Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Jan 30, 2011 8:44 pm I've been reading the building stories on this website & have been inspired! Its comforting to know that there are other people going through similar things - and usually with all sorts of additional problems to us (kids, no money etc. etc.). Also very handy for figuring out things like what colour our new house should be, what kitchen we should get, what we should think about before building etc. etc. It's made me realise how lucky we are So here's our story - starting with the April Curse! I'm from the UK and I met my Aussie parner (Matt, now husband ) in France, while on a rock climbing trip (as you do). I moved over to Oz the following April - a week before I'd had a near miss on one of the UK motorways (span a full 360 across 4 lanes & only suffered a cracked tail light - phew!). Then 2 days after arriving in Oz, someone ploughed into the side of Matt's van & totally wrote it off - it was MASHED (April 2008)! We were VERY lucky that the other car hit the back & not any further forward... Anyway, fast forward a year - we'd just bought our first house together - a glorified shed in West Pymble, NSW - the only reason we could afford it! We had to do a mega-quick settlement, as we had a climbing trip to Europe booked. So settled on the Monday, off on holiday on the Wednesday - v stressful! Then 3 weeks later, Matt took a tiny 1m fall, landed awkwardly and broke both heels (April 2009). He had to spend 3 months in a wheelchair (& managed to get from the cave of his accident in Spain back to our house in Sydney without touching the ground - impressive!). He couldn't work for 8 months, which didn't exactly help our cash flow! Fast forward another year... April 3rd, I was camping up in the Blue Mountains after a nice day's climbing. Got a phone call from the police saying (and I quote - etched on the brain!) "I'm standing outside your house with the fireys and ambulance and it appears to be burning down" At first I thought it was a belated April 1st wind-up. But no. Drove the 1 3/4 back to Sydney (Matt was working in Mudgee - he started driving too) - house completedly burned. Lost everything, but luckily not ourselves... Turned out the fire had been started deliberately - we back onto the bush & I guess someone just couldn't pass up the opportunity... Had some fabulous support from friends lending us clothes & a few essentials. Our close friends even came out to our house at 2am on the night of the fire to give us support - and then gave us a place to stay until we could sort out somewhere to live . It's been a VERY long road to rebuilding. We decided not to rebuild the same way - the old house layout just didn't make sense - bits added on in very odd places. We're even more lucky that Matt's Dad's a builder (Bob the Builder - seriously!!) and Matt's a sparky Against the wishes of them both, I got an architect to design the house & sort out the DA for us. The local council has a Reputation for being Difficult (note caps!) - and so they were. Took 90 days to get our DA approved - and there wasn't anything wrong with the design!!!!!!!!! ARG! And of course, it was approved just before Christmas so everyone we needed to talk to went off on holiday for weeks.... and weeks....!!! While we were waiting for DA approval, Matt and I took a 3 month trip to the USA, which we'd booked well before the house burned down. We were buggered if that arsonist was going to stop us! While we were in the States, we had a Vegas wedding (actually just outside Vegas at the Valley of Fire - fabulous day!!!). Did some great climbing... and I worried heaps about the rebuilding <sigh>. Anyway, sitting here tonight, with the demolition contractor booked in for tomorrow - YAY! It's been sitting there as a burned out wreck for 9 months. Crossing fingers, toes & everything else that we are AT LAST on the road to actually rebuilding. The house plans are lovely & we can't wait to see it up. Lucy House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 2Jan 30, 2011 8:56 pm Hi Lucy, just read your story, OMG is all I can say, you are well overdue for some good luck, so sending you my best wishes. I saw you on Stamfords thread and thought this forum is great because you can always find someone else on here that has been thru something similar to you, and I was glad you saw Stamfords thread as you would both be going thru the same things and you can learn from her experiences. I wish you luck with your design and appoval process and I look forward to reading your re-building journey. Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 3Jan 30, 2011 10:37 pm hi lucy and matt welcome ive got just one suggestion hibernate for april 2011 lol omg you poor things glad youve got a great sense of humor i wish you both all the best and come april ill be crossing everything ive got for you guys stay safe happy building Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 4Jan 31, 2011 6:41 am Demolition contractor just rang. His wife's just had a baby & he can't get there until tomorrow. Gah! Congrats to them though House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 5Jan 31, 2011 7:35 am hi, just found your thread..whaoaoao! (where are PLANS!!???) I use to swim at west pymble pool when I was at turramurra primary...now we live in nz, but I am married to a kent boy. your story sounds amazing (2 broken ankles..in spain no less!) mate, you can achieve anything now!! congrats on the wedding...um, pics too would be good. there is a 'dare you to show your wedding pics thread' or put them here!! cant wait to see what april 2011 brings...maybe hibernation is a good idea. lucky you have a fil who is a builder, hoping he will work hard for you and have an interest in what he is doing at least (he is building a house for his grandkids at least) so I hope he does a good job for you. and yay matt is a sparky!!! so...where are the plans...so looking forward to seeing them..... Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 6Jan 31, 2011 9:14 pm OK, I will attempt to upload some photos... I thought I was OK at this stuff, but apparently not Nope it is telling me the attachment quota has been reached - help anyone?! Then I can put some piccies on Lucy House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 7Jan 31, 2011 9:19 pm try using an external site like www.photobucket.com to upload them then copy and paste the link back here. Your story is amazing. Cant wait to see what this house will look like Any more future travel plans? Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 8Feb 01, 2011 5:45 am I find www.tinypic.com best where it says 'forums' after you upload the pic (make sure you choose how big you want it, not just default size when you upload) copy THAT code...and just paste it straight into your thread, you will then see the pic. dont paste the link at the top of the page.... we wont see the pic Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 9Feb 01, 2011 5:58 am Gah! Photobucket must be having a bad day (or my computer doesn't like it) - it won't let me sign up (and you have to have an account for tinypic...)! I'll try at work House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 10Feb 01, 2011 6:05 am try at work, cos you can upload with tinypic and not have an a/c (usually) Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 11Feb 01, 2011 7:05 am Brilliant! Thanks Kiwi! The plans will have to wait until later (they are in PDF & will need some work...) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ This WAS our bedroom Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ House just after all asbestos had been removed (which is why it was still standing...) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ House last week, some 9 months later... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Wedding pic! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Another wedding pic (we had a sunset wedding & it was quite dark by then)! House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 12Feb 01, 2011 9:05 am Sorry to hear your badluck so far, good luck with the build. Good to see some other climbers on the forum too. Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 13Feb 01, 2011 9:14 am ooowww, how gorgeous are you two!!! sorry about your home though, and to lose everything must have been so devastating. Good luck with your new start/ life together though, and I am sure 2011 and APRIL 2011 will be just brilliant. (if you want bigger pics, just upload '15" screen' or 17" screen, if you did this with tinypic. not sure re photobucket. You can choose how big you want them on here ...who doesnt want a 17" .....WAIST I mean!) Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 14Feb 01, 2011 8:13 pm Ooooookay! I have got around to making the plans .jpgs. These are actually the working drawings - we have a lovely colour set from the architect, but these are easier to post. The kitchen will be different - bigger island & other stuff (and I like shaker style, so am looking at a matt 2 Pack finish - all depends on whether we can afford it!!!). It all looks far too posh for us, but I'm sure it'll all be worth it Oh, fyi our architect was Annabelle Chapman, in Pymble (I like using local people...) and our drafty is Peter Niksic. They have both been (in Annabelle's favourite word) FABULOUS I am thinking that the house colours will be (in keeping with the bush theme): Colourbond roof, guttering down pipes etc. - Bushland Windows - Woodland Grey Weatherboard (which will be Hardie Linea) - Dulux Handmade Linen Hopefully this won't go out of fashion in 12 months. I forgot to mention - we are in Major League Bushfire Zone - i.e. flamezone. We have had a really hard time finding the correct products - you talk to one company and they tell you one thing, then you talk to the certifier & he says another... And we had problems with the landscaping people at DA arguing with the bushfire people about the requirements - and we didn't even really want to change the landscaping! But we had to! We do get to have a 7000l water tank, which we can use for grey water (well, have to), so that will be cost-effective in the long run (I hope). Anyway, all of that has probably added $100,000 to the cost of our build. Yay Still, we have a lovely outlook for near the middle of Sydney, so hopefully it'll all be worth it. Not sure which way to go with windows - low e, no low e. Don't think we can afford double glazing, but there are a LOT of windows... I get v cold in winter too, and I don't want to be heating the whole of Sydney. We have to have tiles outside instead of timber - so no nice deck boards. Have been on a Quest for tiles that I used in the UK - found them... in Perth But may have found some similar ones in Sydney I am not a fan of the high gloss look, which is all the rage at the moment, so it has been tricky! Anyway, enough rambling - comment away please!!!!! Here is the ground floor: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the upper floor: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ A nice 3-D view of the front Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Aaaaaand the back Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 15Feb 01, 2011 11:33 pm I like it. Simple yet elegant. Looks like a nice modern design that should sit sympathetically with the surrounds. All the best with the building, I'll follow with interest. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 16Feb 02, 2011 6:03 am wow, yay for fires if this is what you get to now live in (did you have insurance? or has this been hard graft saving, cos this is way nice!!) how gorgeous!!!! miwwionaires home in pymble now! (compared to before) you are making lemonade out of a disaster, so good on you it is going to be fantastic. so excited for ya Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 17Feb 03, 2011 6:08 am I have heaps of questions about how to go about figuring out the inside - there is SO MUCH to think of! Kitchen - I would like matt finish Shaker-Style (have looked at kitchen forum) - so am guessing a 2 pak finish is the best way to go, but the forums indicate its expensive & prone to chipping. Any thoughts? What's the best way to get a design that I can take to a joiner? I guess with a joiner, you can get them to do build-ins and bathrooms & have good continuity throughout the house, which'd be nice. But probably really expensive With a kitchen the size of ours, what's a reasonable budget? Was going to go for laminex benchtops, but Caesar stone look soooo much nicer (imho) - same in bathroom. Floor tiles/wood floor - how much is too expensive? What are other people paying? The ones I've found are (I think) medium price ($70-$80 per sq m) - its more than I want to pay, but I don't seem to like anything cheaper. Hmmmmm. What do you think it is worth spending extra on? I keep going through my list thinking OK, I'll spend extra on the things that really matter & get cheaper other things - but then it all seems to really matter! I kind of thought kitchen & flooring was pretty important, as they are a) going to get lots of use & b) will be there for a long time (all being well). But what else would you recommend thinking about? Help please!!!!! We didn't get a chance to save up for this, as it was rather out of the blue (!). The insurance have provided a like-for-like amount to rebuild as the house was (which we are disputing now we have all the facts, but they may not agree!). So we are having to borrow more money. It'll stretch us (more) but we figured we're never going to get this opportunity again - how many times to you get to build the house you want? Seems silly to waste that. So yes, it might be a miwwionaire's house, but we'll own the shed (or Man Room, as I call it ) and that's about it!!!!! I should really rein in my budget for the PC items - but there's so much nice stuff out there! And I don't like the cheap stuff! Wish I didn't have expensive tastes (or more self-control - either/or)! Does everyone go through this? Also - demolition guy has postponed EVERY day this week. Today apparently. Baby is a good excuse! Don't really mind - EXCEPT we're doing the chasing, rather than him letting us know what goes on. House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 18Feb 06, 2011 7:40 am We have some progress! The good news is that the house has been demolished - the bad news is that the concrete slabs and fill are riddled with asbestos - which we thought had all been cleared (through the insurance company) shortly after the house burned down... Luckily the demolition contractor is certified for asbestos clearance, so he can do it - but its another delay & cost - & we haven't even really started yet! Still, at least we'll know our site is totally asbestos-free when its been done. And yesterday we bought our new (old) Site Office (insurance money for rent runs out in 2 weeks...). Fabulously retro! And sold to us by a lovely lady who's been all around Australia in it - she loves it & I'm kind of sorry we are taking it from her - but very glad to find it Piccies: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ No more house - just lots of asbestos-riddled ground... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And our new Site Office: http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotiv ... ue&AdOnTop House burned down: 3 April 2010 DA approval: 15 December 2010 (Yep, it took THAT long!) Demolition of old house: 10/02/11) 1st round of concreting: 10/03/11 http://mattnlucyp.blogspot.com/ Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 19Feb 06, 2011 2:07 pm were you sad to see it all gone? Re: Rebuilding after arson fire - and the April Curse! 20Feb 06, 2011 2:09 pm so are you living in the caravan? or just a site office...it is quite small ay!! 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