New House build - Help needed

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574 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2409535 29-Jan-2020 10:22

wellygary:

33coupe:

Garage isnt insulated so I might ask. To increase insulation around the house was about $1300, not sure if have budget for that.

Take the option to increase the insulation!!!!! especially in the walls,

in a house like that its not too hard to get at roof insulation, ( its a bit of PITA, but it can be done by the owner, but once the gib goes on, the wall insulation become uneconomic to touch...

Even if you have to drop/delay something else, in the grand scheme of it, $1300 on house insulation will pay it self back multiple times over the years... (

It looks like he's already quoted for R2.6 in the walls. If I understand things correctly (and I'm 100% no expert!!), you can only go up to R2.8 before you need thicker walls and a much larger cost increase (I'd be curious to know how much though). I can't imagine 0.2 being worth it when compared to how else the money could be spent, but it sounds like the ceiling should be pretty cheap to upgrade compared to the walls.

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Kim587

128 posts

Master Geek

#2409552 29-Jan-2020 10:46

Am I the only one who doesn't know what the Fibre optic smart silver system is?

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2409606 29-Jan-2020 12:32

bfginger:
Change the door on the walk in wardrobe to a cavity slider. I'd make the door to the "studay" a cavity slider too as that room is too small. I think the two children's bedrooms are smaller than ideal.

I wouldn't go overboard on cavity sliders, they're a real pain and should only be used either when you really need the space or when you're going to have them semi-permanently open or closed. For the ensuite it's a fine, I assume it'll mostly be left open, but for other rooms I'd avoid them. There's a reason you barely ever see them in houses.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2409649 29-Jan-2020 12:50

billgates: Electrical looks very very light. No external power points? 1 at back and 1 near the front of house minimum. 18 double power points is very low. Get 2 x double power point minimum in every bedroom. 2 x double power point to TV locations. 2 x double power point in pantry.

Or quads. I've been slowly replaced all the doubles with quads throughout the house, which is how I found out about the not-wired-in MCBs.

Even quads won't be enough for TV and computer locations, you'll either have to resign yourself to having multi-outlet power boards lying on the floor or put in even more power points.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2409650 29-Jan-2020 12:52

As a general note, beware of "if you don't have X you won't be able to sell it" comments. Of course you'll be able to sell it, it just won't be bought by someone who insists their house has a Rumford fireplace / dumbwaiter / gable windows / servants' quarters / ice doors / Hoosier cabinets / etc. Build what you want to build, not what someone else heard someone else say who heard someone else say who heard someone else say who heard from someone somewhere that every house needs an X.

bfginger

1244 posts

Uber Geek

#2409823 29-Jan-2020 19:11

They have said Mitsubishi MSZ GL60VGD R32 6.8KW would do it ($4600). I will ask about ducted heating as I was in doubt about heat getting to the bedrooms.

That isn't a very good model and the price sounds too high. A Daikin New Cora FTXM60UVMZ would be better if you were to get a high wall.

Ducted heating will cost more. The external units for high kW ducted units can be noisy so you have to be careful about placement. External units should never be too close to where you or your neighbours sleep. Ducted installers need to be top professionals or else the system will never work right. The installation is more involved than for a high wall.

Garage isnt insulated so I might ask. To increase insulation around the house was about $1300, not sure if have budget for that.

An internal garage is thermally an outdoor space unless it has an insulated door. If there is no insulation in between the garage and the rest of the house it will freeze the whole house as that becomes like an uninsulated external wall.

If the internal walls don't have insulation the sound goes through them almost like cardboard. $1300 is small relative to the cost of the build but I don't know what aspect of insulation that refers to. It'd be better to delay the heat pump as those are retrofittable but insulation is much harder to change.

I wouldn't touch a Haier dishwasher.

Induction and gas are better to cook with than ceramic electric cooktops. What's specified is bottom of the line. Their 60cm induction cooktop is only another $220. 90cm induction cooktops are a minimum of 400 or 500 on top of that but you already have a 90cm rangehood.

Double glazed aluminium doors & windows with double tongue catches where applicable

Sounds like minimum spec. Get a price for Metroglass XCel low e glass. What brand does the builder use? If it's APL their Thermalheart is a cheap upgrade.

The double tongue latches are almost a placebo effect as they can be opened from the outside. Safety stops with rivets instead of screws do more but they're not so great for fire egress.

As I said, standard New Zealand style single piece awning windows are hopeless at cooling ventilation. Have one atop another or use casements for much better cooling in summer.

1x dishwasher point.

Don't let the electrician place the power point directly behind the dishwasher, I don't think they're supposed to but it happens. I almost had a house fire this way as the installer slammed the dishwasher into the plug. This wouldn't be a problem if companies weren't so stupid to ship dishwashers without flathead plugs.

25x recessed downlights.- LED

Make sure they're a model rated to have insulation over them or else they lose heat. I'd want them on a dimmer, more so as that extends longevity as most models are effectively overdriven by default. LEDs should be dimmed by trailing edge dimmers where possible.

180L hot water tank is very small. You will run out of hot water I would say quite often. Either go minimum 300L or gas califont system for unlimited hot water.

250L should be fine so long as people aren't using high pressure shower heads at full tilt. But I agree 180L is a risk.

blackjack17

1695 posts

Uber Geek

#2409848 29-Jan-2020 20:13

If you want to produce 3d models to see how different options will look this is a pretty good option

http://www.sweethome3d.com/

has a whole heap of options for playing around with furniture and colours as well.

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neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2409858 29-Jan-2020 20:21

blackjack17:
If you want to produce 3d models to see how different options will look this is a pretty good option

http://www.sweethome3d.com/

has a whole heap of options for playing around with furniture and colours as well.

Wow, that's not just a good option it's a great option! When I did my sketch for the architect I used a CAD program which was quite painful, wish I'd known about this earlier.

The only killer is that it's implemented in Java, which means I'll have to find some computer that has that toxic dungpile installed on it.

GregV

928 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2409897 29-Jan-2020 21:21

https://floorplanner.com/ is another option - free version lets you do single storey, and it is very easy to use

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2409952 29-Jan-2020 23:52

GregV:
https://floorplanner.com/ is another option - free version lets you do single storey, and it is very easy to use

Just had a play with it, very nice, and it runs in the browser so there's no need for Java.

33coupe

981 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2410215 30-Jan-2020 13:53

Thanks again for the replies, helps so much. Have changed quite a few things already. Looks like im still stuck on the kitchen though

Family room - I was thinking about cavity slider, think he quoted $1500 though, so a bit put off. I havent thought of tv / speakers positioning yet unfortunately. Will check the windows though as could save some cost there.

Master bedroom, I havent checked but would much rather a bigger bathroom rather than walk in. Dont want wasted space in the middle. ll find out. He did say the bedroom could be rotated, but would mean closing one door (go to ensuite via walk in wardrobe. would have preferred access to toilet from bedroom, but would be room for bedside cabinets if both open.)

Kitchen - Are you thinking L shaped kitchen or U shape? Im toying with the idea of L shape (remove pantry, make bedroom bigger). Would be good to have an island as well, but hard trying to figure out if it will fit in. hmm

Living room - im not sure if the scale of the couch is correct, I need to measure the external wall to the garage wall/hallway to see how much room there is. I'd be happy if 2 small couches or one corner couch fitted.

Ill ask about hwc, cheers for suggestion.

Havent got anywhere near cladding stage, still stuck on first draft plan! haha, but thanks will keep note of that when arises.

He did show a 3d view of kitchen / dining, put it a bit more in perspective. We did just see house with same kitchen and it seems too small. Will try and attach pic.

I am currently working on my own 3d plan so can try different things. Im using ARCHICAD, wished id known about the other ones before lol. Thanks for them though, will use them as well.

Im assuming there is a loft hatch in garage, will check.

Ducted heating would be $15k so thats a no go. I'll check out the other heatpump though. Was also wondering if could have one above garage door entry hallway to get heat to bedrooms?

33coupe

981 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2410219 30-Jan-2020 14:01

33coupe

981 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#2410227 30-Jan-2020 14:20

@bfginger I cant find the Daikin model you mentioned. Do you have any links please?

The Mitsubishi in Smiths City is $2850. Would it be $1750 to install?

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2410228 30-Jan-2020 14:23

33coupe:
Family room - I was thinking about cavity slider, think he quoted $1500 though, so a bit put off. I havent thought of tv / speakers positioning yet unfortunately. Will check the windows though as could save some cost there.

Do read up on the pros and cons of cavity sliders before you settle for them. The two big ones are that you can't put them in a load-bearing wall, and that they're a maintenance nightmare, if you get stuff trapped in the cavity (which sliders tend to do) or there's a failure of some part then there's no easy way to get at it to fix it. So sliders are best for locations where they're semi-permanently open or closed, not where they'll get a lot of use.

Kim587

128 posts

Master Geek

#2410253 30-Jan-2020 14:51

The heat pump price does look on the high side but remember it will include installation to pretty much anywhere in the house; the Smiths price will be for the unit only and the installation package deals you sometimes see advertised will only include a basic 'back to back' installation.

Kitchen comes down to your personal taste really. As someone else said one thing to consider with an L or U shaped kitchen is what to do in the corners. Corner units can be really annoying if not designed well because they can end up being big dark cupboards that you can barely reach the back of. A galley kitchen removes this problem and is probably cheaper, but potentially reduces your storage. Pros and cons for you to consider.

Also even if the garage isn't insulated I'd expect it to have insulation to internal walls. I'd be very surprised if it didn't but when building a house there's no question too small to ask your builder.

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