Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 62May 09, 2012 12:17 pm I've been reading this thread with great interest. Ian's comments, in particular, resonate with my own experience. We subbed our place less to save $$$ than to get tradesmen who knew what they were doing. As we built, I had several tradies stop and ask who our bricklayer was. The man was an artist - we didn't need a brick cleaner. Our plasterer was out of the same mould. The waterproof concrete he put into our wet areas has stood the test of time. Given that you have little children, and that computers are a big deal in education, have you thought about cabling your place for a home network? A lot of people use wireless, but that is not (and probably never will be) as quick and reliable as Ethernet. With a metal roof, you might want to consider cabling sooner rather than later. Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 63May 09, 2012 11:16 pm Hi djh53, My brother in law is of the same opinion as you regarding wireless v's ethernet. He's a lot more into computers and technology than us so we just let him advise us and we put all the data cabling in at the same time that the electrical cabling was done before the tin was put on the roof and before the walls were plastered. Old house was demolished this week - it's GONE!!!!!!!!!!!! Looks so completely bizarre, and we've got the most massive front yard now! It's a bit scarey actually..... Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 64May 11, 2012 12:51 pm I'm impressed you've had the foresight to cable. It's icing on the cake - your place looks beautiful! We did one other thing you might find interesting. In 1979, when we built our place in Kingsley, we found the $$$ in a tight budget to put in a 5000 gal concrete tank and tie a 1 hp pump to it. We use it exclusively for the garden, and it normally gets us through the summer. Concrete needs a good clean inside after the first winter. After that, it's maintenance-free if the mix is right (no sand, just two sizes of aggregate and blue metal dust). Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 65May 17, 2012 2:58 pm Hi Tammy - if you are still interested in getting some temp blinds - check the new update on this thread viewtopic.php?f=23&t=31381&start=20 Go on the last page to find out where you can get them in Australia. Hope this helps Preliminary agreement 23/11 Contract 22/03 Prestart 06/04 - finalised on 30/04 Unconditional approval 10/05 Demolition 05/07 Slab 26/08 Brickwork 13/09-06/10 Roof frame started 07/10 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32292 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 66Jun 01, 2012 4:55 pm Bagheera Hi Tammy - if you are still interested in getting some temp blinds - check the new update on this thread viewtopic.php?f=23&t=31381&start=20 Hi Bagheera, Thanks for thinking of me again and passing on this info. We ended up taking down curtains from our old place just before it was demolished and hanging them over our games room window as a temporary blind. Well it's meant to be temporary but what's the bet its still hanging there in 5 years time! The old curtains were a perfect fit for the window. We're still having on-going issues with Vista blinds. After the debacle when they came to fit the first time and most of the blinds were the wrong size, we waited 8 weeks and they came back to re-fit them. They actually got them the right size this time, but they have still lost the timber venitian for our bathroom (and it had never been re-ordered) and one of our living room blinds that was originally made in the wrong fabric and was too small had not been re-made. After 3 days of chasing them up I finally got a call to say that the bathroom blind had never been ordered so we have another 6 week wait for that one (even though we ordered it on 4 Jan!) and they hadn't authorised the re-making of our living room blind (even though it was in the wrong fabric and too small). Well a very furious call to the State manager and it's now being re-made. Our plantation shutter for the ensuite has FINALLY been made (that was ordered on 4 Jan too) and is due to be installed on 10 Jan. I am SO OVER BLINDS!!!! Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 67Jun 01, 2012 5:10 pm Well we've had a very exciting/stressful/exhausting/nerve wracking month. The old house was demolished which meant that we could now go ahead and get our services connected. We have no sewer so we were originally going to put in new septics. They have to go in front of the house to get enough separation from the creek but due to our soil type we required 2 leach drains each 15m long. This then caused problems with our service connections, particularly our gas connection. Long story short we decided to put a Fugiclean ATU system in and the water gets pumped out to 2 big irrigation areas along the front and side boundaries. We've spent the last few weekends working really hard cutting down a few trees and clearing out the areas ready for the subsoil irrigation. Then Wednesday we had a really busy day with the excavator digging all our service trenches and connecting up the ATU unit. I don't think our build site had ever seen so much activity on it in one day! Now we're waiting for Alinta to connect our gas and our sparkie to run the power from the green dome to the meter box and finish off our meter box. Nothing goes without a hickup and when the Western Power contractors were trenching to put our green dome in last week, they dug up our phone line. We now have to organise a new phone line but we're hopeful they'll pay for it. As soon as the power is connected and the council's signed off our ATU we can move in!! Don't be fooled into thinking that means the house is finished. We've still got a very long slog ahead of us but at least life might be a little easier when we're living in our own home again. Life isn't that cheerful when your family of 4 are all living in the 1 bedroom in with your father-in-law Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 68Jun 01, 2012 7:00 pm You're on the home straight Tammy ....tell me - what does that light look like at the end of the tunnel ??? I had to grimace when I read about the excavator digging up the phone lines - so typical of what we've experienced everytime a bobcat or excavator has been on our site - dug up power cables, broken stormwater pipes, damaged downpipes etc....I'm so nervous every time they come just worrying about what's going to get broken next...... Owner Building on 1800sqm Sanity Intact so far Locked up March 2012 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 69Jun 01, 2012 9:06 pm It's funny, I think the thing I'm most excited about is our new fridge. I just can't wait to move in so I can start using it. I'm having torn feelings at the moment. I really want to move in but on the flip side we have no driveway (it's a dug-up, clayey, boggy, lumpy mess that you can't drive on or you get bogged) and we have no paths around the house. Our front yard has also been all dug up and there's brown/orange clay everywhere. You can't walk anywhere without getting filthy. Yesterday I was there with the kids waiting to lock up after the plumbers and it started to rain. The kids ran out and played in the rain and before I could stop them they were actually rolling around in the mud and got covered from head to toe. Even their hair was matted with orange mud. The plumbers were horrified! I'm kind of dreading how hard it will be to keep the house clean with the kids. Top priority will be to have the exposed agg paths done around the house and to get the driveway into a driveable state. Unfortunately the paths can't be done until DH had done all the downpipes/stormwater drainage. He's starting that this weekend hopefully. It still doesn't feel like we're on the home stretch. I'm going to take a deep breath and type a list of all the jobs we're still to do (not including service connections and not in order): INSIDE: hang and paint all internal doors, and put handles on (doors? who needs doors!!) skirting boards in living, meals, games & passages fireplace - put on mantle, decide what to put in front for the hearth, plaster the front over the wooden frame holding it in kitchen kickboards make padded pelmets for windows make window sills lots of touch up painting gamesroom - paint all of it plus carpet make frame around built in fish tank OUTSIDE stormwater drainage/downpipes install and connect rainwater tank exposed agg paths & carport (paying someone) driveway (paying someone) clothes line line verandah put up verandah decorative brackets & finials on gables paint verandah ceiling, posts & gables do bird boards paint rafter tails in exposed eaves, birdboards, gables & downpipes build deck build patio build shed front fence lots of retaining walls landscaping, landscaping, landscaping! I'm sure there's lots of other fiddly little jobs. Out of those 2 lists the only things were not doing ourselves are our paths and driveway. I'm sure we will finish one day.... I think!!! Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills 70Jun 02, 2012 1:51 am Tam K Your house looks great. If it is ANY consolation, we have been in our OB and only got bathroom mirrors yesterday! (okay we had them in our ensuite but NOWHERE else!!) We done have any towel rails or toilet roll things. I can't make up my mind. Curtains are an ongoing drama. Our doors are not finished being painted BUT I love my house, it is our house, our space and it works for us!!!! Parts of it are to die for and parts well .... just a bloody lot of work still to be done! Relax ... it is not having to be ready for a magazine feature so sit back, relax and enjoy your fridge!!!! Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... we're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 71Jun 29, 2012 3:49 pm We're in!!!! So excited, it's such a massive milestone and at stages we thought we'd never get here. Yesterday we had our inspection from the Enviro Health Officer from the council to sign off our ATU system so we can legally flush the dunny and legally have occupancy! So exciting. We haven't had a working toilet on site since the old house was demolished 3 months ago so it's such a relief (literally). My 6yo actually cheered out loud today when she was using the toilet for the first time. The kids were getting a bit sick of tramping out through the mud to the bush whenever they needed to go on the weekends while we're working there. Tonight will be the first night we sleep there. My DH has been away all week this week so missed the excitement of the council inspection yesterday. He gets home tonight so we'll definitely be cracking open the bubbly!! Even though we've been spending so much time there, it feels so bizarre to think about sleeping there tonight. Really strange! Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 72Jun 29, 2012 4:06 pm congrats TamK - sooooo exciting... can't wait to see some moved in photos Re feeling strange - that will pass quickly - it's just because you spent the last few months coming and going to the place... we were so exhausted from the move that we didn't even think much - just plonked the base and mattress in the middle of one bedroom and quickly made up the bed then collapsed. We had to move that bed 3 times around the house before we could finally move in the master... our bed became the little island of nice in the middle of cement dusty floors, paint, tiles, etc etc You are lucky you go in with everything done Preliminary agreement 23/11 Contract 22/03 Prestart 06/04 - finalised on 30/04 Unconditional approval 10/05 Demolition 05/07 Slab 26/08 Brickwork 13/09-06/10 Roof frame started 07/10 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32292 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 73Jun 29, 2012 4:31 pm For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 74Jun 29, 2012 5:00 pm Fantastic news!! Looking forward to some move in pics..... pppppplllllleeeeeaaaasssseeeee!!!! but enjoy your move in bubbles first. Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 75Jun 29, 2012 5:24 pm Congratulations (both on moving in and having flushing facilities ) you've done really well. Now onto the next build ??? LOL Sit down and relax for a while - you deserve it Owner Building on 1800sqm Sanity Intact so far Locked up March 2012 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... We're in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 76Jul 01, 2012 4:19 pm Thanks heaps everyone, I really appreciate your support. I promise lots of photo's soon. Unfortunately the computer is still hooked up at my FiL's. I've just ducked back to get another load of clothes so just popped on to say hi. Once we're all unpacked I promise lots of photos. It feels so great to be moved in. My DH woke up this morning and said "it feels like we've finally moved home". Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... Total photo overload 77Jul 12, 2012 1:42 am Get ready for a total photo overload. I finally took some photos of the house this week, but the majority of them are taken at night so they're looking very dark and you can't see the pretty views out the windows. In the day time the house is lovely and light and bright, but this will give you a general idea of how it's looking (on the inside at least). MASTER BEDROOM My DH made the bedhead a few years ago, but our new bed is heaps higher than our old one so unfortunately a lot of the bedhead is covered by the bed. We're now looking for some matching marri bedside tables. Night Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Day Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ WIR Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Ensuite Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ BATHROOM & KIDS ROOMS Kids need wardrobe doors and bedroom doors, plus they need the gamesroom to be finished so we can get rid of a few toys out of their rooms! DD1 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ DD2 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Main bathroom Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Their blind finally arrived today, 6 months after we ordered it! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kids toilet - just needs a door! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Linen closet in passage - will soon have 4 sliding doors covering it up Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Inside of front doors Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ KITCHEN The kitchen is still unfinished but getting there. Still needs kick boards, doors on the pantry and full length cupboard, and an end panel on the end of the bench. Looks dark in the photos but the benchtops aren't as black as they appear. There's a big window behind the white blind (behind the sink). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ MEALS AREA Still looking a bit bare. Need to buy a buffet and display cabinet. This area just needs skirting boards and we're making a pelmet to go over the bay window. Night Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Day Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ LIVING AREA Still needs skirting boards, pelmets, and the fire place needs finishing. We had to leave it open so the cabling could be done for the new TV. That's done now so over the next week DH will fill in the hole around the fireplace, then we can make the mantle, and finally choose something to put down as the hearth in front (haven't decided what though). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Frog tank Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Fish tank - just started setting it up. Once set up we'll do the jarrah frame around the edge out of left over floorboards Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Laundry - just need doors on the loo and cupboard Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Sorry for the total photo overload! Our owner-builder journey - viewtopic.php?f=38&t=45187 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... Total photo overload 78Jul 12, 2012 2:48 am Very nice! Love the native garden as well. Thanks for sharing. Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... Total photo overload 79Jul 12, 2012 7:31 am Oh Tam !!! It's lovely.....must be so nice to have settled in. It is so spacious and the lovely floorboards give it real warmth....I love your meals area with that wonderful outlook !! Well done to you all - you must be so proud of what you've achieved. Owner Building on 1800sqm Sanity Intact so far Locked up March 2012 Re: Another OB in Perth Foothills... Total photo overload 80Jul 12, 2012 9:40 am Wow,Wow,Wow,love the look and styling Building Standards; Getting It Right! Don't think they are designed for double brick. WA has a particular way of building and unfortunately that's the way a large amount of sills are finished. 3 4726 Wow that is shocking, how did it go informing the other builder? 5 10194 Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. We're planning our garage/external laundry to master bedroom and… 0 1181 |