So sorry it has been so long. Been too busy enjoying the place. In the end we have been so happy with the house. Boutique were fantastic and after the dramas we really can’t complain with the end product.
We still haven’t done the landscaping but we are getting there. Overall really happy and certainly the best decision we ever Made.
We moved in Melbourne cup weekend and it felt like home from the first day.
Photos are below
So things are still ticking along although not at the lightning speed they were travelling at the start of the build. I think anyone who has built will tell you that this is the stage which seems to take the longest and is the most frustrating.
Boutique continue to be fantastic and we really can’t fault them. We have had more minor issues including our render colours being applied the wrong way, incorrect number of internal doors being ordered, one door size incorrect and mosaics missing from our tile order. All of it though hasn’t effected anything from our end although no doubt our supervisor is frustrated with the people responsible for ordering.
So far the colour choices seem to all fit. We were concerned that the kitchen cabinetry base colour would not work with the floor however it appears to look ok.
The floor (once all the crap has been removed from it) should look beautiful. The only snap shot we have of it at the moment is where the painters have removed the tape from around the skirts.
We are very happy with the job the painters did. I would recommend anyone who is building with a volume builder NOT to go in whilst they are half way through painting. The house was a mess. Our team of painters barely spoke english making communicating with them about smoking near the house etc difficult and there was crap everywhere for the couple of days they were on site. Having said this, if we had not been there everyday we wouldn’t have seen this and the finished job seems excellent and they have tidied everything completely.
The colour we chose seems to be ok, albeit a little greenish.
I think the green will disappear a little once furniture and light are introduced.
The tiler is now in the house (day # 2 today) and is powering along. The outside of the house is yet to be painted but will no doubt happen over the coming week or two. Our bench tops shouldn’t be far away as they were ordered a few weeks ago.
Our site supervisor thought we might be in by the end of September, however being the 16/09 today I think that is a bit optimistic. I think realistically we are still 4-6 weeks away. The build time has been very reasonable (although certainly not ridiculously quick like some volume builders) but I must say, although it doesn’t matter when we get in, I am starting to get very keen.
Below are some more photos of the house. The next lot should be soon after or just before we move in. 🙂
I just can’t keep up with entries on this blog at the same speed that the builder is moving.
We are now in our 3rd month of building and the brick work is mostly complete, windows are in (mostly) and the plasterer is almost finished.
We have had a few little issues hence the majority of things which are currently “mostly” complete. Our windows were installed back at the end of June and straight away we realised that the incorrect ones had been put in. All along we believed we would have timber windows in our facade. There was a bit of toing & froing between us and the builder however in the end they honoured what had been promised and the aluminium windows were removed. This took about 2 weeks to sort out and when we finally did, the window supplier had a back log meaning it was going to be another 2 week wait for the windows. As a result of this, the bricky couldn’t finish everything so finished the bulk with the rest to be finished once the new windows were available.
When the windows did finally arrive one was the wrong size and the other the supervisor wasnt happy with as it wasnt square. Although some people may be annoyed at this, the manner in which Boutique have managed it has been commendable. I didn’t have to say anything and although no doubt it is an inconvenience to the supervisor to remove the windows and have them remade I didn’t even have to say anything.
As the house is now basically weather tight, the plaster has been through and plaster has been installed (excluding cornice). Cornice will likely be done in the coming days.
The house is really starting to take shape now. There is one spot in particular which I love standing which is in the study door way looking along the wall toward the theatre room. This sounds really strange but we have a lovely semi recess on this wall and I am in love. Not sure what feature we will put in there yet, but once we are in we will have a good look and work it out.
Our flooring is going to be installed next week. We were going to tile the floor as my fiance is a tiler, however had been unable to find any tiles which we really loved. In the end we decided to price hardwood timber as this was what we had really wanted from the beginning although our budget initially was not as generous as it is now.
We went to Steves Discount flooring in Geelong and I fell in love with the Grey Iron Bark Hardwood. Although the timber is about 3 times the cost of the tiles we were initially going to lay I just couldn’t find anything which came close. In the end we decided that we could find the extra money and have committed to the timber.
Hopefully it will look something like this:
In the past week we have also decided that we will sell our existing house. Although we initially wanted to keep it for an investment, I just don’t think I want the pressure of dealing with tenants etc. The benefits mean we can take the equity out of the place when we sell it and do my fiance’s shed which would be impossible for the first 6 months otherwise as funds had been directed to other things 😛
We have started buying furniture and we are in love with Dare Gallery. We have purchased our new dining table and chairs from there and a reading chair for our bedroom.
Now we just need to update some of our other things like outdoor table, buffet, bed suite and a new couch for our theatre.
So many things to buy, so little money to keep spending 😛
Anyway, here are a few pic’s of the progress so far. Sorry for the limited posts. Time just gets away from you so quickly.
Loving our bricks 🙂
This is where I love standing. The photo doesn’t capture it and it probably means nothing to anyone other than me, but there is just something about the lines in this spot which I love!
Until next time. ENJOY!
After almost 12 months since we signed our pre-works contract with Boutique, we have finally started building.
Works commenced on site 21/05/2014 with something happening everyday until 03/06/2014 when our slab was poured.
So far there have only been a few days where we haven’t been on site. For some people this is probably seen as overkill but both my partner and I believe that we can save ourselves a lot of pain if we are on top of exactly what is going on.
Our site supervisor has advised that all trades are now booked up until Plaster which they expect to be done by the end of this month. Once it starts it really does get going.
I was pleased when he advised me that they were going to let the slab rest for a week prior to the framer coming to start next Wednesday. I watched a 2 storey across the road go from Slab Pour on the Saturday, Frame resting on the Slab Monday night to Frame & Roof Trusses on by Wednesday Night. Unbelievable!!!
All blocks bar 2 have now been sold in our stage which is a bonus, however one of the two is right behind us which is a bit of a pain. We have two dogs and one really doesn’t like it when there are people near HER yard. This will be an issue when the block finally sells and people want to build on it.
Our closest neighbours across the road have moved in and are a lovely retired couple. I am yet to meet them, however my fiance has spoken with them regularly and has said they are extremely nice people.
Our site supervisor has so far been very thorough. We have also heard of other people who have had him as their supervisor and everyone has good things to say about him.
Last night was the first night that we got out on the slab, and as we have had a bit of rain over the past couple of days we could see the low spots on the slab. Over the next day or so we will be going out with the tape measure and level to see if the unevenness is going to be a problem.
The only part which looks decidedly “dodgy” is the portico, where we could see that the fall of the slab was allowing water to pool right at the door way. There is also a piece of concrete which is outside our bedroom window which is very “Lumpy”. The check with the level this weekend will dictate what happens with these areas.
So we should have a frame by the end of next week, and perhaps the bricks started the week after.
Below are some of the photos of the process so far.
Just a quick post before construction starts (hopefully).
Today marked a momentous day in our VERY long journey. After initially signing up in June last year and doing our colours in December, we have signed our final contract.
Following our colour consultation there were a LOT of changes which were made to make sure that we were 100% happy with everything. I believe that most people sign their contract at the colour consultation however we were lucky in a sense that our plans etc were not ready which meant further changes could be made without any costs involved. There were a few 😉
Our Consultant has been amazing, everything she does with a smile and nothing is ever too much trouble.
So after today they seem to think that site start will be 4 weeks away. I am a little scepticle of this however I am just happy we are moving forward 🙂
Next post will hopefully be once construction has started 🙂
So again, it has been quite a while since I have written anything.
Can’t believe it is already January, the months just fly by.
So as the title suggests, we have now done our colours (well we did them on 16th December). This was actually a very enjoyable process.
The colour scheme is remaining very similar to the display as I had mentioned previously. We upgraded a few extra things which I knew we would have to like the Entry Door handle, handles for cabinetry, a shower head plus a few extra’s. The big one was the electrical. Although I had allowed for a generous allowance it still came in about $2k more than what I was expecting. Thankfully we have saved in other areas so it was all balanced out.
We removed the tiling component from the large areas of the house as my fiancé is a tiler. Unfortunately it was going to be too difficult to go through the induction process so that he could also do the wet areas, however we have seen some of the work by the tiler’s who they employ and they do a very good job, so it isn’t too bigger issue.
We have also removed the carpet from the contract as I received quotes from a local carpet supplier and was able to obtain far superior quality carpet (fully installed on quality underlay) for less than I could by upgrading with the builder.
All this has meant that we are approx $1k over our budget which I can handle 🙂
After being very frustrated initially with Boutique I have nothing but positive things to say about our colour consultant. She is very responsive and takes initiative with things which she thinks we may like to include. Nothing has been too much of an issue, we even changed our tiles in our ensuite and bathroom after our consultation and she had no problems at all with this.
We still don’t have any final plans or our contract as yet however given I am not rushing for a start date I will not be surprised if this is still a couple of months away. Given we have our basic pricing I am really not too concerned.
Below are some colours we have selected for the house.
Ensuite Mosaic
Bathroom Feature Tile and Wet Areas Tiles – Charcoal walls with feature strip in the middle, off white floor
Ensuite Mosaics
Bathroom Feature Tile
External Colour Scheme
Ensuite & Bathroom Caesar Stone
Dark Grey Godfrey Hirst Carpet
As far as our estate is going, the houses are really starting to kick on in our stage. From the initial photo’s it is a huge change.
July 2013
July 2013
October 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
November 2013
January 2014
January 2014 – Looks like this will be the first resident, temporary fencing down looks almost ready to go!
January 2014
January 2014
So construction is now in sight. Over the coming months we should receive our plans and approvals with a start date hopefully around May. That time, no doubt, will fly!!!
It has been a while since I last blogged, however nothing of much significance has really happened over the past couple of months.
Since my last entry we have settled our land (which we frequent on a regular basis, perhaps just to make sure it hasn’t disappeared), been advised of our street numbers (number 6-8) and waited, waited, waited for movement with the build.
At this point in time, I am seriously considering either pitching a tent, or perhaps if we feel like living in absolute luxury, parking a caravan on the block as it feels like that will be as close as we get to ever living there.
The whole building process is long, drawn out and extremely emotional. We have been through the excited stage (“OMG we have found an amazing plan, OMG we can put that piece of furniture there, OMG imagine what it’s going to be like when we move in”). This stage reminds one of a 15 year old girl.
We have also been through the doubt phase. Have we made the right choice? Did we rush into things too quickly? Will this be big enough? Etc.
My mum has recently built and the one thing we realised after looking through her house was the lack of storage space in the home. At the moment we have 3 bedrooms with large floor to ceiling robes (we have 9ft ceilings) which are all full. I was concerned about the amount of space we had and had a melt down. Although the builder was helpful in the early stages, they have been quite slow since we signed our preworks contract. This has planted far too much doubt in our minds and I have made the decision more than once to throw in the towel with the whole thing.
Given we were going so long between speaking with our consultant I decided not to say anything and rather just go around to various display homes and decide on a new builder and floor plan.
We spoke with Long Island Homes, Metricon Homes, Urban Edge and Carlisle.
What a mistake!!! They are all as bad as each other. With the exception of Metricon!
I handed a list which I had compiled to the sales consultant at Long Island and it was as if he was paying me to build our home. Carlisle scared the heck out of us saying that we would be looking at at least $20-$25k for our site costs (so far by every other builder we have been quoted $10-$12k – although it ended up being more than this, see below) and every builder tried to talk us into something that we didn’t want, including a much smaller house!!!
We went home feeling deflated and exhausted!!! All we could think was “What on earth do we do???”.
We sat down and looked at the floor plan again for the Boutique. Although earlier I had been looking at the plan and thinking that maybe I didn’t like it so much, I instantly fell back in love with it. It was afterall the one we had picked from so many display homes earlier in the year. And looking at it now, I realised that we had been trying to modify every other floor plan to match this layout.
We had set out to build the 28sq (hence the name of the blog) however have changed our minds and have decided to build the 31sq. The reason being that the study is an extra 0.5m wide which will allow for the inclusion of a large wall to wall, floor to ceiling cupboard for surplus items such as suitcases, sporting equipment etc. The bedrooms are also larger, which is something I was very concerned about with the 28sq.
After much frustration with the builder saying he was going to get back to me with information etc, I finally blew my lid when a sales consultant called and asked if we wanted to book in the colour consultation. At this point we had no costings for the 31sq (which we had asked for twice in the past month), no idea around our site costs (which we had been promised for 3 months) and no recent communication of any substance. After losing my cool, I find out that our sales consultant had been trying to continue his work even though he was in hospital with a serious illness. This made me more annoyed at the builder that they had not provided sufficient assistance to someone who was so ill. On top of this didn’t I feel like the worlds biggest BITCH!
Finally I was passed onto the sales manager who has been very helpful.
We finally got our site costs. This was a shock! We have been advised that following the soil test we will be up for $18k in site costs due to the amount of fill on the block and over compaction. Although disappointing we will manage and given the over engineering which will no doubt be completed as part of the site works, our house should be solid as a rock!!!
It is likely that we will now not start building until about April/May next year as I don’t want to move in over the winter months.
All we can do now is wait!
31sq Floor Plan
Below are some of the photo’s of the display with some of the features we would like to build in…
The Barcelona 28 Floor Plan
The computer generated facade we have chosen.
The Facade from side on at the Plumpton Display. Think we will stick with these colours. I am not very original!
Huge 1.8m shower!!! STANDARD!
The dining. We have chosen to have a sliding door leading from the dining out to a future deck or outdoor area.
Living Area
The “Home Office”. We will be placing wall to ceiling cupboards where the desk is in the photo.
The ensuite. Love that big vanity!!!
The master bedroom.
We have gone with the same bench top as the Waralilly Display and think that we will probably go with the same colours, although the wall to the left will be all white with a fridge space and white cabinetry.
We have also gone with the same brick work as the display home. The bricks are a nice dark blue, brown colour.
In commencing our journey to build a new home, I have decided to start my own blog given I have enjoyed other peoples so much.
This site will be a constant work in progress as our journey progresses and things no doubt CHANGE!!!
After buying our first home in 2009 and renovating the place ourselves (that should possibly read himself as I did almost nothing) we started to look for the next project.
Our current house although comfortable, is quite small and the set up of the block not completely ideal with my fiancé having 2 work cars as well as my personal car.
We started looking at older, large homes on big blocks which were structurally sound, but very dated and in need of some TLC. Although we found a few, nothing fell within our price range by the time stamp duty and renovations were covered.
We have always dreamed of being able to secure a large block of land (perhaps an acre) and so we began looking for large house blocks in Geelong and also some smaller acreage blocks in Bannockburn. Both had their draw backs. The large house blocks which were within our price range were sloping and generally useless for the purposes of having the “big back yard” with retaining walls required. The acreage blocks were fantastic however by the time you added sewerage, upgraded fencing to keep the dogs in and then landscaping, you may as well forget about your budget.
Almost having given up on the idea, my fiancé came home from work one day after having worked in Grand Lakes Estate in Lara saying that there were a heap of blocks for sale and that we should take a look.
Long story short, we found a large 854m2 block within the upcoming stage 18 which was perfect for our home and best of all within our budget.
Next hurdle, find a floor plan which we like.
I had spent some time in Adelaide in April for work, and on my one weekend home we decided to go and do something interesting on the Sunday before I flew back. New display homes had recently been opened in Williams Landing and we spent a good couple of hours going through the displays.
One really caught our eye. It was the Boutique Barcelona 31. There was something about it. We spoke with the sales staff prior to leaving who said she would send the costings through to me that evening.
Sitting in my hotel room in Adelaide I kept looking through the sales brochures which we had collected and kept coming back to the Barcelona. I didn’t really like the facade, the floor tiles were a bit blah, and the general decor didn’t really do all that much for me. But I just loved the space!
I could see myself cooking in the kitchen, relaxing in the theatre room on a rainy Sunday afternoon, or sprawling all my makeup from one end of the Ensuite vanity to the other!
When I returned from my trip away we went out to the Waralilly Display centre which also had a different version of the Barcelona on display.
It didn’t take us long to confirm that this was the house we wanted to build.
We have initially chosen the Barcelona 28 and chosen to upgrade a few things like 40mm Caesarstone with waterfalls in the Kitchen (same as display), 20mm caesarstone in Bathroom, Ensuite, powder room, evap cooling, 4 star heating with zoning, 90mm cornice, 450mm eaves all the way round, Gallerie Facade. In addition to this we are thinking we may increase the ceiling height to 2.7m and add a few more cosmetic changes including doors, upgrade carpet & tiles etc.
We signed our Pre-Works contract (PWC) with Boutique on 29/06 and paid our initial deposit. Now it is just a matter or waiting which so far is killing me!!!
Well, the first post was always going to be massive given the time which has elapsed since we started the process and now.
I hope you all enjoy watching my journey and I look forward to hearing other people’s experiences 🙂
I will put up some photos of the block and display with features we will be looking to incorporate into our home 🙂
Ciao, Pippa ❤
Boutique Homes - Barcelona 31 Grand Lakes Estate 