Patience is a Virtue! Waiting for things to really start moving :)

Well it has been a slow couple of weeks and we have changed the sequence of the build slightly. I'm dying to post more some tangible signs of progress!

We had planned for the pool to be dug and concreted last week, however due to a couple of unexpected issues with the block, we made the decision to put the pool on hold until the end of the build. The only concern we had in doing this was access, however we have a clear 3 metre strip down one side of the house, and so we can still access the back yard, it will just take a little longer to dig, and we can live with that :) It also means that once the house in place, we can change the location of the pool if we think it suits. It will be much easier to visualise at a later point.

So now our house builders have the all clear to go for it! I'm hoping the footings and piers are dug this week, however I'm not too sure yet.

One of the issues we have to address is retaining down the back of the block. The contour map we received from the developers does not actually match the reality of the block. So when we cut the block, the height of the lower level of the block is much higher at the covenant point line that we were anticipating. Looking at this, we have decided that it will be much better to retain this than leave it open and sloping. Retaining will give us a larger flat backyard area and also be safer for the kids. The only thing I don't like about the retaining is the cost of course! It's not a cheap exercise. However I just have to think that it will make such a difference to the house and our useable space. So our lovely designer Kevin is back onto the job to design the retaining wall for us.

I might be a bit slow off the mark, however I'm quickly learning with building that unexpected situations and problems arise all the time, and when you least expect it. You need to be prepared to rethink your plans and make on the spot decisions (which I find really hard!). And I know everyone says this, however always expect to go over budget! I'm working on the lotto plan to try to alleviate this issue, however no luck yet ...

We are going to retain along this line

Fingers crossed for further progress reports soon!

Have a lovely day :)

There's a hole in our block, dear Liza, dear Liza!

Today our block changed from a gentle sloping site into big dirty steps! I love the dirt! Photos are taken from our lovely neighbour's laundry!

Looking up towards the road

This is the approximately the convenant line on the block, looking east to west.

We met our fantastic Site Manager Steve for the first time today, a really lovely guy. We also met out Site Foreman Mark, another lovely guy, consistent with the excellent service we've had with Garth Chapman. In only one day I've been really impressed with their communication and service. 

Our first hurdle of the actual build came on Day 1. Deciding where to put the excess dirt! 

We weren't sure how much excess soil we would have, or how much we needed to hang on to in case we needed it to retain down the back of the site later on. The problem is storing the soil while the house is built. We have nowhere to store the soil and it is a hazard (especially if it rains). We hope that we can give it to our neighbour's who do need extra, however they may not be in a position to store it now either. Watch this space! 

Next step is the pool! The pool builders will be onsite next week to dig out and concrete our pool. After that, Steve and Mark will be back to dig out a little more of the site and dig out the piers. Exciting times ahead! 

It starts tomorrow!!

Well I still have a bit of catching up to do with the blog, however I had to let you know that we start the build tomorrow!

Our builders will be on site at 7am to start the cutting in. I can't wait! We only had the news on Friday - after all this waiting it is still a little surreal that we are actually starting!!

Here are some photos of the block as it is now:

Let the digging begin!!

Turning the Dream into Reality - Finding a Builder

It sounds naive, however I had no idea that there were so many builders and building companies in Brisbane and in Australia!

So where to start? Luckily as it turned out, we had spent some weekends looking at Display Home Villages around Brisbane. We'd been doing this out of interest and with no particular purpose, however at least it have given us a benchmark and some idea of what we wanted.

We were at first very drawn to the popular Metricon designs, and the finishes in their display homes were exemplary - they stood out from the rest. I really liked the Denver and DH and I both liked the Chelsea.

However they weren't exactly what we wanted. We had also looked at dozens of other display homes, and no other builder stood out for us, until we visited the Garth Chapman display home.

Walking into their display home was an eye opening experience. Everything aspect of the house had us saying "wow". Garth Chapman is a Queensland company with an excellent reputation in building both traditional Queenslanders and modern homes. They place great emphasis on superb building quality and designing energy efficient homes. Here are a few photos we took on our first visit to their display home:

While this home wasn't exactly what we wanted, we loved the finishes, the character and quality. We have always loved weatherboard and character homes, and so this also struck a chord.

One of the clinchers for us was the absolutely lovely designer and consultant Kevin, who works out of the Display Home. Right from the start he was friendly, approachable, relaxed and in no way a pushy salesman. What I also liked was that he is the man who designs your home and sees you through the process up to handing over to the site foreman. I loved the idea of the continuity of relationship with our builder - I didn't want to be handed from one contractor to another.

So we essentially fell in love and didn't look any further. We did a bit of due diligence on the company, and only found excellent feedback.

So in June 2012, we started the process of designing our dream character home!

Finding the block!

Where to build? That was the question!

Our search for a block of land encompassed both vacant lots and Knock Down and Rebuild opportunities. We toyed with the idea of moving further out of town to an acreage, however we decided that we wanted to stay closer to town - for now!

So our search was narrowed from the get go into a few suburbs close to where we are living now. We didn't want to go too far - the children were settled into a school that we love, we had only just moved from NZ and didn't want to uproot them again. We also wanted to be a family friendly suburb, close to the city, and close to school & friends.

In terms of the site itself, we wanted a larger block (at least 750 square metres - I would love an acreage, but that doesn't happen close to town often!), and enough room for a good backyard for the children.

Ultimately our choice was an eas-ish one, because there's not too much land around, and the KDR opportunities were way out of budget anyway!

One weekend we decided to check out a new development in our neighbouring suburb, which had opened up about 12 months earlier. It was a rarity of sorts - the council had opened up a new section of bushland within a very established suburb, and the development encompassed about 30 new, large, sloping sights!

The View from our Estate

By the time we looked at the development, there were only 3 sections left. All were sloping, however we liked the elevation and views, so that didn't bother us. But which one? All of the sections were large (over 800 square metres). I immediately discounted one that overlooked a busy road (from a distance, however I just didn't enjoy the view or exposure. The other 2 were very similar, only 2 blocks apart.

We decided to go with Lot 27 - 962 square metres of sloping bushland, higher up on the slope and further away from the noisy road (you might notice there is a theme, road noise really bothers me!). Like most of the lots in the development, Lot 27 had a  large covenant area on which we couldn't build, mainly to protect the large established gum trees and foliage on part of the site. We really liked the trees, they provide shade, privacy and a pretty view, and we still had a large building envelope.

As I write, it seems as though the decision was straightforward, however it wasn't easy for me. I was really unsure that building was the right thing to do, and I truthfully wanted to live in another suburb. However DH was so keen and as the idea of building is such an exciting one, that finally got me across the line.

So after our first visit, we visited again the following day and signed contracts that week. No mucking around, the decision was made! There is some comfort when you do make a decision like this - the certainty of our next step felt good!

Looking up towards the road from the middle of our site

Looking across to our neigbours

Looking down into the convenant area where we cannot build

Welcome! The Journey Begins :)

Hi there! Welcome to our blog! I'm very new at this however I have started this blog to capture our experience building our new home in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I hope you enjoy it!

We are a family of 5 + cat (who thinks he is human) who moved to Brisbane from gorgeous Auckland, New Zealand in October 2010. We love the sun, warmth and family lifestyle of Brisbane and we have decided to set down some roots in this lovely part of the world.

After a year in Brisbane in early 2012, we decided to start looking to buy a house in the area we had settled in. We love our local area, our school and new friends, and so we didn't want to look too far afield. And to be honest, our friends didn't want us to leave either :P

However, after months of searching, we hadn't found a house that:

(a) we both liked;
(b) met our needs as a growing family (just to clarify, the children are getting bigger, I'm not - well I'm trying not to :));
(c) was within budget (or even remotely close!).

Consequently we toyed with the idea of building. Building our own house has always held a special appeal to us. Years ago in NZ we had looked at building, though never did. What excited us about the idea of building now, and then, was the opportunity to build a house that met our needs, was warm and weather-tight, and was well within budget.

There were other reasons that pushed us towards looking towards building over buying.

We had lived in many different properties in NZ, from an old 1920's character bungalow to a 1960's brick & tile to a brand new townhouse. We loved the experience in all of those houses for different reasons, however our favourite house had been the new townhouse for it's warmth, insulation, storage and "clean" feel. It best suited our family life (and the tons and tons of kiddy paraphenalia that comes with our darling babies!).  Consequently we knew that a newer house was more likely to meet our needs (and wants!).

With 2 children who suffer from Asthma, a new house also appealed to me. I discovered in our new townhouse in NZ that their asthma and symptoms improved dramatically. I realised this was due to our ability to minimise allergens in new, well insulated house more easily than in an old house. We were able to keep our house warmer (more of an issue in Auckland than Brisbane I know!) and dramatically reduce dust, mold and mildew.

A final and not small influence on me was the fact that my beautiful parents had built a house back in the 1980's. I was blissfully unaware of the detail or stress of the process at the time, however I do remember the excitement, joy and delight our family experienced when we moved into our new home. For me it was and is something of a right of passage to build our own home, and experience something of the historic "Great Australian Dream" to build (and one day own, maybe?!) our own little slice of Australia.

So building was now our clear preference. Now the focus of our search changed we started visiting vacant blocks and "Knock Down & Rebuild" opportunities. Our weekends evolved to jumping between Home Maker centres and Display Home Villages. Luckily it was so much fun! (the children may say otherwise :)

Our research showed us that building a house in Australia was even more affordable than in NZ, largely due to the strength of the Australian dollar and lull in the building industry in the aftermath of the GFC.

Now it came down to finding some land, finding a builder, and going from there!  TBC .......

I am writing this blog somewhat retrospectively, as we currently have our plans with council and hope to start soon. So I will endeavour to catch up to our current position and share the journey with you!

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy something of this journey too, and can take away even a little something for yourselves.