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After being a stalker of posts on this website for weeks - we've finally decided who we want to build with and I want to make a thread about it.
We're building a modified Bridgewater 225 (the sales associate said make amendments to the smallest plan, as it always makes it cheaper than amending the biggest, so technically we made amendments to the Bridgewater 208, wink wink)
We're waiting on finance approval for our block in Flagstone and pre-approval for the construction which we will hopefully find out tomorrow. Once we get finance for the block we'll move and sign contracts with GJ. I'm so excited.
Bridgewater 225:
Bridgewater Modified:
(My fiance altered it in a program, pretty neat huh?)
I have this thing about toilets needing a window/natural light so we HAD to amend it. Also not shown on that picture is, we're closing the wall between living and family/dining (the three white gaps considered a feature wall), we're adding sliding doors to the living, and pantry as well. We are also having twin vanity in the ensuite and a bigger shower, the ensuite will need a sliding door as well. The beds all needed to be 3x3 as well, any smaller I'd probably hate it for as long as we live there.
Originally we were going with Grange 22 by Coral Homes but I bargained so hard with GJ we ended up getting a great deal in the end. Can you tell I'M SO EXCITED?!
No finance yet... our bank assessor has pneumonia and has had a few days off. Our finance was actually done last week but with wrong figures (!!!) so our broker had to go back and correct the bank, and now we are here. Irritating, but understandable.
I think moving from WIR to standard Robes for bigger bedrooms is a good move. I found everything took a little bit longer then I expected pre-build, then on site it was quicker than anticipated. Goodluck with your build!
I think moving from WIR to standard Robes for bigger bedrooms is a good move. I found everything took a little bit longer then I expected pre-build, then on site it was quicker than anticipated. Goodluck with your build!
I think so too. We found it unnecessary for other rooms to have WIR as well, seems like a thing you'd have in a luxury house or something, and since it'll just be us 2 for a while we dont really need it. I'm excited to get the build started, just a waiting game for finance now. Thank you for your wishes! I think we will need it.
YAY ! We have formal approval for finance on our land, and pre-approval for the build. We have contacted GJ Gardner to draw up contracts, plans and specifications for the bank. It's finally underway! We settle on the land 29/11/2019.
My partner visited their colour showroom in Crestmead on Thursday to see what exactly we needed to update in regards to door handles, carpets etc etc but turns out we don't need to upgrade anything, which is great. All things we would have needed to of upgrade, we already discussed with the salesperson and had added to our quote.
We had an idea of what upgrades we needed before talking to GJ because we went to a Coral Homes showroom & saw what they considered upgrades. We found although GJ are more expensive than Coral, you don't have to upgrade as much with GJ, so I assume they factor that into their quote price & why they seem more expensive initially (for example, Coral Homes have a range of cupboard handles, where there's 'standard' but you can upgrade to 'bronze' 'silver' and 'gold' range, whereas GJ's standard includes all of those ranges).
Congratulations!! Remember you have power before you sign! Make sure you have EVERYTHING added you think you want, including cavity sliders, tiling outdoor areas, façade. Some of these things can be thrown in cheaply to get you to sign the dotted line!
I also found that with GJgardner that their standard was more than enough for us. Upgrades with the builder at colour selection, plus variations after contract, we ended up getting money back when we finished building. (We did spend $6000 with the kitchen people)
Congratulations!! Remember you have power before you sign! Make sure you have EVERYTHING added you think you want, including cavity sliders, tiling outdoor areas, façade. Some of these things can be thrown in cheaply to get you to sign the dotted line!
I also found that with GJgardner that their standard was more than enough for us. Upgrades with the builder at colour selection, plus variations after contract, we ended up getting money back when we finished building. (We did spend $6000 with the kitchen people)
Absolutely, i'll be checking and double checking that contract and things included before signing. We've already had a slight slip up where the sales person told us we will have to upgrade to single brick height upon contract, however on our initial quote we already have it on there. Good to hear about the money back for you though, good for furniture etc 😂
We got some plans ! It'll look exactly like this, except with a double-door cavity slider for the media. They couldn't fit a slider to the pantry, the wall's to short unfortunately. We moved all air-con and hot water units to one side of the house, so it doesn't have to be seen from the side we'll be mostly in the yard. Also, quicker hot water to our en-suite! Booyah.
Did I mention we are getting the executive facade as well?
YAY DOUBLE CAVITY SLIDER. These are the plans we have approved. CANT WAIT FOR WHAT'S NEXT !
Congratulations! The fun and frustrating parts about to start! You get to lay in bed at night wondering whether the wall colour is white enough, or whether you chose the right shade for your kitchen cabinet!
I like the Façade, do you mind if I ask how much it was roughly to go from the classic to the executive?
Congratulations! The fun and frustrating parts about to start! You get to lay in bed at night wondering whether the wall colour is white enough, or whether you chose the right shade for your kitchen cabinet!
I like the Façade, do you mind if I ask how much it was roughly to go from the classic to the executive?
Hi Steve,
Oh boy, I can't wait. I anticipate lots of coffee to get me through haha. We were told the facade was $9,133 (Resort was the same price as well)
That seems about what I thought it'd be, we never asked as it would just add into the confusion on where to spend the money, and we quite liked the classic façade, We built with GJ in NSW and built the Beachlands series. Almost complete now.
That seems about what I thought it'd be, we never asked as it would just add into the confusion on where to spend the money, and we quite liked the classic façade, We built with GJ in NSW and built the Beachlands series. Almost complete now.
Do you have a thread for your build? I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to finding user topics amongst all their comments, i'd like to read your thread if you have one.
The classic facade was ok, in our covenant we need 2 different materials to the front of the home and the classic they were going to give us looked a bit bland for me, and when we queried the other facade prices we were actually going to walk away as it came way to close to our comfortable budget mark and GJ made a deal with us i guess to keep our business. I'm glad
It's funny how things can get cheap quickly if you're about to walk away, you don't want to strangle too much though, because I guarantee there will be numerous variations before you finish building and they will always get their money one way or another!
I don't have a thread on here, I have a private blog though I can share in PM if you want to see a typical timeline of a build with GJ? Its only created for myself and my family tho, so it's not flash and has a lot of frame pictures for future reference!
It's funny how things can get cheap quickly if you're about to walk away, you don't want to strangle too much though, because I guarantee there will be numerous variations before you finish building and they will always get their money one way or another!
I don't have a thread on here, I have a private blog though I can share in PM if you want to see a typical timeline of a build with GJ? Its only created for myself and my family tho, so it's not flash and has a lot of frame pictures for future reference!
I've noticed already, the double cavity slider was a bit expensive in my eyes but i don't know enough about doors to know their exact price. Just seemed to me they were trying to get the money back for sure.
I would like to see if you're willing to share
Sent over funds to our solicitor today in anticipation of settlement on the land on Friday. Haven't seen my bank account this low in 3 years... i'm depressed
(excited though)
Sent over funds to our solicitor today in anticipation of settlement on the land on Friday. Haven't seen my bank account this low in 3 years... i'm depressed
(excited though)
Exciting times! Tomorrow hopefully everything goes smoothly
Be prepared for months of brokenness now, the bills and the "Oh that would look nice in the new home, lets buy it!!!!" continue forever.
Settlement went smoothly... we are officially land owners and it feels amazing! Now, just waiting for the people at G.J. to get back to us with a contract to sign
Wish there was a fast-forward button so we can skip to the end and live in our first home!
Yikes so a lot has happened lately. GJ sent us a draft of the contract and it didn't include 3 things (one was driveway) we had in the initial quote, so I asked them to put them in. They came back and said they can include the 2 things but the driveway would be $$$. I argued and said it was on the quote, they said it was their error and cant put it in. Makes you think, oh great what else can pop up? After dicussing what other costs may also eventually come (like a H1 slab upgrade, electricals etc) realised, if we had to pay for all of it we are over budget. Hard decision now on what to do
have asked Coral homes for an updated quote on the home design we originally were going for, now with all inclusions we were getting with GJ. It'll be a smaller 22sqm home but they are so much cheaper and we have already seen their colour studio.
Is anything simple?
Just about to build with GJ Gardener Hobart West, Pacific 208 express range with executive facade.
Good luck with your build, I'll be following the progress