Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 11, 2007 9:46 am Talinsmum, Fiona, has asked for some more pictures of our house so please find a selection below.
We designed and built the house in 2005, as owner builder. We organized all plans, permits and insurances etc, and used a registered builder to do site preparation, frame, roof and cladding. I organized the plumber, electrician, plasterer, cabinets and fitout and did all painting, most of the tiling and landscaping. Site prep involved the removal of 120 m3 of soil and the soil classification was P, which we knew before purchase. The slab was designed with deepened perimeter and internal beams and double layer mesh throughout. The internal beams were on a 4 m grid. Despite having to remove the soil and the beefed up slab, the additional cost was relatively small. The house is 224 sq m plus 25 sq m deck. Only the front section is brick, the rest is ecoply. External wall height is 3.6m and roof is flat colourbond kliplock. Even though only the front section is brick, we still used over 6000 bricks due to the 3.6m wall height. Installing the ecoply was also a pain in the neck due to the wall height. Ceiling height is 2.7m, with 2340 doors and windows. Timber floors are 130mm utility grade Blackbutt with a satin finish. Kitchen cabinets are Polytech Mountain Pepper and Benchtops are Bizazzastone Riflesso. Bathroom and Ensuite cabinets are Wenge, the wall and floor tiling is large format 600mm x 300mm, the feature tiles are glass mosaics. Paint colours are Astor White for walls and ceilings, the bedroom wall is Esprit, the front doors are Garnet and I can’t remember the two browns in the living room. Exterior ecoply is On The Rocks. If you have any questions I am happy to answer them. 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 ⋅ Re: Blue Rain House 4Nov 11, 2007 9:56 am I m sooo impressed!
That is a beautiful home you have! Very tastefully decorated as well! Well done, you should be very proud of yourselves, it is just stunning! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Blue Rain House 7Nov 11, 2007 12:00 pm shanem,
A great house and a tribute to your skills, devotion and dedication. You mentioned that you're about to do it again. If your previous attempt was so good, and I assume your next will be better, can you tell me somethings about your next attempt at producing a great house. Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Blue Rain House 9Nov 11, 2007 1:47 pm Brilliant work. Certainly looks professional and absolutely smashes mass produced house and land packages. Re: Blue Rain House 10Nov 11, 2007 2:24 pm Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Blue Rain House 11Nov 11, 2007 3:19 pm uh oh!!
No eaves! Thats very un-efficient of you. Vanderlays gonna get you Re: Blue Rain House 12Nov 11, 2007 7:01 pm Shane congratulations on building such a beautiful home, I am thrilled that you have posted these pics - just a couple of questions if you will please?
1. Do you think that owner builder experience is worth it (i.e. extra work, headaches, responsibility for insurances etc? Obviously the result of your house proves how succesful it can be, we are now considering it and therefore would be interested in your experience and advice as opposed to going with a builder. How did you go about chosing your tradies and locking in prices and did you have contracts in place with any or all of them? Are you a tradie yourself? Where abouts did you build? 2. were the bricks alot more expensive than "standard" ranges? I am totally sold on those....but I like Tawny Heritage as well.... (Ok, a few more than 2 questions, but what can I say.....thats what we are here for!! ) Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: Blue Rain House 14Nov 11, 2007 10:20 pm Thanks to everyone for your kind comments.
Fiona, those glass mosaics do look impressive don’t they ! Both sides of that wall are done; the tiles were $18.50 a sheet , which doesn’t sound much, but to do that small wall cost about $800 just for the tiles ! Casa, the new house we are doing is totally different. The block is in an established area, so we want to fit in with the existing styles, which is conservative contemporary, and only 12m wide so we have a few design constraints. We also wanted to keep the build as simple as possible. The block also has 1 meter fall, so we have cut in a bit as we wanted to have everything on one level. We have shingle tiled roof with hips all round and a small entry portico. The rear of the block faces north west so the kitchen meals and living area are located at the rear of the house and lead onto a 9 x 3.6 m deck. The roofline extends 2.4 m over the deck. We are using Selkirk Tawny Heritage bricks. We have the usual 3 bed , 2 bath , 2 living plus study arrangement, flooring will be carpet and tiles, no timber this time round. We are still working on kitchen and bathroom colour schemes. Total area under roofline is 26 sq. We hope to be in by late February. Again using a builder to do slab frame roof and cladding Ash, no roof, solar powered everything, also collects a lot of water during storms !!! HomeReview, it was not a cheap build as such given the 3.6m exterior walls, but it came in at $8300 a square, plus carpets, blinds, driveway and fencing, but not including my labour. Matt, yes……no eaves but still thermally ok. We actually wanted the roofline to extend 3m over the deck, but the energy rater said we would lose the five star rating (I don’t understand how!!!) and we didn’t like the other options to regain the five star rating. We had intended to extent the roof after the C of O but sold it before we got the chance. Ruth, we used a registered builder to do site prep slab frame roof and cladding, and I organized everything else. The benefit of this is that you get the builders warranty on the structure, which is a helpful selling point. As for tradies, I have known the plumber and electrician for many years, I ask around for the plasterers and have found good ones each time, I look at cabinet makers work and get a few quotes. I also have one of the builders chippies do the fix (Archs, skirts , doors etc) for me. I get a tiler in to do the shower bases (very specialized work) by referral. The only contract I sign is with the builder, all others are done by quote and a handshake. So far I have never had a problem. I am not a tradie (did office work for 27 years) but you can learn a lot by watching and asking questions. Even doing it this way with the builder, there is still a lot of work organizing plans permits insurances, buying plumbing and light fittings, windows, HWS and heaters etc, painting, waterproofing, shower screens etc, so doing it while working full time would be difficult. This house is located in the Dromana area. Currently building in Mt Eliza. The Blue Rain is a fairly expensive brick around $820 per thousand, the Heritage range is about $700 per thousand, though builders will get a discounted rate. Good luck with your project. Steve, thanks for that. Re: Blue Rain House 15Nov 11, 2007 10:35 pm wow Shane, sounds like a lot of work!! And whilst I am on maternity leave - looking after bubs is a full time job (and I am doing some consulting work from home as well!) I think we will have to seriously consider the OB thing....not sure if we could pull it off!!
Re the bricks, I checked with one of the hi volume project builders - Tawny Heritage is Cat 2 and extra $39 per thousand..(extra $329 for 50mm)...Blue Rain is an extra $400 per thousand!! Thanks for your detailed & prompt reply, much appreciated! Ruth -Bought house in Melbourne inner burbs, knocked it down & now...we are owner builders! Completed OB project and moved in to our new home with our new baby in May 2009! Re: Blue Rain House 16Nov 13, 2007 7:26 am Oh my god!!! I LOVE your bathroom. I love the rest of your house as well, but that bathroom. I think I need to splurge on the mosaic tiles.
Love love love it. Well done. Jet Re: Blue Rain House 18Nov 14, 2007 5:27 pm Thats amazing.....it looks like a display home. I love it!
Your furnishing certainly puts mine to shame! I still have boxes and bags everywhere....I am too lazy to sort out my things... Our Adenbrook home was completed in September. Re: Blue Rain House 19Nov 14, 2007 9:12 pm Hi James
The garage door is a tilt door made from marine ply. It, and the ecoply, I painted in Dulux On The Rocks colour, but in Wattyl Solarguard. The ecoply we used is light and tended to twist and warp particularly on very hot days. We finished up nailing it at about 400mm centres.To paint it, I used a roller and a brush for the grooves. The stuff soaked up paint like a sponge !!!!! It took forever. Spraying prior to installation would have been a better option. There are better products available now some made from 9mm compressed masonite (I think), and others from compressed fibre cement, and they come pre primed so painting is relatively easy, and are less prone to warping. aaurora....thanks for your comments The bottom of the downpipe has been taped (see the black tape) to seal the necessary gap between the downpipe and the adaptor that would normally prevent the downpipe… 3 9238 I’m just in the process of replacing 2 stud walls that have been severely damaged by termites and am planning to use h2 blue pine. I just wanted to if anyone can advise… 0 52857 Hi, does anyone have any experience with using Trex rain escape or EPDM rubber to waterproof a deck so you have dry space underneath. Popular in the US and realize that… 0 3449 |