Internal Selections

We had our colour appointment on 24th October. This is when could decide about all the internal stuff. This was full day affair actually.

Electricals

First half we went through the electricals in which we could decide various electricals to be included related with lights, switches, power points, TV points, Gas points, network, Foxtel and broadband cabling. Also the various outside jukeboxes to be created for external lighting on the walls and in the gardening and the future gate and fence. The good thing was that all these changes were carried out through a software so there was less chance of leaving anything behind. We were quite happy with the whole process. The lady was very experienced from the electricals division and it was pretty smooth sailing for us as she advised us on most of the decisions. We exceeded our budget though, but somehow were not disappointed at this.

It cost us almost 10k for the electricals.

External Selections


Here is the list of the external selections that we went for:
External Selections:
Gutter:                    COLOURBOND MONUMENT
Facia/Balustrade:          COLOURBOND SHALE GREY
Garage:                    TIMBERLOOK CAOBA
Hebel - Main Eaves/Lining: DULUX WHITE ON WHITE
Hebel Portico:             DULUX TIMELESS GREY
Roof Tiles:                CLASSICAL COAL
Entry Door:                INTERGRAIN MERBAU
ALU Windows:               TREASURED SILVER

Internal Selections

Here are some of the major things that we decided to include:
1.  Flycsreen in all the windows and outside doors
2.  1200mm Pivot door in the entrance with the sidelights
3.  All the sliding doors with glass in RUMPUS (2No) 2340X820mm,
    STUDY (2No) 2340X720mm, FOYER (1No) 2340X920mm
4.  OCEAN FOAM caeserstone in all the ensuites, pantry and loundry
5.  Cupboard in the space near the fridge area
6.  Two Pot Drawers in the kitchen
7.  Dulux Enigma BY colour in FAMILY and  Violet POSY in BED3 for
    our daughter (she wanted it somehow!)
8.  Provide Satinlite obscure glazing in all the ensuites
9.  We agreed for the $450 upgrade on the garage door Wood alike
    Jarrah colour
10. Sydney Blu Gum timber Flooring in FAMILY, DINING, KITCHEN,
    PANTRY
    Tiling in ENTRY AND FOYER
    Carpeting in RUMPUS, STDUY and GUEST ROOM and on the first floor
11. JETMASTER GLOW & HEAT 550TRSI with stanless steel border from 4
    sides
12. Cupboards in ENSUITES to be BURNISHWOOD. In KITCHEN we are
    having it on top and in the microwave tower
    but in Island bench and lower cupboards we went for LAMINATE
    GLOSSY WHITE COLOUR
13. Horizontal handles for the horizontal cupboards and vertical
    ones for the vertical cupboards
14. Privacy locks in all the doors
15. Hebel installation instead of the cladding in the back of the
    house
16. 4800mm wide (nom) Timberlook (woodgrain finish) Colorbond
    “CAOBA" sectional overhead Garage door in lieu of
    4800mm sectional door.

Contract Presentation...

So long awaited day came when we had to visit Metricon to sign the contract. So now we were thinking that things will start happening after we sign the contract and also deep down we were pretty convinced of the financial commitment that we were embarking on. But the huge sense of anticipation and excitement about the new
home was in the air and there is no denying to this fact...

We went through all the points one by one with the Metricon Contract Presenter and discussed some more variations as well which we were told that they will be included in the variations later before the Council Preparation.

So now we have signed the contract and are looking forward to Studio M day which is the next step forward along with the preparation for the council. 

Some Photos of the House

Here is a link to some of the photos of the house:

http://www.metricon.com.au/nsw/homes/nolan/images

Selection Kit

Here are some of the links that we need to do some research on for various selections:

Roofs tiles:  http://www.bristilerroofing.com.au
              http://www.boralroofing.com.au
Windows:      http://www.canterburywindows.com.au
Laminex:      http://www.laminex.com.au
Caesarstone:  http://www.caesarstone.com.au
Dulux:        http://www.dulux.com.au
Garage Doors: http://www.gliderol.com.au
Doors:        http://www.humedoors.com.au

It is a good idea to make up one's mind to a certain extent before the Colour Selection Day (Studio M) appointment although there would be enough help from the Colour Expert. These sites will have enough information to familiarise oneself with the production specifications and the pricing as well.

A Bit of History...

Here is a bit of history how we came to make the decision in favour of Metricon...

28/06/2012
Met a friend who told us that they were building their new home with
Wisdom (MANHATTAN43). Went online to see the design and got
impressed. The prices seemed to be within our budget and then we
thought why not to go ahead with looking for options for us as
well...

30/06/2012
We drove to Oran Park to see Anne Wisdom office. She is a very
affectionate lady and very accessible and accommodating. She helped
us in deciding the design and also working through the variations
and the upgrades. We chose 44 (ensuite) with Nova Terrace facade and
put a deposit of $2000.00 for the tender preparation.


01/07/2012
When we came back we discussed about the whole design and then we
had around 20 questions back for Anne. She was very patient and we
went through the whole design again and revised back on lot of the
design issues.


07/07/2012
We went to Oran Park today and met Anne. We handed over the 149
certificate that we had received from the council. We had a few
variations in mind which we discussed and got the estimation
changed.

28/07/2012
Went to see the Metricon display homes in The Ponds. Were very
impressed to see NOLAN45 house. Started looking for this option...
And then we realised we could have this house instead...

29/07/2012
Paid $2000.00 to Metricon to organise the Tender for the same. The
idea was to have both the tenders and then decide which one to go
for. As far as the design is concerned, NOLAN45 stands out. The size
of all the rooms is bigger than Wisdom's MANHATTAN43 and there is a
better space management in the design.

19/08/2012
Went to see Ben (Metricon) on Sunday and he went through all the
variations plus all the documents. Tried to understand what was
displayed and what was standard inclusions. Was almost 3hrs
exercise. Then he got us to sign the papers. In one the final papers
it was mentioned that we will not have any more structural changes
and if we did we will have to pay them $1000.00 per change. We have
gone through all the plans so many times that we knew that we do not
need any changes as we are happy with all the structure of the
house. So we signed.

22/08/2012
I got a call from Metricon saying that there will be a tender
presentation on 31st Aug FRI at 2PM. I am excited about this as
there is a good chance that there will not be very significant
price increase Ben had put 47k for the site costs/BASIX and Storm
management costs. There are not many variations in the case of the
Metricon where as there are significant number of variations listed
in the case of Wisdom. I was really surprised that there were no
doors in the toilets and WIR. We had to put more than 10 doors in
the house.

We are looking forward to the Metricon Tender appointment now.
Hopefully they will not raise the site costs as it already covers
most of it ($47k). Wisdom had 12k in the estimate and they eventually came back with almost 25k. So let us see which one is better pricewise. Somehow I am thinking about the Metricon one. Looks like everyone is going for rendering the house these days around our place and this will give us an opportunity to revive the house as well if we want to change the house colour. Although I can
understand that there will be cost involved if we do so every
couple of years. Because of Hebel, I am hoping we will able to save
some money in electricity consumption as well. Somehow I feel that the building experience could be much better in case of Wisdom. But I have talked to two of the people who built through Metricon and they do not seem to be very negative. We will just see how we go.

31/08/2012
We had the tender presentation with the Metricon. Anna went through
all the points and the costs involved therein. At the end of the
tender presentation she mentioned that she has an offer for us
since that was the last day of the month. She offered us the air
conditioning unit worth $12950. We had been already credited with
$2000 for the Wisdom tender that we had spent. So we happily
deposited another $4000 for the plans to be prepared for us.

05/09/2012
I talked to Anna, Metricon and told her that we are keen on going
with Metricon and requested her to revise the tender with some of
the points that we had raised with her in the tender presentation
meeting. She said that she would send us the revised tender and then
she would arrange for the contract sign day.

The Beginning...

It is a wonder how when something big in life has to happen, it happens so smoothly. Building your own home is a dream come true. So now we have decided to knock-down re-build our home with Metricon and here is our journey that we would like to share with one and all...

This story starts not long ago... Going through two tenders; one with Wisdom and one with Metricon made it easier for us to understand the intricacies of the initial process and also made us take wiser decision. (That is how we feel till now, though!!!) After a lot of deliberations and analysis we came to this decision that we would love to go for Metricon's NOLAN rather than Wisdom's MANHATTAN. The reasons why we went for NOLAN were not many, but the design of the house and the way layout was done, it gives that sense of space and homeliness which we fell for. The straight lines inside the house, maximum use of the space makes a lot of difference. Also, the good thing was that we did not have to go for much of structural variations. The house design sits absolutely perfectly on our flat land.