Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 21Nov 15, 2015 2:29 pm Thanks Tomcat - fashions always seem to come around don't they Nat - We were going to build the 186, but since it was only about $6,000 to get the extra space and the activity room we upgraded to it as it fitted in the budget. We are still waiting on council. They had some issue on the plan - not sure what as I didn't really ask - I will tomorrow as I need to take a signed variation in. The builder thinks next week should be the time frame anyway that we should get our DA anyway - between the 4-5 weeks. Just hard when you see other DAs for new builds going through in 4 business days - guess its all about who you know once I looked up the owners/developer etc We did head to Coffs Harbour yesterday and found about 5 new display homes since we went down 2 months ago. So was nice looking at different designs and seeing if there was anything we may have missed and wanted to add while we still could. Happy bit - found nothing new we didn't want or know about - so makes me feel good. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 22Nov 20, 2015 10:16 pm Great council are saying they will take another 3-4 weeks due to the amount of DAs - yet other DAs get through in 4 working days - yeah sure it has nothing to do with who they were. Sometimes I hate country councils due to bias and being the whole 'who you know' not following the correct procedures. Basically if will be a total of 9 weeks for a simple house that fits the requirements of the block, that already has an approved DA for the same type of house as we are building by the past owners, does not require any advertising or hearing from neighbours as again fits all rules, set backs and matches all current housing - no double stories etc. As far as NSW planning is concerned it should be a 14 day turnover for DAs such as mine - I really wish there was some type of rules for timelines for councils and fines etc if they went over without real reason. Even the issue they had wanting more information 3 weeks ago was for something they required no information and shouldn't have even stopped the process - I had a pile of top soil in the back corner of my land to be spread out once build finished so we can grow grass as its clay. It is not excessive, def not enough to call fill to fill anything and I already spoke to council about it beforehand and was told it was okay, my land Iand nothing stating I can't have a pile of top soil sitting on it. Seems I got the second worse officer for my DA - I can't believe there is honestly a worse one to be honest. It just gets my steam up though when I see DAs by certain people and companies for the same thing I'm building in same areas going through in 4 business days - it just shouldn't happen. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 23Dec 02, 2015 7:51 am Wow Shellby that sucks. Has your DA been approved yet? Clarence council are the worst. Our block in Glenreagh is not connected to town sewage so it has designated build and effluent zones, with a 3m buffet between then. So this meant we only had 15m depth to build with, on a 45m long block!! Our home is roughly 21m long, had a waste water company design an upgraded septic system and put in a 10 page report and proposal to council as we needed to amend the build and effluent zoning. We had our builder and waste water company telling us it will be fine as they've had 6 other homes in our same street approved with the same issue, but when I contacted council before we submitted the DA we were advised it probably won't be accepted and we needed to build a 3 bedroom home, even when our builder showed them the plans that had been previously approved with greater encroachments, they still wouldn't budge to say it should be okay. So we took a gamble and submitted anyway. Took 7 weeks, no hiccups but 7 weeks, and we got our approval. Blehhh. Longest 7 weeks of my life... Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 24Dec 02, 2015 9:09 am Hi shellby We built with gj gardner tweed heads and the build was a breeze. The admin and council side of it was a drag but u get through it eventually. And it is worth the wait. If ur gj is as quick as ours ur house will be complete in no time. Love your tile selections. I did a similar hex tile in my niches for my showers. Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 25Dec 08, 2015 12:18 am We are still waiting for council...yippee not. I think we hit 7 weeks end of this week - so see how we go. I just want the DA approved now so at least I know when GJ come back from their 20 day closure my house will start. Of course now I have this time to look at my house plans again...I'm wondering - do people have doors on their WIRs? I'm wondering if I should put a CSD in - but then would that be weird as there is then one on the ensuite? I'm just worried about the WIR looking messy or cluttered and no door means no way to hide it. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 26Dec 08, 2015 5:36 am I am putting a door on my WIR, would look messy to me without one. Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=81011 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 27Dec 08, 2015 6:49 am We have put a cavity slider on our WIR. We tend to have a floorrobe and being at the front of the house I wanted to be able to hide it. Which plans are you building? We are building a modified bridge water with gj's. Ooo I just saw we are building the same plan!! Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 28Dec 08, 2015 7:47 am I didnt put a cavity slider on mine and sometimes wish i had. I have a galley robe though so i think it would look silly with a door. However i think your style a cavity slider is a good idea Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 30Dec 10, 2015 10:54 am We decided to go with the cavity slider, for $330 I decided it was worth it for my peace of mind. Then DH decided for his 40th he wanted lights on either side of the bed as bedside lamps, so we have included the installation for that and they went and brought the fittings. This is what DH choose in the copper. I would have preferred the black, but it was his present and choice (plus I can always change it later if I really hate it). Then we wanted power to the opposite side of the driveway at the front of the house, so more money. I think that one trip into the builder ended up costing another $1000 onto our build. Oh well. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 31Dec 10, 2015 1:18 pm it's going to look lovely though! we would love to have the pendents on either side of the bed but $$ just won't stretch that far - particularly after receiving our build quote back! Shelby have you heard anything back from the council?? your plans have been there for ages.... - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 32Dec 11, 2015 10:51 am needausername - The pendants were not that dear - the actual fittings were just $44, then later we will buy the globes for around $24 each. Even if you just have lights put there for now and a switch you can always add it later. How much was your build quote? To give you an idea ours was around $255,000 with all the extras we added. Council....how I hate thee. I noticed last night our officer just approved the house before ours on the list, so hoping that means ours is next for the guy. I would just like to have the approval so then I know my house is put in line and ready to start next year. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 33Dec 11, 2015 10:53 am Yes that's fair enough!! That's a possibility I guess! Our quote came in at 284k! So we are madly deleting things. Although we haven't gone to extremes in variations really so not sure why it's so expensive. How many sqm is your plan shellby? -Kym - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 34Dec 12, 2015 4:19 pm My plan is 209m2. Our land is completely flat and has already been scrapped for the past DA from the old owners who never went ahead. Maybe your extra costs are site costs and different councils charge different fees as well. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 35Dec 14, 2015 9:15 pm YAY finally we have our DA approved, so that means our build will finally get placed o the lists and ready to start end of next month after Christmas. I can't wait to finally see something happening. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 36Dec 18, 2015 9:08 am Congratulations!!!! Hopefully having it start in the new year will mean a smooth build and you'll be enjoying your new house for Christmas. - Kym - otherwise known as Kym - Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 37Dec 21, 2015 6:18 pm I went and had a look at the plans approved by council and noticed that they didn't approve where we wanted our water tank so the builder moved it to somewhere we hate it to push it through. Would have been nice to be told that. We had a talk to the builder on their last day open and they said its okay we can have the watertank anywhere but on the easement - so after spending an hour going over my plans, doing measurements with a round tank and if we upgrade to a slim tank I finally found somewhere else we can place the round tank. Kym - How have your cost cutting been going? ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 Re: Our First Build - GJ Gardener Bridgewater 40Dec 31, 2015 10:12 pm Alymei - We are going to stay with the round and save $1600 - I couldn't find anywhere it would fit on our plan and not look weird. Finally found a spot for the round tank that I can live with. Buildem - I had to contact them, but they were fairly quick with giving me prices for things as I guess each office have a list they can go through. Only time I needed to wait for a price was when asking for something 'strange' and not normal. ~Shellby~ GJ Bridgewater 203 11/3/2016 - Site Work Started 29/9/2016 - Handover 142 Work Days 6 Work Days Over https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=80174 hi guys. Please be nice. First time home builder in Qld. 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