Toady, I received the quote back from GJ Gardner. The extra roof for the alfresco fits within my budget so at this stage I have added it in.

The next step for me is to pay for a soil report and site levels for the block. Once I have paid for these things they become mine so that if I decided not to build with GJ Gardner I am able to take these reports to other builders. I will probably do this later in the month. The hope is that I will be able to pay off the rest of my car by the end of March and be ready to apply for finance. Read more »

I finally got some time today after work to go to GJ Gardner and ask about the few modifications I had thought of including the alfresco.

Once again any changes I requested they were happy to make. Things I changed during this visit include:

• Including alfresco in the roofline
• Increase fridge cavity to 1000mm (from 900mm)
• Moved hot water solar panel location to be more efficient
• Added a TV point to the Master Bedroom

(Click for Larger Image) Read more »

Today, my Mother, Uncle (who was visiting from Sydney) and I went to one of the houses that GJ Gardner had nearly finished. Unfortunately, I did not think about taking photos to post on here.

I had previously been into the GJ Gardner Display home in Sale. While I was impressed with the house it was kind of a waste of time for me as most of the things in the house were not standard but premium upgrades. The house we had a look through today was nearly completed all they need to do to finish the house is the retaining walls. Read more »

This afternoon I had my second meeting with the salesman from GJ Gardner. This visit we went through the electricals and made a few minor changes. We went through the locations of power points of which as standard they include one double powerpoint in each room and 3 double power points in the kitchen.

Changes that were made were:

• Added bench space to the kitchen by turning the kitchen into a U shape
• Added storage to the kitchen by adding overhead cupboards
• Moved the location of the Hot Water unit to the south side of the house
• External Gas point for a BBQ

(Click for Larger Image)  Read more »

Today, I received a phone call from the salesman a GJ Gardner with an updated quote after the estimator had looked at our modifications we had done. The price is pretty much the same as the estimate the salesman was able to give me before the modifications had taken place.

I have a meeting with him tomorrow at 5pm to go over the electrical layout and I will have the opportunity then to add in extra power points and choose things like TV points and Phone locations. Read more »

Today, I went past the block and noticed my fence had been erected on the side that the neighbour had sent me a request to build a fence. Below is a picture of the fence:

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After, visiting Metricon yesterday I was not sure whether the $12,000 discount I was offered was a good deal or whether it was just to try to pressure me into putting a deposit down. I was also wondering why Metricon would be able to cut into their margin by $12,000. Either their prices are inflated to allow them to give discounts or they are sourcing their materials cheap.

I had been turning the $12,000 over in my head all day, as I didn’t have long to secure the price I had been offered at Metricon, if it was a really good deal I didn’t want to miss out. I had heard the GJ Gardner ad on the radio when I woke up, then again when I got in the car to go to work and when I got in the car to come home from work the ad was on the radio again. So on the spot I decided to drive past the GJ Gardner office in town and see if anyone was there. Read more »

Last weekend I decided that it was time to start looking at the different builders and maybe go and visit some of them. So I went into the Metricon Display Centre. I was given some info on the plans that would suit my needs and budget, and had an appointment setup for this afternoon to go through the prices in more detail.

Over the weekend and early this week I went through the information I had been given and choose a couple of plans which I liked best to go over in more detail and find out prices.

This afternoon I went back to the Metricon display to get a better idea of prices for the plans that I had picked out. We began by getting the base price of all the plans that I liked. I then choose a plan (Nova 17) that I liked and fitted into my budget and we proceeded to do a quote with any additional inclusions I had. Read more »

Today, I received a request from on of my Neighbours to build a 1.8m Timber fence on one side of my block. Included with the request was a quote from a fencing contractor and a form to sign to say that I would pay for half the cost of the fence.

I had previously received a notice from the council stating that I must cut or slash the block as it is a fire hazard (Grass was about knee-high at the front of the block and waist-high towards the back. I had to have this done by the 11/12/2011. Read more »

Welcome to my House building Blog.

My name is Scott. I am 22 years old and have been saving to build a House for the past 4 years.

Today, settlement occurred for the 1/4 acre block of land I purchased in the Eastwood estate in Bairnsdale. The block is relatively flat with a very slight slope from left to right. Below is a photo of the land taken when I first spotted the block:

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