TomCat's new digs!

[Flying mermaid]

So many decisions to make. I would be excited but I think I would also find it a bit daunting.

we have built 2 houses and done a major extension. The second house was architect designed and I gave him a 10 page outline, plus we spent months talking to him. We still got things wrong! The house took 18 months to build and we were there 3 times a day and I also got the bathrooms and kitchen done by my own people. Things still got by me!

Don't know if I have any advice, but maybe not being a control freak and not expecting it all to be right is a good start

My biggest failure was not checking what the plumber was up to. As a consequence the pipes go to the bathroom in the indoor pool and then to the kitchen. I still curse the plumber every winter when I wash dishes.....and the house was finished 16 years ago.

 

[penegal]

I look forward to the progress updates.

 

[rogerkambah]

My biggest failure was not checking what the plumber was up to. As a consequence the pipes go to the bathroom in the indoor pool and then to the kitchen. I still curse the plumber every winter when I wash dishes.....and the house was finished 16 years ago.

I'm assuming your gripe is the same as mine. The HWS is located at a distance from the kitchen (ours is in the garage), and it takes some time for hot water to arrive in the sink after turning the tap on.

Apparently this is not an unusual problem, which many people overcome by having a small HWS (storage or instant) located under the kitchen bench. I haven't done this yet as we are in discussions over kitchen refurb/replacement, but SWMBO can't make up her mind.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I'm assuming your gripe is the same as mine. The HWS is located at a distance from the kitchen (ours is in the garage), and it takes some time for hot water to arrive in the sink after turning the tap on.

Apparently this is not an unusual problem, which many people overcome by having a small HWS (storage or instant) located under the kitchen bench. I haven't done this yet as we are in discussions over kitchen refurb/replacement, but SWMBO can't make up her mind.

yes that's the problem. We have an instant hot water system and located it just outside the laundry and it could have run from there to the kitchen which is quite close, so I would have had my two most important things getting the hot water quickly. We have a second instant hot water system to do the other bathrooms. But no the plumber decided to run the pipes from the laundry into the indoor pool bathroom, which is used once every two years and then back to the kitchen! I was such a control freak with the house and watched and checked as much as I could, but there were a few things I failed with!

Hadn't thought of putting another one in just for the kitchen - good lateral thinking.

 

[Deleted member]

Many years ago, we built a house in Townsville, it was never properly finished , and we never made the final payment. At that time we met a builder who in his early 60's was not ready to retire, but couldn't do the work the way he used to. So he hired himself out as an inspector for the client. For $1,000 he would be on site regularly, checking work and getting issues fixed before they became a problem. It was a great result for him and his clients. And the $1000.00 was part of the building loan.

 

[Simo]

Good luck... It will be all good at the end.

 

[Simo]

A little too put conduits under the drive way so if you ever need to run something under the driveway you can do it for no cost

 

[Deleted member]

Good luck... It will be all good at the end.

The power of foresight.

 

[Pushka]

Not sure about ours (pre built house) but our hot water system is not far at all from the kitchen tap but it still takes ages to flow. I thought that was normal and not a possible aberration in the pipes.

 

[blackcat20]

Not sure about ours (pre built house) but our hot water system is not far at all from the kitchen tap but it still takes ages to flow. I thought that was normal and not a possible aberration in the pipes.

Takes forever to get water to the kitchen in our current location; bathroom is instant as its next to the HWS but kitchen loses badly. Plus you cant run more than one tap at a time or someone misses out.

 

[RooFlyer]

When I went to do an extension on my current place, I went back to the original designer (not an architect). In the course of discussions, I made the comment how well the hot water worked - how the hot water cylinder was central to kitchen, laundry, upstairs en-suite and downstairs bathroom, yet still accessible (the cost being that the guest en-suite is in Siberia ). He smiled broadly and said that 'technique' gets him lots of return business / recommendations.

I had dealt with architects twice previously for major other house extensions, both times a poor experience. I'd never go back to one - designer every time ... less ego (will listen to the client) and much more practical.

 

[Pushka]

Takes forever to get water to the kitchen in our current location; bathroom is instant as its next to the HWS but kitchen loses badly. Plus you cant run more than one tap at a time or someone misses out.

That issue is pretty much insurmountable I guess. Our place is two story and if someone pops in the shower downstairs and then one of the 'kids' upstairs then it gets ugly. (PS - older son and partner have returned home to us (from Sydney) awaiting her placement in GP training in the country so similar situation to you and TV. Her cat arrives Sunday for us to look after while they go back to England (she's a Brit) for 3 weeks. Hope they get on ok.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I dont have the plans on me, but the kitchen bench only needs to go up a cm or two to match our old place. But the bathroom is something like 850 so I want more.

I just measured our existing vanities and they're only 800mm. Never noticed that before, but has not caused a problem that I know of. I think the kitchen and laundry is important to get the height right. I'm thinking 950mm as in the kitchen, the sink will be undermounted (under 20mm granite) and it's the washing up that is usually a back breaker so I thought a slightly higher benchtop won't be a problem, but will give the sink that slight edge. I thought the laundry should be the same, simply as the tubs are normally quite deep.

A little too put conduits under the drive way so if you ever need to run something under the driveway you can do it for no cost

+1 to this comment. We have two driveways and I put 50mm conduits under each in case we ever want lights or sprinklers put in.

Hope they get on ok.

Who? Son and partner or the cat?

On the hot water issue, the reno/extension we're doing (still) is quite large. I installed the main off peak HWS (a Quantum) with the rain water tanks, which are under the back deck. The reason was that it's quite close to the kitchen and laundry, and the speed of water delivery is not an issue, but also for noise. As these heat exchange hot waters do make noise, I didn't want to hear it myself, or deal with complaints from the neighbour and where it is under the deck, we absolutely never hear it. The showers (and a 2 bedroom fully self contained guest apartment) are scattered all over the place, so to alleviate the hot water time of delivery problem, we'll end up having 2 x 3 phase instant HWS's strategically placed. They'll only consume power up until the main off peak hot water supply arrives and then turn off, so all in all, probably the best way of dealing with the problem without spending a fortune on water heating and will also prevent the problem of running out of off peak hot water if we have a house full of guests. I'd advise against having a circulating hot water pump as the amount of heat loss caused will cost a fortune in hot water bills.

 

[travelislife]

Good stuff! We are doing a knock down rebuild custom home as our first in Melbourne and it has been a headache! Still not out of the ground. Good luck!

 

[Flying mermaid]

I had dealt with architects twice previously for major other house extensions, both times a poor experience. I'd never go back to one - designer every time ... less ego (will listen to the client) and much more practical.

i tend to agree with you. I really liked our architect and he was very into solar aspects, so a lot of things he did was good. E.g. We wanted sun in every room for as much of the day as possible in winter. This is not easy to achieve with a big house, but pretty important in Canberra and he did an amazing job with that. However they do tend to be an impractical lot! Fortunately ours had a good relationship with the custom builder we used, so things worked out OK. If I ever built another house, I would go with a good designer instead though.

 

[QF WP]

I look forward to the progress updates.

+1. I'm excited for you both as the next 5 years will mean some massive shifts in your life. I've never built so can't offer any hints/tips. But I'm a great guest and looking forward to seeing what all your hard work reveals (particularly the back desk + outdoor BBQ)

 

[blackcat20]

+1. I'm excited for you both as the next 5 years will mean some massive shifts in your life. I've never built so can't offer any hints/tips. But I'm a great guest and looking forward to seeing what all your hard work reveals (particularly the back desk + outdoor BBQ)

Fortunately we will have two spare bedrooms (for now ) so guests will be welcome to stay the night.

 

[RB]

We are also getting a house built. There is certainly a mass of info to read. One web site/forum I stumbled on had a thread titled "Things You Forget" with a massive amount of suggestions. On page 32 post number 625 there is a bit of a summary-might be useful reading View topic - Things you forget - summary page 32 • Home Renovation & Building Forum

 

[Deleted member 29185]

However they do tend to be an impractical lot!

I argue with my architect constantly. I keep telling her the client is always right! Trouble is, she doesn't accept that and bickers incessantly. Mind you, her fees are pretty reasonable...I just have to keep the bills on her car paid, she's my eldest daughter!

(particularly the back desk + outdoor BBQ)

Who said a desk was going on the deck?

 

[Denali]

We are also getting a house built. There is certainly a mass of info to read. One web site/forum I stumbled on had a thread titled "Things You Forget" with a massive amount of suggestions. On page 32 post number 625 there is a bit of a summary-might be useful reading View topic - Things you forget - summary page 32 • Home Renovation & Building Forum

I studied this thread when we first started talking about KDR our house. Very helpful

Good stuff! We are doing a knock down rebuild custom home as our first in Melbourne and it has been a headache! Still not out of the ground. Good luck!

What has been the biggest headache for you?