Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 26, 2014 8:54 pm Hi all
After months of browsing and stalking other people's threads, finally i have to gut to start one on my own. This forum has been an enourmous source of information and helped me a lot to gain massive understanding on the home building process. I hope that by sharing mine, i can help others too. After months of research and investigations, we have decided that we will build the Liberty 42 from Metricon. Some structural changes that we proposed: 1. Due to the house position, the front of the floorplan has to be flipped - the alfresco will be in the opposite side of the garage. 2. Flip living area and dining area 3. Extend the new living area by 2m 4. Convert the guest ensuite to be similar to Liberty 42D 5. Convert the ensuite upstairs to be similar to Liberty 42D We are going to knock down and rebuild our old house in North Western suburb in VIC. At this stage, we have paid the $1500 deposit and done the soil test. The soil test came back as S class site with H2 soil. We just submitted our contract and plan to the head office and is waiting for the PC (The sales guy said that we wont receive it till Jan next year). It's hard to believe that we are finally - really - building with Metricon. The whole thing feels surreal. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 2Jan 08, 2015 10:24 am Waiting for our consultant to come back from his holiday and give us our PC contract. Some of nerve wrecking quotes that we are keen to see: 1. our site cost (our consultant said it might be over 50k cos we have P class site) 2. Daniel Robertson bricks 3. 2 Pac cabinetry 4. Structural changes 5. Upgrade appliance to SMEG. Cant wait to see what the quote would be.. urgh... In the mean time we have been religiously doing our homework on colour selections. As a backup plan, if DR bricks are way too expensive, we are planning to get: Homestead Tan or Truffle But somehow Austral bricks with Metricon starts at category 5 - ridiculous! Some of potential exterior colours that we consider are White Duck Half, Linseed, and Jasper I hope linseed wouldnt be too green when those colours are put together. Have to do some paint testing... Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 3Jan 08, 2015 12:39 pm The wait for the preliminary estimate is always a nervous one. It doesn't end there! Once you have your PE, the estimator goes over the costs and there is likely to be changes (usually up) at the contract stage. BLOG: http://www.ourphoenix38.blogspot.com.au H1 THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70454 Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 4Jan 08, 2015 1:30 pm Yeh.. such a long process to build the house. It's hard to stick to your budget and avoid overblown cost. Will try to post some pictures after the PC, once we get our modified floor plan. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 5Jan 08, 2015 6:30 pm Our experience with metricon there was a jump from the quote to the preliminary but once signed it was fixed so the contract had no surprises. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 6Jan 15, 2015 10:34 am nettelbeck Our experience with metricon there was a jump from the quote to the preliminary but once signed it was fixed so the contract had no surprises. Hi Nettelbeck, did you sign the preliminary contract once you are 100% happy with it, i.e with no further changes required? Our pc is booked on the 1st of feb, then electrical appointment around end of feb. We try to drag it a bit cos we are a bit slow in making our decision. We want to be sure with our choice and think everything through. THe admin lady said that after the appointment, we have 7 days to change our mind. Any changes after that will incur $1500 admin fee. Yucks. I am feeling excited and nervous at the same time... My main concern is the bathroom tiles. We love the polished look, but people said it would be too slippery for the kids. But the lappato look that we like is very very expensive. Anyway.. we'll see... Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 7Jan 25, 2015 12:16 pm Found your thread Boysenberry. So close to the tender, how exciting! Hope you get a nice surprise with the price. The preview estimate we received from the sales consultant was pretty close to the actual tender and our final contract also remained consistent except for new items added at the tender stage. The one thing I would do differently is to get all internal colour upgrades included in the contract. It's far easier to delete things that are too expensive rather than waiting weeks to get them priced up. Good luck with the tender. I look forward to following your build Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 8Jan 25, 2015 1:44 pm Hi Boysenberry, congrats on starting the process. I agree with Sheilzy on getting as much as possible added to your contract . We did exactly that and it certainly speed up the process for us, we visited M studio on the coast (only 20 mins from home) and I wrote down everything that we wanted to upgrade with the codes and gave them to our sales lady she instantly added them all to our quote, when the pc was received it was excellent to have an accurate guide on how we where going. The sales people are general very close to the mark with site costings too, ours actually went down after the engineers did there costing but not by much. When we did our colour selection we only spent a extra $1,100 on our carpet upgrade and tiling as everything else had been previously included. The bank also loved the fact we had included everything as it made the process with them so much easier. Bathroom tiles are a tricky one, I personally wouldn't go shiny as I have little children and its a instant head trauma as soon as we step into the bathroom. If your having 2Pac cabinetry in the bathrooms then it will give off a good shine and with matt tiles it would a nice contrast of textures. Looking forward to seeing your progress. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 9Jan 25, 2015 8:34 pm Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 10Jan 25, 2015 8:55 pm Sheilzy Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! This was a excellent tip from our sales lady, she knew exactly what we where after and showed us the fastest way to achieve it, I just pursued it like a madman to get everything into the quote. Its a very systematic approach to staying on top of the budget. Boysenberry: best of luck with your pc, fingers crossed its on target for you. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 11Jan 30, 2015 10:57 am Shambini The wait for the preliminary estimate is always a nervous one. It doesn't end there! Once you have your PE, the estimator goes over the costs and there is likely to be changes (usually up) at the contract stage. Thanks Shambini.. We are anxiously waiting for our pc contract now.. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 12Jan 30, 2015 11:01 am Tribe7 Sheilzy Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! This was a excellent tip from our sales lady, she knew exactly what we where after and showed us the fastest way to achieve it, I just pursued it like a madman to get everything into the quote. Its a very systematic approach to staying on top of the budget. Boysenberry: best of luck with your pc, fingers crossed its on target for you. Shambini The wait for the preliminary estimate is always a nervous one. It doesn't end there! Once you have your PE, the estimator goes over the costs and there is likely to be changes (usually up) at the contract stage. So sorry for the late response, i didnt even know people replied to my own thread! Doh! Thanks for the tips and for the support Tribe7. THats a very handy tips. We have gone to studioM many times, and yet we didnt think of writing down the upgrade number etc to be included. You are very organised! Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 13Jan 30, 2015 11:02 am Sheilzy Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! Sorry for the late response too Sheilzy - didnt know that people replied to my thread.. Thanks for the support! We are counting down and look forward to our PC meeting. Will keep you all posted Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 15Jan 30, 2015 1:34 pm boysenberry2014 Sheilzy Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! Sorry for the late response too Sheilzy - didnt know that people replied to my thread.. Thanks for the support! We are counting down and look forward to our PC meeting. Will keep you all posted As long as the contract works for you and you can include what you need at the best time suited then happy days. You can even get your sales consultant to make a list of prices for all the upgrades your after so you know exactly how your budget is fairing and when you go for your colours selection you will know what you can and cant have. It saves bag loads of time too, if you add heaps of items at your colour selection and it works out to costly its all variations to have them taken out (these ones dont cost) and the back and forth process takes so long. Its just a way to control the time delay and budget. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 16Jan 30, 2015 1:38 pm Tribe7 boysenberry2014 Sheilzy Tribe you are super organised. I wish I'd thought to get our studio m upgrades written into the contract. We could have cut down on some of the structural mods if we had a better idea of total build cost. Oh well it is what it is. Good luck Boysenberry! Sorry for the late response too Sheilzy - didnt know that people replied to my thread.. Thanks for the support! We are counting down and look forward to our PC meeting. Will keep you all posted As long as the contract works for you and you can include what you need at the best time suited then happy days. You can even get your sales consultant to make a list of prices for all the upgrades your after so you know exactly how your budget is fairing and when you go for your colours selection you will know what you can and cant have. It saves bag loads of time too, if you add heaps of items at your colour selection and it works out to costly its all variations to have them taken out (these ones dont cost) and the back and forth process takes so long. Its just a way to control the time delay and budget. Thanks Tribe7! You actually just answered our big question. We hv been wondering what is the process of getting all the upgrade prices. Obviously we have lots of questions and we will ahve to go back and forth. Such a tedious process huh.. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 17Jan 30, 2015 9:43 pm Hi Liberty, I think the general process is: select house and structural changes and then add allowances for flooring, electrical and tiling, then go to colours and add the rest. We did ours differently and just asked for the prices on everything we fancied. There were a few items after our colour selection that needed to be changed but it was a simple variation, not 500 with so many things to keep track of. Maybe if you make a list of all the things you would like upgraded and included in your contract. Then you will have a far better gage on budget whilst doing your colour selection. An example for us was the lovely frameless shower screens with pivot doors, or the framed shower screens and frameless pivot door. Because we knew the prices it was really simple to say no to things and move on without the wonder of how much and completely trashing the budget. Oh exciting your PC is due this weekend, best of luck. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 - brick infills problems 18Jan 30, 2015 10:34 pm Tribe7 Hi Liberty, I think the general process is: select house and structural changes and then add allowances for flooring, electrical and tiling, then go to colours and add the rest. We did ours differently and just asked for the prices on everything we fancied. There were a few items after our colour selection that needed to be changed but it was a simple variation, not 500 with so many things to keep track of. Maybe if you make a list of all the things you would like upgraded and included in your contract. Then you will have a far better gage on budget whilst doing your colour selection. An example for us was the lovely frameless shower screens with pivot doors, or the framed shower screens and frameless pivot door. Because we knew the prices it was really simple to say no to things and move on without the wonder of how much and completely trashing the budget. Oh exciting your PC is due this weekend, best of luck. Hi Tribe7, thanks for the tips. Have started thinking more seriously on the upgrade items that we want to be included. On the other side, i am feeling very disappointed. This is Friday night 11.20pm and we just got one section of the PC contract emailed to us. The rest will be emailed tomorrow. I feel touched that the consultant still cares enough to send us the paperwork this late, what an excellent service. However, I cannot help feeling so disappointed. We have been waiting so anxiously all these weeks for this day to come - only to find out that the floor plan they sent missed some of the changes we requested, the floor plan hasnt been flipped, etc. Also, that some of the windows and doors downstairs have FC Sheet infills above them. We chose the premium upgrade inclusions, and the brochure clearly said "Windows/Doors: Brick infills to entire home". Now M was saying that in spec that a single storey of a rear double storey is ac sheet. What? Never heard that... If there is any condition/exception, they should mention it on the brochure. Really feeling like walking off now.. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 - brick infills problem 19Jan 31, 2015 9:18 pm Yup, PC has been deferred cos all the drawings are wrong. A big disappointment after 8 weeks of waiting. At this stage we are not even sure anymore if we will build with Metricon. Re: Building Metricon Liberty 42 - brick infills problems 20Jan 31, 2015 11:06 pm boysenberry2014 Tribe7 Hi Liberty, I think the general process is: select house and structural changes and then add allowances for flooring, electrical and tiling, then go to colours and add the rest. We did ours differently and just asked for the prices on everything we fancied. There were a few items after our colour selection that needed to be changed but it was a simple variation, not 500 with so many things to keep track of. Maybe if you make a list of all the things you would like upgraded and included in your contract. Then you will have a far better gage on budget whilst doing your colour selection. An example for us was the lovely frameless shower screens with pivot doors, or the framed shower screens and frameless pivot door. Because we knew the prices it was really simple to say no to things and move on without the wonder of how much and completely trashing the budget. Oh exciting your PC is due this weekend, best of luck. Hi Tribe7, thanks for the tips. Have started thinking more seriously on the upgrade items that we want to be included. On the other side, i am feeling very disappointed. This is Friday night 11.20pm and we just got one section of the PC contract emailed to us. The rest will be emailed tomorrow. I feel touched that the consultant still cares enough to send us the paperwork this late, what an excellent service. However, I cannot help feeling so disappointed. We have been waiting so anxiously all these weeks for this day to come - only to find out that the floor plan they sent missed some of the changes we requested, the floor plan hasnt been flipped, etc. Also, that some of the windows and doors downstairs have FC Sheet infills above them. We chose the premium upgrade inclusions, and the brochure clearly said "Windows/Doors: Brick infills to entire home". Now M was saying that in spec that a single storey of a rear double storey is ac sheet. What? Never heard that... If there is any condition/exception, they should mention it on the brochure. Really feeling like walking off now.. Hi Boysenberry, Sorry its taken me ages to reply, the kiddie keep me very busy. Its a lovely gesture from your sales lady to try and get information to you but in the same light it is disappointing. Try not to be to dishearten, we had our drawings come back with a lot of things missing (missing robe doors, mismatched bedroom door sizes, off centred windows, missing bulk heads and a very odd shower screen) and we decided to not let it affect us and to take measured steps to correct the situation. We took a red pen to all the errors and missed items and drew directly on the plans. Its much easier for drafting to see exactly what you what when its in red noted on the plans in the correct location. If the costing for the item has been included in the pc then excellent it just means drafting need to add it to the plans, but if it has been completely missed from both having it noted on the plans gets it added correctly very fast. Have they given you a new time frame for the pc? Lay it out on the line and tell them you need it asap as 8 weeks is a sufficient amount of time to wait. Polite but straight to the point got a lot of results for us with time frames. Chin up you have vested a lot of time and thought into your build not much longer and you can progress on from this stage. It really is the crappiest stage it got on my nerves a bit I have to admit. We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37142 Thanks for the insight! 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