Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Banksia House from YourHome Passive Design 16Jan 23, 2022 9:39 pm stonesthrow arfshesaid Thank you very much for this specific and helpful reply! Glad to hear that about goodhouse as I already have them on my list to contact. (just checking, googled Mirage Homes and they seem like a custom builder only without a standard design -- did you mean someone else?) Hope all is going well with your plans, cheers. Sorry I meant their standard inclusions (not standard build /design). They fully custom design to suit your site. They have an in house designer How has your research/build gone stonesthrow? I have had good experiences talking with Goodhouse and TS4, and visited the Adelaide Green Homes display house which was instructive in terms of things we do and don't like. Going to visit a TS4 house soon hopefully and will talk further with them. A little concerned about cost increases this year but we have some budget contingency. We considered going with Weeks (I was very impressed with their Oxford display home), but putting together a briefing document helped me realise all the things a volume builder simply could not do for us. We're gonna be in this house for decades (hopefully) so site-specific and personalised design from the ground up is worth the extra money to us. Re: Banksia House from YourHome Passive Design 17Jan 23, 2022 10:34 pm arfshesaid stonesthrow arfshesaid Thank you very much for this specific and helpful reply! Glad to hear that about goodhouse as I already have them on my list to contact. (just checking, googled Mirage Homes and they seem like a custom builder only without a standard design -- did you mean someone else?) Hope all is going well with your plans, cheers. Sorry I meant their standard inclusions (not standard build /design). They fully custom design to suit your site. They have an in house designer How has your research/build gone stonesthrow? I have had good experiences talking with Goodhouse and TS4, and visited the Adelaide Green Homes display house which was instructive in terms of things we do and don't like. Going to visit a TS4 house soon hopefully and will talk further with them. A little concerned about cost increases this year but we have some budget contingency. We considered going with Weeks (I was very impressed with their Oxford display home), but putting together a briefing document helped me realise all the things a volume builder simply could not do for us. We're gonna be in this house for decades (hopefully) so site-specific and personalised design from the ground up is worth the extra money to us. Hi there, Yeah I looked into rossdale as they were the only volume builder who were willing to sit down with me after I showed them my brief. I quickly found out that they wouldn't be significant saving anymore when they no longer use standard materials and get the volume discounts. The sales guy was also trying to talk me out of some things. I think if I were building an investment property or a small holiday house I'd give them a go and just make it simple and make the most of their bulk materials (brick etc.). You could probably still get a reasonable outcome so long as you pushed them. Good that you have talked to those 3. I didn't pursue AGH because they had an annoying sales guy that I didn't like. Don't think he works there anymore though. Why are you leaning towards ts4 over goodhouse? So we decided to go through Mirage and are in the concept stage now. We didn't want to spend more time saving to afford architect fees and figured our plan should be simple enough. I would guess that goodhouse and ts4 will prioritise efficiency more and they would have more expertise. I think mirage are getting better but there are some things I've had to push back on a bit from a design point of view. Their building methods and standards are good though from what I've seen and I expect to have a fairly high performing house with good air tightness. I think if you're happy to pay some extra up front (and maybe a little extra for the build), I'd go with goodhouse or ts4 as you could have more trust in them during the design phase. FYI I know timber has gone up around 100% so far for us clients. Don't think much else has filtered through (builders might be taking the hit?) so it's not outrageous. Re: Banksia House from YourHome Passive Design 18Jan 24, 2022 10:31 am stonesthrow Hi there, Yeah I looked into rossdale as they were the only volume builder who were willing to sit down with me after I showed them my brief. I quickly found out that they wouldn't be significant saving anymore when they no longer use standard materials and get the volume discounts. The sales guy was also trying to talk me out of some things. I think if I were building an investment property or a small holiday house I'd give them a go and just make it simple and make the most of their bulk materials (brick etc.). You could probably still get a reasonable outcome so long as you pushed them. Good that you have talked to those 3. I didn't pursue AGH because they had an annoying sales guy that I didn't like. Don't think he works there anymore though. Why are you leaning towards ts4 over goodhouse? So we decided to go through Mirage and are in the concept stage now. We didn't want to spend more time saving to afford architect fees and figured our plan should be simple enough. I would guess that goodhouse and ts4 will prioritise efficiency more and they would have more expertise. I think mirage are getting better but there are some things I've had to push back on a bit from a design point of view. Their building methods and standards are good though from what I've seen and I expect to have a fairly high performing house with good air tightness. I think if you're happy to pay some extra up front (and maybe a little extra for the build), I'd go with goodhouse or ts4 as you could have more trust in them during the design phase. FYI I know timber has gone up around 100% so far for us clients. Don't think much else has filtered through (builders might be taking the hit?) so it's not outrageous. Excited to hear you've moved to the concept stage with Mirage! Would love to see your plans on this or a new thread if/when you have them. I know goodhouse is big on waffle pod slabs, did you go with a conventional raft? There were elements of the AGH design that we really liked and it was nice to get a good look at a burnished concrete floor, because I have my reservations about it as a floor surface. On the whole I didn't love the display home and didn't engage much with sales. We didn't reach out to Mirage as I don't have the time/energy capacity to have your confidence evaluating design from an environmental point of view, so I definitely need to be able to trust the architect when it comes to energy and sustainability solutions. I was very impressed with the goodhouse info session and how well-structured and clear their pricing and timeline documentation is. No doubt they could deliver, but there is a little rigidity and remoteness to their designs and process and they seem more suited to spectacular big budget stuff. What I've seen of TS4 designs are less remote while retaining an architectural flexibility, and fitting into our unspectacular suburban context is important to us. Paul at TS4 is very approachable and knowledgeable, if a little chaotic! Feel like he and his team would be good partners for our kind of project. Glad to hear that about building costs. It's a comfort that these firms have a lot of trust in their builders, who, being specialised, can weather the storm a little more easily. Re: Banksia House from YourHome Passive Design 19Jan 24, 2022 9:42 pm arfshesaid stonesthrow Hi there, Yeah I looked into rossdale as they were the only volume builder who were willing to sit down with me after I showed them my brief. I quickly found out that they wouldn't be significant saving anymore when they no longer use standard materials and get the volume discounts. The sales guy was also trying to talk me out of some things. I think if I were building an investment property or a small holiday house I'd give them a go and just make it simple and make the most of their bulk materials (brick etc.). You could probably still get a reasonable outcome so long as you pushed them. Good that you have talked to those 3. I didn't pursue AGH because they had an annoying sales guy that I didn't like. Don't think he works there anymore though. Why are you leaning towards ts4 over goodhouse? So we decided to go through Mirage and are in the concept stage now. We didn't want to spend more time saving to afford architect fees and figured our plan should be simple enough. I would guess that goodhouse and ts4 will prioritise efficiency more and they would have more expertise. I think mirage are getting better but there are some things I've had to push back on a bit from a design point of view. Their building methods and standards are good though from what I've seen and I expect to have a fairly high performing house with good air tightness. I think if you're happy to pay some extra up front (and maybe a little extra for the build), I'd go with goodhouse or ts4 as you could have more trust in them during the design phase. FYI I know timber has gone up around 100% so far for us clients. Don't think much else has filtered through (builders might be taking the hit?) so it's not outrageous. Excited to hear you've moved to the concept stage with Mirage! Would love to see your plans on this or a new thread if/when you have them. I know goodhouse is big on waffle pod slabs, did you go with a conventional raft? There were elements of the AGH design that we really liked and it was nice to get a good look at a burnished concrete floor, because I have my reservations about it as a floor surface. On the whole I didn't love the display home and didn't engage much with sales. We didn't reach out to Mirage as I don't have the time/energy capacity to have your confidence evaluating design from an environmental point of view, so I definitely need to be able to trust the architect when it comes to energy and sustainability solutions. I was very impressed with the goodhouse info session and how well-structured and clear their pricing and timeline documentation is. No doubt they could deliver, but there is a little rigidity and remoteness to their designs and process and they seem more suited to spectacular big budget stuff. What I've seen of TS4 designs are less remote while retaining an architectural flexibility, and fitting into our unspectacular suburban context is important to us. Paul at TS4 is very approachable and knowledgeable, if a little chaotic! Feel like he and his team would be good partners for our kind of project. Glad to hear that about building costs. It's a comfort that these firms have a lot of trust in their builders, who, being specialised, can weather the storm a little more easily. I probably won't ever post anything here that's public, but happy to share privately or keep you posted on how I go. They normally do waffle, but will depend on the soil. Not sure yet. I don't think you'll go wrong with either. I'd be happy to use both! Let me know how you get on. I'd love to compare processes. It's not a very transparent industry! Re: Banksia House from YourHome Passive Design 20Jan 25, 2022 9:33 am I'd love to see and share! I'll DM you to kick it off. 0 5248 Good on you for having a go I am the opposite of DIY (so will pay a builder) - our vibe is industrial/simple so current thinking is 150mm concrete and then internally is… 3 3162 Once you know the basics, the rest is easy. Read my post in the thread linked below. viewtopic.php?p=1919271#p1919271 2 20437 |