Wow you guys, I can't believe how far along you all are!!
So, after over 3 MONTHS since the land was settled, I'm finally being handed to construction today. To…

Gosh you're all flying along now! Congrats to those of you in your new houses, it all looks so exciting!
So I haven't had much to report for awhile. Soil came…

You guys are all cracking along now! Can't believe some of you are nearly done! It's so exciting
My land settles TOMORROW!! Ahhhhh it's been a…

Ahhh I'm gonna have to check mine for the glazing too! Although you've just put the idea of plantation shutters in my mind Gaviscon...
So I…

When I was hunting for that map, the dpcd.vic.gov.au website has all the information about zoning, reviews etc. It's a handy website!

Yup, here it is!!
http://services.land.vic.gov.au/maps/bushfire.jsp
If it's in that brown-ish colour, you're in the zone. The zones will be updated again mid-year. I knew from the start that…

Hi all! I've been following you all over the last few months, but haven't really had much to add. Everything has been moving so fast for you guys! I'm looking…

Very scary indeed Pooks! At least they got it sorted quickly for you...

I've gone with Monument too! My roof/gutters/fascias are all super dark, with a sandy coloured main render and a mid-grey coloured contrast render. I blended the garage and door into…

Congrats on the slab Pooks! It'll all happen so fast now
Just got off the phone to the land office, and it looks like my block…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all! I've been quiet of late, but have been keeping up to date with everyone's posts. I'm glad to see there's finally some movement…

The Blackbutt and Spotted Oak from the Manhattan collection are Cat 1 too. That's what I was tossing up between...

Oh yeah Pooks you're right about the ceilings - the conversation basically went 'you want white ceilings, yeah?' and I agreed haha! The whole pre-start day is an absolute blur...…

From my pre-start, the ceilings are a standard white, and you pick a colour from the showroom which is for every wall and every internal door. I was specifically told…

Oh Pooks that's so exciting! You'll have a poured slab before you know it
Ruby I can totally understand that feeling of thinking it's all going…

Gaviscon Girl I'm in the Phoenix 15, which for a small place has a huge open plan kitchen, and the island bench is quite wide too... It's actually what swayed…

Hmmm I got Cat 1 20mm stone for $1830. I've got a large bench area, so I'm assuming it's priced by size, like carpets and roof tiles.... It's hard to…

I'm sorry to hear about al your issues guys! I'll try and shed some light on what I've encountered... As I've been typing this. I've realised how blase I am…

Carpet in the bedrooms and stone in the kitchen were the main ones. I also got the overhead cupboards next to the rangehood. Adding overhead cupboards means they'll tile the…

Gah! I wrote a whole reply about lighting for you _chylatte_ and it never posted! Sorry! OK, here goes again...
Batten fix lights are the standard light fittings you'll see in…

My upgrade to Cat 2 carpet was $521. I assume it's done on a cost per square metre, which explains the price differences.... I've got 32.44 square metres of carpet,…

Congrats Pooks! So exciting for you
Ok, costings:-
Single powerpoint - $50
Double powerpoint - $59, so if you're going for electrical, it's a no brainier to…

Thanks for the tips Pooks! Did your friend say anything about how to go about extra lighting fixtures?
And do they want a job after my place is built?! haha...

Yeah power points and some more light fittings are high on my list of things to upgrade. As are changing the TV points so I can wall mount them... My…

I asked for $5000 to be included in my loan for selections at pre-start.... There's no way I'm going to use that much, but had no idea how much upgrades…

Pre approval is in!!! SO HAPPY! It's such a relief... Now I can relax and get excited about pendant lights again...

Awesome news Pooks! Definitely not long now for you guys. In my contract I've got upgraded facade, elevated ceilings, upgrade from solar to gas hot water, recycled water to toilets…

Hmmmm I'm intrested to see what the upgrade promotion deal is now, considering I'm coming up to pre-start. Man I would've LOVED the kitchen one! I'll keep you all posted...

Pooks that deal you got on the kitchen appliances/bench top/cupboards is INSANE! I was told to expect at least that for the bench top alone... I was leaning towards a…

I spend SO much time looking at pendant lights for the kitchen island bench!! I'd say a good 75% of my house research is dedicated to pendant lights. Looks like…