[BaldyBeardyBloke]

After many months of viewing properties and weighing up the pro's and cons of having a house built from scratch we finally bit the bullet and signed a deal to buy a plot and have a house erected on it last week.

There aint great deal to see yet as the plot is part of a new sub-division on the northern edge of Hamilton, but just for those who feel the need, here's the pics:

The plot, or bit of flattened dirt as it currently stands
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/DSCF0650.jpg

The only evidence it belongs to us - plot marker (NOTE:this is a close up, it isn't really 8 feet tall!)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/DSCF0654.jpg

There will be houses opposite, eventually, but we're near the end of the street and it's a wide road, so as long as the others are single storey, we should retain a view of the local greenery. View out front left:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/DSCF0656.jpg

And front right:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/DSCF0655.jpg

BBB

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Here are the plans:

Layout:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/houseplan.jpg

Elevations:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/houseelevations.jpg

Location (the pink dot, top left):
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/houselocation.jpg

Happy area of flattened dirt owners:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee137/BaldyBeardyBloke/2007-12%20House%20Plot/DSCF0666.jpg

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

And for the nosey beggars out there (you know who you are), some of the facts and figures:

Plot size: 700m2
House size: 262m2
Plot cost: $200,000
Build Cost as per plan: $270,000
Additional costs, for stuff like door upgrades, additional sockets, blinds to windows, gas installation, automatic garage door etc etc etc: in the region of $15,000
Start: Land titles released Feb, so permissions go to council then, should take six weeks, start date likely to be around end March '08
Finish: Likely 22 week build, should bring us to July '08
Builder: GJ Gardner

That's about the lot.

BBB

[jubjub]

Looks very nice.... good size section too, and nice and flat so you can do lots with the garden.

[Kim39]

And for the nosey beggars out there (you know who you are), some of the facts and figures:

Plot size: 700m2
House size: 262m2
Plot cost: $200,000
Build Cost as per plan: $270,000
Additional costs, for stuff like door upgrades, additional sockets, blinds to windows, gas installation, automatic garage door etc etc etc: in the region of $15,000
Start: Land titles released Feb, so permissions go to council then, should take six weeks, start date likely to be around end March '08
Finish: Likely 22 week build, should bring us to July '08
Builder: GJ Gardner

That's about the lot.

BBB


Hey Sammy boy. Does that include floorcovering, cos thats going to add a little to the price.


Kim

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Indeed it does. Includes floor coverings, lawn, washing line, drive and letter box.

[Sam B]

Congratulations to the flattened piece of dirt owners! How exciting! Lovely layout too.

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Yup, that's what sold it to us. Well, that and the fact we hadn't seen anything else that size, in that area for anything like as little cash.

There is a condition that we can't change the layout at all (can change cosmetic items and power sockets etc, but no wall moving), but it suits us just fine as it is, so no problems there.

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Which reminds me, Sam, how's your building adventure progressing?

[Sam B]

All going well, plans have gone off to the Council or whoever it is that has to give permission. Land is being levelled just after Christmas and power lines etc being done at same time. House building should start in March, we should be in by September - can't wait!!!!

Had a picnic up there tonight - love it. It's really exciting having a house built, isn't it?

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

It certainly is, even at this stage.

Race you to the finish!

[Andy-Dee]

LOVE the Home Theatre - soooooo you and PP. We should be over just as you are stoking up the barby.

Good Luck - from the freezing North.

[Lupin]

It is exciting!

We are within sniffing distance but a frustrating finish to go! You could fit our house in yours nearly twice BBB!! Love the home theatre :) :)

Does cost include connection ot services etc? Seems reasonable!

[leachio]

Congrats guys :raebanana :raebanana
Im sure it won't be too long till Im sharing with u our plans for the small mansion we plan to build :laugh :laugh

Look forward to the snaps throughout!

SamB I thought u just bought a new/old house? U on the move again!!!!

[vixxann]

congrats BBB & PP :D Looks great - hope you're going to keep us updated with build photos when you get going ;)

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

It is exciting!

We are within sniffing distance but a frustrating finish to go! You could fit our house in yours nearly twice BBB!! Love the home theatre :) :)

Does cost include connection ot services etc? Seems reasonable!

Yes, connection to electricity, water & telephone included (although not final connection to network for telecoms of course, Telecom will need their pound of flesh!). We will need to pay if we want gas installing, which we probably will as we're planning to get them to put in a few internal gas outlets to which we can connect some gas fires or even the BBQ. Mains connected BBQ - how cool is that!

We'll need to recover from the shock of this huge outlay before we invest in the fires though. It could be a nippy winter.

We're considering under floor heaters for kitchen and bathrooms, but (as ever) depends on cost - not top of priority list for extra's.

We are, however, getting it piped up for a central vac installation. We may never install a central vac unit, but installation of pipework at build time will only be around $500 and it will be a great resale feature for the future. Installing at a later date wuld be a real sod, so for $500, the installation of a potentially funky feature is worth it.

We will need to pay for any fencing to the sides, but we'll share that cost with the neighbours as they turn up in the future.

Likelihood is that we'll be first house completed on the street, which will be really weird. Maybe if I go out and 'borrow' a chunk of wood per night we can stockpile enough to get the fences done for nowt!

As for "Home Theatre", sadly it doesn't come equipped (and we don't have anything already to equip it with) so really it's just the 'posh' lounge where we can hide from the kids, or at least shut out the noise of their game consoles and bickering whilst Shortland Street is on :nice1 . Or Pauls can lock me in whilst I listen to my Sick On The Bus records. :laugh

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

congrats BBB & PP :D Looks great - hope you're going to keep us updated with build photos when you get going ;)

Indeed, I think it's illegal not to isn't it ?

I feel a dedicated blog coming on. Now how to name it whilst avoiding the incredible temptation of using the word 'erection', which, obviously, wouldn't be remotely hilarious. :uhoh

[Syed]

Great post, and congratulations..

[Super_BQ]

Wow $470K! I suppose the prices of old houses were not a major difference in Hamilton? Were you thinking that if you paid the extra $80K difference on a new home that you would be better off than moving into an old house? There is the "new" factor just like in buying cars.

We're in a newly built house and one of my complaints is the lack of ERV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_recovery_ventilation). However, i've not seen any such installation on NZ homes though, there seems to be mass marketing in NZ on HRV systems (which IMO is not quite the same as an ERV). But in order for any of these systems to work effectively, the house has to be built air tight. Of course some asthma experts suspect that the modern air tight home is one of the causes of asthma (stale air). So the house must be ventillated, but if a system like HRV is to be installed into a house, then why not go all the way and install a full furnace HVAC system commonly found in American made homes? You still need to run the heating ducts.

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

All the existing homes we looked at that we felt were worth considering were at least $450K and generally more than that unless we compromised some of our key wants, so we feel we've got a good deal with this one. Not sure where you're getting the extra $80K figure from.

From a purely economic value point of view the house should be worth in the region of $560 - $580K on completion whereas an existing house purchased for $470K is still only worth $470K the day after you move in.

[peebles16]

Fab posts BBB and best of luck. Been trying to hid building house posts from Duncan as he's obsessed with the idea when we get to NZ - hope he doesn't see this one :D
Karen

[Lupin]

It's worth stretching yourselves now BBB- I'm thinking of the fires. While the builders are in just get as much done as you can because the build will feel like it's dragging on and you may never want them back!!

We payed extra for sound-proof batts throughout, Tawa hardwood floor in the living area and the best quality carpet we could afford in the bedrooms. We've gone for a MASSIVE heater that heats up to 220sqm (our house is 120) and ducting into the bedrooms. We added a few things to the basic kitchen and we also need to pay for tiling, so our extras come close to the 15K too.

It's far more exciting than buying a newly built house, imo and it seems more money-wise.

Because we were building on a massive section with no covenants and went with a kitset we've had to make all the decisions about siting, siting tanks and septic etc- quite a steep learning curve for us, but immensely satisfying!

Enjoy the process BBB and PP :cheers

[IanW99]

Does it include double glazing (and definitely ask for as much insulation that you can get)? What will the outside be made from is it brick (just curious)?

It looks from the plans that you don't have a sink in the toilet, if there isn't one then would suggest you see if you can get one added now as I assume that this is the toilet that your visitors are most likely to use?

Does it include kitchen appliances e.g. dishwasher etc and if so have you checked out which ones (or do you get a choice). They don't always fit the best models and it doesn't always cost very much to upgrade to a better model with more features.

Ian

[Marie P]

Great news guys :nice1

We used G J 's too .

Keep the photos coming.

Marie x

[Lupin]

Does it include double glazing (and definitely ask for as much insulation that you can get)? What will the outside be made from is it brick (just curious)?

It looks from the plans that you don't have a sink in the toilet, if there isn't one then would suggest you see if you can get one added now as I assume that this is the toilet that your visitors are most likely to use?

Does it include kitchen appliances e.g. dishwasher etc and if so have you checked out which ones (or do you get a choice). They don't always fit the best models and it doesn't always cost very much to upgrade to a better model with more features.

Ian

These are excellent points Ian :clap!

Ours didn't include double glazing and we felt it wouldn't warrant the cost here in the bay. On Marcia's suggestion we put a small hand sink put in the toilet (cost approx $500) as we had overlooked that too! The kitchen appliances for ours were basic but reasonable, apart from the dishwasher, which we upgraded to a more water saving one.

[Caroline and Dave]

Congratulations guy's.
It's so exciting building your own house, can be very stressful as we have found out but we should be buiilding very shortly now.
I think we should start up a house building forum as there's enough of us.
Wishing everyone who's building, all the success and happiness in the future

Dave and Caroline

[swissmissdesigner]

Congratulations guy's.
It's so exciting building your own house, can be very stressful as we have found out but we should be buiilding very shortly now.
I think we should start up a house building forum as there's enough of us.
Wishing everyone who's building, all the success and happiness in the future

Dave and Caroline

Great idea! I can't wait for the next house building thread.
cheers

anna

[Moorf]

You guys building your own places are so brave! I'd love to but everytime it comes down to making the decision I get cold feet - I'm not sure I could deal with the stress - was bad enough getting the bathroom fixed. :wah

Can't wait to see the bare patch grow... :nice1

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

To answer the questions from above.

Great thought about the hand basin in the toilet. We'll definitely do that. I still find it hard to believe it's not done as standard here.

It doesn't include double glazing. Having lived through a winter in a standard NZ home I think we'll cope with it OK. I will ask about further insulation options though, partcularly to the roof space. A decent fire is top of the 'if we can afford it' list, so we'll see, but we're getting the gas put in so it won't be a big trauma to get one installed later.

Outside will be brick clad. Roof is steel, but it is the steel 'tile' type, if you know what I mean, as opposed to the wriggly tin grooved ones. They are a lot more sound tolerant to being bashed by heavy rain, which is good. In the house we're in at he moment (with steel groove roof) if it really chucks it down you can't hear the telly. Mind you, you can't hear the kids either, so silver lining and all that. :nice1

It does include appliances in kitchen. They are F&P, we've seen the ones in the show home, and are living with similar now, they seem to be fine for us.

Our extra's include:
Upgrading all lino floors to tiles.
Extending the driveway to allow for parking for two cars plus some extra concrete around the back for washing line, shed, bins etc.
Upgrading door knobs to handles (minimal cost for that)
Upgrading front door to cedar door with nice lock & handle
Gas installation
Plumbing for central vac (but no central vac unit installation)
Vertical blinds fitted to all windows
Automating garage door with remotes
Hand basin to toilet (new inclusion - thanks)
Additional power, TV & phone sockets

Costing ~$15,000

[thezorbster]

Congrats guys, looking forward to watching progress! We seriously considered building and have been looking at plots for ages but my yearning for a home to call my own right now has finally won over and, touch wood, we go unconditional next Monday.

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Woot, fingers crossed for you (I might even give my beard a special stroke for luck, too) :)

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Great news guys :nice1

We used G J 's too .

Keep the photos coming.

Marie x

How did you find them? Anything we should be aware of? Although I think the regional builders are actually franchises using the GJG name. They appear to be pretty reputable as far as we can tell. I know people living in GJG build homes who are happy with them, which is generally a good sign I suppose.

They claim to have won lots of building awards, but they were probably awarded by themselves, so I don't assign much value to those.

[jackie m]

Congratulations BBB & Family :cheers
Sounds like its all going to be fun, will definately look foward to your updates of the house building. The plans look great lots of room only just a tad jealous really:D
All the best
Jackie

[Marie P]

Hi BBB

Yes we were happy with them and still are ,its a year next week since we moved in . A few little problems that we had they arranged to be dealt with.

I wouldn't be set with the timings ,things always take longer than predicted .

When you go for your colour selection meeting ,dont take the kids ,its a long 2 hours ,have plenty of ideas beforehand too. We just went with safe beige and browns and now I am bored with it.

Good luck and enjoy it ,

Marie x

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

Hi BBB

Yes we were happy with them and still are ,its a year next week since we moved in . A few little problems that we had they arranged to be dealt with.

I wouldn't be set with the timings ,things always take longer than predicted .

When you go for your colour selection meeting ,dont take the kids ,its a long 2 hours ,have plenty of ideas beforehand too. We just went with safe beige and browns and now I am bored with it.

Good luck and enjoy it ,

Marie x

Cheers Marie,

I'm going to make a play for blue and white striped cupboard doors and Chester City FC logos etched into every windows plus a 1/10th replica of the Saunders Honda Stadium landcaped into the garden and a toilet in the shape of Wrexhams stadium.

You think PP will back me on that?

:no Me neither. I lost the battle to name our first born Chester City Edwards as well. Still think it's a great name.

BBB

[Lupin]

We're choosing colours now and I'm resisting creams, although it's tempting as you can't screw up with them!

[ourquest]

and a toilet in the shape of Wrexhams stadium.



How many people can you seat at a time?

[Caroline and Dave]

We're choosing colours now and I'm resisting creams, although it's tempting as you can't screw up with them!

Where we are at the moment is battleship grey which Kiwis seem to love. Its even on the ceilings. So we are going for the cream effect then at least as you say you can't really screw up then we can maybe alter the odd room later on which will take less paint coats than if we are covering a dark colour.
At the moment I keep waking up thinking I work for the British Navy on some aircraft carrier:laugh

[Caroline and Dave]

I lost the battle to name our first born Chester City Edwards as well. Still think it's a great name.

BBB

Many years ago, my parents next door neighbour was actually Chester City and their son was called Scott. This is true.