Prestart #1

Today we had our first prestart – woohoo!

The aim of this exercise was to go through the addenda and address all the items that would be required for the builder to commence construction and through to roof cover. The meeting took 2.5 hours, and we got most of the selections done and only made a few changes to the plan.

Corrections to plans:

  • Swap openings on kitchen servery sliding window and master bedroom sliding door.
  • Move downpipe away from front pillar so it is less obtrusive. This was also apparently better from a water load perspective, so not sure why they didn’t put it there in the first place!

Plumbing:

  • Builder to supply only 150mm pops at downpipe locations so we can install PVC downpipes for rainwater harvesting. We still actually need to talk to a rainwater specialist and organise something.
  • Specified toilets and spa models.

Other:

  • Discussed portico ceiling design detail and made some minor changes for structural integrity and aesthetics.
  • Discussed portico steps and how we wanted them done, the builder suggested some nice detail to add which we’ve decided to go with. The steps on the garage side could be an issue with the slope from the garage, we’ve decided to leave this until later and made the decision during construction when we can better see what’s happening. Same thing with steps on the left side of the house for retaining. It’s great that the builder can be flexible about this.
  • Selected cornice – Boral Jazz, which is similar to the Gyprock Trio cornice but the steps are slightly different sizes. No additional cost.
  • Selected door frames. We went for the upgraded square frames, which cost an additional $35 per door. This suited the cornices a bit better and also meant that the tiling in the bathrooms could sit more neatly with the frames.
  • Specified colours for window frame, roof, gutters, fascia (will post separately about external selections).
  • Specified colour for Glosswood ceilings.
  • We need to replace one of our boundary fences, so talked a bit about that. Forgot to mention the colour, so had to email afterwards.

What we need to do now:

  • Advise builder on the cutout size for future attic.
  • Finalise window glazing specifications for certain windows – for this we need to talk to an energy consultant for advice on what type of low-e glass to get.
  • Finalise the type of lock we want for the internal garage door.

The builder asked about the front door selection, and I bemoaned the fact that the standard range all had glass inserts, and the only non-glass one I found was $3000 per door! (we have double doors at the front). They were sympathetic and said for me to send some pictures through and they would try to hunt down some alternatives for us. That’s so nice of them, very impressed.

Dates! We have some dates! The schedule so far is:

  • Fencing and retaining to be booked in for the 27th January.
  • Earthworks a week after that.
  • Slab a week after that.

So we’re looking at mid-February for a slab. Maybe in time for valentine’s day!

May not be able to afford this for a while…

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9 Comments:

  1. Sounds like progress, Trixee!

  2. Yay for dates! Roll on V-Day

  3. You’ve got a kitchen server window? I’m so jealous, mine got cut due to costs! That’s very nice that the builders are helping you out on your front door hunt. Wow things are about to progress quickly – congratulations!

  4. I’m hoping things will zip along once they start, but as I keep saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it!”

    Funny story about the servery window. I said that I wanted a sliding flyscreen on the opening side so you can pass things through and just open and close the flyscreen but still have the window open, but this is a bit different to a retractable flyscreen. Everyone looked at me quizzically, and I said to Mr T, “you know, like your parents have”. He replied that they had deliberately buggered up their flyscreen so it would work that way! Had a laugh, builder said they would see if anything like that existed. 🙂

  5. Hi Trixee, you can get fly screens that slide open. I will be getting one for my kitchen window too. Getting through my builder, they seemed to know what I was talking about when I mentioned it!

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