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| Front |
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| Front again |
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| Stair void, lots of light. |
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| Front deck |
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| Standing in rear corner looking through the open plan living |
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| Rear |
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| Rear |
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| Stair void looking to front door |
Just a photo update
Not much to add, just some more photos.
Full Speed Ahead
Wow, we were away for a few days and come back and there has been a stack of progress.
Roofing done
Cladding almost done
Electrical commenced
Plumming commenced
Windows in
Beams in
So much has been done we're struggling to keep up with photos. Will pop out on the weekend for big photo update. Here's a few snaps:
Roofing done
Cladding almost done
Electrical commenced
Plumming commenced
Windows in
Beams in
So much has been done we're struggling to keep up with photos. Will pop out on the weekend for big photo update. Here's a few snaps:
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| Inside looking out towards the "Redhead" |
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| Front deck |
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| Rear with cladding |
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| Coming together nicely, view from front. |
Quiet Week - Lots of selections
Not much progress on site this week. The first few weeks set some high expectations and it's funny how the perception of progress is determined on what you can see change on site from day to day.
A lot happened off site this week though. Lots and lots of selections. High stakes - lots of pressure..... we aren't the quickest at making decisions, but we're almost there.
Big week planned ahead - fingers crossed the weather goes our way as there is a stack of work planned.
Front deck is almost done.
A lot happened off site this week though. Lots and lots of selections. High stakes - lots of pressure..... we aren't the quickest at making decisions, but we're almost there.
Big week planned ahead - fingers crossed the weather goes our way as there is a stack of work planned.
Front deck is almost done.
Framed!
Framing almost complete. Guys have made good progress on site considering the weather; timing lunch breaks with rain showers helps a lot! :)
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| A lot of scaffolding! |
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| The open plan living, dining going on to front deck. |
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| Living to front deck. |
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| Getting ready for more beams here! |
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| A sun/daybed will be just on the inside of this north facing window. |
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| Roof support |
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| Rear view |
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| Back verandah will be polished concrete |
Up up and away!! (Upper floor framing)
The Enviroarch team are powering through our build. So much getting done each day. Even caught them on site working past 5pm one afternoon! Very impressed.
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| Dining "picture" window taking shape, as is front deck! |
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| Veiw from back of block. (Western Elevation) |
One floor down, one to go!
Ground floor practically finished. Will head out over the weekend to take some more photos as builders have done a stack of work today.
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| See the steel beam for the cantileevered dining room far left! |
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| The outlook from almost on second story, can't quite get up tha high yet. |
Frame - Lower Level
Frame is up - well almost, the lower level is done and for the first time we've been able to walk through and get a good idea of the the layout and dimensions. So far so good.
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| From front centre of block. |
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| Garage! Nice and spacious. (Single) |
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| NE corner, master bedroom. |
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| Welcome - main entry! |
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| View from Master Bedroom window. |
Slab Down!
It just keeps on getting better. Not only is the slab down within a fortnight of construction starting. But (shhhh! don't tell anyone) I even did some sneaky concreting work with the crew. Was a real buzz.
You'll note it looks dark - it is. It's a "Thunder" tint (yes, you are supposed to stomp the floor and yell Thunder AC/DC style at the same time). We're getting polished concrete rear deck, entrance deck, interior lobby and hallway. Plus the garage floor will look cool too! "Thunder" ........
You'll note it looks dark - it is. It's a "Thunder" tint (yes, you are supposed to stomp the floor and yell Thunder AC/DC style at the same time). We're getting polished concrete rear deck, entrance deck, interior lobby and hallway. Plus the garage floor will look cool too! "Thunder" ........
GAME ON!!!!!
Well all we can say is WOW! We have been meaning to post and update since construction officially started. That was last week so we thought we'd have a bit of time to take a few photos and sit down and write.
But WOW! They're pouring the slab in 2 days time. They certainly don't mess about. As our lovely neighbour commented "you're getting your value for money, they work hard from the moment they get here to the moment they leave".
The great news is - we made it through excavation under budget. Thanks to the beautiful sandy soil and hard work of the construction crew! We've even started work on the rear garage foundation.
Here is where we are at:
But WOW! They're pouring the slab in 2 days time. They certainly don't mess about. As our lovely neighbour commented "you're getting your value for money, they work hard from the moment they get here to the moment they leave".
The great news is - we made it through excavation under budget. Thanks to the beautiful sandy soil and hard work of the construction crew! We've even started work on the rear garage foundation.
Here is where we are at:
Going - Going - GONESKI!
On the same day NSW signed up to the Goneski education funding model, our old house is a Goneski too! It was a great moment, walking around the "naked" block, visualising where everything is going to go.
Now the fun and games begins!
Now the fun and games begins!
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| Just a little to go! |
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| GONE! |
Demolition
D-Day (Demolition Day) has arrived!!!!
The demo crew began stripping internals on Thursday and will take to the big job straight after Easter.
Finally it is sinking in how fortunate we are that our dreams are being realised.
Here is what the house looks like now:
This is the view from the cliff above the beach looking back towards our house! Can you pick which one is ours? If you look straight across the right hand side and follow the road that leads from the beach. Our house is opposite that grassy park, I've put a white dot where our house will grow! (Click to enlarge photo)
The demo crew began stripping internals on Thursday and will take to the big job straight after Easter.
Finally it is sinking in how fortunate we are that our dreams are being realised.
Here is what the house looks like now:
This is the view from the cliff above the beach looking back towards our house! Can you pick which one is ours? If you look straight across the right hand side and follow the road that leads from the beach. Our house is opposite that grassy park, I've put a white dot where our house will grow! (Click to enlarge photo)
Budget - We Made It!
FINALLY!
It has been a long and at times exhausting process to get this design done and on budget. We've been dreaming about this house for many years and were so excited when we had the final plans available at the end of winter last year (2012).
Then came reality - we simply couldn't afford the design and some compromises had to be made. There were a few days back then when it looked to us like we might have shelve the project. But Paul was optimistic he could cut some costs. We put together a "razor gang" list of items we were prepared to compromise on and that we thought could go, and Paul did similar from construction side of things.
In the end, after it was all done, we realised we hadn't actually had to compromise on anything at all. In fact, even if we had the money there isn't anything we have changed to cut costs that we would not be happy to do anyway given the option.
We will still have an amazing looking house architecturally designed and constructed with quality as paramount.
Here is how we did it!
Roof Structure
By far the biggest saving was made by changing from a one piece solid core roof with internal raked ceiling, to a traditional (still skillion) truss and colorbond roof, with the internal ceiling flat (at 2700mm). We did keep the raked ceiling on the front upper level deck!
Saving >$20,000
Windows
Glass isn't cheap! And we had a lot of glass. We went through window by window looking at the purpose of the window - ventilation, lighting, both etc... Although this was already done to a degree, we just took it much further. Paul then looked over it and added some back or changed some depending on what was required.
In the end, we've still got some massive windows overlooking the view, lots of louver windows where ventilation is required, but some simple yet stylish ones in other locations.
The change in roof structure also allowed us to avoid having a series of highly placed louver windows for ventilation of the raked ceiling space.
We also stripped crimsafe back to just the essential elements, like bedroom screen doors (to deck) and windows we would want to keep open when not at home.
Saving ~$15,000
Lighting
Original specification had custom 3s lighting essentially through the whole house. Paul rejigged the lighting layout to have the custom 3s lighting in "public" areas and mixed with some cheaper but still nice off the shelf lighting in bedrooms, laundry etc.
Saving ~$4000
Rumpus Door
Originally the Rumpus had a 5m stackable sliding door separating it from the main living area. We got ride of this in favour of a wall and 2m sliding door. The area is actually a more usable space as a result, and still open enough for our needs.
Saving ~$3000
Kitchen Island Bench
We're not sure on exactly how much this saved as the joinery quote went up and down a few times and we lost track (as we added in lots of in built joinery). But one way we minimised kitchen cost was to have our island bench exactly the same length as one piece of engineered stone (Quantum Quartz). ~3200mm. This means we can use the one piece of stone for both the island bench and the long cooktop bench as they make them wide enough that the cut would give us two usable pieces.
Saving ~$1500 (?)
Balustrade
Original specification was for the top rail of all the balustrade both internal and external to be stainless steel. We replaced with timber for top rail only, still retaining stainless steel uprights and cabling.
Saving ~$2500
External Shower and Surfboard Cupboard
We originally had an inbuilt shower and surfboard storage cupboard. We got ride of this and replaced with an open air shower with privacy screens and no storage, we've got enough storage elsewhere anyway.
Saving ~$1000
Render
There was a section of wall and some sections of retaining walls that had render on them. We aren't big fans of render in coastal environments in particular and we could do these areas just as well with other methods - so we did!
Saving ~$2000
Joinery
We really wanted to have all joinery built in, and we almost got it. The only joinery we are not getting is the garage, which is fine, we'll knock something up ourselves after we move in.
The exciting thing though, because we saved so much elsewhere we were able to get living room joinery built in, all bedroom joinery including a full room length low level set of drawers in master bedroom, as well as a rumpus work space with desk and overhead cupboards.
The only furniture we need when we move in is beds, lounges and dining table & chairs!
External Decks
We actually didn't make any real saving here except for ongoing maintenance. We removed all timber decking from the ground floor (about 20 square metres in total) and replaced with polished concrete.
What we didn't compromise on:
Size - the house is still ample in size and we haven't had to lose anything in room sizes, decking etc.
Facade - Exposed blackbutt timber beams are used in various locations around the house, such as decking support, entrance area etc. We kept these. We also retaining appearance with nice louver windows, sunshades over windows, skillion roof, large open deck etc.
Electrical - apart from lighting specification, we didn't remove any electrical fittings. We've got power points everywhere we could ever imagine needing (2 or 3 in each bedroom, every wall throughout house, and two external points front and rear etc. We also got data cabling to rumpus and living areas for computing, entertainment and communication.
Plumbing - similar to electrical, this is one thing we didn't want to compromise on. We've got three external taps, external shower, and everything we need inside as well.
Flooring - polished concrete downstairs and Europlank upstairs. It will look a treat!
Inclusions - as mentioned, there were some joinery items we wanted, we also are getting an in built day bed, a gas heater installed, walk in pantry, built in bathroom wall cabinets. Basically everything except window coverings and things to sleep and sit on (oh, we are getting that daybed though!)
Finishing - hardwood timber, stainless steel, , polished concrete, quality plumbing and electrical fittings, square set cornices etc are still throughout the house. Apart from the amazing design, the fittings and finishing both internal and external are what will set the house apart from the standard project home.
Now we can build! Yahooooo!
It has been a long and at times exhausting process to get this design done and on budget. We've been dreaming about this house for many years and were so excited when we had the final plans available at the end of winter last year (2012).
Then came reality - we simply couldn't afford the design and some compromises had to be made. There were a few days back then when it looked to us like we might have shelve the project. But Paul was optimistic he could cut some costs. We put together a "razor gang" list of items we were prepared to compromise on and that we thought could go, and Paul did similar from construction side of things.
In the end, after it was all done, we realised we hadn't actually had to compromise on anything at all. In fact, even if we had the money there isn't anything we have changed to cut costs that we would not be happy to do anyway given the option.
We will still have an amazing looking house architecturally designed and constructed with quality as paramount.
Here is how we did it!
Roof Structure
By far the biggest saving was made by changing from a one piece solid core roof with internal raked ceiling, to a traditional (still skillion) truss and colorbond roof, with the internal ceiling flat (at 2700mm). We did keep the raked ceiling on the front upper level deck!
Saving >$20,000
Windows
Glass isn't cheap! And we had a lot of glass. We went through window by window looking at the purpose of the window - ventilation, lighting, both etc... Although this was already done to a degree, we just took it much further. Paul then looked over it and added some back or changed some depending on what was required.
In the end, we've still got some massive windows overlooking the view, lots of louver windows where ventilation is required, but some simple yet stylish ones in other locations.
The change in roof structure also allowed us to avoid having a series of highly placed louver windows for ventilation of the raked ceiling space.
We also stripped crimsafe back to just the essential elements, like bedroom screen doors (to deck) and windows we would want to keep open when not at home.
Saving ~$15,000
Lighting
Original specification had custom 3s lighting essentially through the whole house. Paul rejigged the lighting layout to have the custom 3s lighting in "public" areas and mixed with some cheaper but still nice off the shelf lighting in bedrooms, laundry etc.
Saving ~$4000
Rumpus Door
Originally the Rumpus had a 5m stackable sliding door separating it from the main living area. We got ride of this in favour of a wall and 2m sliding door. The area is actually a more usable space as a result, and still open enough for our needs.
Saving ~$3000
Kitchen Island Bench
We're not sure on exactly how much this saved as the joinery quote went up and down a few times and we lost track (as we added in lots of in built joinery). But one way we minimised kitchen cost was to have our island bench exactly the same length as one piece of engineered stone (Quantum Quartz). ~3200mm. This means we can use the one piece of stone for both the island bench and the long cooktop bench as they make them wide enough that the cut would give us two usable pieces.
Saving ~$1500 (?)
Balustrade
Original specification was for the top rail of all the balustrade both internal and external to be stainless steel. We replaced with timber for top rail only, still retaining stainless steel uprights and cabling.
Saving ~$2500
External Shower and Surfboard Cupboard
We originally had an inbuilt shower and surfboard storage cupboard. We got ride of this and replaced with an open air shower with privacy screens and no storage, we've got enough storage elsewhere anyway.
Saving ~$1000
Render
There was a section of wall and some sections of retaining walls that had render on them. We aren't big fans of render in coastal environments in particular and we could do these areas just as well with other methods - so we did!
Saving ~$2000
Joinery
We really wanted to have all joinery built in, and we almost got it. The only joinery we are not getting is the garage, which is fine, we'll knock something up ourselves after we move in.
The exciting thing though, because we saved so much elsewhere we were able to get living room joinery built in, all bedroom joinery including a full room length low level set of drawers in master bedroom, as well as a rumpus work space with desk and overhead cupboards.
The only furniture we need when we move in is beds, lounges and dining table & chairs!
External Decks
We actually didn't make any real saving here except for ongoing maintenance. We removed all timber decking from the ground floor (about 20 square metres in total) and replaced with polished concrete.
What we didn't compromise on:
Size - the house is still ample in size and we haven't had to lose anything in room sizes, decking etc.
Facade - Exposed blackbutt timber beams are used in various locations around the house, such as decking support, entrance area etc. We kept these. We also retaining appearance with nice louver windows, sunshades over windows, skillion roof, large open deck etc.
Electrical - apart from lighting specification, we didn't remove any electrical fittings. We've got power points everywhere we could ever imagine needing (2 or 3 in each bedroom, every wall throughout house, and two external points front and rear etc. We also got data cabling to rumpus and living areas for computing, entertainment and communication.
Plumbing - similar to electrical, this is one thing we didn't want to compromise on. We've got three external taps, external shower, and everything we need inside as well.
Flooring - polished concrete downstairs and Europlank upstairs. It will look a treat!
Inclusions - as mentioned, there were some joinery items we wanted, we also are getting an in built day bed, a gas heater installed, walk in pantry, built in bathroom wall cabinets. Basically everything except window coverings and things to sleep and sit on (oh, we are getting that daybed though!)
Finishing - hardwood timber, stainless steel, , polished concrete, quality plumbing and electrical fittings, square set cornices etc are still throughout the house. Apart from the amazing design, the fittings and finishing both internal and external are what will set the house apart from the standard project home.
Now we can build! Yahooooo!
Elevations
Elevations from the North East, North West and South West. The house runs East-West, with views to the East over the park to the beach. Click any image to enlarge.
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| North East Elevation |
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| North West Elevation |
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| South West Elevation |
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