Two weeks ago was settlement for the new property. The tenants decided to leave straight away, so a few days after settlement we finally got the keys and went to have a look at the original house. The tenants had already disconnected the power so we had to explore by the light of our mobile phones. It was a lot of fun, but it was a few days later in daylight we really got to see the house. All thoughts of renovating quickly evaporated, I'm sure it would be possible but it would take a lot of work.
We finally made a decision and what to build and went with Fairhaven's Barwon 352 with only a few minor modifications.
The first big decision was to stick with the original plan and build a single house. Financially it would have made more sense to subdivide, build two townhouses and sell one, but we bought here for the location to live here a long time. We wanted to build our house and our block.
Then we decided against Burbank's Barrington (lack of parent/living/kids zone) and Henley's Lexington after looking more closely at the Talise Q2. In the end the lack of a display home anywhere for the Talise and the need for several changes to the floor plan that we could not picture led us to pick the Barwon.
Kate got her huge kitchen, laundry and colorbond roof and the kids got their WIRs. This Sunday we are taking the kids to see the display home since Asher has not seen it yet.
Now onto selecting bricks, taps, tiles...
Friday, September 3, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Checking alternatives
This weekend I've been looking at house options from Henley to compare layouts and value for money.
Two house plans appealed to us, the Voyager Q1 and Lexington 993 Q2. Both of these plans have the potential to combine the 3 kid bedrooms into 2 larger rooms with WIRs between them.
The Voyage we really liked because of the three separate living areas; parents, kids and common. It would fit on our block, just, in terms of width, but when we added eaves it was too wide. It also lacks any storage outside of the kitchen, just a tiny linen cupboard in the Laundry, and the island bench is not wide enough for people to sit out without blocking the main passage.
The Lexington is a more traditional design and lacks the zones, but overcomes most of the other limitations.
So we now have a Burbank Barrington and a Henley Lexington quote to compare. Burbank just came out with a new set of "included options", which suits us better and should save us about $5000. Henley are about to come out with their new offer this week, so we put initial (refundable) deposits down on both so that we could choose.
Looking at the quotes Henley appears to include more, in fact we seem to be about $20K ahead with Henley. The dilemma about higher ceilings with Burbank is not an issue with Henley, higher ceilings are the default. We have included all the flooring, a fireplace, the solar power option and its still cheaper than Burbank.
So if only Henley could provide the kids bedrooms/bathrooms like the Barrington...
Next step is to go and visit the Lexington again and walk through with the agent and discuss all the options. We might also go visit their selections centre since its just down the road in Mount Waverley and they have tours. We heard the Burbank equivalent was too busy for tours before your appointment.
Two house plans appealed to us, the Voyager Q1 and Lexington 993 Q2. Both of these plans have the potential to combine the 3 kid bedrooms into 2 larger rooms with WIRs between them.
The Voyage we really liked because of the three separate living areas; parents, kids and common. It would fit on our block, just, in terms of width, but when we added eaves it was too wide. It also lacks any storage outside of the kitchen, just a tiny linen cupboard in the Laundry, and the island bench is not wide enough for people to sit out without blocking the main passage.
The Lexington is a more traditional design and lacks the zones, but overcomes most of the other limitations.
So we now have a Burbank Barrington and a Henley Lexington quote to compare. Burbank just came out with a new set of "included options", which suits us better and should save us about $5000. Henley are about to come out with their new offer this week, so we put initial (refundable) deposits down on both so that we could choose.
Looking at the quotes Henley appears to include more, in fact we seem to be about $20K ahead with Henley. The dilemma about higher ceilings with Burbank is not an issue with Henley, higher ceilings are the default. We have included all the flooring, a fireplace, the solar power option and its still cheaper than Burbank.
So if only Henley could provide the kids bedrooms/bathrooms like the Barrington...
Next step is to go and visit the Lexington again and walk through with the agent and discuss all the options. We might also go visit their selections centre since its just down the road in Mount Waverley and they have tours. We heard the Burbank equivalent was too busy for tours before your appointment.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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:
The options we are selecting include
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.
We are planning to go with the traditional facade, the extra cost for the premium does not seem worth it to us:
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| 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
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.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The kids see their future
Today we took the kids and Granny to the Cascades on Clyde display centre to the Burbank Barrington 3100 home.
Originally we were planning the build the Henly Eclipse Q2, a nice double story home, but this was when we were looking at cheaper land options in Chadstone/Ashwood. In order to afford the block in Mount Waverley we decided that the location was very important to us so we started looking at single story homes.
We like the Barrinton design mainly for the kids bedrooms. Almost every single story home plan has the kids bedrooms sharing a common corridor and separated by the laundry and main bathroom. The corridor seems like a waste of space and the bathroom does not cater for teenage boys and girls competing for bathroom time in the mornings.
The Barrington 3100 has a WIR and a vanity for the 2nd and 3rd bathrooms, and then access to the shared bathroom (shower, bath and WC). Although we would prefer the WC was separate as well, this design at least allows teenage girls to be doing her hair in private while teenage boy has a shower.
It also has a nice open living/meals area, study nook for the kids and a another bathroom for visitors. So it ticks most of our requirements that we were looking for in a two story home.
The kids and Granny all liked it, so Kate and I are meeting with a consultant on Wednesday to walk through the options in more detail.
Originally we were planning the build the Henly Eclipse Q2, a nice double story home, but this was when we were looking at cheaper land options in Chadstone/Ashwood. In order to afford the block in Mount Waverley we decided that the location was very important to us so we started looking at single story homes.
We like the Barrinton design mainly for the kids bedrooms. Almost every single story home plan has the kids bedrooms sharing a common corridor and separated by the laundry and main bathroom. The corridor seems like a waste of space and the bathroom does not cater for teenage boys and girls competing for bathroom time in the mornings.
The Barrington 3100 has a WIR and a vanity for the 2nd and 3rd bathrooms, and then access to the shared bathroom (shower, bath and WC). Although we would prefer the WC was separate as well, this design at least allows teenage girls to be doing her hair in private while teenage boy has a shower.
It also has a nice open living/meals area, study nook for the kids and a another bathroom for visitors. So it ticks most of our requirements that we were looking for in a two story home.
The kids and Granny all liked it, so Kate and I are meeting with a consultant on Wednesday to walk through the options in more detail.
We bought a block in Mount Waverley
After looking for 2 months, flip-flopping between buying an established home or a knock-down, we finally decided on a block of land in Mount Waverley where we had hoped to live, much to the relief of the kids and relatives who were sick of us living on realestate.com.au.
The property is a short walk to Jordanville station, not much further to Mount Waverley shops and station. The block overlooks the Riversdale golf course and the Glen Waverley train line, so there is only parkland opposite the house.
The vendor wanted a short settlement, August 18, so we are going to have to get moving with our house plans. There are tenants in the house so we will give them notice once the permits have been approved.
The property is a short walk to Jordanville station, not much further to Mount Waverley shops and station. The block overlooks the Riversdale golf course and the Glen Waverley train line, so there is only parkland opposite the house.
The vendor wanted a short settlement, August 18, so we are going to have to get moving with our house plans. There are tenants in the house so we will give them notice once the permits have been approved.
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