4 Nov 2017

We have made significant progress since the last post.

The council approved the planning permit with minimal changes to our initial plan. The only amendment was an additional canopy for the front door so that the entrance is visible from the street.

We have also completed our internal designs which I will share some key details below.

Currently we are 1/3 way through our construction drawings and expect them to be completed and building permit issued around 1st week of Feb and commence construction shortly afterwards

As mentioned the overall layout hasn't changed too much:

Kitchen from top and front:

They key materials we are going to be using throughout the house will be:

1. Blackbutt timber veneer for almost all joinery
2. Blackbutt timber floor on the ground floor
3. Light colour gloss concrete floor for the kitchen/dining area
4. Wool carpet for upstairs
5. Marble carrara for the kitchen/pantry/laundry areas

The outdoor deck will have a built in BBQ.

Wardrobe:

We elected to go for a sliding blackbutt timber sliding wardrobe, we tailored each wardrobe to match our needs.

Laundry/Toilet:

The ground floor laundry and toilet will be timber floored. The area above the washing machine is a heated cabinet.

Stair area renders:

We made couple of minor changes to the stairs. Instead of installing handrails and eating up additional space, we opted to create a gap in the mesh screen. Not only saving space but also breaking up a previously completely white screen. We also added carpet drape to soften the stairs.

A number of other features I haven't shared include all of upstairs, bathroom tiles, outdoor bricks lighting schedules. I only wanted to show some key elements of the design.

In terms of kitchen appliances, I have decided to import all of it from UK, the difference in pricing was incredible and worth the effort to coordinate the logistics. I can share the companies I used for this process if people are interested.

Thanks for reading.

23 Mar 2017

So we just had our pre-app meeting with the council. Seemed to go quite well, one of our biggest concerns was the interpretation of our neighbour's windows (whether they are part of "living space" or not given they are windows part of the bathroom and walkway). The planner said it all seems ok so it's looking good.

Our council however is doing a council wide heritage review, whilst our property is highly unlikely to be applied with a heritage protection, it means we have to spend 2 weeks applying for the review.

The architect will now start the application documents and we expect the planning application to be lodged mid-late April

Fingers crossed!

21 Feb 2017

Hi everyone

We have just received the updated designs to the North Facade and we love the changes:

The new design not only adds detailing to the facade but also provides additional depth to the shading areas. We have broken the long strip of brick perforation with a white powdered aluminium shading for the bedroom to add more contrast but also improve the lighting of the bedroom:

We are very pleased with the designs and next step is getting a QS to do an updated budget, hopefully it's still within our budget! 

In the meantime, we will start preparations on getting planning approval from the council!

Progress!

18 Feb 2017

Hi everyone

My partner and I have just started our journey to building own family home in Melbourne. The blog I guess is aimed at sharing our journey and describe some of the key milestones and elements of our new home.

We engaged an architect around November 2016 and are currently in the final stages of the sketch design, just prior to council submissions.

Due to the layout of the block, we faced many constraints:
1. Narrow block of 10 x 40m in dimension
2. Semi detached with southern neighbour
3. Semi detached garage with the northern neighbour
4. Privacy constraints around boundary development
5. Street front offset

The constraints are the primary reason we elected to use an architect to ensure the space is fully utilised.

    


The above survey shows the limited space and shared party walls with both neighbours.

As part of the initial master planning, the architect provided 3 different design options. We ultimately decided on the below as it maximised the living space available. Unfortunately it was also the most expensive option.
 

This design was provided to us just prior to Christmas, following feedback and revision, we have now just been given the sketch designs. The aim is to retain the existing house at the front whilst creating a new extension that covers 2 floors.

The key elements of the house that we wanted to emphasise are brickwork and timber, and I personally love the use timber ceiling. Below are some render images and updated floor plans.

  
Whilst these designs are preliminary, we love the theme and consistencies around the design. We have requested some changes around the northern facade to increase the detailing rather than having a massive brick wall face. Similarly we are exploring other shading options for the windows, we have to cover 75% of the window exposure for upstair windows facing north.