Ben Trager Secret Harbour - Finally have Keys

DandyDons83 · May 11, 2015 3:25 am

Hi,

Building The Renato with Ben Trager Homes in Spyglass Hill, Secret Harbour. First ever build even though we've been homeowners for 20+years. Moved here from Scotland 5 years ago and absolutely love it. Building our new home over me joking about renovations to our current home. Said to OH that if we were going to do all that we might as well build. Me and my big mouth! Two weeks later, found a block and that was that.

Signed with BTH in May last year. Slab went down 17 Nov 2014 and roof carpenters started the lower roof frame end of last week.

Will try and post some plans and progress photos once I figure out how ( that could take me a while hahaha)

Looking forward to having someone other than my poor hubby to share all the ups and downs with. Poor man works away for weeks at a time and must get pretty fed up with me stressing about it all when he phones home.

DandyDons83 · May 11, 2015 11:54 am

Okay, first attempt, here's hoping this works.

Plans

Slab, seems a long time ago now

View from Scullery window
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Progress has been made since this photo. Scaffold dropped and lower roof frames started. Hopefully not long until colorbond.
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archetto · May 11, 2015 12:08 pm

Wow looks great, and big! What colour render do you have?

DandyDons83 · May 11, 2015 12:14 pm

Here's a close up of the render. It's dulux Buff it. Still stressing about it haha will know better once the lower colorbond is on. Porch will be Warm Neutral. Really stressing about that! Looked good at prestart but until you see it you never know.

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archetto · May 11, 2015 12:19 pm

It looks a similar colour to our main render which looks great so I'm sure it'll be fine!

DandyDons83 · May 11, 2015 1:16 pm

Thanks Archetto. Good to see all th BTH seem to be having progress lately. Here's hoping it keeps up for all of us.

archetto · May 11, 2015 1:35 pm

Yep, a lot of us are all on the same timeline now it seems! You would have the same SS's as us and my partners been dealing with them a fair bit lately and he said they seem really good and switched on and keen to get things moving along in the peel area.

DandyDons83 · May 11, 2015 1:42 pm

We have a new SS but think he covers the Rockingham area. This is our 4th SS, third since January. Hope this one sticks around.

archetto · May 11, 2015 1:56 pm

Oh ok, ours said they go from Dawesville to Secret Harbour, we have 2 now lol, they are our second since we started, the other didn't have enough trades in Mandurah so got moved to another area. Same hope we have the same for the rest of our build.

AaronL · May 12, 2015 1:40 pm

Hi Dandy

We built a house that's pretty similar to yours. Sort of a cross between the Geneva and Renato (neither of which are on the Ben Trager website). The main difference with ours is that the house is flipped and we have the alfresco rotated 90 degrees to yours. Our slab down was at the end of May 2014, and we just had handover on 29 April, so you can expect a 11 month build. We are almost ready to move in and just waiting on carpet to be installed. Hope it all goes well

DandyDons83 · May 12, 2015 4:48 pm

Hi Aaron

Yes, we had to flip the house and move the alfresco due to the plot shape which narrows at the back. When we paid our deposit back in May they said 36 weeks, at prestart they said more like 40. By the time the slab was laid they were saying 45-50 weeks so expecting it to be there or there abouts. How is the finished house looking?

Druid1 · May 14, 2015 12:32 am

Looking good Dandy, I got told 40 weeks, I'm at week 40 now since slab down and still a fair way off although I have been at lockup for 4 weeks, hoping for PC end of June as thats when my lease runs out

AaronL · May 14, 2015 5:50 pm

Finished house is looking good. Well the parts that are finished. The upstairs will be left for a while and we'll concentrate on finishing downstairs. I don't have many photos but here's a link to our living area

https://www.facebook.com/77655080243648 ... =1&theater

Builders are periodically coming back to patch up minor things.

Druid, we were told 9 month build from slab down when we first visited the display house. We were lucky to start when we did as the majority of the build happened during the summer when rain didn't damage ceilings, plaster etc. Approximate dates for us

Slab Down - End of May 2014
Lock up - End of Feb 2015
PCI - End of March 2015
Handover - End of April 2015

Looks like you should have keys by the end of June, but will need to add time for tradies to finish flooring and whatever else you need after that.

DandyDons83 · May 14, 2015 6:34 pm

Hopefully not too long now Druid.

Thanks Aaron. Love the subway tiles.

Druid1 · May 14, 2015 10:29 pm

AaronL

Finished house is looking good. Well the parts that are finished. The upstairs will be left for a while and we'll concentrate on finishing downstairs. I don't have many photos but here's a link to our living area

https://www.facebook.com/77655080243648 ... =1&theater

Builders are periodically coming back to patch up minor things.

Druid, we were told 9 month build from slab down when we first visited the display house. We were lucky to start when we did as the majority of the build happened during the summer when rain didn't damage ceilings, plaster etc. Approximate dates for us

Slab Down - End of May 2014
Lock up - End of Feb 2015
PCI - End of March 2015
Handover - End of April 2015

Looks like you should have keys by the end of June, but will need to add time for tradies to finish flooring and whatever else you need after that.

Thanks Aaron, living room & tiling looks good, I will give him a call in the morning, how long did it take to do, the quotes I have say 8 days, but that will turn into 2 weeks, all the glass splash backs will be fitted before handover, the carpets are organised, we deciding on which blind company after getting two very similar quotes, and I thought I had the tiling arranged, we are looking at 2-3 weeks after handover before we move in

DandyDons83 · May 14, 2015 11:34 pm

Lower roof framing almost finished. Bit annoyed that they have to stop and wait on brickies to come back and fix the portico before they can continue. Only been asking for it to be fixed since January

with the weather changing at the weekend too, looks like another couple of weeks before a colorbond moment.

AaronL · May 15, 2015 11:50 am

Druid1

Thanks Aaron, living room & tiling looks good, I will give him a call in the morning, how long did it take to do, the quotes I have say 8 days, but that will turn into 2 weeks, all the glass splash backs will be fitted before handover, the carpets are organised, we deciding on which blind company after getting two very similar quotes, and I thought I had the tiling arranged, we are looking at 2-3 weeks after handover before we move in

We had 100 square metres of tiling done plus the subway tiles on the splashback, and that took 1 guy 5 days. He wasn't there all day everyday. I guess if your existing quotes are including screeding, then that's where the additional time would be coming from. We were also pretty fortunate that he could start the first day after handover.

DandyDons83 · May 15, 2015 11:58 am

That's why my dreams of being in before Christmas as slowly evaporating. By the time we get keys, get flooring, painting, fencing and pool in, we'll be cutting it fine. Here's hoping they finish before the 50 week Mark. My parents are coming over just after Christmas, hope I have a bed to put them in!

archetto · May 15, 2015 12:18 pm

My partner reckons we're moving in day 1 lol I guess we will be camping upstairs while we finish downstairs so it is liveable! We are having Christmas at ours this year all going to plan, even if we finish at 12 month mark we will still have 2 months to get what we can done, fingers crossed.

DandyDons83 · May 15, 2015 12:52 pm

I love you optimism Archetto. We will have to get some kind of wall built at he from to contain our Dog. Don't want a sandpit for too long because he will just dig holes everywhere and roll in it! As long as flooring and painting is done, we can move. The rest we can do once we are in. Can't wait to move.