27.9.09

Hopetoun Interiors

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , ,


To Hopetoun Interiors we ventured to on Saturday. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, it's the showroom for all Porter Davis colour choices, from bricks right through to your choice of toilet bowl!!


We had been for a quick browse once before, but once we took a look we realised we would need some dedicated time to choose.

This time we had all three kids with us, but thankfully Hopetoun has a kids room with movies, toys and nice couch so they were occupied for most of the 2 hours.

As Tender is this Tuesday for our beautiful Camberwell 29 home, we had to have some decisions locked in on how the house will look. (Tender (1) A complete signed proposal to perform work for a nominated amount of money. A tender is submitted in accordance with the tender documents. (2) An offer showing a willingness to buy or sell at a specific price and under specific conditions).

Picking the bricks have been a most difficult choice, because that really sets the scene for the whole look of the house. When we found the brick we liked, we then had to match it with the Colorbond roof, render, and gutters and downpipes. Not to mention the garage door and even window frames! Scary stuff when you realise what you pick you will have to live with!

We're going with a lighter latte-ish coloured brick, and a dark grey/blue colorbond roof, and we're still boxing over the render colour. We would love to find a house that we can look at that has those colours so we can get an overall look at the finished product.

It's a mix of excitement and apprehension as we finalise how our home will look. We have spent hours pouring over websites, magazines, and display homes, so hopefully our research will pay off when we see the final look of our home!

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4.9.09

Facade choice 2

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , ,


After being disappointed at missing out on our 1st choice (see previous post), we were a little concerned that no-one had called to arrange any more colour appointments to keep the ball rolling. Turns out they were waiting for us to get back to them with our new choice of facade.


So yesterday we hastily picked our new choice of facade, all going well. We have chosen the Oakland! I really wanted a portico and this design has normal brick everywhere except the front pillars of the portico. I think it looks stylish. Of course a lot will depend on the bricks we choose.

We are now furiously trying to find a date where we can both go and pick our colours, and get everything ordered and ready for the build. Start date on the house is January, and although we're only at the beginning of September, I have a feeling that the next few months will be a blur.

Stay posted!! ;-)

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20.8.09

Facade-ing away!!

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , ,


We were a little saddened to have to change our facade yesterday. My husband got a call from our Porter Davis rep to say that where we're building in Laurimar, you can apparently only have 1 in every 5 houses with the same facade.


It just so happens that one of our neighbours (across the road, and 3 houses down) has already built with the facade we had chosen which was the Balgowie facade.

I drove down to have a look at this other house. And yes it had the same facade, but it was built down the hill, and you could only see from the windows up. But I guess rules are rules (even if they're dumb ones)!

So we are back to picking facades. Annoying given we really liked the Balgowie!

I want a portico! So we're trying to find a facade that includes a portico, (not a port-a-loo)!!

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15.8.09

Those Batts in your roof!!

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , , ,


Two days ago we went and signed our contracts with Porter Davis and went over the inclusions built into the contract.

A very interesting process!

When the inclusions say that they include carpet and tiles etc, you think 'great' something we don't need to pay extra for! Well how wrong I was.
The inclusions allow only for the very bottom standard of carpet and tiles, and this goes for things like bricks, insulation, and the list goes on.

The standard insulation included for your roof, is the spray insulation which is just basically foam stuff that lies up there. But if you ever need someone to get up into your roof, this stuff moves, and if it's not placed back where it was insulation is useless.

The other scary thing is that if you have downlights, they put some cardboard around each light to stop this foam reaching it, but it doesn't take much for it to move. So if it gets on your downlights it can be quite flammable.

We have opted for the Category 3 insulation batts, that are solidly fixed to the beams, and there's no way they can move.

This is important stuff to know, but unfortunately unless you ask, they don't offer you this information. It was only because my husband had talked to a builder friend and he said "don't get the standard foamy stuff in your roof".

So ask lots of questions about what 'inclusions' actually include!!

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5.8.09

Builder locked in!

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , ,


We have finally locked in a plan, a builder, and paid a deposit.


The builder is Porter Davis, the plan is the Camberwell 29, and the month set to start construction is January 2010!

After a couple of months of deliberating over builders and plans, ironically the first builder we looked at was Porter Davis, so after going through all the other builders we've come full circle. Our initial deposit has been paid and contracts are the next step. We've gone through the plan with a microscope and put everything we wanted into it. The only thing we wanted to change about the plan was putting an extra door from the garage into the 'mud' room and moving the laundry door to the 'mud' doorway (apparently a lot of people are doing the same).

The Camberwell is only a new release and is selling like crazy, so we're very happy it's taken us so long to decide otherwise we would have missed this new home.

For us walking through the display sealed it for us. It had everything we need for our growing family. The big appeal was the rumpus at the end of the house that had a doorway through to the kids bedrooms as well as the family room, so it makes it kind of like a kids retreat. Which is what we were looking for.

As our kids are heading for their teens, zones are very important for us, and the Camberwell offers this very nicely.

So much more to follow in this process, and I will post a plan up as soon as I can work out how to.


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