Costs of Upgrades & Changes

A big thing for us, as mentioned in the color selection post, was obtain costs of having additional works /features done to the house, to make it our home - not just a standard template (Their wide selection of colors & color advisers ensure this doesn't happen anyway!).

Our focus was on getting the structural changes done or fixing that would be easier/ somewhat cheaper (sometimes!)/warrantied at build time.

Please note these are based on a 33sq House, from the Affinity range and were only a rough guide to us as well.

Here is a breakdown of items we investigated: (Each item price)

Additional Power Points (Double)     $55.00
Outdoor Power Point   (Double)   $145.00
Two way light switch     $55.00
Slim line power/data points     $10.00 
Chrome finish power/data points     $10.00
Toilet Locks     $60.00
Surge protection     $360.00

Extra heating duct     $150.00
Door stops     $160.00
Internal Garage lock     $150.00
Air con 20amp circuit     $372.00
Junction Boxes     $90.00
Extra exhaust Vent    $202.00
Pre-wire 5.1 sound     $575.00
Heating - 4 Star     $1,000.00
Heating - 5 Star     $1,200.00
Zone Heating (Requires 4/5 star)     $550.00
Sarking (gutter/roof)     $4,000.00
Translucent Glass     $400.00
Solid Doors for Garage     $160.00
Solid core doors     $160.00
Alfresco fly screens     $1,000.00
Fan in Alfresco     $450.00
Glass door (Internal)    $300.00+
Pull out bins     $200.00
Double Glaze 1 room: ~$400.00
Double glaze whole house    ~ $7,000.00 (Size specific)
Down Light LED     $145.00
Down Light Halogen     $110.00 
Refrigeration cooling: $16,000+
Evaporation cooling  $6,000+
Double doors to enclose rooms (inc plastering): $480.00
Alarm (4 zone, 3 sensors) $865.00
Carpet to rooms ~$4,000.00
Laminate to rest ~$7,000.00
NBN pack + some internal (Estate specific) $4,000.00
Starfire splash back $750 

There are a fair few notes to make about these items: 

• Slim line power points/data must be applied to the whole house. Same applies to chrome finish plates 

• Can never have enough power points! Outdoor for the Alfresco comes at a premium but great for outdoor lighting/entertaining. Also hallway for vacuums.

• Data packs depend on estate / done only by Carlisle electrical provider (Argus) - very high costs.

• Free upgrade to colorbond roofing - Will cost 3-5k for sarking, depending on house size, etc. (Prevents condensation, leaks - mandatory in some areas, optional in others - a pain to do post build and very high cost)

• Toilet locks are basic push in pin and doors come with hinges you can lift off (safety)

• Door stops can be found for $1 ea and fitted yourself, depends how handy you want to be!

• 5.1 sound wiring is only left in wall cavities - no face plates or termination. 16g, 99 oxygen free.

• Down lights are fairly/low wattage. If you want brightness, batons are cheaper / post build options.

• Two way switch is great for hallways - as there isn't often one at the bedroom end of the house!

• It costs equally to have another light + switch put in, as it does a two way switch - consider your options

• Solid core doors provide more security - can weigh up build cost vs post install

• Flooring is not covered in any of the Carlisle houses at the moment (was prior to price reductions/promos!)  

• Extra exhaust vent - good idea for in the laundry for the drier!

• Extra heating vent(s) - depends how you like your ensuite/bathrooms in the winter compared to the rest of your house. Also limited by heating unit capacity

• Fly screens to all standard windows are included

Other things to consider:

• Carpet underlay - ~$500 for cat2, ~$750 for cat3 - prices are not to certain - however advice from all is underlay is more important than a premium top (balancing price/comfort)
• Changing microwave spot to pot draw (no cost in this instance)
• Door stops, toilet paper holders are not included - easy to install post build anyway
• Nogins for mounting TVs or other fixtures with some weight
• Carlisle does not do extra cabinetry or storage/shelving
• Garage is plastered - can be insulated at cost
• Sound insulation (inner walls) is available - cost is meant to be fairly low
• Carlisle does not leave conduit in wall for cabling or allow additional data/phone/TV points - fixed to packages only.
• Remember doorbell, letterbox, clothesline. Might be handy to see if you can keep some bricks from the build for a letterbox build - all post build.
• Drive way & other concreting - post build

SPECTRA (Colour & Electrical Selection!)

Carlisle SPECTRA

Our long awaited appointment for colour selection had finally come up (We got in a, in a matter of weeks which was lucky - some spaces opened up!). We had already sketched up were we wanted extra electrical items / data points - knowing that we would need to specify these on the day.

The day started with many questions - as do many of our appointments to ensure we cover as many basis and aspects of the house as possible. We also got to see how the cabinetry for the kitchen would look like on paper (Display home was outdated). Carlisle is very good with answering the questions / patient while you ask many - which is great when you are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars with a builder - the same can't be said for many friends who have built with others.

Many of the questions we asked were focused on the rough costing of items / investigating what we can get done that is best done when the house is built (structural/easier prior to a built house). We viewed this as being very important - as we wanted to know what our total cost of the house would be looking like and what would be better to be done post build (Having Carlisle doing the job comes at a large premium).

Color Selection: (Chosen by partner!)

External:

Exterior Selection

Colors: (Cat 1 - included in cost with Affinity range unless annotated)
Front Door: Jarrah (Stained) (Upgrade - Estate Guidelines)
Garage Door: Tuscan - Timber Grain (Upgrade - Estate Guidelines)
Render: Self Destruct
Cladding: Walnut Hull
Roof (Colorbond): Paperbark
Gutter: Paperbark
Down pipe:  Jasper
Brick: Chestnut  (Truffle Cat1a backup - upgrade)
Aluminum Window/Stacker doors: Black

Garage Door finish & Front door (Ours will be clear).

 Interior: (Kitchen, Bathroom & Flooring)

Floors; Kitchen & Cupboards

Colors: (Cat 1 - included in cost with Affinity range unless annotated) 
Carpet: Ballard-Nylon Plush
Carpet Underlay: Cat 3 - Super Premium Foam (Upgrade)
Laminate flooring: Soft Greige Oak
Cabinet doors & panels: Seductive Limba (Vertical grain)
Shadow line: Lustrous Elm
Perspex: Lucite Pearlescent Pearl (Black)
Ceaserstone: White Shimmer
Splash-back: Black

* Ceaserstone is now provided to Bathrooms; ensuite, Kitchen & Powder room as standard.

Tile Selection!

Floor Tiles: Star Stone Gloss
Wall Tiles: River Charcoal
Feature Wall tiles: River Ice Grey

Paint colours:

Beige...

Walls: Beige Royal 1/2 Strength
Skirting: Beige Royal 1/4 Strength
Ceiling/Cornise: Builders White

Electrical:

We added:
7 Extra double power points
2 Extra baton lights
2 LED downlights
1 Junction box outside laundry door
1 Two way switch for the hallway 
3 Relocation of double power points (no cost)
2 20amp circuits in place for reverse cycle in the future

Final Sales Quotation (Carlisle)

 Since getting our original quote with Carlisle things started to get more serious with meeting our Sales consultant at SPECTRA (Carlisle HQ & Display of colours/house features - more later!)

At this stage we received a far more detailed sales quote (Basically breaks down everything and lists the inclusions inside the quote as being 'included').

The final quote also had the prices of a few extras/changes we had requested earlier (However we later had a larger list at a colour appointment). It's handy to know that only some things can be costed roughly at sales time and many larger/complex items will need to be costed by HQ. The sales people are pretty good with placing common adjustments in, however there is limitations as to what they can place in / need higher up approval.

Following the quote, we were taken on a quick tour of SPECTRA and a brief overview of each area / what was offered and choices.

SPECTRA from Carlisles Blog (2012 opening)

Winslow 33

 As mentioned in previous posts, the house we had decided on was the Winslow 33, From Carlisle Homes. We found it to be a home that suited as well and like any Carlisle home, came with many inclusions and nicely designed kitchens, bathrooms and a floor plan that made sense. One thing we found with many builders, was that we were left wondering why certain rooms/items had placed in such weird places/found that the design did not flow as you would want to be able to easily navigate a house.

The house is from the Affinity range - meaning the larger house sizes & most inclusions. (Carlisle has three tiers of houses - Essentials, T Range and Affinity). As I mention throughout the blog we were after quality, service and doing as much right the first time round.

The top highlights we found with the Winslow/Carlisle:

• Long list of inclusions
• Changes to suite us minimal
• Spacious areas
• Able to explore additions/changes freely
• Nicely designed kitchens & bathrooms
• Excellent range of colours, tiles, Caesarstone , laminate, etc!
• Knowledgeable and professional sales, consultant and customer service staff.
• Plenty of cabinetry included
• Display homes upgraded to a medium level - not extreme like others.
• Inclusion/extras clearly explained and costed if needed.

Floor plan - Winslow 33 (2013)

We have planned a number of changes to the house - mainly focused on structural changes / changes that would be very costly post hand over. While it is our ideal house, there is always room for improvement, customising it a bit to make it your home and to hopefully do it right the fist time!

The main changes we decided to make were:

• Convert the lounge into a theater - closing it off with two double doors. Being conscience and considerate of neighbors, we are also getting double glazing on the room (Unfortunately double glazing the whole house is stretching the budget). 
• We are also looking into sound insulation as Carlisle has stated it is fairly cheap (Unspecified at the time of writing) and possibly extending the length of the room for a longer viewing distance. (Costs being sourced) for the theater room. (A little bit of expense, but a small luxury to enjoy with the pain of a mortgage!)
• Close the rumpus off with double doors - it will be used as a hobby room / large room should family need to visit, in addition to the rooms

Though these might seem contrary to open floor plans, we decided it would be good to be able to shut off the areas should the need arise - for noise, privacy or heating/cooling. Having double doors also allows it to be fairly open the majority of the time.

Our Land

Our search for land started in the south east - however it became clear fast which areas we could afford in our budget - it is amazing how different the prices are for just 5 minutes down a freeway/highway. (Up to 50k!).

The first estate that we were truly interested in looked good all round and had facilities - however the fall of the land in the area was fairly high and the covenants for the estate were extremely strict and many costly (and very frivolous) to implement.  The estate agent was also less than interested on the day / in moving the land - which makes it hard to buy if the sales person is severely lacking interest!

With this, I browsed through the booklet provided by Carlisle and started to look for other estates and evaluate prices. (Real Estate.com has most estates listed and some of the land they have available - however always contact the REA - as there is often more available than what is on the site / further details).

After browsing through many estates and looking at price/location we decided to seriously investigate Lakeside.

The land at lakeside (Land lease) turned out to be very good - almost all of their land was flat, natural and positioned well for accessing facilities/roads around the area. The sales person for Lakeside is also amazing - providing a wealth of support and resources about the land. They knew their product, processes and we fully willing (above and beyond) to interact with our choice of builder and other 3rd parties.

We secured a deposit and did the initial contract to lock things in (3 business day cooling off if needed). The contract was explained in general terms (we have a conveyancer as well - but nice to have a general gist of the contract). They are sales person, however as confirmed with the conveyance people - it was a straight forward land contract.

Needs some work!

A few things we learned along the way...
Fall - A critical part about the land and particular pricy when it comes to building! The site costs will mainly relate to this aspect of the land. From what we have heard, 30cm of fall is included by the builder and any extra cost for shaping it up to be flat. If it passes a certain high, retaining walls will be needed - which can add up extremely fast. Some developers require the retaining walls to be of specific material or presented in a certain way.

Land -  pre settlement obligations - Up to the company to look after the land, including keeping the grass at an appropriate level, rates and with land lease a once off clearance of any rubbish on the land (normally within 7 days of settlement).

Deciding on a home (Builder) !

Our adventure for the whole process started with exploring display homes. We decided to visit the display homes in Ambrosia (A good range of companies and there was two other decent sized display areas not far away).

We went in with no real knowledge or what we were looking for. On the day we would of gone through well over 50 display homes and often knew fairly quickly if we didn't like the design or workmanship on the home. We were hounded by two builders - who seemed extremely pressed to make a sale - instantly turning us off the company (and the homes they built we

re well below average).

The best types of displays were the ones who provided a great deal of information upfront (a detailed booklet and pricing up front, etc) and were there should we have questions or needed assistance. They allowed us to work through at our own pace/method and didn't dictate what or how we should buy a house right then and there.

After the day was over, we short listed a few places and planned to return the following weekend to look at the places a second time. My partner booked to see the preferred builder we had looked at.

In the interim week, I decided to do some research on the building companies - as you hear of horror stories as well as perfect stories about different builders. I found product review  http://www.productreview.com.au/c/home-builders-vic.html handy in looking through experiences. Obviously i kept in mind that is a user generated online source of information and that the majority of times, people post due to having issues with something - praise can be less scarce (Especially on the internet!).


With the research above and looking at display homes online/booklets, we were considering another builder, Carlisle Homes. There was a design in the booklet they had provided and it was also one that we happened to have visited on the day - a design we were also happy with - the Winslow 33.

We attended the appointment with the first builder we had considered and it was similair to the experiances I had read of / not the kind of customer interaction that we were interested in. They didn't allow us many questions, skipped over many of the costing aspects and very little was actually included in a place that had a fairly high price tag included. They were also somewhat pressing a sale, gently nudging us to commit to things and then rough in some cost later. The site cost was ambiguous, even if it was fixed. The house itself had a great design - however the headaches that would come with it would  not be worth the trouble.


 With this, we continued onto looking at the Carlisle display again. We were just as happy with their design of the house and prefered the much more openeess about things. The documents provided by Carlisle clearly outline the inclusions (and they have houses aimed at low, middle and high end of the cost scale - with defined inclusions to suite different buyers) and the display home was only upgraded on a medium level in regard to inclusions (We were not interested in most anyway (fireplace, fancy TV indents in walls, etc - so no harm at all!).

Talking with the sales consult was a good experience and to the point with things. The processes were explained well and they were happy to let us work at our own place and ask questions. If a cost or accurate assessment of things couldn't be given - it wasn't - meaning that we were only provided with hard facts - and not mislead with wild ballpark guesses or things skipped over that can be costed later when your locked into things - such as we experienced elsewhere.

Given the above, we felt that we had found the right builder - costs were reasonable (a bit more expensive in some areas - however you pay for what you get and customer service/support is a aspect that we consider very important. Another thing we considered important was build quality (i.e. Carlisle has 3 coats as standard for paint) and the post sales support is good for fixing issues.

From here we moved onto meeting the next weekend with the sales consultant to really start drawing up a specific quote to us. At the same time we were also sourcing land - of sufficient size and one with not to many covenants that we would have to change so much of the house / at a great expense.

Following the above we went to the second stage of the quote / initiate despot - which I'll cover in later posts.

One of the facades on display - Ambrosia

Background

Inspired by the website www.homeone.com.au and the blogs from the users on the site, I've decided to share our experience with building a new home. The blogs that I have read have given great insight into the building process for our specific builder and the website has many topics with invaluable information / things to consider (Which is easy to overlook when you are keeping up with so many things when you buy land and build a house!)