Wednesday 28 August 2013
Monday 26 August 2013
Slab start 27/8/2013
These guys don't mess around!
Slab is being poured today 27/8/2013.
By 9am almost half of the slab was poured
Slab is being poured today 27/8/2013.
By 9am almost half of the slab was poured
Sunday 25 August 2013
Pre-Slab preparation 22/8/2013
Close to slab now, all plumbing is now in and the site has been scrapped ready for the steel and waffle polystyrene.
Wednesday 21 August 2013
21/8/2013 Plumbing done, ready for slab
Weather was threatening this week but just enough rain to make the ground soft enough to dig - apart from it being freezing cold all seems to be going as planned.
Looks like most of the plumbing is completed, just needs a site tidy/clean and then ready for slab prep.
Looks like most of the plumbing is completed, just needs a site tidy/clean and then ready for slab prep.
Sunday 18 August 2013
How it all began
I thought we would share our experiences with building a custom single story house.
The overall process has been long and exhausting, definately thorough and overwhelmingly worth the effort.
It started out with itchy feet, a growing family and need to move to a new area with a custom designed family home. We decided early on that most volume builders offered good packages but we wanted something custom designed to suit our requirements.
Chronolology:
Early 2011 - We almost bought land and built with Carter Grange, a little double story in Ascot Vale on a tiny 300sq metre block. In the end it was just too big a house we required on too small a block so we let it go. The designers and sales staff at the time tried in vain to come up with a design that suited all the requirements but we just fell short.
Late 2012 - After visiting what seemed like 1000 display homes we bought a large block of land at Attwood and appointed a draftsperson to design our home from scratch. We designed a 43 square single story, based loosely on a few displays from volume builders. The designer was Scott Ellis from Ausdraft, can highly recommend his services as an alternative to an architect. Way cheaper and great design mindset. We came close to appointing a small builder to undertake the works.
Early 2013 - We got itchy feet, the block at Attwood was beautiful and had great parkland aspects and country views however we really wanted our family to be closer to the kids schools and our work.
March 2013 - After a short time searching we found a potential knockdown in Inner north west melbourne, a bidding war ensured at auction but we got it in the end. Time to sell up everything else and jump in the deep end.
April 2013 - Back we went to 1000's of display homes, including a near miss with PD homes. In the end we returned to the builder we initially contacted, Carter Grange. We initially designed a custom double story 47 squares with the assistance of the sales and drafts people at CG. It ended up being too big and too costly for our needs, we really wanted a single story. My wife asked, do you think we could fit a single story on the block and still have a decent back yard? I responded, lets check out a couple of displays and find out. We found the display of another builder (name removed) near Point Cook. It was close to the size we were after, 33 squares and the same size block ~610m. Back to the drawing board I used this display and many others as a starting point for mocking up a sketch. I took this sketch back to CG and they weaved their magic. We wanted some specific things in our new home; ensuites to all bedrooms, kids play area, alucobond cladding to facade (loved the new Seattle facade in the double story range), our own SMEG oven and rangehood, fireplace and tapware - all no problems!
June 2013 - Finalised plans, colour appointments, tenders. The tender appointment/staff member was amazing and so helpful - went out of her way to find ideas and concepts. Yes even on weekends/in her own time.
July 2013 - Tiling appointments, contracts, demolition of existing dwelling (Express Demolitions, great job guys - so clean and no damage to footpath, crossover, fences)
August 2013- Site Start!
The overall process has been long and exhausting, definately thorough and overwhelmingly worth the effort.
It started out with itchy feet, a growing family and need to move to a new area with a custom designed family home. We decided early on that most volume builders offered good packages but we wanted something custom designed to suit our requirements.
Chronolology:
Early 2011 - We almost bought land and built with Carter Grange, a little double story in Ascot Vale on a tiny 300sq metre block. In the end it was just too big a house we required on too small a block so we let it go. The designers and sales staff at the time tried in vain to come up with a design that suited all the requirements but we just fell short.
Late 2012 - After visiting what seemed like 1000 display homes we bought a large block of land at Attwood and appointed a draftsperson to design our home from scratch. We designed a 43 square single story, based loosely on a few displays from volume builders. The designer was Scott Ellis from Ausdraft, can highly recommend his services as an alternative to an architect. Way cheaper and great design mindset. We came close to appointing a small builder to undertake the works.
Early 2013 - We got itchy feet, the block at Attwood was beautiful and had great parkland aspects and country views however we really wanted our family to be closer to the kids schools and our work.
March 2013 - After a short time searching we found a potential knockdown in Inner north west melbourne, a bidding war ensured at auction but we got it in the end. Time to sell up everything else and jump in the deep end.
April 2013 - Back we went to 1000's of display homes, including a near miss with PD homes. In the end we returned to the builder we initially contacted, Carter Grange. We initially designed a custom double story 47 squares with the assistance of the sales and drafts people at CG. It ended up being too big and too costly for our needs, we really wanted a single story. My wife asked, do you think we could fit a single story on the block and still have a decent back yard? I responded, lets check out a couple of displays and find out. We found the display of another builder (name removed) near Point Cook. It was close to the size we were after, 33 squares and the same size block ~610m. Back to the drawing board I used this display and many others as a starting point for mocking up a sketch. I took this sketch back to CG and they weaved their magic. We wanted some specific things in our new home; ensuites to all bedrooms, kids play area, alucobond cladding to facade (loved the new Seattle facade in the double story range), our own SMEG oven and rangehood, fireplace and tapware - all no problems!
June 2013 - Finalised plans, colour appointments, tenders. The tender appointment/staff member was amazing and so helpful - went out of her way to find ideas and concepts. Yes even on weekends/in her own time.
July 2013 - Tiling appointments, contracts, demolition of existing dwelling (Express Demolitions, great job guys - so clean and no damage to footpath, crossover, fences)
August 2013- Site Start!
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