Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had a blessed Christmas with family and friends and had a relaxing time.
Just before Christmas we received conditional approval for our house plans from Eynesbury. This means that our house is approved, but we need to submit both landscaping and fencing plans in the next few months. So we'll be off to the Eynesbury nursery to speak to the people that know what plants we can use and give us plant advice - not design advice, because we've been told that's not what they do, and we didn't expect that. But just an FYI.
So now we wait until the land titles. We went out there this last week and Stage 9's infrastructure is starting to take shape, but it's a long way off being done. There is one sign that points in the general direction of where Stage 11 will oneday be. But for now, it exists purely on paper.
Will post again when I've had a chance to copy our floor plans and remove some of the info off it (like job number, names, etc.)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Contract Signed
Well, it's been almost a month since our last post. The last few weeks have really been about us bedding down our colours, and the final changes - particularly to the kitchen.
Today we went in, did our electrical with a very helpful guy that gave us good input and helped us decide on a number of things - one of which is to have 2 extractors in the en suite - a concern we had with have a "cave-like" WIR near the double shower.
The only remaining item is the wiring of the theatre room, which we will arrange closer to the land title time so that we get a better view of what options are available at that time.
The floor plans needed one or two minor fixes, after which I will post the whole floorplan here, along with elevations for everyone to peruse.
Oh... the bricks... Homestead Tan... Category 2... no extra cost to us... after all that...
Or tender lady has been amazing, she's helped us with our kitchen design so much, and as a mother herself has given us great input into a family home.
So, the contract is now signed (will be going over it closely tomorrow) and now we just have to wait a FEW months...
Today we went in, did our electrical with a very helpful guy that gave us good input and helped us decide on a number of things - one of which is to have 2 extractors in the en suite - a concern we had with have a "cave-like" WIR near the double shower.
The only remaining item is the wiring of the theatre room, which we will arrange closer to the land title time so that we get a better view of what options are available at that time.
The floor plans needed one or two minor fixes, after which I will post the whole floorplan here, along with elevations for everyone to peruse.
Oh... the bricks... Homestead Tan... Category 2... no extra cost to us... after all that...
Or tender lady has been amazing, she's helped us with our kitchen design so much, and as a mother herself has given us great input into a family home.
So, the contract is now signed (will be going over it closely tomorrow) and now we just have to wait a FEW months...
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tender
Wow... what an experience.
As we were on our way to UEH, I got a phone call, but as I was driving, and my mobile was in my pocket, I let it ring out. Got to UEH and the voicemail was from them saying they were running late with the previous appointment. So we sat for a while. Then got shown a number of documents by someone else - to fill the time - and after 45 minutes we went through to see someone different.
Turns out this wonderfully helpful lady was the operations manager, and she was from Johannesburg too! Not only that, but she lives in Eynesbury herself! Well, that got the after off on a great footing. We got to see our consultant, and shame, she'd had a hectic day, but she was terrific. She answered 99% of our questions, gave us personal input - she has small kids too - and was so amazingly helpful. And even though we left after 16H30, we were in a lot better mood than when we arrived. I cannot say how much of a difference spending an afternoon with this lady has made.
So...the Tender is 90% done. We're waiting on the costing of the laminate flooring, and of a few other things. All of which we should receive before the end of the week. At which point, we'll take a week to completely finalise our outstanding choices and settle down for the wait.
Still no concrete info on the bricks though...but that'll come tomorrow...we're hoping our first choice isn't an upgrade...but we'll have to wait and see.
It was really amazing to see our house plans drawn up properly with all our alterations... sooo cool. We've got to work out what to do with the kitchen pot drawerns, because 48cm drawers just seem a tad too small to me... so...thinking cap on and off to the Home One forums!
As we were on our way to UEH, I got a phone call, but as I was driving, and my mobile was in my pocket, I let it ring out. Got to UEH and the voicemail was from them saying they were running late with the previous appointment. So we sat for a while. Then got shown a number of documents by someone else - to fill the time - and after 45 minutes we went through to see someone different.
Turns out this wonderfully helpful lady was the operations manager, and she was from Johannesburg too! Not only that, but she lives in Eynesbury herself! Well, that got the after off on a great footing. We got to see our consultant, and shame, she'd had a hectic day, but she was terrific. She answered 99% of our questions, gave us personal input - she has small kids too - and was so amazingly helpful. And even though we left after 16H30, we were in a lot better mood than when we arrived. I cannot say how much of a difference spending an afternoon with this lady has made.
So...the Tender is 90% done. We're waiting on the costing of the laminate flooring, and of a few other things. All of which we should receive before the end of the week. At which point, we'll take a week to completely finalise our outstanding choices and settle down for the wait.
Still no concrete info on the bricks though...but that'll come tomorrow...we're hoping our first choice isn't an upgrade...but we'll have to wait and see.
It was really amazing to see our house plans drawn up properly with all our alterations... sooo cool. We've got to work out what to do with the kitchen pot drawerns, because 48cm drawers just seem a tad too small to me... so...thinking cap on and off to the Home One forums!
Monday, September 5, 2011
And then there were 3.
And so, as per UEH's instructions, we have narrowed our list down to 3 possible bricks. Boral's Escura Flame Red, Boral's Elan Labassa, and Austral's Homestead Tan.
During our drive through Eynesbury, we noted so many different colours of bricks that it still puzzles us as to why there is even a list. Oh well... let's see what those 3 brick types may cost us.
During our drive through Eynesbury, we noted so many different colours of bricks that it still puzzles us as to why there is even a list. Oh well... let's see what those 3 brick types may cost us.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Bricks, the saga continues
If you recall, we're new to building a house in Australia, so we don't know much about the process. So it's easy for us to get frustrated and confused. We started off thinking we had many bricks to pick from and really, since the rug was whipped out from under us, we've yet to recover our footing.
We're not pointing fingers. This is the process of building in Eynesbury. Just... people buying land and planning to build there, need to be given the below list of bricks right at the start. Just like we're given the list of plant and fencing restrictions/requirements, so too should the bricks be included. Even then, with a limited number of builders, the builders either do not enquire often enough, or the updated list is not circulated by Eynesbury. So the list below that was sent to us by Urban Edge isn't the most recent - we got that from Eynesbury ourselves, but it does cover 90%+ of the bricks.
And to add to the confusion, because those bricks are not in the "Colour Book" we were given at the start, we had no idea what category many of the Eynesbury bricks fell into, and when categories can differ by thousands of dollars, it matters. Then we're told that bricks in the same range, are actually different prices, often 2 or more categories apart. Then you get an unhelpful salesman at a Boral display area that simply wouldn't give my wife any sort of pricing to be able to at least compare - yes, just the price you sell to the man-in-the-street, not a builder's "account price". And then there are the terms. Standard/Upgrade vs Category. Is Standard the same as Category 1 or 2? Is the Upgrade the same as Category 3? 4? 5?!
I'm sure the ladies at Urban Edge are as frustrated as we are, and they are being as helpful as they can. Had the list been given to us right at the start, we wouldn't be chasing our tails right now. So tomorrow its off to look at more bricks at the display centers. Hopefully come Monday, we'll have a resolution and we can move on to the next item(s). :)
And here's the list:
We're not pointing fingers. This is the process of building in Eynesbury. Just... people buying land and planning to build there, need to be given the below list of bricks right at the start. Just like we're given the list of plant and fencing restrictions/requirements, so too should the bricks be included. Even then, with a limited number of builders, the builders either do not enquire often enough, or the updated list is not circulated by Eynesbury. So the list below that was sent to us by Urban Edge isn't the most recent - we got that from Eynesbury ourselves, but it does cover 90%+ of the bricks.
And to add to the confusion, because those bricks are not in the "Colour Book" we were given at the start, we had no idea what category many of the Eynesbury bricks fell into, and when categories can differ by thousands of dollars, it matters. Then we're told that bricks in the same range, are actually different prices, often 2 or more categories apart. Then you get an unhelpful salesman at a Boral display area that simply wouldn't give my wife any sort of pricing to be able to at least compare - yes, just the price you sell to the man-in-the-street, not a builder's "account price". And then there are the terms. Standard/Upgrade vs Category. Is Standard the same as Category 1 or 2? Is the Upgrade the same as Category 3? 4? 5?!
I'm sure the ladies at Urban Edge are as frustrated as we are, and they are being as helpful as they can. Had the list been given to us right at the start, we wouldn't be chasing our tails right now. So tomorrow its off to look at more bricks at the display centers. Hopefully come Monday, we'll have a resolution and we can move on to the next item(s). :)
And here's the list:
Monday, August 29, 2011
Colours, colours... yet more colours!
We went through to Eynesbury again on Saturday to look at the various houses to see which bricks we liked. The people from Eynesbury were very helpful and offered to help identify the different bricks, we just had to pick the houses. So off we went. We picked about 10 houses, 9 of them in Stage 7. Of the 10, 5 were Austral Homestead Tan, 4 were Austral Latrobe (Discontinued...) and 1 was Boral Labassa. The Homestead Tan in the photo in the Austral pamphlet looks nothing like the real thing.
So we'll be back there again this weekend to check on those houses and pick which of the two we like most, Homestead Tan, or Labassa, both of which will apparently be an upgrade ($$$?).
We have chosen Sandy Day for the walls, with Toffee Fingers in the Theatre room. Lexicon for the roof and Bedbox for the front door. The kitchen will be a mixture of Polytec's Classic White Gloss with New Barron Alder Gloss, both in Thermolaminated vinyl wrap. The kitchen and bathroom countes will be White Shimmer caesarstone. The splashback is a special colour Michelle picked. All the window frames, gutters, etc. will be Woodland Grey.
We'll likely be going with laminate flooring in the main areas, with carpets in the bedrooms, study and theatre.
One last thing. Stage 3 had at least 2 Urban Edge houses that were bricked and roofed already. Damn they are fast.
So we'll be back there again this weekend to check on those houses and pick which of the two we like most, Homestead Tan, or Labassa, both of which will apparently be an upgrade ($$$?).
We have chosen Sandy Day for the walls, with Toffee Fingers in the Theatre room. Lexicon for the roof and Bedbox for the front door. The kitchen will be a mixture of Polytec's Classic White Gloss with New Barron Alder Gloss, both in Thermolaminated vinyl wrap. The kitchen and bathroom countes will be White Shimmer caesarstone. The splashback is a special colour Michelle picked. All the window frames, gutters, etc. will be Woodland Grey.
We'll likely be going with laminate flooring in the main areas, with carpets in the bedrooms, study and theatre.
One last thing. Stage 3 had at least 2 Urban Edge houses that were bricked and roofed already. Damn they are fast.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Colours, part 2.
So I didn't post the names of the colours because well... we're probably going to change half of them. The bricks in the photo do not look that nice in reality, which is frustrating. Not only that, but of the Category 1 and Category 2 bricks that Urban Edge offers us as part of our options, it appears there are only 4...yes...just 4... that Eynesbury has approved... jaw dropping. We have been told that Eynesbury has not approved a single PGH brick, and Urban Edge only other normal offering is Boral. To get Austral bricks would be an upgrade. So of the wopping 38 brick types in Categories 1 and 2, listed in the colour book we were given, NONE, ZIP, ZERO, are apparently approved. Boggles the mind.
So we're trying to get a definitive list from Eynesbury, but we're really confused, as we've seen so many nice bricks in Stage 7 where most of the building is going on right now. We're wonderring if we should go ask the various builders what bricks they're using. :)
Unfortunately, our toddler was quite sick over the weekend, so we didn't get much of a chance to look around at show houses. This weekend however...
So we're trying to get a definitive list from Eynesbury, but we're really confused, as we've seen so many nice bricks in Stage 7 where most of the building is going on right now. We're wonderring if we should go ask the various builders what bricks they're using. :)
Unfortunately, our toddler was quite sick over the weekend, so we didn't get much of a chance to look around at show houses. This weekend however...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Colours...
So today we had our colour appointment. We've never been to one, so weren't sure what to expect.
Well, we were exhausted by the end. Sooo many choices. Anyway, we've picked a variety of stuff...and we'll be thinking a lot about them, and going to see lots of show houses this weekend to double check on our selection. Below is a picture of our initial selection...we'll see if we stick to that or not... The bricks we want to at least see on a real house...
I'll explain each colour a bit later.
Well, we were exhausted by the end. Sooo many choices. Anyway, we've picked a variety of stuff...and we'll be thinking a lot about them, and going to see lots of show houses this weekend to double check on our selection. Below is a picture of our initial selection...we'll see if we stick to that or not... The bricks we want to at least see on a real house...
I'll explain each colour a bit later.
Eynesbury Stage 10
We went out to see Eynesbury again - we enjoy going out there for the peacefulness - and we saw that Stage 10 is now under construction. It's a building site, so you can just see it, but no going into it.
We did a better inspection of where our lot will be, and we've noticed that the plans of Eynesbury seem to indicate - still want to confirm this with them - that the two small dams near Stage 9 and Stage 11 are going to be kept. That will make that reserve area an amazing place to go walking.
We were also very impressed to see 3 houses at framing stage already in Stage 3, and another almost done with its slab. And can you believe it, they're ALL Urban Edge. Great news for us considerring we want to start building as soon as our land titles.
We did a better inspection of where our lot will be, and we've noticed that the plans of Eynesbury seem to indicate - still want to confirm this with them - that the two small dams near Stage 9 and Stage 11 are going to be kept. That will make that reserve area an amazing place to go walking.
We were also very impressed to see 3 houses at framing stage already in Stage 3, and another almost done with its slab. And can you believe it, they're ALL Urban Edge. Great news for us considerring we want to start building as soon as our land titles.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The land before time...
Today we went out to Eynesbury to see what's been happening in the last few weeks. Stage 3 is starting to take off with a number of lots fenced off and some with their plumbing in already.
Stage 9 has all the lots marked out. We went up the dirt road to where I could, at best, estimate where our lot/house will be. With no mobile reception, I couldn't get a perfect aerial spot. But as I've seen the stage's topographical map, I knew we were on a bit of a slope. So here's a photo of the general direction where the house should be - right next to the fence - and yes, those are cows at a watering hole in the background!
Stage 9 has all the lots marked out. We went up the dirt road to where I could, at best, estimate where our lot/house will be. With no mobile reception, I couldn't get a perfect aerial spot. But as I've seen the stage's topographical map, I knew we were on a bit of a slope. So here's a photo of the general direction where the house should be - right next to the fence - and yes, those are cows at a watering hole in the background!
And here is a short video from that spot. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Design updated
So I learnt a bit more about FloorPlanner and redid the design using proper "room" objects. I also found out that the fence lines, don't show in 3D...so I put down lots of short fence objects head-to-toe to make a nice 2m wall at the back, and a nice 1m white picket fence at the front.
Added various little things to the garage and have the boss's general approval of my design. At least now I can direct people to look at a 3D model of what the house will kind of look like. We'll also have to wait to find out what plants are allowed in our garden - and if we can even have fruit trees or not.
If you haven't seen the website, I highly recommend visiting HomeOne and their forums. There's a wealth of knowledge, and other blogs, on that site.
Added various little things to the garage and have the boss's general approval of my design. At least now I can direct people to look at a 3D model of what the house will kind of look like. We'll also have to wait to find out what plants are allowed in our garden - and if we can even have fruit trees or not.
If you haven't seen the website, I highly recommend visiting HomeOne and their forums. There's a wealth of knowledge, and other blogs, on that site.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Floorplan...
So I've played a little with Floorplanner and I've found it fun to work with, but also frustrating in getting things to work sometimes. Some parts I can't get to work - I can't get our nice picket fence to show. And there's no option to do external brickwork. And I can't find any bathroom cabinets.
So this is my first attempt, and it will change in time I am quite sure. If you want to look at it in 3D, you can go here.
Disclaimer! Furniture and colours done by me. The "boss" has not given her approval yet. :)
So this is my first attempt, and it will change in time I am quite sure. If you want to look at it in 3D, you can go here.
Disclaimer! Furniture and colours done by me. The "boss" has not given her approval yet. :)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Weeks 1-2
Hi all, and welcome to our blog. We're new to blogging and we're new to building a home in Australia. My name is Garrick, and my wife is Michelle. We currently have a cute little toddler, Amy.
A few weeks ago we received a brochure in the mail about Eynesbury, and my wife told me we should go take a look - I hadn't actually even seen the brochure at this stage. I drove out towards Eynesbury from Point Cook, and the TomTom GPS took us along a dirt road, past farm houses and livestock. I was thinking, where on earth is this place. Driving onto the land, we encountered the Grey Box forest, and I really started to wonder where we were. And then we started to look around. We looked at the houses, and a certain gentleman with quite extensive knowledge managed to catch my wife's ear and attention while I browse floor plans on the wall. I listened with half an ear as Luke, from Urban Edge, explained various things to my wife. I was more interested in their floorplans and what they could do. We walked around the display homes some more, but as Amy needed a nap, we never actually drove around the first stage to explore it a bit more. Instead, we headed home and decided to go visit Salwater Estate on the outskirts of Point Cook to see the Lavin 03 and Rouge 04 that they had on show there.
Well, we fell in love with the Rouge 04 almost immediately. We then started ponderring if Urban Edge would make any alterations. Because honestly, we had seen a Porter Davis design and a Metricon design that had the Rumpus room "amongst" the bedrooms, and we liked that. But we loved the size of the Rouge's kitchen, and the front half of the house was perfect as it was. We visited Luke again the next Saturday - following the tarmac road this time - and he enthusiastically helped us with a slight redesign. And then it was up to us. Get our Style+ package, and the alterations done at the 2010-2011 prices or wait and maybe not get a great piece of land.
So the next week was spent crunching numbers, speaking to financial people, and consulting with my parents - who have built a number of houses and know the house game well. All systems were a go... now... the land... our redesign meant that we needed an East facing plot, with a driveway on the NE corner... where...where... noooo! There weren't any in Stage 11A that worked... so we spoke to Luke, who put us in touch with Matt, and the lot we liked could have the driveway moved. So, lot 11010 was ours for the taking. 647sq.m of east facing land.
So after not even 2 weeks, there we were... cheques in hand... putting our deposit on our land and booking Urban Edge to do our build. Phew... what an experience. We are now looking forward to our new home so much. The land titles around May 2012 and we estimate building to commence in June 2012, with a rough finish date of anywhere from December to Feb. That gives us a fair amount of time to pick whom we want as our mortgage lender.
For now we plan the alterations, and in a few weeks we'll do our "Colour Room" visit. I'll add picture of the floorplan when we have them finalised.
Here is the facade that we've chosen, but not in those colours. Nice brickwork to the front, with a small patio and eaves.
Here is the facade that we've chosen, but not in those colours. Nice brickwork to the front, with a small patio and eaves.
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