Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 02, 2017 11:32 pm Hi everyone My partner and I recently bought our land in Wollert, Victoria. We are going with Metricon to build our double-storey home. Like most of us, we are on a budget and would like to stick to it. We are now having a dilemma on whether we go for a bigger Bentleigh 38 Sq house but No ducted reverse A/C or just go to a smaller 34 Sq but with ducted A/C. I am thinking that it's better to build a bigger house now then just put the ducted A/C after. Im going to ask the builder if they can do the ducting now and will just install the A/C system later on with another company which hopefully we can have for a cheaper price. I was thinking that it's easier to just install the A/C after as it's harder to renovate a house to make it bigger? 😊 Please advise. We will appreciate all your thoughts. Thank you heaps. 😊 PS I have attached the floor plan of 38 Sq and the 34 Sq. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ 2 comments ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 2Oct 03, 2017 9:26 am I would go the smaller house and spend more on upgrades, but that's just a personal view, I'm not a fan of bigger houses when they are not needed. The less cleaning, heating and cooling the better. All the spaces in the 34 are a good size, if they were pokey my thoughts would be different. The main advantage I see to the 38 is the bigger minor bedrooms, however the 34's bedroom are still a good average size. Keep in mind lots of upgrades will cost more with the 38. Flooring, tiles, ceiling height, some kitchen upgrades, facade, roof etc usually cost more with a bigger house. Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 3Oct 03, 2017 3:08 pm If you don't have the budget for ac with the 38 then I would be worried about whether you could build it in budget anyway. There will be quite a few additional expenses and upgrades that will come up even when you think you'll go standard. It's also difficult/impossible to do ducted in a double storey post build (ground floor access etc) I would definitely build the 34 majestic35.weebly.com Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 4Oct 03, 2017 3:46 pm I too brought in Wollert and the Bentleigh 38. I'd go for the larger over the 34, as the WIR are something you cannot add afterwards. Where you can go with a AC option after build. Though I'm looking at the evap cooling at least, not sure if can retrofit afterwards. But some standalone reverse cycles can be put into key rooms later on, budget permitting. Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 5Oct 03, 2017 11:29 pm Hi Thank you for your thoughts. You are correct that upgrades are more expensive with bigger homes. I hope We can make a decision soon. We have seen the bentleigh 38 at one of metricon's display homes. It's very nice and I'm tempted. haha The title registration is not until sept 2018 so I still got time (i think. haha). Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 6Oct 03, 2017 11:31 pm bank I would go the smaller house and spend more on upgrades, but that's just a personal view, I'm not a fan of bigger houses when they are not needed. The less cleaning, heating and cooling the better. All the spaces in the 34 are a good size, if they were pokey my thoughts would be different. The main advantage I see to the 38 is the bigger minor bedrooms, however the 34's bedroom are still a good average size. Keep in mind lots of upgrades will cost more with the 38. Flooring, tiles, ceiling height, some kitchen upgrades, facade, roof etc usually cost more with a bigger house. Hi Bank Thank you for your thoughts. You are correct that upgrades are more expensive with bigger homes. I hope We can make a decision soon. We have seen the bentleigh 38 at one of metricon's display homes. It's very nice and I'm tempted. haha The title registration is not until sept 2018 so I still got time (i think. haha). Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 7Oct 03, 2017 11:35 pm Rocchet If you don't have the budget for ac with the 38 then I would be worried about whether you could build it in budget anyway. There will be quite a few additional expenses and upgrades that will come up even when you think you'll go standard. It's also difficult/impossible to do ducted in a double storey post build (ground floor access etc) I would definitely build the 34 Hi Rochett Thank you for your thoughts. That's true about the expenses. we were just torn between the 2 options because we love the 38 sq and allocated budget for some upgrades and expected more upgrades once we started with the process really. It's just that having ducted refrigerated AC supposedly part of the planned upgrades but now having second thought because of the price. Metricon quoted us 22k for it and not sure if it's already the zoned one or just the basic. Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 8Oct 03, 2017 11:40 pm rum_home I too brought in Wollert and the Bentleigh 38. I'd go for the larger over the 34, as the WIR are something you cannot add afterwards. Where you can go with a AC option after build. Though I'm looking at the evap cooling at least, not sure if can retrofit afterwards. But some standalone reverse cycles can be put into key rooms later on, budget permitting. thanks rum_home! I see in your posts you bought from Aramont? that's nice. We bought in Rathdowne and title reg. is not until sept 2017 ( 1st delay from june 2017 ) so i am expecting more delays haha. Actually the WIR is a big factor that's why we love the 38 sq. thinking of asking metricon if they do the ducting while building the home then I can install the actual AC system later on when we have a budget. This is actually makes it easier for the AC to install after the house construction. I read from other posts that some builder agree to that. Have to talk to the consultant about this. How was your experience with Metricon so far? Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 9Oct 03, 2017 11:44 pm rum_home I too brought in Wollert and the Bentleigh 38. I'd go for the larger over the 34, as the WIR are something you cannot add afterwards. Where you can go with a AC option after build. Though I'm looking at the evap cooling at least, not sure if can retrofit afterwards. But some standalone reverse cycles can be put into key rooms later on, budget permitting. also I thought about ducted evap as well but not sure if ill be satisfied with it. I love the cold but can't stand the heat. Since im building our home, i would like for me to be teally vomfy with it. Others are saying Melbourne houses really don't need the ducted Refrigerated. They say Evap is enough. Not much experience there since we still live in Sydney. 😁 Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 10Oct 04, 2017 8:54 am Purely from building economics point of view, you are better off with extra 4 squares of house, why? Investing in ac is investing in depreciating asset Investing in house size is investing in appreciating asset Sooner or later your house will go up for sale, you will get nothing for 15y old ac system but you may get a whole lot more for extra 4 squares. Obviously, personal considerations or preferences may trump this but nothing trumps building economics. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 11Oct 05, 2017 8:53 am ronaldtanael thanks rum_home! I see in your posts you bought from Aramont? that's nice. We bought in Rathdowne and title reg. is not until sept 2017 ( 1st delay from june 2017 ) so i am expecting more delays haha. Actually the WIR is a big factor that's why we love the 38 sq. thinking of asking metricon if they do the ducting while building the home then I can install the actual AC system later on when we have a budget. This is actually makes it easier for the AC to install after the house construction. I read from other posts that some builder agree to that. Have to talk to the consultant about this. How was your experience with Metricon so far? Yes, went with Arramont. I was looking at Rathdowne, but the price was more than I saw was justified for the same area, though the residents center might be a great asset in the future that'll be missed. Title for Arramont was originally DEC 2017, and now 1st qtr 2018, I'm hoping for Mar-Apr at least. Have you had any confirmed information from your developer? My experience has been decent so far, but I'm only at the first call from my CSR and they are saying it'll be a month or two before I get into Studio M. They aren't in too much of rush. My salesman at the display home was very good and always willing to communicate, much better than some other builders in the area. As for Melbourne and AC, evaporation cooling is still quite lacking in Melbourne. But it's better than nothing. Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 12Oct 05, 2017 9:12 am rum_home ronaldtanael thanks rum_home! I see in your posts you bought from Aramont? that's nice. We bought in Rathdowne and title reg. is not until sept 2017 ( 1st delay from june 2017 ) so i am expecting more delays haha. Actually the WIR is a big factor that's why we love the 38 sq. thinking of asking metricon if they do the ducting while building the home then I can install the actual AC system later on when we have a budget. This is actually makes it easier for the AC to install after the house construction. I read from other posts that some builder agree to that. Have to talk to the consultant about this. How was your experience with Metricon so far? Yes, went with Arramont. I was looking at Rathdowne, but the price was more than I saw was justified for the same area, though the residents center might be a great asset in the future that'll be missed. Title for Arramont was originally DEC 2017, and now 1st qtr 2018, I'm hoping for Mar-Apr at least. Have you had any confirmed information from your developer? My experience has been decent so far, but I'm only at the first call from my CSR and they are saying it'll be a month or two before I get into Studio M. They aren't in too much of rush. My salesman at the display home was very good and always willing to communicate, much better than some other builders in the area. As for Melbourne and AC, evaporation cooling is still quite lacking in Melbourne. But it's better than nothing. That's good that your experience has been decent so far. My SC is patient as we changed our minds several times. We initially paid for the price of bentleigh 42 last april then changed our minds to 38 recently. They have to refund the initial deposit since the price freeze is only for 12 months and it's not in our best interest since title date was moved to september 2018. We have to deposit again and what our SC will do is she's gonna make it as a house and land package so if ever the title date will be moved again, we don't need to pay for penalties. Unfortunately, the bentleigh 38 price increased by 5k from the price in april. So you mean evap cooling in Melbourne is not enough during summer? Glad to know. Hopefully Metricon will allow fthe ducting during construction so it's easier for us to install refrigerated AC later on. Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 14Oct 06, 2017 6:02 pm building-expert Purely from building economics point of view, you are better off with extra 4 squares of house, why? Investing in ac is investing in depreciating asset Investing in house size is investing in appreciating asset Sooner or later your house will go up for sale, you will get nothing for 15y old ac system but you may get a whole lot more for extra 4 squares. Obviously, personal considerations or preferences may trump this but nothing trumps building economics. Thank you for your input. We do ended up with 38 sq. I just asked the CS if ducting for FUTURE ducted AC system can be done during construction. she said she will enquire about that. do you know if builders usually allow this? I have read from other posts that people request this from their builder. Cheers Re: Bigger home Vs Ducted Reverse A/C 16Oct 06, 2017 7:18 pm I don't see any issue for builder to bring in/install this duct grills/openings for your future ducted aircon (an extra cost will be cost of grills and in-plaster installation job). Also make sure you get provisions in your wardrobes for future ducts between the floors. From what I see you have either a very good offer on this extra 4 squares of build (well, even at $1K per sq m it costs ~$40K to build extra 4 squares) or very overpriced offer on ducted A/C installation (in my opinion, even $20K is a bit on a high side). Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. Does this placement sound reasonable to you? Also, I plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room… 0 0 Hi all, sorting out the ducted air con for a 350sqm double story house. I think i plan to have 6 zones I think. Living room (mainly for entertainment so not used often),… 0 0 0 6304 |