8.8.10

Bricks done!

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , , ,

Greetings!! Busyness has overtaken me, so I haven't had a chance to update. But here is yesterdays offering.


We were very excited to see that they had almost totally finished all the bricks, all the way around the house. And it wasn't until my husband pointed out the portico pole finished that I realised they had finished the whole portico, (that is front entrance for you newbies)!
We now await to see what the render to the front post and bottom half of the front will look like.

Inside they have finished all the cornice for the ceiling, and
finished plastering all the ceiling areas. Including the doorway into the rumpus area, which is meant to actually be a 'doorway'! So tomorrow my husband will have to get the building manager to make sure that it is turned into a door frame.

They seem to be following the original plans and not the revised ones that we made, so we'll have to see why that keeps happening.

Other than a few niggly problems, everything is coming along very nicely!

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26.10.09

Contract signing!!!

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , , ,

PORTER DAVIS CAMBERWELL 29


Last Wednesday we had our final contract signing. It took about 3 hours, but was great for getting a bucket load of info.

As the plans were all drawn up for final checking we found a few alterations that had happened at the drafters discretion that we hadn't asked for, so it was a good thing we could go over everything like a scene from CSI.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the Bi-fold doors that were an upgrade with the package we got, were actually added onto our family area. We had thought that they would replace the standard sliding door off the meals area, but it turns out that we could have the sliding door off the meals 'as well as' the bi-fold doors. Meaning that our whole living area could be opened up on a nice day or if we had a party!

As we only found out about this at the contract appointment, we opted to keep things as we thought they were; but after having a night to think about it, we both decided having 2 doors would be a better option that would give us more flexible living space.

So where you see the couch in the family room, will now have bi-fold doors across that wall!

We also had to check door openings, a couple were opening the wrong way, and on the draft they gave us, the garage internal door was opening into the foyer. We have asked for an internal door to open into the mud room(off the laundry).

Overall we were very happy with our final plans, a few changes had to be made but generally all is looking good. We are now on the home run to our house being started.

Very exciting!

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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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25.6.09

Plans, Plans, Plans....

Posted by Cath Swan | Labels: , ,

So now that we on the way to securing our land, we have begun scouring the display home villages in search of that perfect house plan.


Our pile of brochures is growing very quickly, as building companies seem to spare no extra expense in loading us up with their latest glossy offerings. Some companies give you the plans, the inclusions, extra specials and basic prices. I love to read the fine print and just find out what is 'actually' included and whether or not simple things like floor coverings make the 'standard' inclusion list.

It's either very clever or sneaky how building companies rig their inclusion lists. For first home builders its very easy to think you have everything included in your build package when unless you ask the questions the builders won't offer you information on basics.

I've made it my mission with every display home we visit to ask a lot of questions about what their inclusions are, what is the earliest date they can start and how long their build generally takes. These are all important questions, because ultimately if those answers are not in our favour, we are the ones who will pay out big money to do the basics, pay extra rent, and have to budget for unforseen hidden costs.

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