So what do you get with the base price?

It turns out not a lot. You certainly do not get a house, there is at least another $20,000 in site costs that you cannot avoid before construction can even start. It would appear other builders (Henly as an example) include far more in their base price, but it is also partly due to the fact that we are doing a knock-down and rebuild.

We are planning to go with the traditional facade, the extra cost for the premium does not seem worth it to us:

From Chattertons Build a New Home

The options we are selecting include

• Alfresco
• Extend the backhalf of the house by 600mm
• 4-leaf Bi-Fold Doors to Meals
• Evaporative Cooling
• Solar Hot Water
• Water Tank plumbed to toilets
• Double Glazed Windows
• 450mm Eaves

These options will make the house very energy efficient.

We still have two issues to decide. The first is whether to raise the ceilings above the standard height. Its not cheap, would make the house less energy efficient, but would look better inside.

The second and larger issue is the driveway is on left hand side of the block, but we want the living areas to be on the right-hand side (West) to get the evening sun. The Barrington has an option to mirror 2/3s of the house (kids bedrooms and living areas), but this greatly limits themain bedroom  ensuite options. We have asked Burbank to see if we can overcome these limitations to get more than just a small shower and two vanities in a large ensuite space.