Carpet Options

If you walk into a carpet retailer and say you have kids and dogs, they will point you straight to SDN (Solution Dyed Nylon) for stain resistance and high traffic areas. In our case we started with a particular Carpet Call store that was recommended by Rycon and soon found that the options were rather limited given we were after a shade of grey. As a double whammy, most wool/wool blend carpets will have various earth tones only, but if you're after grey that is not (brownish-grey) you will invariably end up with a SDN.

We eventually found a Tuftmaster SDN 60oz carpet with a colour called Gothic 990 which was supposedly exclusive to another supplier, so were about to credit the carpets to go to the other supplier until we found out the 'trick of the trade'. It seems suppliers will provide carpets to retailers under an exclusive only 'range' that leads you to believe they are the only provider. A quick search of the exact colour may lead you to other retailers who have the carpet you are after under another 'range' and Carpet Call were able to source this range after all.

Online Carpet is a good reference for pricing

For the underlay we chose the heaviest Airstep Supa Blue to add that super plush feel; we'd highly recommend upgrading your underlay given the cost is negligible (specifications)

Summary of underlay options and good site for getting an idea on pricing Online Carpet Underlay

Rycon built home for sale in Glen Iris

Came across another Rycon home for sale in Glen Iris link.

Framing lower levels done

Panorama of current progress...

Colour Selection Resources

 Colour selection, by far was the most painful part of the process.  Although it was fun to begin with, it will quickly do your head in and colour consultants can be helpful but the best advice we can offer is to collect heaps of magazine cut-outs of colour schemes that you find appealing and start from there.  One thing we found is that the volume builders (ie. Metricon, Porter Davis, Simonds, Burbank, Glenvill...etc...) do colours well as they employ teams of designers/architects/consultants to formulating their range & do al the hard work for you, so checkout their websites - most have good facade finder tools.  'Display Home Magazine' is a good one to flick through to see different colour schemes used by boutique through to volume builders.

Here are some handy resources we found to help with colour selection:

• Order Colorbond swatch samples here
• Metricon Studio M envisage to help with colour selections here
• Find colour swatch information here

New B&D Timbercoat Colours

We're trying to finalise all the colour selections and it's not getting any easier. We drove to the B&D display in Kilsyth where they have the new Jarrah Timbercoat finish on display. Jarrah looked too red for us and the cedar was too light. We're thinking the Merbau is the way to go. Now I just need to see an example.

Wiring, Switches, Dimmers, Powerpoints

Most of the upgrades on electricals were the addition of powerpoints, downlights, lights, switches, etc. The standard inclusion were Clipsal slimline, that look pretty good, but I was able to upgrade all switching mechanisms to Clipsal Impress to add that touch of class, not to mention how handy they will be for finding the switch in the dark. I know a lot of people spend a lot of money on C-Bus or Saturn switches, but I came across some info that said there are some aethestic limitations, particularly with 3 way switching. For example, a light switched elsewhere may not trigger the lighting in a Saturn/C-Bus 3-way switch. Our electrican knew exactly what I was talking about and said they have to provide additional wiring as a workaround, so even more reason to stick with the basic slimline and add impress mechanisms.

Pushbutton Universal Dimmer with IR remote

Clipsal Slimline with Impress

Impress Mechanism

Clipsal Powertainment 6 way with data/tv

Cedar Bath Mats

The house hasn't really started and we're already thinking about furnishings, odds & ends (getting a bit excited now!). We both liked the idea of cedar bath mats as they will not rot or produce mould and found a supplier in QLD Eumundi Cedar - this guy makes them locally, has set sizes & will also do custom sizes.  He uses stainless steel screws & rubber supports which is far superior than cheaper mats we've found. For anyone that's been to the Eumundi markets, 20ks from Noosa, it's a beautiful area and it's good to know they're made locally.

Schweigen BR500 Ducted Exhaust System for Drying Room

We picked up the exhaust fan for the drying room today and were surprised at it's size, or lack thereof but we are assured it's performance is exceptional.

The idea for a drying room came about due to the odd shape of the house, as one side of the house steps in several times and it was the perfect way to utilise an alcove. The obvious choice was to run the heat/cool vent into the drying room, but this tends to create excessive moisture in a confined space, possibly resulting in mould and moisture damage to the surrounds. We thought it better to pull air through using an extraction fan, imitating the current Asko drying cabinet design link.

After reviewing the details today, I may have gone slightly overboard with the BR500. Hopefully that means the clothes will dry much quicker ;)
Asko air movement 200 m³/hr, with approximate drying time for full load 120mins.
Schweigen BR500 using 150mm flex duct should attain between 550m3/hr to 650m3/hr

Charcoal Roof & Monument Fascia Gutters

Choosing the bricks as a starting point was reasonably straight foward, we knew what we liked and decided on the Daniel Robertson London bricks.  It's worth getting the opinion of your brikky or builder on mortar colour, as this can greatly change the look & feel of your facade.  For the Daniel Robertson London brick we chose, a light grey mortar really brings out the blue/grey, which is exactly the modern cool palette we were after.  Had we gone with a 'natural' mortar, the bricks would've looked more brown/tuscan - giving our home a completely different facade all together.  Render colour will also impact the overall look, so choose wisely.  the more sample pots you get, the better!  And make sure you view them next to the bricks (as many as you can get a hold of) & at different times of the day, in & out of direct sunlight.

Light Grey Mortar

Natural Mortar

For roofing tiles we decided on the charcoal (again, to bring out the blue/grey of the bricks).  You'll find the sample almost looks black but this is misleading as we soon learnt they look much lighter on a roof so ask the manufacturer for addresses so you can do some drive-by's; that's the only way to see the true colour. The only colorbond option for fascia's and gutters which complements our colour scheme is monument, so we've been looking for examples of the two. Now the hardest part... the render colour?

Bristile Classic Charcoal Roof with Colorbond Monument Fascia & Gutters

Toilets & Basins

For toilets and basins we were advised to see Reece Bathrooms and make our selection. Although they had some fantastic stuff, the items we liked were out of our price range. The other thing that surprised me was the amount of 'Italian' themed products that were in fact made in China. I assumed that most of the Caroma products were Australian made, but apparently this isn't always the case.

I was trying to find a particular basin and came across a company called Gemini Industries. We found they had a good range of stylish products at a reasonable price. I think you can get them through Reece or Bourne, but they are not commonly found on display. We asked our builder to source them. For the powder room we wanted something a little different/special and sourced a semi-recessed oval basin online.

Heart Flush to Wall

Quado 450/600/900mm available

Studio Bagno Ovo Basin for the Powder Room

Base bricking, garage slab, subfloor

Whilst we've been finalising the electrical and kitchen variations, the guys have been hard at work with the house. The base bricking was done, followed by the garage slab, concrete stumps and sub-floor.

Update on the rangehood, from Schweigen to Whispair

We were almost about to buy the Schweigen WM2190-SP 900mm rangehood when a sales rep mentioned the advantages of baffle filters, rather than the mesh type.

             

• More airflow
• Easier to clean
• More robust
• No oil drip
• Less noise, but can create hum if not setup properly

We also learnt that the tapered shape offered much better airflow than the flat canopies.

After further investigation we found a relatively new brand on the market Whispair. Someone mentioned that Whispair was started by an ex-Schweigen director/owner, but this could be pure speculation. After contacting Schweigen we got an interesting answer regarding noise and designs, but essentially their product won't be out  till later this year.

We have now purchased the Whispair London with Pro Plus motor - http://hausappliances.com.au/w5l09s.html
It's very similar, with minor improvements - LCD display (possible point of failure), dual halogen lights, baffle filters & higher airflow with Pro Plus motor.

NOTE: You won't get a discount on this brand as they have the same distribution model as Miele.

Concrete Roof Tiles - Bristile or Boral, Colour & Profile?

I thought the roof tiles would be an easy decision, one that 'may' require an upgrade to the 'premium' range, but confined to a range of colours and styles that would simplify the decision making process. Arghhhh...

Our builder's inclusions are from the Boral traditional or classic range, so I jump on their website and browse through the prestige range. Carbide or Tungsten look pretty good, but will no doubt come at a price. In the meantime my wife collects some samples from the classic range and we soon realise that the colours are not what they appear to be, especially when put on the roof. Our own little theory suggests that the roof colour is the exact opposite to the wall colour, a slight increase in colour on the walls is magnified 10 fold, whilst a slight increase in the roof colour makes 1/10 of a difference.

We started looking at greys or shades of grey and soon realised that most looked the same once on the roof, so we're now looking at black (Boral Ebony or Bristile Charcoal).

Boral display centre example of  colours in shingle, striata, contour, etc.

Bristile Display Centre Dandenong

Classic Gun Metal

Classic Charcoal

Prestige Tungsten

Prestige Titanium

Talking to the supervisor he had a good point, house's that have a large roof area visible when entering may justify the upgrades, but a block sloping to the front for example is pointless, as you can barely see the roof.

Driving around and looking at various homes with new roofs another glaringly obvious fault appeared, that any shingle profile roof (flat) shows any small variances in the squareness of the tile and the quality of the workmanship when being layed. This was confirmed by Boral, who said that the installers need to ensure they start with a very square cut shingle tile, otherwise the whole row will be out, the supporting beams obviously need to be aligned and that there are small variances in the manufacturing process resulting in tiles that aren't always perfectly square.

This is where the striata or patterns come into play, they hide the small nuances that one might notice. Our current options seem to be to leave it with the Bristile Classic Charcoal (looks black) which has a 'Shake' profile or upgrade to a Boral Striata Ebony which is a flat profile.

Update - after seeing the Bristile display we think the Classic Charcoal is the way to go. The colour is quite dark, the shape hides small nuances in laying and they're glazed at each end properly.

A bit of bling!

Here's the list of parts I ordered for the berg whilst I was in the US;

• Husaberg Frame Protection Set 09-10  
• PHDS Progressive Handlebar Damping System  
• Husaberg Neoprene PDS Protector
• Husaberg Exhaust Plug (Blue)  
• Husaberg Airbox Cover (Blue) 09-10
• Husaberg Rear Brake Rotor Guard (Blue) 
• Husaberg Billet Case Guard 08-11  
• Pro Taper Pillow Grip (Blue)
• Husaberg Billet Fuel Tank Cap Vent (Blue)  
• Husaberg Factory Fuel Tank Cap (Blue)  
• Husaberg High Seat (Blue) 09-10
• KTM Front Wheel Axle Pull 26mm  
• Husaberg Pro Bend Handguards by Cycra 
• Pivot Pegz Mark 3 KTM/Husaberg  
• P3 Carbon Fiber Pipe Guard Husaberg 08-11

P3 Pipe Guard - the carbon fibre is actually thick enough to take a hit

Pivot Pegz Mk3

Billet Disc Guard

Billet Fuel Cap

PHDS with Renthal Fatbars and Cycra Hand Guards

70 Degree Racing map switch, kill switch rewired as start button

Trail Tech Striker tucked well in behind headlight

Talking of bling, this has to be one of the best I've seen courtesy of Bunbury KTM in WA

Taber 450

Brick laying has started

It seems the brick layer was keen to get started, so work began earlier this week. Here you can see the rear wall of the house and the rear of the garage. It looks like the brick layer has sorted the Daniel Robertson London bricks to ensure we get a good variation across each wall.

We chose a light grey mortar, that contains white sand, oxide and mortar. Apparently white sand is not white, rather slightly yellow. 

Bricking Started

White Mortar Sand

Rycon built home for sale in Balwyn

My sister came across an add for a Rycon built house for sale in Balwyn, yet another french provincial in the area. Looks pretty nice, especially the floorboards link.

Spotted Gum?

Satellite Mapping - Nearmap

When we look at real estate online, we often find ourselves zooming in on Google Maps. It helps to get a sense of the place relative to the neighbours and all the amenities. A friend suggested I try Nearmaps and after a quick search I would have to agree it's far better. The images are taken every few weeks or months on a timeline, the new images are better quality and it's got a freaky multiview mode where you can look from each side link.

Site Panorama

Android market had 10c specials this week and I came across a little app called Pano link. Here is the result using a Galaxy S with Pano app. Pretty good considering it only took a minute to do. The smart thing about it is that it overlays the end of the previous photo, so you can align them visually whilst taking the next in the sequence.

Site cut, foundations, drainage & now the bricks have arrived

In an effort to get started before Christmas, it's been full steam ahead. In the last 2 weeks they've done the following;

Site scraped and small cut behind garage

Site surveyed, foundations poured 

Bricks arrived onsite

All drainage connected, including stormwater pit