Fowler Homes Catalina 23 - Oran Park

Everything is looking great!!

I thought the externals were the hardest part too...

If only i had more budget to pick a nicer facade, i wouldve but sadly we just couldnt stretch it any more than we already have.

Our new SS has been on the ball as well. Gives me a call weekly to let me know whats been new and has given me a tineline of whats upcoming!

He's also made some changes to some bulkheads that were installed incorrectly and through no prompting at our end... he just picked up on it when looking through the plans and instructed the changes be made...so very happy with that!

We were originally looking at upgrading the bricks to Gunmetal, which is kind of a silvery grey, cost was about $5000 all up from memory so we were really not sure if worth it, but when we did the drive-bys of houses they just didn't have the same appeal. Ended up with Topaz, which is a chocolatey brown. Sun/shade seem to make a huge difference to the colour.

They have lodged for the Construction certificate about 2 weeks ago, so not really sure where/when that puts us...
How long did yours take from CC until groundworks?

Isn't it crazy how expensive some of the facades are?!
20-45 grand! Never could see how it was justified in most cases.

Standard all the way for us!!
Only have to look at the exterior for a moment or two a day...
Pity our neighbours though... 😂

Portofino38 Woohoo! Maybe admin has told them to be on their best behaviour! haha. I'm super happy for you guys that your new SS has been fantastic. If only all of them were like that!

Newy-Jan Facades are super expensiveeee!! We also just went the standard but added 2 extra windows to open the front of the Allegra Facade (not a fan of those windows) Isn't it amazing how different bricks look in different lighting?! It sure didnt make our decision easier. A lot of houses in the neighbourhood went with the dark gunmetal, so we may be sticking out like a sore thumb.

We had our Construction plans signed and our HIA contract signed in about a month. There were a couple of errors in the contract that set us a back a couple of weeks. Then we were in production for about 20days before groundworks. You already have your pool in right...How does that work with all the construction work by Fowler. Does it have to sit there until the house is complete?

So it looks like FH have updated their inclusions packages again!!

Im so glad we signed up when we did because it seems like theyve taken iff alot of the luxury inclusions!!

Q

Wow!

I’ve just had a look at the two new packages!!!

Each different upgrades have their own individual prices, it would be so easy to go over your budget

I think i had the Mio package which was still good back then.

Thanks CW_L, good to try and get some idea of how much longer we have before anything begins 😊

Yep, the pool just sits there doing nothing for the duration of the build. It's fenced and will have a frame and plywood structure to cap it, so it doesn't get trashed by building process. Apparently, we chuck in a bucket of chlorine every few months to keep it from turning into total pea-soup.
Then the pool folks will come back and do final handover after the build.
We used Leisure pools at Thornton - they are great; family business, hardworkers and down-to-earth - I would recommend them to others in the Hunter Region.

Wow indeed!!

Man, I am so glad we got what we did - massive difference - so much of what we had included seems to have disappeared/been priced up.

Newy-Jan Ahh i see! Makes sense that it just sits there. It's a little bit of work to keep it clean, but super exciting once they get to work on it!

Bricks, roofing and gutters/facia done! Eaves are getting done on Thursday, and bricks are scheduled to be cleaned on Saturday!
I am loving how good the bricks match with the roof!

So just received email confirmation that the gyprock is all done. Wont be able to visit the site for the next 2 weeks, as my partner and I are going away. Hopefully family will be able to swing by and take some photos for us. Doors are supposed to be delivered today, installed Monday. So excited to get our baby to lock-up!

Also tried to get a quote for the fencing, but the guy that came around couldn't give us a quote until the retaining wall is done.... Is this right? Just hard to organise fencing with the neighbours

Can anyone recommend a good fencer for the Camden region?

Hi, we hired Zain from Macarthur Fencing to do our fence.
There’s also Steve from Macarthur Fencing Solutions. His price is quite reasonable but at the time of getting the quote done, his availability was like 6-7 weeks so we couldn’t wait that long.

Hi Guys,

I haven't posted for awhile but i would like to throw in some positive comments in regards to FH.... At the beginning of the process we were also thrown around for months which was very annoying and frustrating in regards to paperwork, design mistakes etc but i can now honestly say we are back on track and things have started to move again, i would also like to give a rap to our SS Mike who has been giving us constant updates on a weekly basis and on top of things.
We are building the Moroccan 35 with the Seabreeze facade, second story bricks should be completed next week and then the roof is on....
keep up the good work FH.

Hi Kira

Thats so good to hear!

Maybe we have the same SS? At first we were very slow to start and i had a difficult SS who refused to action anything we pointed out, but now that we have M.S. he has been great in getting things done and very supportive of changing anything we weren't happy with.

Sorry for the late reply! Thanks for the recommendations, i'll look into it!

I'm back from holidays, and I have a build update! Yay~ much progress has been made~ Doors are on, waterproofing complete, kitchen cabinetry in, rendering on outside pillars done (waiting on paint), and tiling to start next week.

Some photos from the window! Kitchen is exactly how we envisioned! Can't wait for the countertops and tiles to go in!

Update! Tiling has started!~ waiting for Abruzzo to send the correct matte subway tiles for the kitchen as they sent glossy instead, and we got sent chrome smart wastes, not black, and steel trim instead of white aluminium trim for the bathroom, so waiting on those to also come in.

Cygnus colour stone top is out of stock also, so waiting for those to come in.

Minor things! So nothing to be worried about as yet. I wonder if were still on track for a christmas/new year handover?

Hey CW_L,

your build is powering along! Can't believe how quickly it's all gone up and started internal finishings - you must be cheering!

Are there any items that have been completely out of stock/no longer available and you have had to reselect?

We finally have a construction date set for the end of October - but think we are both a bit fatigued by the whole process at this stage. Hoping to get a bit more excited when the build starts.

Your kitchen looks beautiful btw - very slick, I love the finish/colour of your cupboards. Handover by Christmas seems very possible at the rate you are going!

Hey Newy-Jan so sorry for the delayed update. Funnily you should ask, as i popped on to give an update. I literally have just gotten off the phone with hubby, and Cygnus stonetop has been discontinued. Im so upset.. more upset than if we were to reselect the main flooring to be honest. -sigh- the colour of our kitchen benchtop was actually one that we didnt have to think about. So far that has been the only major issue

Yay! Thats super exciting! I understand how tiring all the waiting and paperwork can be, once construction starts it'll be super fast from there!

Thank you so much! The kitchen is the only room we customised so, were super happy its looking like how we pictured! A Christmas handover would really be lovely

Hey CW_L,

That is so awful!!! Can't believe your choice of stone is discontinued!
I would be so upset too! Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. 😣
Those finishes are one of the few things that keep you going during the long wait.

Have you picked an alternative? Almost tempting to personally source it after the build and get a credit back.
Was Cygnus like a dark gray colour?

We had a call from our Site supervisor on Tuesday and they started the cut and fill on Wednesday. Hooray for progress!