We were unable to make it to Kellyville last weekend (Saturday was spent with poor Mick recovering from the horror that was getting carpet laid with a bad back) but we did meet with Fairmont.
The meeting went well and they are going to draft up some design ideas based on their Dominico 37 (with a 40 MKII upstairs) according to what will fit on our block. We should hear from them by Wednesday and I will keep you posted. Let me tell you that if we had the space (and money), we would build their display home (Dominico 40 with MKII upstairs configuration) almost exactly as displayed…but 40 squares is a little big and $397,000 (to build as displayed) is a bit much. Oh well, Mick and I are tentatively excited to see what they come back with (we knocked on wood several times today at lunch discussing it). Once we have a basic design we like, they will price it, then when we settle on the price, we will look at paying money for full plans to be drafted.
Good news too is that they are willing to allow us to have our own qualified tradesmen lay flooring and do data cabling. Another positive is that it was very evident that Tom (Fairmont CEO and Builder) knows the Estate Guidelines very well!
On an anecdotal note, its funny the strange place we are in with regards to our thinking. Because we were so far along the timeline with Rawson we’re in “finishes mode” thinking about brick colour, kitchen cabinetry, windows, internal colours etc …but we no longer have a house design. Talk about putting the cart before the horse!
Below are the plans we like and that Fairmont are re-configuring to fit on our block:
Lastly, some words of wisdom, we felt important to share, for those undertaking a build for the first time: Don’t be fooled by the finish of a Builder’s Display Home (like we were). The price given for the house includes almost nothing of what you see. For instance, (not to pick on Fairmont,as they all do it, but Fairmont's plans and prices are the first to spring to mind) the Dominico 40 on display at Gregory Hills’ starts at $334,970…to build it exactly as displayed (though still not including landscaping or driveway) costs $397,420. That’s $62,450 worth of upgrades like sky-lights, wooden bi-fold doors, really nice tiles/cabinets/carpet/paint/tap ware, higher ceilings, corner windows, floor-to-ceiling tiling in wet areas, cupboards in laundry, air-con, alarm system, ceiling fans/lights/tiling in alfresco areas, render on façade, balconies etc etc. Depressing, isn’t it?
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How nice is the dominico on display... that outside prep area is the business!!
ReplyDeleteWe used the bricks off that house we liked them so much... also the same bricks that are on the sales office as well.
Wouldn't it be good if the pool came with it!!
I know, the house is really nice. The pool is also gorgeous but we'd need to part with too much budget...and not want any lawn!
ReplyDeleteI also really like the bricks but we can't have them due to our estate guidelines. If we decide to, we can apply to have a dark 'feature' brick, in which case we would most likely get Austral "Iron," which is similar.
Talking about bricks and pools reminds me of how much I am looking forward to this being fun again...hopefully soon. We've already heard back from Tom, which I'll detail in a new post shortly...
Just read that post... sounds like you got some good news.. and yes let me say.. once you get the design and price right - then the fun begins..
ReplyDeleteAlso we added some skylights (like in the display homes) and you can get one that is about half the size of the ones in single display for $500ish... that may help with any light issues you said in your post.
You will see on my blog there we chucked on in the living area as there were no external windows in that spot
On our note we have bricks! and a roof next week hopefully!