Madison 35 by Clarendon Homes - Handover!!

Thanks for the tip - Wilcost look pretty good, so i'll have a chat with them too. That's handy you can get that work done prior to handover. I'm looking at the list of things we want to do before we move in and it's going to be a busy time!

We got our quotes for WIR from Kitchen Connection, A & T cabinets, Great Indoor Designs and Wardrobe Design Centre. We're probably going to go one of the last two - they were about $1k cheaper than the first two, for a near identical level of finish.

At our last place we got some quotes on landscaping and were blown away with how expensive it was. I guess labour can add up quick, but I think if you have the time to do it, it can be a rewarding job to do yourself.

So in the master WIR we got Clarendon to delete the shelf and hanging rail (for a measley credit) which saved having to get them taken out later. For the other bedrooms we left the shelf and hanging rail and upgraded to add a drawer/shelf tower in each. IKEA also do a good chest of drawers which fits perfectly inside a wardrobe - we used a couple in our study for craft supplies and different things, but would work really well in a bedroom too.


I think if you plan on doing something to it later, makes sense to get it removed at the design stage otherwise like you say you have to get the tools out and remove them after handover.

thanks for the advice KingTaco

So if we put the Ikea shelving in the built-ins then no need to take the standard shelf and rail out? That's a good idea! Do you know if Ikea will have drawer options too for doing something similar?

For your WIR, did you keep the robe frame at all, or taken the whole thing out and all you gonna get is the bare walls?

When we visited ikea last, we looked at the PAX range and the sales girl didnt suggest us this option of shelving! She said we should take the entire robe out, which I wasnt keen to as builders provide very little credit as you said.

This is what I was talking about, and it fit inside the cupboard - 47cm depth was close but still clear. So could do that on one side of the robe, then have the other side free for hanging space?



I don't know about separate shelving though... I don't think you could put a PAX frame in a cupboard because their min. height is 201cm, and that wouldn't get under the hanging rail.

Our WIR had everything taken out - just a bare room. I think the below is a photo of our empty WIR...... I think! So they'll throw our custom shelves in there, and we'll probably have the network gear for upstairs stored on top as well.




I'm not sure if you can use the PAX as just shelving? You possibly need a frame to attach it to. Worth going through their catalogue to see though.
We took everything out of the WIR, since we knew we were doing our own thing in there anyway - no point paying for something you're getting removed immediately.

Thanks, that gives a very good idea. You're right that PAX won't fit in and would need something like what you have done with your WIR - completely bare.

Went by the block again today - a little disappointing in a way. Carpets were meant to be laid this week but don't appear to have been. At least not on the ground floor or stairs. But it was nice to see the taps and door handles all in. Hot water system and A/C are installed too.

Interestingly we positioned the A/C where we did because we thought it would block the left side access out of the laundry. It turns out it's less than half the width of the slab, so we really could have put it anywhere. We kind of wish we'd put the hot water system in that corner behind the garage now, because as it is the HWS is fairly well blocking the right side access so some alternatives may need to be considered.

Anyway, hopefully carpets are laid this week since it's only 13 days until PCI!


The standard update photo from this angle - can see the monument garage door installed now; close up below


Our purple front door! Plus the awesome door handle. The shape fits your hand perfectly.


Our narrower than expected A/C unit!


The HWS - it's one of the things we didn't even consider on the plan and in hindsight we should have moved it or gone solar or continuous flow gas.


Lights look a little haphazard, but we're getting downlight conversion as well as extras fitted after handover

Great update King taco, yeah the HWS has kind of blocked that access pathway, but it does look neat though!

Can I ask what all you got done through builder's sparkie, and what you are getting done after handover? Did you get them to put conduits and wiring etc to allow for extra light points later or what? I am concerned about the high charges builders charge for single light points and will all add up v quickly in a 2 storey house.

All the best for your pci👍
House is looking very huge and beautiful 😍

That is nice and compact. Ours is the beast we expected:



Did you end up upgrading the air-con model?

That IS a beast! You upgraded to the top model didn't you? We stayed with the stock standard one. We don't know if we'll stay here forever or if we'll decide to move on in a couple of years, so for us it's that balancing act of overcapitalising vs having lots of comforts or design features... Call it hedging our bets!

Haha yeah, we upgraded to the Fujitsu. And fair enough. We intend on being in this house for at least 10 years, so made sense for us.

Interested to hear what people think or their experiences with building in relation to the below...

We're coming up to practical completion. Still have the carpets to fit, a bit of painting and to run the seal around the skirting and bench/tile joins, so not much to go now but wondering if there's still some carpentry or brick finishing still to occur?

The first 3 pictures below show a fairly sizeable gap between the window/door frame and brickwork. Is this something we should expect to be covered over?

Also, in the last picture you can see the frame for the door is unsupported (normally has brick under it right?) and has bowed somewhat... that wouldn't be expected to be a normal way to finish it right?

100% you are meant to have bricks under the door ledge.

Also, re the gap around the windows, I have the same thing on my place and I will be hitting the SS up about it for sure.

The issue is, short of pulling the whole thing down what can they do? Maybe put an aluminium decorative trim on the edge?

Are you using Allinspect? What did they say?

Ok cool. We'll go out this weekend and see if anything has changed with it.

I had a look at my parents house (which is like 30 years old) and they have some extra aluminium trim on the edges of theirs, so i guess its a possibility.

AllInspect aren't available for the PCI so i'll be using QBI ( who they recommended). I think i'll just leave it until the inspection and if there's a fault or we're entitled to have things a certain way, they inspector will point it out. But i'm confident Clarendon will put a good finish on it before then - they've been great on everything so far so no reason to doubt them now

Hi can I ask how did you sort out your electric reqmnts? Is there any smarter way to get this done through builder's sparkie and rest later? Any advice would be super valuable....

Yeah I agree, they'll sort something out for you for sure. Here's a few photos of mine. I have similar defects with my windows so I'll be chasing trim on mine to.

Good luck and im keen to hear how you go

We went through our plan and put all the light, powerpoint and TV point locations where we wanted them. I then went to my sparkie friend and he told me the best ones to get Clarendon to do, and the ones he can add on after handover

Definitely with a 2 storey, i'd get everything that sits under the 1st floor wired up - you won't be able to do it later so at least if you get the bog standard lights put in you can upgrade to downlights/pendants etc later.

I spoke with the builder's sparkie and it was the same price going to them direct as it was going through Clarendon. But the electrical appointment was still beneficial because they pointed out things we hadn't thought of, and even helped us tailor it to accomodate the other things we'd be doing after handover.

Hey Rhetti I found on our plan where it says about the support under the bottom track of the sliding door, and yep meant to be a brick sill. At least now we can be confident that'll be in place!

How'd you go KT?

I went out to the block again on Friday and Sunday, and the only change had been they'd taken the Goop off the windows. At least I could see clearly inside for the first time ever! Everything is looking good. They started laying the carpets on Monday just gone. We also had our security screen and WIR cabinet makers in to do a check measure, so they'll be able to install pretty well straight after handover. In fact the screens install is booked in for the afternoon of handover!

Regarding the gaps around the windows and door frame... not sure! PCI is this Friday, so will see what/if they've done anything with them then I guess!