Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 02, 2017 1:11 pm Hello again everyone!! After a longer than expected absence, we are back on here and ready to struggle through a build with all of you again. We built 4 years ago and after selling that house last year to do some overseas travel, we are currently trawling through builders again. We have just signed off on a block of land in northern Adelaide in an estate close to where we built previously. It's a while before land settles so it buys us some time to try and make up our minds. How hard is it to pick a design and stick with it!?! The block is a 488sq 15m frontage so gives us a fair bit of room for living but a much smaller yard area than last time. South facing block. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Were currently looking at the following builders and would love to hear from any of you about your experiences/recommendations/success/horror stories. Ideally 4 bedroom/2 living or a impressive 3 bedroom/2 living area. We've found a few designs with our top 3 builders as below. - Metric0n (Amira, Delta) - Sim0nds (Prague with extension of 4th bedroom) - Burb@nk/S3kisui (Somerton, Tusmore) Next post I'll upload some floorplans and we'd love peoples feedback or ideas. We've looked at these so many times now that even a shipping container has it's benefits! Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Second build in Adelaide - Looking for suggestions! 2Jul 02, 2017 1:16 pm - Metric0n (Amira, Delta) Amira22ALike ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Delta24ALike ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ - Sim0nds (Prague with extension of 4th bedroom inspiration taken from this forum) Prague ExtendedLike ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ - Burb@nk/S3kisui (Somerton, Tusmore) Somerton205Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Tusmore225Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 3Jul 02, 2017 1:53 pm Are you looking for 3 or 4 bedrooms? I think if your going for 4 bedroom, you need a second living area and I don't think the study in the first design cuts it. I like elements of all of them, but none are perfect.. but depends what sort of space you need. I think my favorite of the lot is probably the Delta. Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 4Jul 02, 2017 2:05 pm How many are going to be living in the house? What are must haves? I looked at Metricon plans in great detail driving all over Victoria to look at the various builds. The one thing that bugged me about the Amira design was that the seperate loo was right on the wall of the lounge. I think the Delta is a better design out of those two. I do like the Simmonds plan. Just have to check that the master room is of a decent size. What I like about is it nice and light in the living areas. Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 5Jul 02, 2017 6:26 pm Those floorplans all look very similar to my personal favourite floorplan - Mirabella by Rivergum Homes https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/mirabella/ Theres an option for 4 bedroom aswell They have a display at St Clair, which is done so nice that im copying all of the selections used in there haha! Building in Springlake Mount Barker SA Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 6Jul 02, 2017 7:31 pm aloenyx Are you looking for 3 or 4 bedrooms? I think if your going for 4 bedroom, you need a second living area and I don't think the study in the first design cuts it. I like elements of all of them, but none are perfect.. but depends what sort of space you need. I think my favorite of the lot is probably the Delta. Ideally we are chasing a 4 bedroom design for both the extra space it offers but also for expansion or resale value in the future. Agreed - they all have little bits that are nice and also some little annoyances. Hence us crying to strangers on a forum icat2000 How many are going to be living in the house? What are must haves? I looked at Metricon plans in great detail driving all over Victoria to look at the various builds. The one thing that bugged me about the Amira design was that the seperate loo was right on the wall of the lounge. I think the Delta is a better design out of those two. I do like the Simmonds plan. Just have to check that the master room is of a decent size. What I like about is it nice and light in the living areas. Must haves: Two garage Master with nice size walk in Two separate living areas (lounge + decent study or other) Open floor plan design Alfresco isn't a MUST but most designs we like have one featured. (Most other things we want come with selections i.e stone bench tops and the sorts. For the most part just the two of us. We may have family stay for extended periods of time and we'll be hoping to have a little bean as well sometime in the near future. Agreed with the toilet on the Amira design. It gets moved in the different sizes once we go to above 250+ but we just can't justify that expense and then we battle with tweaking it's current floor plan but I can't see anywhere else too practical to move it. The simonds design is definitely great for it's light, especially with the front to back visibility from the front door. You've definitely picked up on a bit of a flaw with it though with Master bedroom space. We were walked through a half finished Prague by a sales consultant over the weekend so we could get a feel for it without all the showroom glitz and glam and you sure do notice the difference straight away. Something that we would have to look at tweaking and stretching the plan out a little. HFBMPC Those floorplans all look very similar to my personal favourite floorplan - Mirabella by Rivergum Homes https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/mirabella/ Theres an option for 4 bedroom aswell They have a display at St Clair, which is done so nice that im copying all of the selections used in there haha! Rivergum is a builder we looked at and then stopped looking at when we saw more of a focus on terrace and town house designs lately. A bit lazy on our end but we had to quickly narrow down builders. It might be worth us having a look at that one though after seeing the floor plan, I certainly could see why it's a favourite for some! Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 7Jul 03, 2017 11:04 am Yay! you have a new thread! haha Obviously our first builder was m3tricon and we had a fantastic process with them however when we went back to them this time around from our experience they were a completely different company and didn't really have much interest in working with us it was more of a this is it this is the price take it or leave it kind of dealing whereas last time they were a lot newer to SA and I think they were definitely trying harder saying that the build was fantastic with them and had a great SS though I know he isn't there anymore (One of the Amira's I really liked this time around but I'd made some changes to the master to get more of a walk through robes into the ensuite from memory) Simonds I LOVED but unfortunately they like the straighter forward builds and weren't prepared to deal with our site I love their plans though and their systems with the online schedule etc seem great and similar selections to M from what I've seen Current Build with Gall3ry Living https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=87680 First Build Thread : Our Mt Barker Build @ The Grove Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 8Jul 03, 2017 2:40 pm Davelle19 Yay! you have a new thread! haha Obviously our first builder was m3tricon and we had a fantastic process with them however when we went back to them this time around from our experience they were a completely different company and didn't really have much interest in working with us it was more of a this is it this is the price take it or leave it kind of dealing whereas last time they were a lot newer to SA and I think they were definitely trying harder saying that the build was fantastic with them and had a great SS though I know he isn't there anymore (One of the Amira's I really liked this time around but I'd made some changes to the master to get more of a walk through robes into the ensuite from memory) Simonds I LOVED but unfortunately they like the straighter forward builds and weren't prepared to deal with our site I love their plans though and their systems with the online schedule etc seem great and similar selections to M from what I've seen Haha yep, Kenny was adamant that we record our experience again because this forum was so helpful last time. We feel like second time around we're going in a bit more slow and prepared and we're willing to take a bit longer and really get as much feedback as we can from everyone before going ahead. Thank you for the feedback too, I'm a little bit worried about selections after our disappointing experience last time, but as far as the floorplans go the people we've dealt with at Simonds so far have been super helpful. We have a pretty flat, easy block to deal with too. - Kayla Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 9Jul 03, 2017 2:44 pm These are some terrible photos, but just a quick little update on the two plans/builders we've sat down with. 1. Altered Simonds Prague - We aren't super happy with the master suite, the bedroom feels narrow and the door opens up and blocks the wardrobe. It just feels kind of clunky. On paper the bedroom is a normal size but it just feels weird in person (we walked through one at lockup). Don't mind the rest of the house but not 100% sold on the style with bedrooms being in the middle of the house. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 2. Altered Burbank Somerton - We really liked this house as displayed, minus a closed off feeling kitchen/dining so we've stretched the house out a bit length-wise to add extra dining and lounge space, plus opened up the kitchen to an L shape with a walk around island. Used the extra 'study/office/activity' area as a closed off room where we can set up our computers and gaming equipment, which can also be marketed as a separate kids playroom/office/small lounge/whatever that can still be closed off for privacy. The master suite/bedroom is small buuuuuut we've gained extra living space and prefer the layout with the bedrooms off to the side. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Both plans have pros and cons for us and we're finding it really difficult to weigh the two up, so will probably have a couple more trips to display villages (St Clair, Mt Barker etc). - Kayla Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 10Jul 03, 2017 3:10 pm Not in love with any of them... its hard though, because we each love different things about a design. But I'll point out my major likes/dislikes with the two you've just put up Prague - Square en suites, I dislike!! I think they don't make good use of the space, I would see if you could fit a double vanity or bigger shower in their somehow. - No real hallway space, I would move the master bedroom door forward to give you wall space for a hallway table or something, or make the WIR bigger - Minor bedrooms seem small, do you know what the sizes are? - Is there a entry from bed 4 into bathroom? I personally wouldn't have that.. - I don't like how the kitchen blocks out windows on that whole wall, but depends on your orientation I do love that big WIP - The extra lounge room is definitely a plus Somerton - That window in the master could be a nice feature or a waste of space - Square en suite - Activity space not near the bedrooms (if you want to use it as a kid hang out) - If that is your site plan, seems to be wasting a lot of space, and the house seems too small for the block - No WIP - Really small alfresco Actually really like the mirabella design too XD Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 11Jul 03, 2017 4:59 pm Have you looked at all about the Sim0nds Rio floorplan? It seems to be very flexible to some of the things you were after/worried about - only issue could be the master bedroom given it is smaller but it is more "traditional" squarely shaped and doesn't close off the WIR entrance with the bedroom door. Some nice Rivergum 4-bed ones for a 15m block include: https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/serenity-254/ (Also has the alfresco design and may leave some backyard available) https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/xavier-242/ (Has the same but personally don't think it's best use of space) Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 14Jul 03, 2017 5:52 pm There's a display in SA at Mount Barker of it too which doesn't have much in the way of upgrades actually - could be worth a look. Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 15Jul 03, 2017 8:35 pm aloenyx Not in love with any of them... its hard though, because we each love different things about a design. But I'll point out my major likes/dislikes with the two you've just put up Prague - Square en suites, I dislike!! I think they don't make good use of the space, I would see if you could fit a double vanity or bigger shower in their somehow. - No real hallway space, I would move the master bedroom door forward to give you wall space for a hallway table or something, or make the WIR bigger - Minor bedrooms seem small, do you know what the sizes are? - Is there a entry from bed 4 into bathroom? I personally wouldn't have that.. - I don't like how the kitchen blocks out windows on that whole wall, but depends on your orientation I do love that big WIP - The extra lounge room is definitely a plus Somerton - That window in the master could be a nice feature or a waste of space - Square en suite - Activity space not near the bedrooms (if you want to use it as a kid hang out) - If that is your site plan, seems to be wasting a lot of space, and the house seems too small for the block - No WIP - Really small alfresco Actually really like the mirabella design too XD Thanks for your views on this! It's nice to read a pros and cons list that someone else has thought of! I think we have looked at so many plans and had so many lists it's starting to get to a point where we are missing some real obvious flaws or benefits. JM1911A1 Have you looked at all about the Sim0nds Rio floorplan? It seems to be very flexible to some of the things you were after/worried about - only issue could be the master bedroom given it is smaller but it is more "traditional" squarely shaped and doesn't close off the WIR entrance with the bedroom door. Some nice Rivergum 4-bed ones for a 15m block include: https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/serenity-254/ (Also has the alfresco design and may leave some backyard available) https://rivergumhomes.com.au/home-designs/xavier-242/ (Has the same but personally don't think it's best use of space) We have looked at a few of the other options with Simonds, especially after speaking to a really great sales consultant who has given us a few different options and layouts. We narrowed down on the Prague with them simply due to additions and selections costs adding up to our total ideal from their base price. Decisions decisions... icat2000 The rio plan master is bigger than the ones before. Also you could alter the wir and ensuite so you have entry to the ensuite through the wir. Agreed, as above I think the only hurdle we would be hitting with simonds is spending more on a base price also increases our overall spend once we factor in selections etc which makes us a little uneasy the closer we nudge towards the figure we are *trying* to stick to. How hard is it to stick to something with houses though hey!! I tell myself we will commit to "x" and then along comes a brand new big shiney appealing "y" for us to want to spend money on JM1911A1 There's a display in SA at Mount Barker of it too which doesn't have much in the way of upgrades actually - could be worth a look. We're venturing out to Mt. Barker this weekend as well as St.Clairs just to get a bit more idea of the different designs and also having a closer suss of Rivergum while we are there. We don't have too many other options that we could look at so hopefully a bit of clarity after this weekend. - Kenny Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 16Jul 03, 2017 8:39 pm We briefly toyed with the idea of just reverting back to a three bedroom floor plan but we are wanting to keep to the goal of a 4 bedroom for two big reasons. Firstly the excuse of a "junk room" renders one bedroom useless straight away and then one guest room. It's just good to know we have that little extra space for friends and family who will stay with us for lengths of time randomly. The other reason being that we have seen a huge price difference in property in our area between 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom. It seems making the initial investment and pushing that bit harder may pay off better for us in the long run. We had similar feedback when selling our first build that it would've sold to three seperate buyers on first open if it had a clear cut 4th bedroom - a memory that now haunts us into our next build. Apologies to all reading this. It's becoming a bit of a personal blog and whinge/drunken ramble. We really appreciate the replies and clarity on offer. I promise we will have a great build to entertain the masses once we make up our bloody minds!! Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 17Jul 03, 2017 8:42 pm ^^; Its the little things you don't think about with plans I find, like is the toilet flushing or washing machine against a bedroom or lounge room wall? Is the oven against a bedroom wall? Is all the plumbing close together, as they can be less costly in future. Then there's orientation, windows. I also want to make sure the garage is close to the kitchen for transporting groceries. Plus it depends what sort of zones you want, I like a 'master bedroom suite', 'bedroom/bathroom areas (or kid spot)' and 'living area'. My house is really small, but I went custom to get the floorplan I wanted. Then I did pros and cons, I had 22 pros, and only 5 cons so I went with it XD Unfortunately the reality is every plan is going to have something you want to change. Totally get the 4 bedroom thing. I think if your block has the space, its a worthwhile investment. I had to go 3, but my block is teensy and thankfully I didn't need a fourth bedroom, they aren't common in my estate. All the best Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 18Jul 03, 2017 9:04 pm aloenyx ^^; Its the little things you don't think about with plans I find, like is the toilet flushing or washing machine against a bedroom or lounge room wall? Is the oven against a bedroom wall? Is all the plumbing close together, as they can be less costly in future. Then there's orientation, windows. I also want to make sure the garage is close to the kitchen for transporting groceries. Plus it depends what sort of zones you want, I like a 'master bedroom suite', 'bedroom/bathroom areas (or kid spot)' and 'living area'. My house is really small, but I went custom to get the floorplan I wanted. Then I did pros and cons, I had 22 pros, and only 5 cons so I went with it XD Unfortunately the reality is every plan is going to have something you want to change. Totally get the 4 bedroom thing. I think if your block has the space, its a worthwhile investment. I had to go 3, but my block is teensy and thankfully I didn't need a fourth bedroom, they aren't common in my estate. All the best I think there is a false sense of security in picking a builders design by just assuming that they would factor that in with all their builds. You don't realise sometimes that it's not always possible to tick every.single.box that every customer would want in a design so they do their best. On the other hand there are just some strikingly obvious design flaws that make us wonder what else we are getting ourselves into if that's what they start with! The block is smaller than what we are used to with our previous build but we know we don't need a HUGE yard so maximising the living areas out of a 488sq block we're convincing ourselves that a 4th bedroom option is a must. From kerbside stalking we have done combined with house and land packages advertised for blocks now build, we are under the impression that 4 bedrooms seems quite popular in our estate at least so we should be following the trend. Are you happy with your build? I'm loving how many photos you have from start to finish. It's making us feel more...normal...? for going to just take photos of dirt haha Kenny & Kayla - Adelaide Follow our build on Instagram First build 2013 - Finished and sold Second build 2018 - Underway Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 19Jul 03, 2017 9:29 pm So true. And I think a lot of builders expect people to make variations to personalize their designs anyways. If they give you a perfect floorplan, there's nothing extra to charge you for I think if everyone is going 4 bdrs, if you can afford it you should too, especially if its not your forever house. I was really worried about having a single garage, even though I only need a single.. but almost every house in my estate has a single, so I went with it. I checked out your previous build, I really like that floorplan!! Though I can see from the pictures that the house is now a little 'outdated', its funny how quickly styles change. If I could go back I would change a few of my selections now, I made them in 2015... didn't think they would be so out of touch in only 2 years. I am happy with my house, not so much with my builder..there are things I would change if I could, but the floorplan isn't one of them, that being said I haven't lived in it yet, so who knows. Haha.. omg, that's only half the photos I have actually taken. Its probably a good thing I live so far from the house, or I would have twice as many photos. I like to document everything, as you never know when proof will be needed. Re: Building again in Adelaide - Send help! 20Jul 03, 2017 10:03 pm [quote="kaykens"]We briefly toyed with the idea of just reverting back to a three bedroom floor plan but we are wanting to keep to the goal of a 4 bedroom for two big reasons. Firstly the excuse of a "junk room" renders one bedroom useless straight away and then one guest room. It's just good to know we have that little extra space for friends and family who will stay with us for lengths of time randomly. The other reason being that we have seen a huge price difference in property in our area between 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom. It seems making the initial investment and pushing that bit harder may pay off better for us in the long run. We had similar feedback when selling our first build that it would've sold to three seperate buyers on first open if it had a clear cut 4th bedroom - a memory that now haunts us into our next build. Apologies to all reading this. It's becoming a bit of a personal blog and whinge/drunken ramble. We really appreciate the replies and clarity on offer. I promise we will have a great build to entertain the masses once we make up our bloody minds!! /quote] Not sure how much it has changed but did you get given a copy of Simonds base prices when you spoke to the sales person? We've still got a copy of ours (though it's about 6 months off at this point) that I could provide to help out tossing up pros and cons and finance options with their builds. Don't have much for other builders though unfortunately! We have found with ours that we didn't really do many add ons/additions/changes (or at least weren't going to until some extra funds popped up) as their base-options are actually kind of fantastic. Additionally, totally get what you mean - ours is just the two of us at the moment, but a 4-bed with three living spaces and a "master suite" just seemed to "future proof" as well as make a smart decision for the size of the block and the resale potential. I definitely agree that if you can afford to get the 4th and can push for it - picking something you love but that will also be loved by others is the best way to go! Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 10924 6 11470 Really tight at the top of the stairs- how to get furniture into those rooms? Study books - does anyone really use them these days? Large storage closet would be more functional. 2 6848 |