Browse Forums Building A New House Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 2Jun 16, 2013 2:24 pm Building the Ascot 35 with Carlisle Homes in Pasadena Estate, Clyde VIC My build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59776 Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 4Jun 16, 2013 8:54 pm Looks like a great use of space!! My only comment and is a personal preferance is change the glass sliding door in the Landry to a standard door with glass in it. It's one of the few things I wish I had done. Good luck with the journey ahead Re: RedInk Homes First Time Builder - Planning Stage 5Jun 18, 2013 11:49 pm Thanks for the tips! @fmac Any particular reason for the aversion to sliding doors? Thought I'd upload some photos of my procrastination. I'm a very visual person, so I thought I would try 'visualise' my house. Good thing survey tape is only $4 for 100m! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 6Jun 19, 2013 12:04 am If youave a normal door you can run the bench to the wall.. The blinds on a sliding door also get stuck I find and it is difficult to clean. Though I've just looked at yours again and you have the washing machine against the door so probably not as much of an issue. Our trough it in that corner so we could have had it butt up right next to the wall. Though if your planning a front loader you can run your bench fit up to the wall and have the machine under it. I love your idea of marking it out!! Though you'll be amazed at how different it looks when the walls go up Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 7Jun 19, 2013 12:21 am fmac If youave a normal door you can run the bench to the wall.. The blinds on a sliding door also get stuck I find and it is difficult to clean. Though I've just looked at yours again and you have the washing machine against the door so probably not as much of an issue. Our trough it in that corner so we could have had it butt up right next to the wall. Though if your planning a front loader you can run your bench fit up to the wall and have the machine under it. I love your idea of marking it out!! Though you'll be amazed at how different it looks when the walls go up I agree. So much easier to have a normal door and bench running to the wall. No narrow gap where the dust collects. A front loader under the bench looks great and is heaps easier to keep clean! Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 8Jun 19, 2013 12:34 am Just posting to follow your build Our home building & decorating blog - http://www.rocknsoul.com.au/blog Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 9Jun 19, 2013 1:04 am Another Redinker here I've got a few suggestions to what I would do to your plan: 1.Add in nib walls to the showers so that there is a little 1m high wall between the vanity and shower that the glass screen sits on. Makes cleaning easier and creates a shelf in the shower for shampoo bottles etc. 2.The sliding door on your pantry may not look like what you are expecting with the way it is done at the moment. It would look nicer if it slid inside the pantry instead of out but then you would have to figure out space for it to slide next to the shelves. The way it is at the moment would not allow you to put anything on the kitchen wall like a clock etc. Maybe a hinged door? 3.At this stage of negotiations it shouldn't cost too much to add in any feature niches or a shower niche but depends on your sales rep. 4.I would raise the garage ceiling to 28c as 25c is really low and does cause issues with 4wds...not cheap but worth it. 5.I would find out how much it costs to raise the entry to 31c as well. As you are building a custom design your plan will be costed against the redink plan that it best matches and you may still have some high ceiling allowance to use! 6.This one is probably fine but just checking you have a furniture placement plan for the theatre with the doors in that position? Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 10Jun 19, 2013 1:05 am (sorry my phone not cooperating...) 7.The windows you have in the garage are all awnings which are quite expensive. Will you actually open these? Would a fixed panel for 1, 2 or all be something you would do? This is me assuming that a fixed panel looks the same as an awning from the outside though! 8.Totally agree about putting a hinged door on the laundry...regret not doing it myself! Looking forward to seeing your plan evolve! Our final plan is fairly different to what we started with Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 12Jun 19, 2013 12:51 pm Yes I agree with what kat says! Great suggestions. Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 13Jun 19, 2013 11:21 pm Hi PanRaptor I'm at about the same stage as you. Have been chatting to RedInk (as well as Dale Alcock) about designing us a plan. I'm looking forward to following your post. I like your plan and I agree with the other comments. Another idea...I personally prefer 31 course ceilings for alfrescos, but I don't know yet how much extra that costs. Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 14Jun 20, 2013 12:18 am Wow guys! Thanks for all the great feedback. Here's what I'll be suggesting for the next iteration of the floor plan; - 31C ceilings in the entry (purely for aesthetics) and the alfresco (aesthetics and ceiling fan placement) - 28C ceilings in the garage - Sliding door on inside of pantry (Thanks xxkatxx!) - Hinged door on laundry!!! (Almost unanimous, can't go against that!) Perhaps I'll get a cat flap on the door now too. - Extended robe (1500mm) in Bed 2/Study - Increasing robe width to 650mm - Door with Glass pane between kitchen/living and hallway (for temperature control/sound) - Fixed panel windows in the garage (again, thanks xxkatxx) - Ditch the second sink in the ensuite bathroom (more bench space > superfluous sink) - Stone bench tops in bathrooms (Just to be a little fancy) I'll think about shower nib walls and extending the alfresco. Perhaps adding a skylight to the hallway. Could be nice. I guess the next step for me is thinking about appliances and furniture to make sure there is enough flexibility in the floor plan. One day I might even make it to pre-start! Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 15Jun 23, 2013 9:42 pm Looking at your plan made me go back to our first plan drawn up by Redink and it's amazing how different it is but still with the same basic principles that we wanted in the house. Definitly worth looking at over and over again and taking your time Thought of one more thing to think about Looking at your windows in your master I can see that they are 710 wide for all of the front of your house and that is the way it ties together. Only problem I can see is that your master might not be getting enough light. The good thing is that you don't have a fence near the master windows so they wont have any sunlight getting blocked but would you consider adding a window to the wall on the left? Even a highlight window? Do you know how you would have your furniture layout? We ended up with 2 x 910 windows in our master and I'm glad they aren't any smaller so that's why I would consider adding some others. We measured out our bed and put a window either side and had the bottom of the window line up with the top of the bedside tables. So it's really good to think about your furniture and design the room around it. Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 16Jun 23, 2013 10:30 pm Nice plan PanRaptor, and all really good suggestions...gotta love this site!! Definately agree with raising the garage to 28c and entry to 31c, I would also raise the portico as well if you decide to do the entrance. We raised our entrance and forgot to do the portico, and looking at it now,it doesn't look too bad but would of looked better if we thought to do that bit as well. It shouldn't cost you too much, our entrance is a similar size to yours and it only cost us around $480 , different builder but I wouldn't think it would be much more as its flowing into your main area which is also 31c. The only other thing i thought of is recessing the bath out to under the eaves. My friend did this and it really makes it feel more roomier...oh and I would extend the alfresco too. Either way it's a great design. Good luck Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 17Jun 24, 2013 12:07 am So, just had home visit from a celebrations home rep. Thought I would get a second opinion before I commit to RedInk since they were the first people I approached. I got to say, I'm more confused now. It's so hard to know when to stop looking at plans and make a decision. I feel like I'm taking two steps back to take one step forward! I also visited/re-visited some display homes today. A feature of a Dale Alcock home really intrigued me. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I could see it working really well with my current theatre/alfresco set up. I like the idea of getting a bit more use out of the theatre. I love movies (and video games) but I can see that room being empty most of the time. I'll see how much this window/bench will cost and decide accordingly! Kind of off topic, but I've fallen in love with Clipsal light switches (see below). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Does anyone know much about them? Are they prone to breaking or getting stuck? I'm really hoping they are not because I'm quite taken by them... Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 18Jun 24, 2013 12:12 am If you have the time I think spending some time shopping around plans is a good idea I love those switches as well. I haven't priced them but I understand they are very expensive, especially through the builder! I am hoping a friend of ours might be able to get them at trade prices for us and change them over. There are some other nice ones as well Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 19Jun 26, 2013 6:07 pm Hi all, Thought I would post the plan for Unit 2, the house being built behind mine. I've had a fair bit of input in the design on behalf of my brother. It's pretty cool I think, very different to mine. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We've already requested a few changes, but that's more or less what the house will look like. Hopefully going to sign the PCQ this week!!! Re: First Time Builder - Planning Stage 20Jun 26, 2013 6:25 pm Looks good! My only thought was would you get more space if you entered the house through the walk in pantry? Then you could use the wasted space that is the corridor? Would probably make it big enough you could have a bench there for keys etc when you come in and then the pantry stuff. Just a though as I've seen some of the big walk in pantries and if it was fitted with cabinets at the bottom with bench and then shelf you would dramatically increase storage space... Also dump shopping as you walk in interesting situation what happened after builder issued final invoice? did you list as defect or not does the building surveyor have any responsibility? ie. issuing… 13 46960 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Hi all, My neighbour has built his 15m long garage on our boundary. It was agreed as part of the planning permit that the wall must be in exposed recycled brick. For some… 0 10908 Hi, I contracted a Builder to do a Garage to Bedroom + ensuite conversion (Class 1a), the Builder engaged the Certifier and Engineer and received BDA from the Certifier… 0 5015 |