Fairmont Homes - Seaford Meadows SA - fencing

Introduction
We have been lurking around the forum for quite a while now, learning and planning, with a vision to build our first home. There are some really lovely people on this forum and some very helpful advice from other people who are building their first homes, as well as some older wiser people building multiple times before. Hopefully documenting our process will help someone else navigating and negotiating through all the builder talk.

Land
We finally came up with a block that we liked. We chose to build at Seaford Meadows as we really loved the area, it was close to the beach, train to the city for work, internet is Fibre NBN, and we preferred south instead of north.

Builder
We got quotes from several builders and heavily compared them in spreadsheets. We finished up with Fairmont because the Aircon and Bathroom bonus deals we got seemed good, and they allowed us to customise the plan to how we wanted it.

Plan
We are building a modified version of a Fairmont Madrid, although many of these plans are so similar I don't think that really matters. We modified it enough that it would be hard to really say which plan it originally was.




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Exterior Selections
Roof: Colorbond Monument
Gutters: Colorbond Monument
Fascia: Colorbond Surfmist
Render: Wattyl Scallopini
Bricks: Austral Grange + Brighton Lite White + White Sand

Interior Selections
Floors: Blackbutt Parador Laminate Flooring
Carpet: Cormorant 980 (charcoal/mid grey)
Paint: Solver Siren's Call
Tiling: Charcoal Floors/White Walls

Timeline
14/02/16 - Signed Contracts
08/04/16 - Builder Soil Test Received
08/04/16 - Engineering Plans Started
08/04/16 - Council Submission Apparently
13/04/16 - Engineering Footings variation received
19/04/16 - Elevations Received
26/04/16 - Council website lists our Development Application
11/05/16 - Selections with Direct Interiors
18/05/16 - Selections with Supreme Kitchens
20/05/16 - Selection appointment Clipspec for Electrical
31/05/16 - Council has granted planning approval
31/05/16 - Original settlement date on Land
07/06/16 - Final Builders Interview
16/06/16 - Approval from Bank, also Valuation
17/06/16 - Council full approval
29/06/16 - Settlement for Land !!

Construction
10/07/16 - Started Siteworks
12/07/16 - Plumbing services
15/07/16 - Slab poured !
22/07/16 - Stormwater pipes laid
29/07/16 - Frame and bricks delivered
17/08/16 - Brickwork started
22/08/16 - Roof On !!
22/09/16 - Brickwork pretty much finished
27/09/16 - Lock Up Stage
29/09/16 - Joinery/Kitchen/2nd Fix carpentry
12/10/16 - Render Fascade
13/10/16 - Tiling
18/10/16 - 2nd fix electrical
23/10/16 - Painting Prep
27/10/16 - Painting
14/12/16 - PCI
21/12/16 - Handover !!

Hi MJT! I'm always excited to see a new build thread! Love the house plans, especially the kitchen/luving area! We looked at building at Seaford Meadows and Seaford Rise but ended up building out at Myponga. We are about a week and a half away from handover. I am obsessed with this forum so thanks for giving me something new to read - looking forward to following your build and good luck with it all! Such an exciting journey!

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=75840&view=unread#unread

Hi lishaun. Yours is one of the builds we have been looking at

Looking forward to following another Fairmont build MJT. Best of luck with selections and the footing costs!

Hey mjt, another fairmont build to follow hope you enjoy your selections and I like your unique windows in the master bedroom. Looking forward to following along

So excited to see your build come to life We are just entering the construction stage of our house at the moment.
Were having the Lincoln built also in SM. Our external colours are:
-Roof: Basalt
-Bricks: Austral Grange
-Render: Dune
-Front Door/Roller Door/Windows: Surfmist

Hopefully it will look all great when finally but all together

Always good to see an other person jump on the building roller coster.

......sit down, strap in, keep your arms and legs inside at all times.

Enjoy the ride.

Using my LG-G4 to bring you this update.

I hope so too, as we have picked very similar colours. You must have good taste

Hi MJT, how's it all going?

We are signing up today... *gulp* - the mortgage broker has assured us re smooth sailing with the bank, so a little less freaked out than we would otherwise be!

Just dropping a line to find out where you're at. No issues so far?

Good luck!

Waiting for our engineering and footings stuff. We cant do anything until then. It seems crazy to have to wait 10 weeks.

In the meantime we are trying to do all our selections on paper first, so that we can book our selections appointments in asap once we find out how broke we will be from the footings.

Hope all your signing goes ok

10 weeks! 10 weeks!

Cripes!

I like your bay window, too. Our current house has that in the living room.

The signing was fine, the sales guy went through all the various contract points... laboriously, I might add... it would have been far quicker to let us read through ourselves and ask questions. I read through it all anyway, in the finish, before signing. It wasn't near as extensive as our land contracts. I'm glad a lot of legal procedure is simplified these days. I remember my Dad teaching me to read through contracts and tax forms when I was around 8-10... many moons ago, back in the late 70's, early 80's and there was reams of it! All simplified nicely, now.

Really, I wouldn't worry if it took that long to organize footings etc, as we don't have to be out of our current place at any particular time. Good idea to get the selections out of the way... I went around looking at everything, and pretty much made up my mind about a lot of things waaay before we were ready to sign.

Actually, we went over to Cactus creations in McLaren Vale today, and bought a couple of cactus for the front yard - I wanted to have everything potted and growing strongly before it goes in the ground. I sorta go overboard with being organized ahead of time but I like to be pre-planned, then I can relax mentally, as it were.

We are having all cacti and succulents, as I don't want to water or prune anything, and it won't matter if we go on holiday for a month or whatever. Xeriscape all the way. I just need a fast growing deciduous tree for the west side at the front, so I don't have succulent soup in the hottest weather! I've got some wisteria seeds ready to sow, as well.

Thought about your garden yet?

ha!
Just found out our settlement will be delayed until end July/beginning August hahahahaa
Been ringing around all arvo... builder is happy to amend dates on contract, so THAT'S ok.

Bright side is we have more time to scrape up more money... and think about selections...
woo hoo!

I'll see your 10 weeks and raise you four months...

Heh. Yeah well we will both be waiting then it seems. Our settlement is supposed to be May 31st, but it is becoming clear that despite us being ready, the builder won't be. The land and builder is the same group so that should be easy for them to deal with. I suppose our conveyancer is the one to adjust or request an extension? It's not like we got any say in the matter, they just gave us that date and it was the first we had heard of it.

We have had a few thoughts about the garden, but want to wait for the land to settle, and the council to actually approve the building before we get too set on any particular landscaping. We aren't 100% sure of the finished level, and what retaining walls may be needed yet.

We chose our particular block and house layout so that we could get a large grassed area, and will likely put a raised bed around the sides. A couple of larger trees, and the rest hopefully some nice grasses and natives that don't need much water.

I am doing some 3d modelling to see exactly how much shade will hit different parts of the backyard. Trying to pair that with grass and plants that like the conditions.

We will be putting a vertical garden outside the kitchen window as it is a feature view from inside. It will get a fair bit of shade so some nice ferns will hopefully work well there.

The front will likely be grasses and gravels, with some bluestone boulder retaining to make up the slight height difference. It all comes down to exactly how it will all sit, and whether we will end up with a flat yard, or multiple levels.

Why so long on the land settlement Jaya?

MJT have you done your selections etc with the builder yet?

We can't do selections until after the footings stuff comes back from the builder. As soon as that happens we will be booking the next available time for selections.

Hi Cook2091,

All the developer said, via Maurice Jones, was that it could have been anything... something about the council not being happy with something, or Etsa difficulties, or anything. Apparently they only found out end of last week. First I heard was when I rang my conveyancer Monday, to find out why we hadn't any info yet!

Realty SA said they were sending out letters to all affected parties, although typically, no-one did anything in a timely way!

So it's good, and I'm delighted in one way, but now we may have to miss my brother-in-law's wedding in the UK if we are still building when that rolls around...

MJT.. how much slope is on your block? Will it need much retaining, do you think? I haven't looked at all the other lots, yet. I'm thinking of making some large-ish artificial rocks for the front yard now... saw some interesting techniques on youtube... hate that site, always giving me ideas!!!

We have a pretty big slope on our block. A total of 2m fall from back to front. About 1m on the actual build area.

We will likely need some retaining, but judging by the neighbour on a similar slope they haven't even done anything just left it bare. If it's under 1m, I will be doing it myself.

The plan is to wait for our final level of the build, and then talk to our neighbours as soon as possible and try and make sure we can come to a good arrangement. Nothing worse than people on either side of the fence deciding on the levels and making them both lose an extra backyard space, and silly fences.

Wow MJT, that's quite a slope... although not big enough to cost you an extra 30,000 smackers like a friend of ours in the hills had.

That's so wise of you to wait and talk to the neighbours... who wants to buy trouble with fencing etc if you can avoid it?
I feel lucky that mine is only 20cm across the whole block.

Good idea about modelling the sun's path - my Mum's current house in Seaford Rise has the same orientation that our new house will have, so I didn't really have to think about it, luckily. I can just wade right in and plan the garden now.

Say what you like about project homes like we are both building, they are so nice to look at with all the different façades etc. We have just been to look at one that an acquaintance is building with an architect, ($$$$$ just to get a piddly drawing!), it has a butterfly roof so all the junk collects in the 'v' over the centre of the house, and it's clad in some sort of small pattern corrugated cladding in charcoal grey... looks like a surf life saving club toilet block to me! And I thought, well, I won't be paying anyone to clean off my roof every 3 months. Uuurrgggghhh...Architect schmarchitect! Not that there aren't great ones but you have to sell your firstborn to afford those! Have you gone with a classic or colonial façade, with that lovely bay window in front? Or some other style?

Have you been to any more selections recently, or are you lined up for any?

Hi Jaya, I suppose if you don't mind the waiting game then that's not really much of a problem. Do have photos of your plans that you've drawn up? I had a look on your thread but I couldn't find them.

Sounds like your putting a fair bit of work into your garden area. I hope all the planning works out well. How big is your land? Our plot is pretty much all house so there will be very little in the way of landscaping!

Hi Cook,

Our land is 540, I think, and the house comes in around 330 in toto, so it's mostly house... we end up with about 4m of backyard and a bit in the front. I'll put a small man-cave for myself in the back, so less yard again. Lucky my husband has no interest in power tools, so I get the house and the man-cave... I'm so lucky! He gets the outdoor kitchen, though.

The idea was to fill it up with house and have trifling bits of easy care garden, so I'm going to have mostly the pebble dash style concrete around as paths and the drive, (allergic to weeding between pavers!), and the small garden beds between full of cactus, succulents and scoria. Sort of semi Spanish/South American flavour garden. Purely because of the difficult climate.

I want to think out every little detail beforehand so it's less stress at the time, and I can get on with it straight away... at least if I can't have something I want at the last minute, I'll have thought about alternatives already.

I've had drama after drama here, with both work, (1 left, 2 seriously ill, manager pregnant!), and my Grandfather having strokes, so I haven't taken pics of the plans to upload... I will do that as soon as I get a couple hours to myself and figure out how to do it!
Hopefully I'll have time on Sunday... working from dawn 'til dusk on Saturday never a dull moment!