And so it begins
 

Hurrah! It's only taken 9 months but the cut and fill are being done next week. Have done a blog post, hopefully it'll help others wanting to build ;)

BLOG POST

Re: And so it begins
 

hi, is ben landy your supervisor? he usually does plantation in noosa, good bloke, used to do their plumbing, nice area up there, you building a high set or low.

Re: And so it begins
 

I think Ben is doing the house opposite, pretty sure our guy is Phill. There are pros and con's for going with plantation. They've got good and bad reviews, they've been taken to court and sued. My hubby made it quite clear from the start we wouldn't take a any crap and we'd be there daily to check the progress and workmanship etc lol Pretty much think we've scared them eek! We have our friend's coming in afterwards to do the flooring, electrics, fit out of laundry, alfresco etc so we're lucky in that they're allowing us to do a heap of stuff ourselves. We're building a high set doulton lux

Re: And so it begins
 

phil peakock is pretty good, very precise as a rule, you will do ok with him. to be honest it doesnt matter who you build with there is always good and bad points with em all. nice high set that one, done a few of them in caloundra area and northlakes.

Re: And so it begins
 

awww thats so good to know! The house is bigger than we actually wanted but we'll get used to it. Only plan on holding on to it for 5 years before we sell and build again :)

Re: And so it begins
 

Does your awesome tree have to go? That will be a shame. :lol:

Re: And so it begins
 

:eek: Itchy feet or what :lol:

Do you have a target or plan on a permanent/final home? We would like to build but the whole process seems so daunting (and expensive with those 'hidden' charges):(

Re: And so it begins
 

oh yes! In 3 years we'll buy land at noosa north rise then that'll be it lol :rofl: I'll do a costs thing for you. It actually isn't too bad. We're still under budget at the mo, but that's cos we added on 20% at the beginning of the build in case we went over (if that makes sense)

Re: And so it begins
 

it's ok the 'one' tree gets to stay!

Re: And so it begins
 

Quick iphone pic from yesterday. It's been cut ready for the base and retaining walls. They were supposed to be engineered walls, but DEQ (plantation home engineers) got the contours of the land wrong, so now they'll all be under a meter - hurrah, that's a saving of $$$'s :D

Costs to date:

Land purchase $ 155,000
Solicitors fees 1,307
Unity water 1,457
Council rates 665
Plans and soil test 3,000
Engineers plans 795
Retaining wall materials 2,310
Cut n fill stage 1 payment 12,957

and $400 a week for the rental we're in

Re: And so it begins
 

Spoke too soon! Costs just soared as one wall needs to be engineered as they've cut too much :( It's costing us $22,000 - Yep, 22K eek!

Re: And so it begins
 

Is that for you to pay or whoever did the cutting? Not your fault surely?:confused:

Re: And so it begins
 

that's for us to pay, seems a tad unfair tho hey? The pitfalls of building :unsure:Just doing a blog post now as it's looking sooooo pretty (well as pretty as retaining walls get)

http://funkyphotography.com.au/blog/...mes-australia/

Re: And so it begins
 

We are still in the planning process but are hoping to get going soon as we are now paying for the land mortgage! Great to see your experience a bit ahead of us. We also have a sloping plot but not quite as much - still need retaining walls though. It is an absolute minefield! Having my hair coloured again tomorrow as my grey is rapidly increasing!!!

Re: And so it begins
 

lol do it now, you might not be able to afford a re-colour once you're paying rent and mortgage :) Actually, I jest, it isn't 'too' bad, we're just a lot stricter with money!! Have updated the blog, as we now have a slab! Yayyyyy

http://funkyphotography.com.au/blog/...s-doulton-lux/