Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 121Aug 25, 2017 11:26 pm What makes it difficult is that each builder has their own process and timeline for when things can\should be done and there doesn't seem to be any consistence. So we were told that demo had to be done before they could even look at doing up the contract as the 2nd soil test as they need to get an idea of what was under the house. Anything over or within 1m of the sewer easement needs to be approved by the water authority and in your case this is South East water and this needs to be completed before building permits can be issue. Just don't ask me how my garage gone build without this a few years back, I'm putting this done to some phenomena that just can't be explained. You're right - ask South East water about this as you said. I had my admin tell me what steps were required and what was the next step needed in the past 2 months, and after each step was completed asked again for the same information. Like you - the longer the admin takes, the more rent, that is being paid, as it will take longer for the house to be built and being in a small house with hubby, kids and animals is stressful enough. For this weekend, go and do something that does not involve anything to do with building, take a break - have a looooong bath with a good glass of wine (if you have a bath - hehehe) and tackle it all on Monday, Hugs and a glass of wine. Good Luck Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 122Aug 26, 2017 11:39 am Yes it's hard to know exactly what their process is and when the CRC is not very forthcoming with information it's harder. After she told us we needed to demo for the building permit we did some research and it seemed like it's a common thing to demo early but not actually for the permit as she told us. She made it sound like we were holding things up. Hoping to get the details of the second soil and survey this week and then find out what the site costs are going to be. They were quoted as $35000 on the first round. I'll give SEW a call because our easement is sewer but the gutter and facia are only going over it by 20cm. And our easement is for access. The only sewer we have under there is right in the back left corner of the yard. Was it a garage or a carport? From what I understand carports (not concreted) are allowed. I think we need to step up and stop being Mr and Mrs Nice and start getting more pushy (in a nice way, lol). We're not doing too bad in our rental. It's roughly the same size as the house we just demolished. Except the yard is a bit smaller. That's good, less mowing, lol. But it will be so nice to have a big spacious house. I agree, I've stepped back to take time to process and decide what to do. I haven't replied to her last email from I think Wednesday. I'll take the weekend and then get stuck in to it with some phone calls on Monday. LOL yes I did the bath thing last night. No wine though )o: Both kids are a bit unwell and hubby was at work. Once you've been to the bank do you know how long till you'll be started on site? So excited for you!!!! Can't wait to see pics of the build. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 123Aug 27, 2017 9:59 am My site and slab costs are very high - we come in at just over $40k for the foundations and footings. We have a raft slab going in with 30 piers, as well as bored footings, we also have deepened internal beams and barrier footings because of neighbouring trees and the sewer line runs on the neighbours property on our right hand side, that is our short side, so we need to ensure that any works completed on that line do not interfere with our foundations. Our soil is classified at P H2, which we anticipated would bring high slab costs. Adding all the site cost - connections, oh&s, permits, traffic management, council requirements, rock allowance, this comes in at just shy of $30K. So all up we are at $70k. There went my marble tiles that I dearly wanted in the bathrooms and my London Grey Caesar stone benches throughout the kitchen. But really we have lived in a house that was restumped 10+ years ago and needed to be re-stumped again. So I would rather have a house that is not going to move again and sometimes, the practical side of me wins over the dreamer. As for our existing garage, well this is a 6 car garage that is on a reinforced slab, so we are extremely fortunate to have CWW approve us to keep it. I'm also very jealous that you have a bath - our rental has the tiniest bathrooms, at least we have two showers. Mind you, Hubby did offer to fill the dogs wading pool for me with hot water and bubbles, but couldn't guarantee that it would not be invaded by the dogs. I did decline. LOL We don't have any dates for a start but I will be asking that as soon as I send over the full approved bank details. Today I'm going to be emailing our private building inspector, the approved permits so that they can review the docs and are ready as soon as Henley is. Might just relax this afternoon and watch a movie. Are you doing Ok today? Take care. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 124Aug 28, 2017 11:14 am Oh wow $70 0000 site costs, yikes. Hopefully we don't have to give up our benches too. We went with Caesar Stone Raven. We were in the same boat. Old house that really needed to be restumped, roof needed to be redone etc etc. That's is so lucky you got the approval for your garage, phew. LOL, Nice of him to offer (o; Our bath is nuts. It's an old spa bath so it's huge. Not really practical at all. But nice to relax in occasionally. Hope you get a start date soon. This waiting sucks. So I've emailed our CRC this morning asking for an outline of what has been completed so far, in the process and what still needs to be done to get us to site. Got an automated response saying she's in a meeting and will check her emails later. Grrrrrr Also called the council and was able to confirm that yes they do have the application for the setback. Once I've had a response from the CRC hopefully we'll know more. Hoping she has applied for the build over easement and isn't holding off because that sounds like it will take a few weeks. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 125Aug 28, 2017 11:31 am Rachael13 My site and slab costs are very high - we come in at just over $40k for the foundations and footings. We have a raft slab going in with 30 piers, as well as bored footings, we also have deepened internal beams and barrier footings because of neighbouring trees and the sewer line runs on the neighbours property on our right hand side, that is our short side, so we need to ensure that any works completed on that line do not interfere with our foundations. Our soil is classified at P H2, which we anticipated would bring high slab costs. Adding all the site cost - connections, oh&s, permits, traffic management, council requirements, rock allowance, this comes in at just shy of $30K. So all up we are at $70k. Haven't been on the forum lately... OMG 70K, do you have a fall? We don :(... 27 days until tender _________________________________________ Regards Manj https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88256 Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 126Aug 28, 2017 11:32 am Rachael13 Bada-bing, bada-boom - we have approved Building Permits - am so shocked with this quick approval. Have already emailed our lovely Bank Manager asking when we can get the docs drawn up and come in to sign...... Are we excited or what!!! Woohoo!!!! Congratulations !! that's awesome _________________________________________ Regards Manj https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88256 Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 127Aug 28, 2017 5:37 pm I also have exorbitant site costs on mostly sandy/non volatile soil. Can't help think that 'site costs' is builder code for 'recover discounts here' and screwpiles has a more literal meaning too. Have you pushed back on them? Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 128Aug 28, 2017 6:25 pm Bri1234 Oh wow $70 0000 site costs, yikes. Hopefully we don't have to give up our benches too. We went with Caesar Stone Raven. We were in the same boat. Old house that really needed to be restumped, roof needed to be redone etc etc. That's is so lucky you got the approval for your garage, phew. LOL, Nice of him to offer (o; Our bath is nuts. It's an old spa bath so it's huge. Not really practical at all. But nice to relax in occasionally. Hope you get a start date soon. This waiting sucks. So I've emailed our CRC this morning asking for an outline of what has been completed so far, in the process and what still needs to be done to get us to site. Got an automated response saying she's in a meeting and will check her emails later. Grrrrrr Also called the council and was able to confirm that yes they do have the application for the setback. Once I've had a response from the CRC hopefully we'll know more. Hoping she has applied for the build over easement and isn't holding off because that sounds like it will take a few weeks. I just had to choose from the cat1 range of Caesar Stone, so going Urban and Osprey. At least it wasn't laminate in the kitchen and bathroom. Laundry does have laminate tho. Now I'm jealous for your spa. I swear the first night we are in, I'm running the tub. So pleased to here that you at least the council has your setback application - were they able to give you any indication of what it was at and when you can expect to know if it is approved or not. For the building over the easement call SEW and check where this is at. They can refuse to provide an update, after all it is your property. Did your CRC get back to you ??- I hope so and that you get some answers. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 129Aug 28, 2017 6:27 pm Manj Rachael13 My site and slab costs are very high - we come in at just over $40k for the foundations and footings. We have a raft slab going in with 30 piers, as well as bored footings, we also have deepened internal beams and barrier footings because of neighbouring trees and the sewer line runs on the neighbours property on our right hand side, that is our short side, so we need to ensure that any works completed on that line do not interfere with our foundations. Our soil is classified at P H2, which we anticipated would bring high slab costs. Adding all the site cost - connections, oh&s, permits, traffic management, council requirements, rock allowance, this comes in at just shy of $30K. So all up we are at $70k. Haven't been on the forum lately... OMG 70K, do you have a fall? We don :(... 27 days until tender Hi Manj, I have flat land, they actually have to add fill to give me some slope. We have a raft slab going in and all the other costs make sense, so will see what happens and if we get anything back. Count down for tender - you must be getting excited Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 130Aug 28, 2017 6:41 pm SAFA1 I also have exorbitant site costs on mostly sandy/non volatile soil. Can't help think that 'site costs' is builder code for 'recover discounts here' and screwpiles has a more literal meaning too. Have you pushed back on them? SAFA1 - all the costs make sense to us and with slab it is a raft slab going in at our request. I don't want the house to move and we have seen the movement first hand by living the house on the land for the past 18 years. We don't see the requirement to push back, nor do we think that it is a money grab. We had gone all the way to tender with a previous builder and the pricing from Henley has been on par them. We have also aware from the structured reinforced slab from building the garage prior that we knew what we were in for. Basically with our research, experience and professional opinions we are satisfied with the costs. Where are you at with your site costs - tender or contract? Have you reviewed all the requirements and questioned them? Or had them provide additional explanation? Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 131Aug 29, 2017 7:57 am Rachael13 I just had to choose from the cat1 range of Caesar Stone, so going Urban and Osprey. At least it wasn't laminate in the kitchen and bathroom. Laundry does have laminate tho. Now I'm jealous for your spa. I swear the first night we are in, I'm running the tub. So pleased to here that you at least the council has your setback application - were they able to give you any indication of what it was at and when you can expect to know if it is approved or not. For the building over the easement call SEW and check where this is at. They can refuse to provide an update, after all it is your property. Did your CRC get back to you ??- I hope so and that you get some answers. I liked Urban as well. That was going to be our choice if the Raven was too much. We were going to go with stone in the laundry until we saw how much actual bench space we'd have in the laundry. It wasn't worth the extra cost of stone so we went laminate. I would have like to have gone stone in the bathroom and ensuite too but they will be laminate. LOL yeah it is great to have the option to go soak in the tub after a stressful day. Are you having a tub in your ensuite or just main bathroom? The council wasn't too forthcoming with info but then they'd only had it a few days. I'll call again next week (o; Our CRC did get back to us but I'm not too impressed (still). I'd asked her for a detailed outline of what had been done, still to be done etc. She replied but not very detailed. Eg. "Checking to being from council Time frame to varies 4-6 weeks" Not sure what that means or involves. How informative is your CRC/Admin? There was nothing in her email to say they's applied to SEW about the easement so I'll have to mention that. We'd also like to know about site costs. The second soil was done last week. She's saying the second survey was too. But no mention of site costs. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 132Aug 29, 2017 9:00 am Rachael13 Manj Rachael13 My site and slab costs are very high - we come in at just over $40k for the foundations and footings. We have a raft slab going in with 30 piers, as well as bored footings, we also have deepened internal beams and barrier footings because of neighbouring trees and the sewer line runs on the neighbours property on our right hand side, that is our short side, so we need to ensure that any works completed on that line do not interfere with our foundations. Our soil is classified at P H2, which we anticipated would bring high slab costs. Adding all the site cost - connections, oh&s, permits, traffic management, council requirements, rock allowance, this comes in at just shy of $30K. So all up we are at $70k. Haven't been on the forum lately... OMG 70K, do you have a fall? We don :(... 27 days until tender Hi Manj, I have flat land, they actually have to add fill to give me some slope. We have a raft slab going in and all the other costs make sense, so will see what happens and if we get anything back. Count down for tender - you must be getting excited Thanks Rachael! will keep you posted. We have a 1.6 m fall over the block and will require retaining walls. H1 soil and the soil report says piers required 1000 mm down .. I think we will have 60k for ours ... It's making me nervous ... but hey what can I do...if its needed its needed _________________________________________ Regards Manj https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88256 Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 133Aug 30, 2017 8:01 pm Bri - you think that your admin could do with a course in communication, oral and written. Geez, what about providing a comprehensive bullet point update with next steps that are clear to understand, at the very least. I don't get your admin being so vague. Can you talk to your sales rep or go to your admins manager to get a update for where things are at for your build. I'm fortunate with the inclusions that we have from Henley for our chosen house, our benches are all stone with the exception of the laundry. So we didn't upgrade from category 1. There were other options that were more important to us, like adding a wall tower for an additional oven. I hope that you get all the answers and updates that you are seeking. One person makes such a difference between a sodden experience and a brilliant experience with a company. I'm sorry for the stuff around that you are going through and can only assure you that there are some great people that work with Simonds, as I have had the pleasure of building with them, and seeing this firsthand. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 134Aug 30, 2017 8:45 pm After the past few days we have had great news, good news and then utter crap. So we had to put in an underground power pit for our build and were told to put this on the boundary of our property and not in the middle of our front footpath, so that when there was a future use, we would get half of the cost back being $3850. This week, Power pit has been tapped into by our neighbours, also rebuilding and when I asked the power company for the half to be reimbursed, I was told that they stopped re-couping shared costs, and I could ask my neighbour to reimburse us. What a joke! Really power company what world do you think we live in?? So dear neighbours, I hope that you enjoy the free ride that you have been given - and enjoy my money that paid for the pit. I know that this is not their fault and all blame is with the power company but, I'm GUTTED!! Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 135Aug 30, 2017 9:49 pm Rachael13 Bri - you think that your admin could do with a course in communication, oral and written. Geez, what about providing a comprehensive bullet point update with next steps that are clear to understand, at the very least. I don't get your admin being so vague. Can you talk to your sales rep or go to your admins manager to get a update for where things are at for your build. I'm fortunate with the inclusions that we have from Henley for our chosen house, our benches are all stone with the exception of the laundry. So we didn't upgrade from category 1. There were other options that were more important to us, like adding a wall tower for an additional oven. I hope that you get all the answers and updates that you are seeking. One person makes such a difference between a sodden experience and a brilliant experience with a company. I'm sorry for the stuff around that you are going through and can only assure you that there are some great people that work with Simonds, as I have had the pleasure of building with them, and seeing this firsthand. Yeah after today we're thinking that even more so. So I'd emailed her asking her about the approval to build over the easement. She replied back with, oh we removed the eaves at the back so that's all sorted isn't that great. Including a smiley face. We were really annoyed. She'd made that change without consulting us at all. We replied back straight away saying (nicely) how disappointed we were as we'd really wanted eaves and that it would have been nice to have been consulted. She did say sorry and that we could apply for the build over easement but when hubby and I discussed it we decided we could live with it rather than waste more weeks. We came up with some great idea's for a blind over the window if we need it. We are so tempted to ask to change CRC but then there is the thought that what if we get someone worse )o: Going to email her again tomorrow and just say, look we get your are busy and that you do this all the time but this is our first and most likely our last time doing this, could you please keep us more informed of what is happening. Yeah it was a matter of choosing what we thought was worth spending the money upgrading. We went with better bricks, tiles etc that couldn't easily be changed in the future. Oh an additional oven. That sounds great. Our house plan came with a free standing oven as standard. We upgraded to a built in oven with cooktop in the stone bench. And an extra draw for storage under the oven. It sucks that one person can have such a negative impact on the whole experience. Our sales person was awesome and was really one of the main reasons we went with Simonds. I get that they are supposed to be good, they are trying to sell it to us after all, but we felt like she went above and beyond. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 136Aug 30, 2017 9:54 pm Rachael13 After the past few days we have had great news, good news and then utter crap. So we had to put in an underground power pit for our build and were told to put this on the boundary of our property and not in the middle of our front footpath, so that when there was a future use, we would get half of the cost back being $3850. This week, Power pit has been tapped into by our neighbours, also rebuilding and when I asked the power company for the half to be reimbursed, I was told that they stopped re-couping shared costs, and I could ask my neighbour to reimburse us. What a joke! Really power company what world do you think we live in?? So dear neighbours, I hope that you enjoy the free ride that you have been given - and enjoy my money that paid for the pit. I know that this is not their fault and all blame is with the power company but, I'm GUTTED!! oh how frustrating. That's not right to tell you that and not follow through. We also had to have ours put in between us and the neighbour. We were never told about shared costs just that in future the neighbour could also use it even though we'd paid for it. That sucked but we also can't see them using it any time soon. It isn't fair for your neighbours not to contribute seeing as they are building now as well. If they'd been ahead of you they would have had to pay it. But then how are you supposed to go about asking them without it possibly effecting future relationships. The power company should be following through with what they told you. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 137Aug 31, 2017 7:20 pm Bri1234 Rachael13 Bri - you think that your admin could do with a course in communication, oral and written. Geez, what about providing a comprehensive bullet point update with next steps that are clear to understand, at the very least. I don't get your admin being so vague. Can you talk to your sales rep or go to your admins manager to get a update for where things are at for your build. I'm fortunate with the inclusions that we have from Henley for our chosen house, our benches are all stone with the exception of the laundry. So we didn't upgrade from category 1. There were other options that were more important to us, like adding a wall tower for an additional oven. I hope that you get all the answers and updates that you are seeking. One person makes such a difference between a sodden experience and a brilliant experience with a company. I'm sorry for the stuff around that you are going through and can only assure you that there are some great people that work with Simonds, as I have had the pleasure of building with them, and seeing this firsthand. Yeah after today we're thinking that even more so. So I'd emailed her asking her about the approval to build over the easement. She replied back with, oh we removed the eaves at the back so that's all sorted isn't that great. Including a smiley face. We were really annoyed. She'd made that change without consulting us at all. We replied back straight away saying (nicely) how disappointed we were as we'd really wanted eaves and that it would have been nice to have been consulted. She did say sorry and that we could apply for the build over easement but when hubby and I discussed it we decided we could live with it rather than waste more weeks. We came up with some great idea's for a blind over the window if we need it. We are so tempted to ask to change CRC but then there is the thought that what if we get someone worse )o: Going to email her again tomorrow and just say, look we get your are busy and that you do this all the time but this is our first and most likely our last time doing this, could you please keep us more informed of what is happening. Yeah it was a matter of choosing what we thought was worth spending the money upgrading. We went with better bricks, tiles etc that couldn't easily be changed in the future. Oh an additional oven. That sounds great. Our house plan came with a free standing oven as standard. We upgraded to a built in oven with cooktop in the stone bench. And an extra draw for storage under the oven. It sucks that one person can have such a negative impact on the whole experience. Our sales person was awesome and was really one of the main reasons we went with Simonds. I get that they are supposed to be good, they are trying to sell it to us after all, but we felt like she went above and beyond. My first though is - how dare she make this decision, it is not hers to make! You know what she can do with her smiley face. I hope that you get the answers that you want and some kind of timeline with next steps Sigh - after a great sales person this is just... sad. We had also choose Simonds originally because of the sales person and the work that did for us. I even went back to Simonds hoping that he was still there for this build but he had moved on. He even recommended a real estate agent to work with us, for our house to be managed as a rental after we built it. We upgraded our bricks as well and tiles we loved the cat 1 so were happy with that. It's funny after having a free standing oven that you change to built in. I just hated the grime that go down the sides, this was a big reason that I changed. I also have a built in range hood. Can't wait for it all to be built......... Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 138Aug 31, 2017 9:30 pm Rachael13 My first though is - how dare she make this decision, it is not hers to make! You know what she can do with her smiley face. I hope that you get the answers that you want and some kind of timeline with next steps Sigh - after a great sales person this is just... sad. We had also choose Simonds originally because of the sales person and the work that did for us. I even went back to Simonds hoping that he was still there for this build but he had moved on. He even recommended a real estate agent to work with us, for our house to be managed as a rental after we built it. We upgraded our bricks as well and tiles we loved the cat 1 so were happy with that. It's funny after having a free standing oven that you change to built in. I just hated the grime that go down the sides, this was a big reason that I changed. I also have a built in range hood. Can't wait for it all to be built......... Yeah we were pretty annoyed. We had to sit back and have a coffee to chill before replying to her. We get why the change but it was our decision to make, not hers. Oh that's a shame you couldn't get the same sales person. It's great when you find someone so good. It was funny, after having a few meetings with our sales person we were chatting away and it turned out hubby knew her Dad through work. lol. Small world. I think we went cat 5 with bricks. We'd liked one of the cat 8's but when we went to the Austral Bricks display we thought they looked terrible once they'd weathered. We upgraded our tiles to most of the house and went with the standard range for the bathroom and ensuite because we liked them already. LOL, We went with the build in oven for the same reason, gaps for grime, yuk. We made sure there were no silly gaps in the bathrooms either. Our bathroom had this 1 inch gap between the bath and the vanity. Things would fall down and you couldn't get your hand in to get them out. We stayed with the stainless range. Kind of wish we'd upgraded but oh well. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 139Sep 05, 2017 5:34 pm Any progress with the bank? We're eagerly keeping up with your progress in the hope that we aren't far behind you. Re: Knock Down Rebuild - Henley Reserve (MainVue) - Aegean38 140Sep 05, 2017 8:07 pm Oh Yeah - we were sealed, signed and delivered with finance last Wednesday - it was such a breeze. Sent it all over to Henley and engaged a private building inspector. Sent them all the required docs and guess what ??? Yep - we now wait...... With Henley, our build has to go to estimator to complete our ordering clarifications, which can take 2-3 weeks. Then this is locked by management and we are handed over to construction. Week one has just finished and we move into our week two of our wait. Once we move to construction, we get allocated a construction admin and site supervisor. New Admin will contact us once we have a site start date set by the site supervisor - this can take another week. Henley are hoping to get us to construction this month, but we'll see...... How far away from construction are you? 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 37139 The biggest challenge will be if you take out a loan and then run out of money - you'll have an incomplete security and lenders do not like this so you can get stuck.… 2 19096 Hi, I am looking into doing a KDR in Melbourne and am contemplating using Kialla Homes. I am looking for feedback on them from others who have built with them. 0 13442 |