We received a call from tiles to make a meeting with them to go through tile colours and selections.
We set an appointment for Monday 21st Dec.
Sadly electrical didn't ring so I got the number off the Clarendon CSO and rang them direct. They said they were booked out till Christmas.
So I asked the person doing the appointment to ring first thing Monday so I could ask that if any cancellations could they ring us, or to have the earliest meeting in Jan. Otherwise we are being pushed back and back on the start date for building.
The reason for the late phone call re Tiles and Electrical is merely because of Slowness of Clarendon in contacting us when they needed something. Pretty poor.
Gary
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Rang CSO to find out when receive appointment with elec and tiles
Tuesday 15th December
I rang our CSO to find out what was happening and she said she hadn't received the paperwork from Colours yet. She rang back to say she couldn't open my attachments of signed documents so I had to resend them again,with 2 pictures per email as they were large jpegs.
We will be lucky to get an appointment with elect and tiles before Christmas! So much wasted time, i should have phoned the Colour Lady after i sent the emails. Always follow up!
Our aim was to have all meeting done and paper work left with them so they could raise a proper priced contact by mid jan and we give to our bank for finance and they get it back so Clarendon could plan to start on site Feb 1st. We will see.
Overall this has been most disatisfying as the time to get to this point has been far too long. Too many mistakes by clarendon such as with the architect and the people we were dealing with should have followed up on changes by phone call and informed us immediately of any failure to change things.
Of course I am learning that emails are not enough, you need to follow up the next day by phone to see they have received them and that there are no problems.
I rang our CSO to find out what was happening and she said she hadn't received the paperwork from Colours yet. She rang back to say she couldn't open my attachments of signed documents so I had to resend them again,with 2 pictures per email as they were large jpegs.
We will be lucky to get an appointment with elect and tiles before Christmas! So much wasted time, i should have phoned the Colour Lady after i sent the emails. Always follow up!
Our aim was to have all meeting done and paper work left with them so they could raise a proper priced contact by mid jan and we give to our bank for finance and they get it back so Clarendon could plan to start on site Feb 1st. We will see.
Overall this has been most disatisfying as the time to get to this point has been far too long. Too many mistakes by clarendon such as with the architect and the people we were dealing with should have followed up on changes by phone call and informed us immediately of any failure to change things.
Of course I am learning that emails are not enough, you need to follow up the next day by phone to see they have received them and that there are no problems.
Rang CSO to say I'd recieved copy of DA today
Friday 4th Dec
Today in the post I received a copy of our DA from Council saying it had been approved. I rang our CSO to see if they had recieved it, "just that moment", and asked if the colur lady had received our email of signed documents.
I was told that she would speak to the colour lady and find out.
Today in the post I received a copy of our DA from Council saying it had been approved. I rang our CSO to see if they had recieved it, "just that moment", and asked if the colur lady had received our email of signed documents.
I was told that she would speak to the colour lady and find out.
What a different brick colour costs!
Part of the colour ladies job is to send a costing for the non-standard brick colr range you might have selected.
Of course we chose a different non-stand brick didn't we and though it was only 'D' going from standard of 'A' to B C D E F G the increase in cost was considerable.
For a two story house it cost us an extra $5800 just for a different brick.
So beware.
Of course we chose a different non-stand brick didn't we and though it was only 'D' going from standard of 'A' to B C D E F G the increase in cost was considerable.
For a two story house it cost us an extra $5800 just for a different brick.
So beware.
Colur meeting variations to be signed off
Friday 4th December
On friday the 4th we received the variations by email that we to sign off on and fax back.
I received a kitchen variation cost to sign off on as well and as we didn't have a fax machine i scanned the sheets and emailed them back on Dec 10th.
On friday the 4th we received the variations by email that we to sign off on and fax back.
I received a kitchen variation cost to sign off on as well and as we didn't have a fax machine i scanned the sheets and emailed them back on Dec 10th.
Colour Meeting with Clarendon
November 27th Meeting with Colour Girls
On Friday 27th we had a long meeting with the Colour lady whose advice was really helpful. It took 3 hours even though we were prepared with colour for kitchen cupboards, benchtop, walls, skirting boards, ceiling and other things.
It takes a long time and choices about handles etc for cupboards are made here.
We had also wanted slight changes made to our kitchen as the only drawers were 4 drawers for cultery etc. so we added one two drawer instead of a cupboard for pots and pans and that meant clarifying on drawing and detailing the change for the kitchen people. At extra cost mind you.
Normally you need to see the kitchen people about this but it was a minor change and we were assured by sales rep that the colour lady could do it.
The next step we were told is that plans come out of Council and color variations written up and signed off by us and then we get a call from electrical and tiles people for an interview.
I thought 3 or 4 days - not likely.
On Friday 27th we had a long meeting with the Colour lady whose advice was really helpful. It took 3 hours even though we were prepared with colour for kitchen cupboards, benchtop, walls, skirting boards, ceiling and other things.
It takes a long time and choices about handles etc for cupboards are made here.
We had also wanted slight changes made to our kitchen as the only drawers were 4 drawers for cultery etc. so we added one two drawer instead of a cupboard for pots and pans and that meant clarifying on drawing and detailing the change for the kitchen people. At extra cost mind you.
Normally you need to see the kitchen people about this but it was a minor change and we were assured by sales rep that the colour lady could do it.
The next step we were told is that plans come out of Council and color variations written up and signed off by us and then we get a call from electrical and tiles people for an interview.
I thought 3 or 4 days - not likely.
November 16th Plans finally submitted for DA
November 16th plans finally submitted to Council for DA.
Speaking to council I found that although they say 5-6 weeks for the DA it should only take a little over 2 weeks, our Council works well on such DA's. It takes just over 2 weeks because it's a two storey house which requires them to send letters to surrounding properties, whereas a one story house would only take 1 week as doesn't need to normally inform neighbors.
During this time we hope the color people will contact us for that appointment and we can get that out of the way.
Speaking to council I found that although they say 5-6 weeks for the DA it should only take a little over 2 weeks, our Council works well on such DA's. It takes just over 2 weeks because it's a two storey house which requires them to send letters to surrounding properties, whereas a one story house would only take 1 week as doesn't need to normally inform neighbors.
During this time we hope the color people will contact us for that appointment and we can get that out of the way.
Monday 2nd November call from Clarendon
Monday 2nd November
Received a call from the clarendon Saleman re plans are now fixed.
I reiterated what a wasted ammount of time this had been, and only resolved when our CSO had escallated the issue.
Received a call from the clarendon Saleman re plans are now fixed.
I reiterated what a wasted ammount of time this had been, and only resolved when our CSO had escallated the issue.
Sat 31st October - phone call from salesman
Friday 31st October
Received a phone call from clarendon salesman saying he'd be on site in Sydney on monday and would meet with the architect and fix it. And ring me on monday.
Received a phone call from clarendon salesman saying he'd be on site in Sydney on monday and would meet with the architect and fix it. And ring me on monday.
Friday 30th Oct Phone call re fixing plans
Friday 30th October
I received a phone call from our CSO saying the saleman would phone us to fix up the plan errors.
I received a phone call from our CSO saying the saleman would phone us to fix up the plan errors.
Plans also showed different water tank size and brick colour
I emailed clarendon again mentioning that in the plans it indicated a 3000l watertank whereas their own basix documentation declares it will be a 4000l tank as per provisional allowance.
Along with saying that the brick colur was dark where the range we selected were definitely light.
They said that these had not bearing on the outcome of the DA and would be adjusted later on.
Along with saying that the brick colur was dark where the range we selected were definitely light.
They said that these had not bearing on the outcome of the DA and would be adjusted later on.
Oct 27th - Plans still wrong
October 27th
Call from our CSO, saying she'd email me a copy of plans today. I checked and they were still wrong.
The architect still had not fixed the gable of the garage and still had mismatched windows in rear main bedroom suite. Makes you wonder if the architect even bothered to read the note requesting these be changed.
Call from our CSO, saying she'd email me a copy of plans today. I checked and they were still wrong.
The architect still had not fixed the gable of the garage and still had mismatched windows in rear main bedroom suite. Makes you wonder if the architect even bothered to read the note requesting these be changed.
Monday 26th October Follow up Clarendon re where plans up to
October 26th
I rang Clarendon as we had agreed that I would see the plans before they were presented to Council for DA and hadn't heard yet what was happening. A concern as we wanted those major changes fixed.
I rang Clarendon as we had agreed that I would see the plans before they were presented to Council for DA and hadn't heard yet what was happening. A concern as we wanted those major changes fixed.
Oct 11th phone call re garage gable
October 11th phone call
On Oct 11th spoke with Clarendon sales man and he saw no reason for not having original gable and windows could be 1009
On Oct 11th spoke with Clarendon sales man and he saw no reason for not having original gable and windows could be 1009
Oct 10th meeting with Clarendon re see Tender and Plans
October 10th 2009On Oct 10th we met with Clarendon to go over the proper plans and Tender.
This consumed about 3 hours but we pointed out mistakes on the plan which were crucical to deal with.
1. Because of the garage being lengthened to fit 2 cars and be able to get in and out of the cars, the architect had redrawn the garage roof line from that of original drawings of Kingston fascade to a gable that went from left up to a pinacle and then horizontaly across, as shown in above plan. This of course changed the windows on the front of the rumpus room from 1209 to 0609 which changed the fascade without any real building reason for doing so.
This consumed about 3 hours but we pointed out mistakes on the plan which were crucical to deal with.
1. Because of the garage being lengthened to fit 2 cars and be able to get in and out of the cars, the architect had redrawn the garage roof line from that of original drawings of Kingston fascade to a gable that went from left up to a pinacle and then horizontaly across, as shown in above plan. This of course changed the windows on the front of the rumpus room from 1209 to 0609 which changed the fascade without any real building reason for doing so.
2. The second grave error that the architect did was to put two non-matching sized windows in rear main bedroom suite due to addition of alfresco. Why would a person put in unmatched windows? It beggars belief.
So we pointed out these in detail and discussed and she made notes to send to architect. She said she would discuss with the other salesman on the next day, Sunday.
Catching up on all the drama
Sorry but I have been very busy of late - some it it due to trying to correct mistakes in paperwork as i list above. Hope this all is a warning to you if you build. don't merely reply with and email and atachments but ring to see if they got it and acted upon it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Read carefully all documentation - eg the Geotechnical report
When we were at Clarendon for the meeting to consider Tender and estimates of costs, we were presented with the geotechnical report on our block of land. This determines what kind of slab is required for your house. Clarendon gives as standard a M class slab but in most cases this needs to be upgraded to a H class slab due to soil condition and trees and so on.
When I read through our report it stated that our block had grasses and numerous trees. but our block was recently mown by myself and had one solitary wattle tree about 2m high in the middle. So I rang the geotech to ask about it.
The difference between a Class P and Class H site:-
He informed me that the Class P which is what my block was rated indicated to the Clarendon engineer that there were things on the block that had to be checked, whereas a class H would not require checking by the engineer.
OK, so where were the numerous trees? He told me that i should take photos and email them to him. And further that a site classification is effected by having trees within 30 meters which could even be saplings and up to 30m high trees.
So I went back to my block to take pictures and found no bore holes for the soil testing that should have taken place. But on the block next door there were the bore holes. THEY HAD BORED THE WRONG BLOCK!
That's why you read carefully and check everything.
Of course now with the block next door having lots of grass and saplings it influences my classification. Clarendon nor the geotech company do not know how long the site next door will be left before being built upon nor if they will keep some of the trees and have 6m trees in their garden. I will still get a Class H slab because the soil type is the major influence. And anyway I want peering under the slab so as to minimise movement.
But what if someone had begun to build on the wrong site!
When I read through our report it stated that our block had grasses and numerous trees. but our block was recently mown by myself and had one solitary wattle tree about 2m high in the middle. So I rang the geotech to ask about it.
The difference between a Class P and Class H site:-
He informed me that the Class P which is what my block was rated indicated to the Clarendon engineer that there were things on the block that had to be checked, whereas a class H would not require checking by the engineer.
OK, so where were the numerous trees? He told me that i should take photos and email them to him. And further that a site classification is effected by having trees within 30 meters which could even be saplings and up to 30m high trees.
So I went back to my block to take pictures and found no bore holes for the soil testing that should have taken place. But on the block next door there were the bore holes. THEY HAD BORED THE WRONG BLOCK!
That's why you read carefully and check everything.
Of course now with the block next door having lots of grass and saplings it influences my classification. Clarendon nor the geotech company do not know how long the site next door will be left before being built upon nor if they will keep some of the trees and have 6m trees in their garden. I will still get a Class H slab because the soil type is the major influence. And anyway I want peering under the slab so as to minimise movement.
But what if someone had begun to build on the wrong site!
Step 2 Discuss your new home Tender
On Thursday 17th Sept we met with our salesman at Heyward Bay to discuss our Tender and the accurate estimates so far for the changes we asked for.
It was a constructive discussion and we learnt much.
1 We found that the $13,100 for the grand Alfresco does not include the Slab which costs a further $3530
2. The extension to the garage from 5.6m to 6.0m ( most councils - well common sense suggests a miimimum of 5.8m so you can open car5 doors once two cars in garage ) costs an additional $3300 which allows for extra bricks, frame and roof and tiles.
3. Additional "Council" costs roughly given at Step 1 of our process as $10,000 and includes the upgrade from M type slab to H slab - required in the majority of sites came in at $8700
What is interesting and worth noting at this stage are the following:
The Client is responsible for and to pay if damage occurs by clarendon to any existing fences / pipes.
Clarendon may say that roof pitch may need to go down from 28degrees to 22.5degrees saying this due to council pitch mx of 8.0 m but it's actually a mx of 8.5m I believe.
Even though we paid for the Chic upgrade, this doesn't include changing the standard wardrobe from glass sliding doors to normal doors, that costs extra.
We also received a copy of the geotechnical report on the land.
We signed the paperwork and signed a cheque for $4000 to proceed.
It was a constructive discussion and we learnt much.
1 We found that the $13,100 for the grand Alfresco does not include the Slab which costs a further $3530
2. The extension to the garage from 5.6m to 6.0m ( most councils - well common sense suggests a miimimum of 5.8m so you can open car5 doors once two cars in garage ) costs an additional $3300 which allows for extra bricks, frame and roof and tiles.
3. Additional "Council" costs roughly given at Step 1 of our process as $10,000 and includes the upgrade from M type slab to H slab - required in the majority of sites came in at $8700
What is interesting and worth noting at this stage are the following:
The Client is responsible for and to pay if damage occurs by clarendon to any existing fences / pipes.
Clarendon may say that roof pitch may need to go down from 28degrees to 22.5degrees saying this due to council pitch mx of 8.0 m but it's actually a mx of 8.5m I believe.
Even though we paid for the Chic upgrade, this doesn't include changing the standard wardrobe from glass sliding doors to normal doors, that costs extra.
We also received a copy of the geotechnical report on the land.
We signed the paperwork and signed a cheque for $4000 to proceed.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Grand Alfresco
We visited Camden Claredon display centre on the weekend and looked at the alfresco on the display homes there. They are quite impressive, so if you want you can get a grand alfresco outside "patio" with ceiling and roof for an extra $13000. This is a 7m x 3.7m section with two pillars, not with all the extras as on the display homes. And it doesn't include the wood bi-fold doors which go along two edges of the alfresco for the display homes, they cost as extra $13,000.
Oh wouldn't it be good to have the money.
It's been 3 weeks now and Clarendon still haven't got back to us about our second meeting where we Ok the plans and accept the estimate for $4000.
There weren't all that many changes and certainly not what you would call structural so I don't know why drawing up plans takes so long. We only added a downstairs shower and moved one bedroom wall - an internal wall, 60cm.
Oh wouldn't it be good to have the money.
It's been 3 weeks now and Clarendon still haven't got back to us about our second meeting where we Ok the plans and accept the estimate for $4000.
There weren't all that many changes and certainly not what you would call structural so I don't know why drawing up plans takes so long. We only added a downstairs shower and moved one bedroom wall - an internal wall, 60cm.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Cost of the gas package
On Friday 28th Aug I heard from Clarendon's sales rep Stephen who we are dealing with and he let me know the gas package would cost $1550 on top of the chic package.
At least long term there are savings, we just now need to see what Gas Water system they provide and whether it's adequate.
The other interesting thing I found out at work is that the Shoalhaven Council does require two car garages to be 5.8m wide, which means Clarendon needs to widen the garage some 135mm at a further cost to our budget.
Makes you wonder why most of the project homes provide around 5.6m and not 5.8m for their two car garages.
At least long term there are savings, we just now need to see what Gas Water system they provide and whether it's adequate.
The other interesting thing I found out at work is that the Shoalhaven Council does require two car garages to be 5.8m wide, which means Clarendon needs to widen the garage some 135mm at a further cost to our budget.
Makes you wonder why most of the project homes provide around 5.6m and not 5.8m for their two car garages.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Difference between Extras
When we paid our deposit of $1000 we considered what extras we would include in our tender. The choice was the Style Plus chic and the Style Plus Luxe.
The Chic costs an extra $4590 whilst the luxe you add a further $4890 to that, making it a round price of $9480.
However the only difference between the two packages is:
1. 900mm vs 600mm wide gas top
2. Irwell pin tapware
3. Stegbar grange semi frameless shower screens.
4. Gas package including 135 litre HWS, gas top and gas oven and 1 gas point.
Seems not much for the extra $4890, so we decided we only want the gas package added to the chic extras.
We emailed the Clarendon Sales rep on Sunday 23rd and are wating for a reply about how much extra the gas package alone will be as a gas HWS is cerainly giving you savings in the future.
The Chic costs an extra $4590 whilst the luxe you add a further $4890 to that, making it a round price of $9480.
However the only difference between the two packages is:
1. 900mm vs 600mm wide gas top
2. Irwell pin tapware
3. Stegbar grange semi frameless shower screens.
4. Gas package including 135 litre HWS, gas top and gas oven and 1 gas point.
Seems not much for the extra $4890, so we decided we only want the gas package added to the chic extras.
We emailed the Clarendon Sales rep on Sunday 23rd and are wating for a reply about how much extra the gas package alone will be as a gas HWS is cerainly giving you savings in the future.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Choosing to build the Clarendon Waterford
We saw the Clarendon Waterford at Heyward Bay and it suited us because of the numbe rof rooms and the open layout. It had everything we wanted.
Have a look at Clarendon they have quality houses.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Floor Space ratio decisions
When you are looking at the kind of home you want built on your block you need to consider the floor / space ratio that councils have.
It can differ from council to council but ours has a ratio of 50%.
This means you add up all the floor space of your new home and ratio it with the square meters of your block.
Say you have a new home that is 320 Sq meters and the block is the average 670 square meters. that means the ratio is 320/670 = 47.76% which is under the 50% requirement. but don't worry if it comes out slightly over, there's a few considerations you can take in your calculating the floor / space ratio. [ Depending maybe upon council's so check ].
Normally you can exclude the gargae area from the calculation, then also the stairs of it is a two story home.
And also if you want the alfresco type patio in you outside area this also is excluded, because it's not enclosed.
So do the quick calculation and avoid being disappointed at choosing a home that won't fit your block.
It can differ from council to council but ours has a ratio of 50%.
This means you add up all the floor space of your new home and ratio it with the square meters of your block.
Say you have a new home that is 320 Sq meters and the block is the average 670 square meters. that means the ratio is 320/670 = 47.76% which is under the 50% requirement. but don't worry if it comes out slightly over, there's a few considerations you can take in your calculating the floor / space ratio. [ Depending maybe upon council's so check ].
Normally you can exclude the gargae area from the calculation, then also the stairs of it is a two story home.
And also if you want the alfresco type patio in you outside area this also is excluded, because it's not enclosed.
So do the quick calculation and avoid being disappointed at choosing a home that won't fit your block.
Deciding to build a project home
Well, we finally made the decision to build a project home and chose Clarendon as the Waterford provided us with exactly the number of rooms and study and layout that we wanted.
Of course we looked around and compared different homes from other builders but the Waterford suited us down to the ground.
We had of course to check the size of the Waterford against the size of the block we had to make sure that it would fit. That's one of the things to keep in mind when looking at homes, consider the dimensions especially now as they sell you much smaller blocks.
The other thing to keep well at the front of your thinking is your budget and the price of the home.
It's not just a matter of the base price either. You need to add in all the extras such as tiling and carpets. TVantenna and clothes line. and so on and so on.
It's realy good for you to sit down with an excel spreadsheet and enter it all in to see that you cover everything.
And then keep in mind that you may want upgrades and extras which will cost an arm and a leg.
lastly the bank will only lend you 80% of the value of the home completed so don't go overboard.
Of course we looked around and compared different homes from other builders but the Waterford suited us down to the ground.
We had of course to check the size of the Waterford against the size of the block we had to make sure that it would fit. That's one of the things to keep in mind when looking at homes, consider the dimensions especially now as they sell you much smaller blocks.
The other thing to keep well at the front of your thinking is your budget and the price of the home.
It's not just a matter of the base price either. You need to add in all the extras such as tiling and carpets. TVantenna and clothes line. and so on and so on.
It's realy good for you to sit down with an excel spreadsheet and enter it all in to see that you cover everything.
And then keep in mind that you may want upgrades and extras which will cost an arm and a leg.
lastly the bank will only lend you 80% of the value of the home completed so don't go overboard.
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