Kingston 33 build with Rawson - Southwest Sydney

batabatuta · Dec 18, 2017 5:22 pm

Hi All,

My first post on this forum, and my first time building a home with my partner. So far this site and some of the building blogs have been so useful!

We are currently at the plan presentation phase of our build and what a journey it is. We are building with Rawson after falling in love with some of their display homes.

Any tips would be welcome!
Also, we have a blog up at https://ourkingston33.wordpress.com if you want to check it out!

Thanks!
-Abby

JenBarber · Dec 18, 2017 7:20 pm

Hi Abby,

I’m a bit further behind you in doing a house build so I’m very interested to see how things go with you!

Did you look at other builders or just Rawsons?

batabatuta · Dec 18, 2017 10:02 pm

Hi Jen,

Thank you for you message. We also looked at Clarendon, kurmond, mojo, masterton and Metricon. With our land still not being registered, we had plenty of time to look at houses and do some research. Rawson probably have the best inclusions (lux inclusions) for a good price. Their initial payment is not that big (about $10k) so it doesn't hurt your savings as much. Process was pretty straight forward (as for now) and they're pretty spot on with the prices, no hidden costs.

What stage are you on now?

JenBarber · Dec 19, 2017 6:20 am

That’s really good you’re having a good experience with Rawsons. I had heard good things about their inclusions too, unfortunately they don’t build out where we’re buying land.

We’re at the trying to find a builder and design we like. It’s fun and frustrating at the same time

we’ve put a deposit down on land and just waiting for the lawyers to do their thing.

It’s 5 acres which after living in Sydney’s inner west for 10+ years I’m beyond excited about.

Did you look at smaller or larger floor plans than the 33? 33 seems to be the sweet spot for us too size and price wise but wondering if we should go slightly higher to a 35-37. But then I think of having to vacuum that much more flooring and I go cold 😂

KateAndDuke · Jan 21, 2018 7:07 pm

Following! How very exciting for you. We are building with Rawson near Newcastle NSW. They have been great so far. You made a good choice

batabatuta · Jan 21, 2018 8:51 pm

Hi Kate! Yay! Thank you! Yes, we're too excited but our land is still not registered

. Hoping it will be registered end of Feb. what house did you guys pick?

KateAndDuke · Jan 21, 2018 8:56 pm

batabatuta

Hi Kate! Yay! Thank you! Yes, we're too excited but our land is still not registered

. Hoping it will be registered end of Feb. what house did you guys pick?

Hi Abby, we chose the Edge. We have a long skinny block and we fell in love with the display at Kellyville. It just worked so well. Our rendering just finished so we should see exterior painting done soon. The weather has been phenomenal for building so it’s tracking well.

The registering process can be painfully long, but at least you can get some things done in the interim.

batabatuta · Jan 26, 2018 9:58 pm

We fell in love with that house too! But it was too long for our land

. Just checked your photos, looks beautiful love the facade! Looking forward to seeing more photos and I hope everything goes smoothly.

Just wondering how much did your window (next to the stairs) cost?

KateAndDuke · Jan 27, 2018 7:26 am

batabatuta

We fell in love with that house too! But it was too long for our land

. Just checked your photos, looks beautiful love the facade! Looking forward to seeing more photos and I hope everything goes smoothly.

Just wondering how much did your window (next to the stairs) cost?

The upgrade for the window was around $8K. But that’s only half the story . . . Because if the size of the window and a range of other factors, the house didn’t pass BASIX and we needed to upgrade the glazing in the window too. This cost another $4K. So it wasn’t cheap at all. We agonised over it for ages and came to the decision that in 5-10 years we’d kick ourselves for cheaping out over $12K for something that adds so much to the house design.

batabatuta · Jan 27, 2018 6:03 pm

Wow! Thought it'd be that much. I understand, if you can do it now why not. That window looks too beautiful to not have it. good luck with everything! Can't wait for our construction to start.

batabatuta · Mar 11, 2018 4:27 am

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External colours

Roof/Gutter/Fascia/Downpipes/RWT/Windows: Monument
Cladding: Wise Owl
Render (upgrade): Cookie Jar
Facebrick: Austral Bricks Bowral – Simmental Silver
Garage door: Black Walnut

JenBarber · Mar 12, 2018 9:30 am

Love your colours! I really like the contrast you've got with the bricks with the darker Monument.

batabatuta · Mar 13, 2018 5:41 am

Thanks Jen!

We initially went for a darker brick, austral - asphalt. But after weeks of thinking and looking at houses with that Brick We changed our mind to Simmental. As darker brick absorbs more heat and living in south west, there’s too much heat already. Hehe it’s a little expensive upgrade but it’s something that’s you can’t really change later (unless you render the whole house).

Mehak · Oct 24, 2020 8:31 pm

batabatuta

Hi All,

My first post on this forum, and my first time building a home with my partner. So far this site and some of the building blogs have been so useful!

We are currently at the plan presentation phase of our build and what a journey it is. We are building with Rawson after falling in love with some of their display homes.

Any tips would be welcome!
Also, we have a blog up at https://ourkingston33.wordpress.com if you want to check it out!

Thanks!
-Abby

Hi,

I wanted to understand how did the Kingston home come out? I am looking at building the same in Sydney.. Also I checked your blog but it’s not accessible