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Selections...

What a hectic week. The past few weekend has been driving from supplier to supplier to work out how we want the finish of the house to look. The builder has a few preferred suppliers for things such as appliances, tapware, electricals, cabinets, bricks, carpet, tiles etc.

Since the builder is an independent builder, they do not have their own studio like most project builders have. For some of the selections we must visit a store before hand and select from the range of finishings so that the supplier can quote and once we are happy with the price, they will incorporate the fittings into kitchen/bathroom cabinets. So the builder would give us an allowance on most areas of the house, it was our responsibility to visit the store and spend the allowance. Our aim was to stay as close to that allowance as we could. If the spend was under the allowance, than the builder would keep the remaining amount, if we exceed the allowance, then we would have to pay the excess.

The first place we organised was appliances. Here we had to arrange a meeting with the commercial section or RT Edwards. Consultation are by appointment only, which we found was strange. So we went in and had a look at the selection. We did some research before hand, and had a preference for Electrolux range of appliances. Aesthetically, Electrolux looked great. Even at the meeting, they were not able to give us prices, since they had to work out what the builders discount would be.

Next we visited Reece Plumbing for sinks and tapware... and OMG there was such a selection to make. You could go for the classiest taps, which were expensive. We had to restrict ourselves a bit. The retail prices were not too bad for a single fixture, it was when they had to be multiplied out that the damage was felt. Again the prices that they gave us was only retail price, and the builder discount would have to be determined.


The only selection we could do are the carpet supplier was to ask what the builder range was and make a selection from this if we were happy with it. Ideally we wanted something as plush as we could. Since having a two storey house meant little feet pounding the floors above us, it would assist on absorbing as much noise is possible. Again an allowance was given, and there was no idea if we would exceed it, so we stayed within the allowed range. Here we would also select window covering for the house. We had agreed on roller blinds with total block out.

The tile supplier was going to be the most exciting part of the selection. Again we were given a category to select from, we had always wanted porcelain tiles, and this time around we would have the opportunity to select these from a limited range that they had.

The brick selection was a strange one. The range that was allowed for, only had 3 colours to choose from. Even though the brick supplier said that the costs were similar we did not know if were able to source from outside the range.

Last was the consultation at the builder office with their designer to work out colours and styles. We stepped through the contract and what allowances were made. Prior to this we visited new estates, display homes and just driving around looking at colour schemes to incorporate into the final design. Last time we build we selected a fairly dark scheme, this time around we would try to keep it light, with plenty of whites. With a fascade that I had always wanted, I wanted this project to be flawless with the best that we could afford. This time around was a bit more easier, because we weren't disadvantaged by selecting multiple colours. With the project builder once you start asking for more colours in benchtops, laminates, or tiles, they start charging you more. We didn't expect this much flexibility and it caught us by surprise, although we didn't want much in the way of mixing colours, we still wanted a consistent scheme throughout the house. We kept it fairly simple.

The only thing missing from the appointment was the electrical selection. We were told we would have to confirm it once the drafting had been completed. With most of the selection, finalisation would be done with a site meeting before the contractor would make a start at the house.

So below is a list of colour schemes we decided on both inside and out.
External tiles (left), Floor Tiles (centre), Feature Tiles (right), Bricks (top left), Carpet (top left)
Externals
Benches and Cupboards
Internal Walls


After reviewing the prices of the plumbing and appliances we were surprised at how much we exceeded the allowance. We began cutting costs where we could. There were certain things we wouldn't compromise on, but with the plumbing stuff. We hardly budged on any of our selections. With appliances, we asked if we could shop around, as we didn't think we were getting a good price from RT Edwards, we did research online and in store. Lastly we saw that Harvey Norman were having a giftcard promo. So depending on how much you spend you would receive 10% back in storecard credit. This ended up being the most affordable means of buying the appliances, even though the quote already beat the quote received by RT Edwards. Below are a list of appliances we bought.




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