We were told unofficially by Wisdom last week, but today it is official - we have council approval!!!! It took 7 weeks in total which isn't too bad although it felt like a lifetime. Now to complete the boring paperwork stuff before the excitement can really begin.
Our block is about 5 minutes from where we live now so I try and drive past everyday to see the progress of all the builds in the development - not to mention the new sporting fields. There has been heaps of progress in our street. This week our neighbours on 1 side (single storey) have had their roof tiles laid while on the other side (double storey) the frames have all gone up. The block behind (double storey) also had their slab laid this week so it is all happening. I can't wait until our house slots right in the middle.
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Plans lodged to council
Great news today.....our plans have been sent to council. Looking from my post from last week I feel bad for wingeing - it took 3 days not 3 weeks! Who would have thought??? We are very excited but now the long wait for council approval starts. 1 step closer.....
The 2nd exciting email received today is from Knebel kitchens with the 3D picture of our kitchen.
We chose our house design off a plan and there is no display home, so it was very exciting to finally see what it my kitchen will look like. I'm over-the-moon!!!!! Great day
The 2nd exciting email received today is from Knebel kitchens with the 3D picture of our kitchen.
We chose our house design off a plan and there is no display home, so it was very exciting to finally see what it my kitchen will look like. I'm over-the-moon!!!!! Great day
Saturday, 24 May 2014
101 shades of grey!
It has been a very long and stressful few weeks which is why I haven't posted for a while. This long drawn out Admin process really does take all the excitement out of building a new house!
We have now received all of our quotes back and ALL of them came in more than what we expected. We have added over $30,000 from our building price which has come as a bit of a shock at this late stage. Especially as we felt during the kitchen and electrical appointment that we didn't make as many changes/upgrades that we wanted to - to try and save money. We keep saying to each other that in the end it will be worth it but man the price better not go up anymore!
We heard back from Wisdom on Friday that our plans have been approved by Mulgoa Rise. Great news but then we were told that it takes 10-15 working days to get the file ready for council. 3 weeks??? It seems so crazy to me that the file is not already ready to go to council but now we have to wait again. Crazy!!!
Once the file finally reaches council it can take 2 months (even longer!) so I am getting very concerned that we will not meet our Building Contract deadline of 30 August....and that will mean more money that we do not have! I think a few stressful weeks lie ahead
On a different note we have been trying to choose the paint colour for the walls (only 1 colour for the whole house as any additional colour is $600). We are going for a light grey colour which will contrast well with the dark floors and white skirting boards and architraves. Finding the right shade of grey as proven to be a problem - who would have thought there were so many different shades of grey! lol I bought a couple of canvases and sample pots and have been painting up a storm but still not 100% happy. I think another trip to Bunnings is on the cards....
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Colour selection appointments
We are back after our wonderfully relaxing cruise.
The last 2 days have been spent completing all our selection appointments. When they were all booked for the 2 days I thought it was great however it has turned out to be a very stressful and intense couple of days....not to mention expensive.
First was the landscaping appointment. Thankfully the designer from Wisdom did not laugh at my poor amateur sketch and was able to draw up a lovely design on the computer. The problem came at the end when he realised that a maximum of 40% of the outside can be 'hard landscaping'. Well when you put in a driveway and he pool we are at 42%. He is hopeful that this will be acceptable and that we will be able obtain approval for decking or tiling around the pool once construction is complete - I certainly hope so or we will end up with grass around the pool! We are waiting on the quote this week which should be interesting however we think we will just be going with the driveway using the $5000 voucher.
Next was the external selections with the lovely Cassandra. We were very prepared so this one was very easy. We loved the picture of the Savannah façade so we pretty much went with those colours. The best news is we didn't upgrade anything except for getting translucent glass in the front door.
Bricks: PGH Vino
Gutter, Fascia, Downpipes: Night sky
Render: Quarry
Feature render: Ironstone
Garage: Surfmist
From there we went to the staircase appointment which was a bit of a disappointment. The consultant seemed to be in a bad mood and wasn't very helpful. We will be going with the standard staircase with just the bottom 3 steps wood stained and the rest carpet.
Last appointment for that day was the kitchen selection at Knebel Kitchens. I was looking forward to this one but was a little stressed when we got there. We rearranged the sink position and asked to be quoted for Polyurethane cabinet upgrade, waterfall edge to bench top and bench top to be extended outside as a servery to the alfresco area. Quote is due back next week.
Following day we had the air-conditioning appointment which was uneventful.
Next was the appointment I was dreading Tiles and carpet at Dilorenzo. Bathrooms and laundry we stuck to the standard range only extra charge was having the mosaic tiles in the shower niches instead of just 1 line down the wall. I still don't understand why! We went with a large Bluestone colour tile for the floors with white wall tiles and grey mosaics.
Floor tiles for the ground floor has always been my weakness. I fell in love with the Belgique wood effect tiles in the display homes and had to have them. Cannot believe how expensive they are and that you have to pay extra to have them laid. I am not looking forward to getting this quote back.
Carpet: I thought this one was going to be easy - in fact I gave it very little thought. However there is lots of different types with different warranties and the builders range felt horrible. In the end we did upgrade from the standard and upgraded the underlay as well. We did manage to match the colour almost exactly to the tiles so I cant wait to see how it all looks together.
Last appointment was the electrical with Clipsal. Consultant was lovely (and a fellow Wanderers supporter!) and we had been prepared for months so it was an easy appointment. Well easy to spend lots of money lol. We went with down lights downstairs and the standard lights upstairs. The most expense was the TV points - 4 in total including 1 outside in the alfresco (hubby's request). We did spend a bit more than expected but we got everything we wanted.
Well that was an eventful few days - now we just have to wait for the quotes to come back. Something I am not looking forward to. It is exciting that the colour choices have been made and that I can now start to see how it all will look together.
The last 2 days have been spent completing all our selection appointments. When they were all booked for the 2 days I thought it was great however it has turned out to be a very stressful and intense couple of days....not to mention expensive.
First was the landscaping appointment. Thankfully the designer from Wisdom did not laugh at my poor amateur sketch and was able to draw up a lovely design on the computer. The problem came at the end when he realised that a maximum of 40% of the outside can be 'hard landscaping'. Well when you put in a driveway and he pool we are at 42%. He is hopeful that this will be acceptable and that we will be able obtain approval for decking or tiling around the pool once construction is complete - I certainly hope so or we will end up with grass around the pool! We are waiting on the quote this week which should be interesting however we think we will just be going with the driveway using the $5000 voucher.
Next was the external selections with the lovely Cassandra. We were very prepared so this one was very easy. We loved the picture of the Savannah façade so we pretty much went with those colours. The best news is we didn't upgrade anything except for getting translucent glass in the front door.
Bricks: PGH Vino
Gutter, Fascia, Downpipes: Night sky
Render: Quarry
Feature render: Ironstone
Garage: Surfmist
From there we went to the staircase appointment which was a bit of a disappointment. The consultant seemed to be in a bad mood and wasn't very helpful. We will be going with the standard staircase with just the bottom 3 steps wood stained and the rest carpet.
Last appointment for that day was the kitchen selection at Knebel Kitchens. I was looking forward to this one but was a little stressed when we got there. We rearranged the sink position and asked to be quoted for Polyurethane cabinet upgrade, waterfall edge to bench top and bench top to be extended outside as a servery to the alfresco area. Quote is due back next week.
Following day we had the air-conditioning appointment which was uneventful.
Next was the appointment I was dreading Tiles and carpet at Dilorenzo. Bathrooms and laundry we stuck to the standard range only extra charge was having the mosaic tiles in the shower niches instead of just 1 line down the wall. I still don't understand why! We went with a large Bluestone colour tile for the floors with white wall tiles and grey mosaics.
Floor tiles for the ground floor has always been my weakness. I fell in love with the Belgique wood effect tiles in the display homes and had to have them. Cannot believe how expensive they are and that you have to pay extra to have them laid. I am not looking forward to getting this quote back.
Carpet: I thought this one was going to be easy - in fact I gave it very little thought. However there is lots of different types with different warranties and the builders range felt horrible. In the end we did upgrade from the standard and upgraded the underlay as well. We did manage to match the colour almost exactly to the tiles so I cant wait to see how it all looks together.
Last appointment was the electrical with Clipsal. Consultant was lovely (and a fellow Wanderers supporter!) and we had been prepared for months so it was an easy appointment. Well easy to spend lots of money lol. We went with down lights downstairs and the standard lights upstairs. The most expense was the TV points - 4 in total including 1 outside in the alfresco (hubby's request). We did spend a bit more than expected but we got everything we wanted.
Well that was an eventful few days - now we just have to wait for the quotes to come back. Something I am not looking forward to. It is exciting that the colour choices have been made and that I can now start to see how it all will look together.
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Happy Easter!
Easter weekend brings a long overdue break. Hosting my family for Good Friday lunch I couldn't help but think maybe the Easter Bunny will be coming to the new house next year. That would be exciting! We are off on a family cruise in a couple of days and I can't wait to get away. It will be a good break from the stress of work and the build - and nice to spend some quality time with my 3 favourite people!
Our colour selection appointments have been all booked for the 2 days after we get back from our trip. Very exciting but also very stressful. Lots of decisions to be made in such a small amount of time.
We have spent the last week going over every part of the house for what seems like the hundredth time. Many 'discussions' have been had as, while I thought we had it all decided, it appears hubby has an opinion at the last minute. We have made trips to Knebel Kitchens, Di Lorenzo Tiles and spent countless hours on the internet for inspiration. It will be great when all the selections have been made and we can get the plans submitted to Mulgoa Rise for approval.
Oh well it will all have to wait until after our holiday - next stop the South Pacific...
Our colour selection appointments have been all booked for the 2 days after we get back from our trip. Very exciting but also very stressful. Lots of decisions to be made in such a small amount of time.
We have spent the last week going over every part of the house for what seems like the hundredth time. Many 'discussions' have been had as, while I thought we had it all decided, it appears hubby has an opinion at the last minute. We have made trips to Knebel Kitchens, Di Lorenzo Tiles and spent countless hours on the internet for inspiration. It will be great when all the selections have been made and we can get the plans submitted to Mulgoa Rise for approval.
Oh well it will all have to wait until after our holiday - next stop the South Pacific...
Friday, 4 April 2014
Building contracts signed
Well it has been a very productive and exciting week.
Monday - received the revised Tender from Wisdom. It was approx. what we expected so we were happy.
Wednesday - received the revised plans with all problems now corrected.
Thursday - received the Building Contract
Friday - signed Building Contract.
lol just reading this makes its sound like everything is running smoothly and fast which couldn't be further from the truth. I haven't posted too much about it but we have had many (MANY!) issues with the admin process with Wisdom. It has been very frustrating and to our detriment we have been far too patient. Well that all changed this week. I put the pressure on and things started to move. I hate that it came to that, as I know in my job I would much rather deal with the nice clients rather than the demanding ones, but we were very patient for too long.
Had it not been for he fact we were looking for our 'perfect' house for over 2 years and have fallen in love with our design, we would have walked away a month ago (as it seems a few of their clients have done). Fingers crossed we are now back on track
To Wisdom's credit they have acknowledged their shortcomings and have gone out of their way this week to get us back on track. They even extended our contract for 2 months (without being asked) due to the delays which is a huge wait off our shoulders and has gone a long way to making us happy again. I have said it before and I will probably say it again but this building a house business is a real emotional roller-coaster.
Next is to set up appointments for the external and landscaping so we can submit to Mulgoa Rise and then council. This probably happen won't before Easter but we will see.....
The other exciting news for the week is we have met (well in the cyber world) our new next door neighbours. They also have 2 boys like us which is great. Where we live now there has never been any children around so it is great that there are so many families building with small children. It is all very exciting!
Monday - received the revised Tender from Wisdom. It was approx. what we expected so we were happy.
Wednesday - received the revised plans with all problems now corrected.
Thursday - received the Building Contract
Friday - signed Building Contract.
lol just reading this makes its sound like everything is running smoothly and fast which couldn't be further from the truth. I haven't posted too much about it but we have had many (MANY!) issues with the admin process with Wisdom. It has been very frustrating and to our detriment we have been far too patient. Well that all changed this week. I put the pressure on and things started to move. I hate that it came to that, as I know in my job I would much rather deal with the nice clients rather than the demanding ones, but we were very patient for too long.
Had it not been for he fact we were looking for our 'perfect' house for over 2 years and have fallen in love with our design, we would have walked away a month ago (as it seems a few of their clients have done). Fingers crossed we are now back on track
To Wisdom's credit they have acknowledged their shortcomings and have gone out of their way this week to get us back on track. They even extended our contract for 2 months (without being asked) due to the delays which is a huge wait off our shoulders and has gone a long way to making us happy again. I have said it before and I will probably say it again but this building a house business is a real emotional roller-coaster.
Next is to set up appointments for the external and landscaping so we can submit to Mulgoa Rise and then council. This probably happen won't before Easter but we will see.....
The other exciting news for the week is we have met (well in the cyber world) our new next door neighbours. They also have 2 boys like us which is great. Where we live now there has never been any children around so it is great that there are so many families building with small children. It is all very exciting!
Monday, 24 March 2014
Finally the land is ours!!!
Very big day today. Finally after many months the land is ours! Very exciting!!!
There has been a few developments on the building front as well. After I replied to the email from Wisdom with the increased tender we have now someone new looking after us. He looked over our plans and suggested some changes he thinks we should make. It was nice to have a fresh set of eyes looking at them and the changes he proposed made sense. Nothing can make up for the poor communication in the beginning but hopefully things will start moving now. Hopefully we will get a revised plan and Tender (mark 3) this week.
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