Another long spell since last blogging, and again a lot has happened.
Subdivision is all through and Title documents have been issued...not like we get to see them but the bank is keeping them safe for us. We had a really good conveyancer doing this for us. You can do your own conveyancing, that is transferring ownership of land, but it may not be worth the time or the risk (in Victoria see- http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing-and-accommodation/buying-and-selling-property/selling-property/conveyancing-and-contracts-for-sellers). We were really waiting for these titles so that the bank could do another valuation of the property (two lots now and not just one) and we could get our loan approved, finally.
We are starting off on a construction loan where each of us is paying the same amount for repayments, which increases incrementally as money is released by the bank. For those not familiar with this process; your builder will require payments at different stages of the build (slab, frame, etc) and will bill you after each stage is complete. This invoice is then signed by one of us and goes to the bank who pays the builder. Not a dime of cash goes into our account, only debt. This is good in that you don't pay interest on the whole amount from the outset but it goes up in increments as loan money is actually used.
After the build is done we will roll this construction loan over into another loan, like a normal home loan.
Now that that boring finance stuff is over, to the exciting part....THE HOUSE!!!!
Our builders were pretty keen to get into it and wasted no time in scraping the site and digging footings. Before we knew it there was a slab, frame and a roof on the thing and we were doing a final decision on where lighting was going. Below are some pics, which is obviously much better than me writing about it. The dates give you a good indication of how quick it went up. We had a bit of a hold-up for a week or so recently but everything is back on track now. And since the house is so compact, most of the trades are getting in and out in a flash. We are hoping it will be the same for the second fit and finishing.
 |
| Site scrape and footing holes- Pretty boring looking but this was done on April 11 |
 |
| Slab up on April 18 |
 |
| Frame up, wrapped, roof on, windows and doors fitted and first fit electrical done- May 25 |
 |
| View from the outdoor area |
 |
| And something to keep warm |
Looks good mate...I like the insulation, there is lots of it...did you consider hydronic heating, skylights and floor insulation or they were completely out of equation? Just wanted to get an idea of the marginal costs in percentage terms of deploying these technologies at the construction phase.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. The main feature for heating and lighting is the solar orientation of the dwelling (being northerly focused) and maximising large windows on this side. Because of this, and the size/open plan layout of the house, a positive outcome is achievable for energy use. It's also been the most cost effective for 'the first' project. The solar panel for water heating will also assist.
DeleteThe size of the house is the main factor which would mean these kinds of things were not required. Given the orientation, nearly every room has a large north facing window.
DeleteIf we ever do a larger house, hydronic heating would be on the cards as it is relatively cheap to install (about $1200 per unit I think)and relatively efficient to run, especially if you are on solar.
We are on a slab, so floor insulation is not really the go as we want this to heat up with the sun. However if a house was on stumps or pads, then floor insulation would be a must. Some friends of mine renovated their house and had to pull up the floor boards to put in floor insulation. That obviously added to the cost drastically as you are looking at a lot of extra labor. Basically, everything is cheaper at construction phase and depends on the characteristics of the house you are retrofitting.