the loss of space down the other side of the house with having to move the whole house 600mm to the left. I'd hoped to be able to do a bit of planting down that side to make the view from the bathroom nicer than just staring at colorbond from the bathtub. On the positive side, my courtyard space will become bigger, and I could just fit a slimline rainwater tank in that stupid gap. I am also, like you, really impressed at the service and care taken with Simonds so am reluctant to go to another builder. The quotes I have gotten from a couple of others have not left me feeling too confident that I will end up with a house that I love that also fits the budget. Anyway, I just have to sit and think for a bit - when I have the time to. It's Week 6 - so things are pretty crazy at work as we get reports written and wind up another school year. I'm looking forward to summer holidays so I can sort this out. We'll also head over to Melbourne again in January. I didn't get a chance to check out the displays the other week. Thanks for your feedback on them. Glad you had some positive experiences to help you in making your decision. Can't wait to see what you end up building! Have you considered the Sierra design thats on display at Blakeview. Everytime i walk through it it always reminds me of the Palisade with the raised ceiling and the rumpus room to the rear. That would be a hard decision though, especially having your heart set on one thing and then being told you need to change it. Good luck with whatever path you do choose....if it Simonds then it's more than likely going to be a nice house Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 55Nov 16, 2014 9:57 pm Latest Had a recap catch up with Haydn this evening. Had another constructive appointment and managed to make a few changes (for the better) and even save some more coin. Its getting very excited. We will need to have a sit down with our broker over the coming weeks to see where we are at financially and how much deposit we require but we are considering signing it all over as "subject to finance" to be able to do our colour selection and lock in our final price Oh, and all the house designs go up as of next year....the Avalon goes up a whopping 22k!!!! No way would that sit well in our budget so that may speed up the process for us Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 56Nov 16, 2014 10:20 pm That's so exciting Nathan. What changes are you thinking about? I enjoy seeing how people change plans to suit their lifestyle. I wonder if seeing the home built influenced any decisions. Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 57Nov 17, 2014 8:33 pm nathanc01 Have you considered the Sierra design thats on display at Blakeview. Everytime i walk through it it always reminds me of the Palisade with the raised ceiling and the rumpus room to the rear. That would be a hard decision though, especially having your heart set on one thing and then being told you need to change it. Good luck with whatever path you do choose....if it Simonds then it's more than likely going to be a nice house The Sierra presents exactly the same issues with building on the boundary twice. The selling point for the Palisade over the Sierra was the butler's pantry, but more so the fact that there is only one entrance to the other bedrooms, meaning it will be quieter at night for my son to sleep. I'll still do the raised ceiling and large stacker doors though So glad your appointment went well. So exciting!!! 22k is a huge increase - yikes! 2016 is going to be AWESOME! Building the Simonds Palisade Land settlement: 15/10/14 Contract signed: 8/10/15 Build start: 6/5/16 Slab: 9/6/16 Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 58Nov 17, 2014 8:43 pm We're building the palisade now. And I love the design. Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 59Nov 18, 2014 9:22 am TomCat That's so exciting Nathan. What changes are you thinking about? I enjoy seeing how people change plans to suit their lifestyle. I wonder if seeing the home built influenced any decisions. The latest changes we made were We originally had raised ceilings to both ground and first floors but removed the raised ceiling to the first floor. We found out the display homes just had the standard 2400mm ceilings, plus we honestly didnt notice that upstairs anyway so there's no point forking out almost 3k for something we didnt even notice. We have a wall splitting the library and lounge room to form a study and a theatre. We have aded a niche in that wall we added for a little extra space for the tv/entertainment unit and changed the two large double doors to a 420mm door and 840mm (that pivots all the way around and goes flat back against the wall (so we can leave the doors open when the room is not in use and it looks nice and open) Re: Building the Simonds Avalon in the Springwood Estate, SA 60Nov 18, 2014 9:23 am nextbigstep We're building the palisade now. And I love the design. There is a Palisade almost completed to the rear of my block, small world it happens to be one of my good mates sister and her other half. They are almost ready to move in Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 11522 Not unless you have managed to put it as a special condition into the contract somehow. 1 6424 |