Insert coin to play

 I am starting this blog with the aim of keeping my sanity throughout the next year.

We purchased a 1950's house in the Bayside area, with the hopes of DIY rennovating, having done some level of reno before.

However, we realised we have bitten more than we can chew on. Thus we started the journey of looking at knockdown rebuilds.

Little did we know how under prepared we were.

Our preferred builder finally came through with costings for a single storey 3 bed, 1 study, 2 bath and double garage being at $685k. This was beyond our budget of $550k. The site has a flood overlay, with the heights varying from 2.6-3m. The finished floor level needs to be at 3.5m. The above costings were for a home with a bricked up garage, and the rest of the home on posts.

The second quote we got was for 525k for a double storey home build on waffle pod slab, however I  was not overly impressed with the finish quality.

So here we are today, going with Metricon. They were the only volume builder prepared to work with a non-standard block.

We initially wanted a double storey home as we did not want to get swamped by either neighbour building a double storey on either side (currently small single storeys). We settled on a single storey due to a 30% cost difference.

Initial deposit of 5k for investigations has been paid.

Verbal confirmation given by broker for affordability.

Arranging demolition of existing dwelling.

Changes to the standard Ella 20:

WC into Powder Room

2700mm ceilings, with doors and ceilings height adjusted

Bigger water tank

Hybrid flooring

Cupboard above fridge

Drive and letterbox

Soft close hinges

Twin shower heads to both showers instead of a single detachable shower head.

Security fly screens

Additional power points and network cabling

'Maine' facade.

Wider patio opening

Stacker door

Single velux in living/dining area

Window in pantry

Site costs have been quoted as 60k, based on a build done on the same street.