We have started our journey with Metricon to knockdown rebuild. The plan we have chosen is the Liberty 45 in the Nuvo fascade.
There were a few changes we made to the plan to customize our house, mainly to suit the north/south aspect of the house.
UPDATE 2/6/17: Our updated plans are on page 18.
The changes include:
- - using 2 large stacker doors to open up to the Outdoor Room (We thought about bi-fold doors but decided against it because of the price and we wanted to have fly-screens to let the air in but not the flies.)
- moving the sink from the island bench to the side bench so we have a full clear island bench to prepare food and eat there
- adding an extra window at the front of the house so we can see who is standing outside the front door
- double entry doors
- changing all cladding to brick except the cladding for the balcony (we didn't like the horizontal cladding - personal preference )
- adding a window high up in the garage for natural light and ventilation
- moving Bedroom 4 to the back so that both Bedroom 3 and 4 windows can take advantage of the view into the backyard instead of the neighbours' houses
- turning the space between Bedroom 3 and 4 into walk-in robes for those Bedrooms and moving the linen to outside Bedroom 2
- putting the toilet into the bathroom upstairs
(Credit goes to VistaDream for sharing his plan and inspiring our last 2 items above.)
Some of the things I've learnt so far are:
- - (Sarking to roof and thermal wrap around house) It is not a standard inclusion in NSW but there are some benefits to having this
- (Rebating stacker doors/bi-fold doors into slab) This reduces the drop-down into the Outdoor Room. However, we didn't do this for the upstairs balcony
- (Full tiling to bathroom wall) It costs extra to tile the bathrooms up to the ceiling
- (Acoustic soundproofing) Think about what type of sound insulation you need for walls between bedrooms, between bathroom and bedrooms, for a media room, and bedroom facing a neighbour's driveway or house. Apparently there are different types of acoustic materials e.g. acoustic plaster, acoustic insulation etc.
- (Stove and oven) Decide whether you want a one-piece stove and oven or whether you want a streamlined look be embedding the stove into the benchtop. Also, you have the flexibility of moving the oven into a cabinet tower instead of having it underneath the stove. Of course, the standard inclusion is a one-piece stove and oven
We are now finalising the contract and once signed, we look forward to choosing colours and materials for the house exterior and interior.