House Design Plans

As mentioned in a previous comment, I thought I might post the Design Plans for our house... a slightly Modified (Internally) Memphis by JG King.

This is the Electrical plan, minus all the jargon as it's probably the cleanest of all the plans.

As you can probably see, what was normally bedroom 2, we have converted into another living area with double door access from the kitchen/dining and also an entry from the adjacent living area. After all, it is only the wife and I at the moment (No Kids) so having 3 spare bedrooms is not a great use of space in my eyes and if need be, in the years to come, we can always convert it back to a bedroom again.

We also added a sliding door to the living area, and another to the rear of the family room, plus one in the Guest Bedroom.  In time, I hope to build a little enclosed courtyard for the Living Area and Guest Bedroom and a pergola joining the side outdoor area and rear sliding door for outdoor entertainment... But of course, all in due time as we have to save for it first.

We wanted a fair few extra power points around the house too so all the XX on the plans are double points, and also added a 2 way light switch between the bedroom hallway and the kitchen - to save any guests having to walk through the meals and kitchen area just to get to a light switch. 

If you have any questions about the layout, please feel free to ask.

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EDIT

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As pointed out by wifey, I forgot to mention; we moved the Microwave spot to the pantry, (it was originally under the bench next to the kitchen sink as standard), hence the power point in the pantry. We replaced the Microwave spot with a cupboard instead. We didn't like the idea of having to bend down all the time to get things out of the microwave... Especially if it contains hot liquids and the like, and besides, it's out of the way in the pantry.

And we also moved the phone point from the kitchen to the lounge. We aren't planning on having a phone line but it came standard so we thought we'd move it out the way. We haven't had one for years anyway. Yay for mobile phones. Besides, if we ever did decide to get a land line, we would most likely use cordless phones with base stations so the phone point didn't make much sence to us in the kitchen. 

Framing up, Gutter on

I received another call from our site supivisor letting us know the framing has been completed. A few hours later we also received the invoice for our next progress payment.  We called in today to take some photo's and found not only the framing finished, but the guttering around the whole house too!

I must also point out, the site is immaculate. I am so impressed with how clean the entire property is. They have obviously taken some time to clean everything up. It was also a nice surprise to see all our windows and sliding doors delivered:

(Windows)

(Sliding Doors)

Christmas is coming up next week so I'm sure a lot of work will be stopping everywhere, including the house. I would also suspect the neighbors houses will be put on hold too during this time. The site supivisor told us most things will start up again by mid January so I am not expecting to see much until then. Would be nice to see the windows and doors go in though!

It's started

This is very cool. We weren't expecting the frame to go up until Monday but here we are, just one day later and bam, nearly all the framing has been done. I am so surprised at how quickly this has gone up. We were only here yesterday to see the delivery and thought we better bring the in-laws down before the frame goes up. To our surprise, when we came around the corner the frame was up and most of the roof trusses were on.

That was some quick work by the builders.  At this rate I would suspect the frame to be completed by Monday or Tuesday.

Frame has been delivered

I had a phone call from the site supivisor yesterday to let me know the frame is on schedule to be delivered today.

We of course wanted to see the frame before it started to go up so we went down there and took a look:

Sure enough, the frame was delivered in full, roof trusses and all! We've been told the framing should start Monday next week so here's hoping all goes well. 

Payment Done!

Well, as we had already inspected the Slab and all was good, we Signed off on the invoice and sent it through to the Bank on Monday night.

I wasn't sure how long it would take for the bank to actually make payment but I received a txt on Wednesday informing us that Payment had been made!  Whoohoo.

Less then 48 hours and all was done.  Checked the bank today and sure enough, the payment had gone through. This should allow JG King to continue with the Framing un-hindered.  I was a little worried the Bank might delay payment, for whatever reason, and in turn that would stop JG King from doing the frame.  At least now we have the full go ahead and nothing stopping us!!!!

All filled in.

Made it past the slab tonight and was happy to see the ditch around the slab had been filled in. Looks like a whole heap of stone right around the entire perimeter. They have also removed any excess mounds of dirt so at least the place looks flat again.

The slab is looking great I must say. It's given me a chance to do a few measurements and work out what size I want the outdoor entertaining area and what not. Looking forward to all the little extra improvement I will be able to do once we move in, even though I'll be doing it all slowly, one thing at a time. 

First Progress payment

I received another call from our Site Supervisor today to let me know the slab has been completed (we already knew but it was still nice of him to notify us non the less).

We also received the Invoice from JG King for our first Progress Payment. This will be the first official payment from the bank so here's hoping it all goes through without any hiccups (there should be absolutely no problem as everything has been approved already)! It's a bit unnerving as it now means our loan is getting larger.

The Site Supervisor also said that some time this week there should be a bobcat down there filling in the dig out around the Slab.  I'm heading out that way Tuesday night so if I have time I might detour to the land, I'm not expecting any change but if there is I'll be sure to take more photo's. I'll also be heading out there over the weekend so I'll be sure to see something done by then.

Oh and the other good news....(saving the best till last) the Site Supervisor has been able to bring our framing stage forward. Sounds like we will be getting the frame delivered end of next week!  I wonder if they'll begin to put it up then too? Either way... things are moving ahead at a fantastic pace as far as I'm concerned. Looking forward to seeing the frame go up.

Slab Party!!!

Someone told us some time ago that we should have a slab party once it's been poured. I will say, love the idea although it's not really something I'm in for at the current time. Any excuse to have a BBQ of course, but it's just too darn difficult to cart the BBQ down there... Let alone I'd be worried someone's gonna break the slab... Or trip over and hurt themselves! (I'm more worried about the slab!!!)

As you've probably guessed, yes, we have our slab! We went passed at around noon today. I was hoping to catch the concrete being poured but by the time we got there, they were beginning to smooth it all out and pack up. 

And of course, I wanted to see what it all looked like once they were finished so I called back about 3 hours later:

I must say, I'm very happy with the job (although I'll leave it up to the site supivisor and inspection team to check if there is anything wrong). 

Next step... It's the waiting game. As it's a steal frame, it has to be ordered (I'm guessing pre-fabricated too). Unlike wooden frames, these can't be easily cut to size and hammered together with nails on site, so we have to wait for a factory to do it for us. It's going to be some time before we see some movement again but at least I have my slab! I'm sure I'll post again before the framing starts but there won't be much to say until then. 

Boxing is up!!

Well, I was very pleased to see the weather held up and the boxing laid out all in place. Can really start to get the feel of what the slab is going to look like!

It's a Waffle Slab with re-enforced edge beams... Well, at least it's going to be once the concrete is poured. 

I can picture the rooms but gee they look like they're going to be small. Although thankfully I know that looks, in this case, are very deceiving. It's been mentioned to me several times, and I have a little experience in seeing slabs first hand; the slab will always seem to look smaller then what it really is. Just need to wait until the plaster goes on before really being able to appreciate the size of the rooms. 

We've also got our water meter installed too!!! I'm not sure when that went in but at least we now have water to the site!

Can't wait to go out there tomorrow and check on the progress of the slab. Will most likely go early in the morning and then swing past again that afternoon! Will post pictures again tomorrow. 

Things are moving.

The Site Supervisor called this morning. Looks like we'll be getting our slab poured this weekend if all goes well (Weather Pending of course). Here's hoping the rain holds off so the boxing can be done tomorrow.

Anyway, we called passed the property again tonight and found more work had been done.  Looks like all the crushed rock has been put down and the trenches dug out for the Edge Beams of the Slab.

Also, in other news, both our neighbours have now started on either side of us.  Looks like all three of us will be moving in within weeks of each other. Will most likely go past again tomorrow to see if the Boxing has been done, and then of course on Saturday to check out our new Slab!!!... if all goes to plan that is.

Pipe Works

I'm surprised so much is being done in such a short amount of time.

I went past the property Tuesday (my last post), and then went past again the next day (Yesterday) expecting no change, only to find a whole heap more done.

Looks like the majority of underground pipe works have been put in. I can start to see where the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry will all be positioned.

 

There was also what looks to me like the Conduit for the NBN cabling:

 



This came from the front of the property where another conduit was sticking out just like the one above.

We also bumped into one of our neighbours directly next to us. They said they are hoping to start building in the next few weeks so it will be extra exciting to see both homes going up.  Not sure if I will swing past the property after work today to see if anything else is done.  We're not heading out that way until the weekend so expect another post then or soon after.

We have The Power.

I went passed the land to see if anything more had been done and found our electricity box standing there!

(Sorry the pictures are a bit dark)

They've also started to stick the pegs into the ground; I'm guessing for the variouse measurements and what not, and the safety fence has gone up too.

 

I'm very pleased to see all these things happening. It's very exciting to think each little thing getting added or compleated is one step closer to moving in. 

We have Lift Off!!!

What a nice surprise we got today. We went past the block, as we do every week, and lo and behold, we have movement!!

I know the site supivisor did say they wanted to start this week but I wasn't really expecting much because it's been raining quite a bit. Very happy and very surprised!

I'm guessing I'll be passing by more then once a week now to check out any progress. 

First Contact!

The site supervisor called today and introduced himself. Seems like a very nice guy.  Will look forward to eventually meeting him.

He said they would like to start this week, BUT, there would be a delay in the overall build due to JG King having an influx of new purchasers.  I'm guessing the super low interest rates are paying off for them.

They plan to have the slab down by Christmas, and then will start the frame Jan 11th. Very much looking forward to it.  At least we now have an idea of what's going to happen in the coming months.

Was planning on doing the lawns prior to them starting but if they are wanting to get out there this week, I'm going to have to get someone out there to do it for me before they start as there is no way I can do it before then.

Bank docs signed full deposit paid.

We received the docs from the bank on Thursday (well it was technically Wednesday but they went to  out broker, and so we got them first thing the next day). I went through the paperwork and we signed everything and posted them off on Friday.

At the same time I pulled out the invoice from JG King and paid the Balance of the Deposit. This now means that the building can start!! Yeah! We are hoping to get a call from the site supervisor this week.

JG King have already applied for the building insurance (we received the docs for these during the week), and we also have received the Building Permit

We went past our block during the week too. Looks like both our neighbours on either side of us are about to start building as well because their Water Meters have been installed. Ours hasn't yet but here's hoping it goes in this week! Who installs these things anyway? Is it the builder once the full deposit has been paid? Or the council once the building Permit has been given? Or is there some other process for this to get done? Well I'm sure we will find out soon enough! Would be great if we visit next week and ours is installed too!!!

I'm sure I'll begin posting a little more frequently once things start up.  Really hoping it will be this month (or at least no later then the end Dec).

At long last...

Well, I'm pleased to announce we have received Unconditional Approval from the Bank!... finally!!!!

There were a couple hiccups along the way though...

First we went ahead and got the Valuation done for the property - from the same company the bank uses. It came in a little under but we fixed that up.

Then we submitted everything to the bank... It took some time for them to eventually get to it but when they did, they ordered the valuation again... Once we found that out, we contacted them and they suddenly realised that we already subbmitted the valuation to them... (apparently they mustn't really do their job of checking the files).

So, they then canceled their request for the valuation... This is where it gets a little funny. A week or so goes by and we are starting to get edgy... When they are contacted they say they are having trouble uploading the valuation we gave them.... Anyway, to cut the story short, after a number of calls the bank realizes that when they canceled their valuation, they also canceled our valuation and thus, no valuation was able to be submitted... So in the end they re-instated the valuation and "eventually" got to our loan.

What a nightmare that was. Now we need to let JG King know it's all good to go ahead.

Contracts Signed

We made an appointment with Mr K for 9.00am just this Saturday past (Yes Election Day) to sign all the documents.  Mr K took us through each section and explained everything in detail.  We signed off on everything (Which I'm very pleased about), and now we will be waiting for the builders to sign off and then send us our copy back, and of course one other copy out to our Finance Broker.

This should be done this week so here's hoping we get the documents by Friday (or Monday) at the latest.  After this, our last step is getting all final approval from the Bank.  This is the big dreaded wait.  I don't envision any problems but you know, anything can happen with the banks... Can't wait to get the approval through and then finally have our first home begin to build.

Contract Arrived!

I received an email from Mr K yesterday informing us that we should be receiving the Contracts that day! The wife and I were both very excited, to say the least.

Unfortunately for us, we didn't get home until 12:30am this morning however there was the Contract just as promised!  This thing is pretty big. 120+ pages to it. I had a brief glance at it first thing but was just too tired to go over it at that hour of the morning.

I now have the task of taking out my fine comb and studying the contract in full, which I hope to do today.  On the quick run through of what I had time to do today, things are looking good.  But of course, me being me, I'm going to have to peel through every page before I finalise anything. Then we will be having our conveyancer (Specialist Lawyer) go through it to double check.

Next step after this will be to arrange a time to sit down with Mr K and sign all 3 copies (Builders, Banks and of course our copy).  Apparently this will take a bit of time as most if not every page needs to be signed or initialled and at the same time, what we are signing will hopefully be explained to us so we understand it all better.

Will be updating again soon.

The Herald Sun Home Show

We got some tickets to the Melbourne Herald Sun Home Show so we decided to go on Saturday.

It was bigger then I expected... a LOT bigger.  Took us over 6 hours to go through it all... and that was just once!  Not to mention we bypassed sections of it (Bathrooms, kitchens and the like) due to already have chosen those for our home.  We could have gone through a second time too it was that interesting.

I was very interested in a number of things including Outdoor Designs, Hybrid Solar Systems, beds, curtains/blinds, Lounges, to name a few.  There were just so many things covered at this show.

We've now got a fair few great ideas of what we want once we are finally living in the house.  Plenty of things to aim for over the years ahead... At least there'll be plenty of things for me to keep posting on, well on into the years after the house has been completed.

In the end, I say that show was absolutely fantastic.  If any of you are building, or even already live in your own home, go to this show next year.  It is so worth your time and Money (Entry Ticket) to see so many things in once place.  I can guarantee you the wife and I will be there next year.

Tile Appointment Done!

We had our appointment at Beaumont Tiles today. We had already visited them a little over a month ago and had checked out the standard range that JG King had on offer.  This, of course, was all prior to our colour appointment with JG King so when we visited Beaumont Tiles this time round, the tiles we selected in the first place were no longer really suited to what we wanted.

As we are getting floating floors throughout the main part of the house, we only needed to select tiles for the Bathrooms and the Laundry.  Because of this our tile selection was a little different. We ended up choosing 450mm x 450mm Tiles for the flooring, and a pretty standard white wall tile which had slight indents in it for its feature.  The Consultant was very helpful and she ended up comparing a whole lot of the tiles until we made up our minds. She pointed out a little feature of the floor tiles being used around the bath tub so once she showed us a display of what that looked like, we decided to go with that too.

We then selected a darker grout colouring for the floor tiles as upon looking at some of the displays, it made the tiles more of a feature.

Once done the consultant took us through all of our choices and we agreed to the extra costing... a whopping $16.00, which we were happy with, and we signed the paperwork. They will now forward this back to JG King and hopefully all will start moving forward from here!

Colour Apointment DONE!

All I have to say is Oh My Gosh!! I was thinking the colour appointment was going to be quick and simple, about 45 minutes, Tops.  We had an idea of what we wanted but in the end, I don't think we realised just how many things there are to pick and the amount of colour selection for them.While we've been waiting for the Preliminary Drawings, J.G King have booked us in to choose our colours.

Below are the colours we chose for the Exterior of the house.

Next came the Kitchen Bench and cupboards for Both the En-suit and Bathroom. We chose the Darker Colour for the Kitchen and the lighter for the Bathrooms:

 We were going to have tiles throughout the house but ended up going with floating floors.  We just prefered the design and colour:

I wanted to make sure we had a nice Front entrance so we upgraded the door and I chose Jarrah Stain for the colour:

Finally was the carpet and wall paint:

We also had the glass splash-back in the kitchen but I forgot to take a photo of it. We then made an appointment to go see Beaumont Tiles but that is next month.  Hoping we get the preliminary drawings through before then.

Anyway, 2 and a half hours later, we were done.  I think I'm happy with the selection so here's hoping it looks as good in real life as it does in my head.

Site Test Results are in!

That was quicker then expected.  I got a call a couple of days ago from J.G King's Office and have been sent our site report.

This was where my heart stopped.

It's a P Class site.

I had to do sooooo much research into finding out what this would mean as we have an M class included in the quote.

Anyway. The Site Report test recommends an M Class Slab with re-enforced edge beams. I'm not really entirely sure what that entails but I've been reading up about nightmare stories where some sites have cost $50,000 extra!!!??? OUCH!

Friends of our recently moved into their newly build home in Jacksons View in Druin (Near Warragul).

They told me their report came back and they needed cut and fill, and a H2 class slab.  They got a whole heap of piers and some of them needed to go 9 Meters deep!!!  Their site costs and Slab added an extra $38,000 to their home!

Other Friends of ours built a double Story on a P class site and theirs came to $18,000.

I'm feeling a little easier as our soil test was terminated after 2000mm so no 9 meter deep Piers.  I also can't find where it says we need any piers for a concrete slab so I have my fingers crossed but am trying to not get my hopes up until AFTER we get the first draft of the contract. Also very little cut and fill if any will be needed so hope that keeps the costs down.

In the meantime, I sent J.G. King a copy of the controlled fill/compacting report for my block.  Let's hope it all comes back without exuberant costs added for the slab.

Deposit Down, Pre-lim Quotes Signed

We've met with Mr K and signed the quotes and basic documents.  Put down the a deposit and now have to wait for the Soil Test, then move onto the design of the slab, and then the first official draft of The Contracts for The Memphis.

We've been told about 4 - 5 weeks or so.  I know there's all sorts of delays but we'll see.  Now it's the waiting game. Things are getting exciting... but at the same time I'm really starting to stress.  I know of all the issues that go hand in hand with building so I am dreading, and expecting the worse.

Fingers Crossed!

What Happened?

I don't get it.  I did a whole heap of research and everywhere I read I found that volume builders just don't do deals. I mean, they have their specials, but anything more then that, you'd be lucky for them to through in something for free.

Well, this was not the case for us.  We got a discount AND they threw in free 40mm Caesar Stone Bench tops.  The quote came in to the budget I wanted???  I know the sales people have to make sales and all but this is great news.  At least, I know we need to pay for all the extra things, like temp fencing, soil tests and then having the Slab meet certain grades... any cement pumps, etc... This budget at the price given will hopefully be enough to give us this extra buffer of cash to cover these hidden extras!

Well, now we are arranging to meet with Mr K and sign up, put the basic deposit down and get all the soil tests done.  Here's hoping things go smoothly from here.

Got the Quotes

We got the last of our quotes last night.  I wanted to get J.G King's - the Memphis last so I had all the quotes and could compare.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with their quote.  I sent an email back to Mr K (their sales rep), who mind you has been really good with dealing with us over the last year and a bit.

I let him know I was not happy and said the other quotes I got came in much better priced with larger homes, including the upgrades we wanted and site costs plus Bush Fire Rating etc.

I gave him my upper limit and said I can not pay any more.  Will wait to hear from him if anything can be done.  We have to really consider if the price from J.G King is worth it or go with one of the other homes we like.  My heart is set with The Memphis so it will be a real disappointment if we can't get our deal.

Such a long process...

I've just realised we have been searching for over a year. Wow. I guess we really do want to choose the right house for us... We do intend to live in it for at least 10 years so why not make sure it's perfect! Well, that's the plan anyway.

We've got a fair few quotes and are getting hounded by builders left right and centre. Everyone really wants our business.

We still have another quote or 2 to get before really making our decision. I'm still leaning towards The Memphis but with all these offers and great deals, I am very interested in these other homes.

Also, there's now speculation that the First Home Builders grant is going to be $10,000 starting 1st July... interesting...

Well I'll keep you posted as it's getting really close for us to put down a deposit.

What are we up to?

A few more months have come and gone and we are just plodding along, putting aside as much money as we can spare (with having a little spending money of course).

I think I am looking at getting serious with home quotes now and I want to start to get things moving.  Would like to put a deposit down by end May at the latest.

We've started cutting out certain homes now.  We are only going Single Story, so no more double stories. Nothing under 28 Squares. Have eliminated Porter Davids, Carl isle Homes and a few others (not because they are bad, just because we didn't find anything we really wanted).

We are still keen on Fairhaven, Inspired Homes, some Simmonds Homes, River Gum Construction and of course the Memphis from J.G. King.

Will have to start getting official quotes now so here's hoping we can get something to fit into our budget and start the ball rolling.