Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 3Jun 21, 2017 11:13 pm Mazzei homes is the same people as "better living group". We got a quote from them and it was fine however I didn't feel like I was getting much house for my dollar. I'm a bit of a control freak so wanted full control. In the end I engaged my own designer and private local builder and getting a lot of house. Feel free to take a look a my built thread and ask any questions if you like. I'm building on a 5.5m slope and only a 9m wide block. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 4Jun 22, 2017 5:24 pm Hi MisterSlope, Just wondering if you've made any progress on your custom builder selection? I just stumbled across Mazzei Homes today and was wondering if someone had previous experience they would like to share. Thanks in advance, Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 5Jun 23, 2017 8:10 am christoshizz thanks for your reply. I had a completely different outcome with Mazzie. They are open using different suppliers as I want because their architect (Dan Webster) is keen on some of my ideas and approaches. Plus you and I have different expectations as I am after something smaller but more fitted out. I had a look at your thread and you do have a complex site. Geez I would have freaked out building on that. I will be following your thread more closely. tpham001 I am still chatting with them. I reached out to couple of members on here who have built houses with Mazzie and they had good feedback. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 6Jun 26, 2017 1:50 pm Thanks for the response. I've search Mazzei on this forum but haven't found much info. I visited their display house in Strathmore last weekend and was quite impressed with the quality and fixtures etc. But, all this come at a cost. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 7Jun 28, 2017 2:09 pm Why don't you give COMDAIN a go. It was between L37 and Comdain and in the end, Comdain won hands down. They were just honest and quality of workmanship is second to none. They invited us to a work in progress house that is similar to the one I'm building. No pressure sell, no up sell, a little bit too hands off if you ask me but still they give you a lot of space. We have been to the 2 L37 display homes, the quality of the work is not great. Lots of hairline cracks near windows and uneven floorboards. Not only that, they don't seem to be good value in the price department, seems to be volume building inclusions at custom builder prices (e.g. they use waffle pods for foundation whenever you can where as Comdain only uses raft slab). The L37 sales guy told me the more you pay the more quality you get which is BS if you ask me. It should be the more you pay the bigger the house, the workmanship should be consistent which is what Comdain insisted and it showed in their work in progress houses and their display house. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 9Jun 29, 2017 10:31 am tpham001 I'm not sure what sort of aesthetic you are interested in or how much value you place on design but I would encourage you to look at Life Spaces Group - http://www.lifespacesgroup.com.au/. The four houses they are offered are designed by AuHaus. AuHaus is one of the best smaller architectural firms around in Melb. What makes LifeSpaces proposition unique is that each design comes with all the fittings/fixtures as you see in their renders and each design is built ten times before the design is retired. Unfortunately for me their design wont fit on my block as my block has a huge fall. The other recommendation I can make is a group called "The Sociable Weaver" - www.thesocialableweaver.com.au , they are working with three architectural firms for their designs. Their was a recent interview on Design Files about them, http://thedesignfiles.net/2017/06/the-s ... star-home/ Personally for me, I am interested in a design made by an architect rather than a draftsman sitting inside the office a volume builder. L37 & the rest it is more geared for people who don't know much about design. At the moment Mazzei is offering me something rather unique that most custom home builders can't purely they collaborate with Dan Webster Architects. Dan does alot of amazing work as well and hence you are guaranteed to have a unique home. Plus Mazzei works with a number of different suppliers that most volume builders don't work with. kirashogun the more you pay doesn't necessarily imply the bigger house you will get as it comes down to what you are after and how much value you place on design and living ergonomics. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 10Jun 29, 2017 10:45 am MisterSlope @kirashogun the more you pay doesn't necessarily imply the bigger house you will get as it comes down to what you are after and how much value you place on design and living ergonomics. I know you can spend more on fixtures and stones but quality of labour shouldn't scale with grade of fixture and that's where L37 really failed for me and Comdain shined through. I've observed their contractors and they take their time and attention to detail. I'm a more practical kind of guy with a busy family, quite frankly there are a lot of good looking designs these days that have poor reliability in a real home setting such as shower niches that will ultimately mold without a lot of maintenance, slate looking flat roofs that are less leak resistant to traditional tile profile etc. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 11Jun 29, 2017 11:00 am Thanks heaps for the info MisterSlope. I did have a quick look at Comdain which kirashogun suggested but wasn't very impress - I am wanted more luxury appointment. Will have a look at your suggestions. I spoke to Tim from Mazzei yesterday and were quite impressed with their overall process and quality build etc...but I am put off by the (to me) long process before construction can take place. It's all good in that you know exactly what you're getting and how much, but, I want to get into construction quickly. In saying that if I happen to unluckily go with a bad builder than I will be up the creek when they start charging me an arm and leg for changes, upgrades etc. Will be doing heaps of homework before I commit to a builder at the moment. Also, I like contemporary designed houses. At work at the moment so cannot spend too much time on this forum. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 13Jun 29, 2017 12:34 pm I've built 2 custom homes using the same builder in the last 15 year so I know you can. Looking back at the way he operated he was very un-conventional, but, in saying that the results were pretty much what we wanted. I basically gave his draftman the floor plans (double story house) that I wanted to build and he used it to get it to rescode level, got engineering drawings done, slab drawing etc and got building permit. Once that was done we signed off on contract and construction began. All selections such as tile, colors etc etc were all done during build - very un-conventional but it worked out ok...I guess I was lucky that he wasn't one of those blokes that were out to rip you off. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 14Jun 29, 2017 12:38 pm Also, I am looking for custom builder(s) where I do not have to make selections such as tile colors, bench top, sinks, cornice etc before contract is signed. I want to make these selections during the build and just before they are needed. There won't be many custom builders that will do this, but, I know there are some out there. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 15Jul 04, 2017 11:20 am tpham001 if you want that then you might need to go down the route of an architect/bespoke builder. If you are going to omit selections prior to your contract being signed then how will you know what your cost is going to be? You are also making the assumption that your selections will be readily available, what happens if they are not? halt the build? Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 16Aug 02, 2017 4:06 pm I am in same boat as MisterSlope, however I am planning to build 2 side by town houses. Have spoke with L37 and Lucas Morris so far. Both looks ok so far. My question is how you get some indication of price upfront with paying for the soil test and all? Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 17Aug 03, 2017 5:40 pm Unfortunately that is a bit difficult. It is not until you get your design and engineering drawings finalised then the estimation can be done. Till that point it is all guess work. Re: Building on Slope - Latitude 37/Englehart/Glenvill/Mazze 18Oct 03, 2020 7:38 pm Ask to speak to previous customers of Lifespaces Group before taking the leap. The architectural elements of the homes are appealing and well thought out, but the execution by Lifespaces Group is another ball game. Hey guys, I have just purchased a block of land in Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. The block size is 630 Sq Mtrs (land settlement is due in 6 months). This is purely an… 0 24191 A survey must’ve completed by a certified surveyor. This form part of every DA requirement 3 223589 Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 24832 |