Having been through all the design and contract processes with Porter Davis, I can now look back and reflect on what (I think) have been the best structural decisions we have made along the way. In many cases it took several conversations and some real persistence on our part to get what we wanted, but we don't believe we have missed out on anything that was important.
I have ranked these changes in rough order of how important they were to us - from potential deal-breakers to minor tweaks.
Creating an Opening Between the Rumpus Room and the Family Room
For us, this was the big one. In our opinion, the one really big drawback of the Wembley 35 design (as compared the Fullerton 38, which we had also been looking at) was the fact that the downstairs Rumpus Room was enclosed and not part of a broader open-plan living area. We asked Porter Davis if the wall could be removed and were told no. Looking at the engineering drawings, I could see why - it appears that that wall supports part of the upstairs structure.
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| This was the compromise we asked for... |
So, as a compromise, we asked if we could at least have an opening in the wall, to create a 'connection' between the Family room and the Rumpus room. This is an effective design approach we had seen in a number of display houses.
A bit to my surprise, Porter Davis said "Yes you can." And we were happy with that. But then we got thinking and asked a few more questions.
"Can we make the opening really wide?"
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| This is sort of what we will be able to do between the Family and Rumpus rooms... |
Interesting. "Can the opening be from floor height?"
"Yes, it can."
Very Interesting. "Can we make go nearly all the way to the ceiling?"
"Sure, why not."
So now we have an opening that will go almost from one side to the other and almost all the way to the ceiling. Our plan is to install (my wife wants me to build this myself) some open box cabinets, similar to the ones shown in the picture. To accommodate this, we have also widened the wall to about 36cm.
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Build right up to the Property Boundary
The wall of the garage of the house we have knocked down formed part of the northern boundary. During the sales process with both PD and Simonds, we had been told that the house siting could accommodate positioning the new garage wall in the same location.
However, once we got to contract stage, Porter Davis were insistent that they never ever (ever!) built to the boundary of a property, but instead always allowed a 150mm gap. The reason, they cited, was that property boundaries often came into dispute, so building to the boundary was something that they just never did. In retrospect, I have to confess that it sounds like a bit of BS - as the builder, a property boundary dispute has nothing to them.
During the contract negotiation phase, we were disappointed with this, but just kind of accepted it. From our perspective, we were still getting the house we wanted, just 15cm south of precisely where we hoped it would be.
However, it was the local council who had an objection. Due to overshadowing concerns, they insisted that the whole house be moved 15cm to the north, with the garage wall forming the boundary. Given that the council's opinions on this were now delaying the start of construction (and therefore payments to Porter Davis), it was amazing how quickly the plans were redrawn (inclusive of non-intrusive box guttering!) to accommodate this. Suddenly it was AOK to build to the boundary.
No Quad!
One of the things that we disliked the most about display houses with timber floors was the use of quad between the edge of the floorboards and the skirts. Builders do this because (in order to protect them from damage from tradies boots and so on) the floorboards are installed as one of the very last things. This means that the skirts are installed and then the floorboards are installed, not the other way around.
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| Okay, I'm a snob, but I think this looks cheap |
Once installed, to deal with any unsightly gaps between the floorboards and the skirts, a perimeter of quad is tacked down. Call me a snob, but I think it just looks cheap and ugly.
During our contract negotiations, Porter Davis absolutely refused to do this any other way and to a certain extent I can see why - it would be expensive for them to have to fix damage caused to the floorboards. However, we did come up with a happy compromise. We suggested that PD not fit the skirts at all as part of the contract. Instead, they would lay the floorboards to the walls and leave the skirts in the garage for us to paint and fit ourselves after handover. They agreed, and although it creates extra work for us prior to moving in, we think our house will look much better for it.
Extension of the Alfresco to the edge of the Family area
We have extended the Alfresco area to make it a bit bigger, but without going for the "Grand Alfresco" option.
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| The 'Standard' Alfresco Option |
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| Our Alfresco |
Replaced the rear doors with timber bi-fold doors
In addition to the Alfresco extension, we have also replaced the standard rear doors with a 5-panel Timber Bi-Fold Door. The positioning of this is shown in the picture above.
A Cavity Sliding Door to the Walk-In Pantry
We have swapped the swinging normal door out for a sliding door, to create better access and more space inside the pantry for shelving and storage. See picture below.
Removal of the WIP Window
We removed the window in the walk-in pantry so as to allow more bench and shelving space.
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| Walk-In Pantry Changes |
Removal of Wall Next to Walk-In-Pantry Door
We removed this wall as so as to open up the kitchen space a bit more. See picture below.
A Galley Bench for the Kitchen instead of the L-Shaped Bench
We opted for a Galley Kitchen bench, set slightly back from the normal position, so that we could maximise the space in the dining area.
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| Kitchen Changes |
A Power-Point in the Kitchen Bench
Not a structural change, but this was one of the dumbest conversations we had with Porter Davis during the contract phase. We had requested installation of a power point in the island bench and were told, no, that was not possible - something to do with interfering with the dishwasher. Again, as with other discussions, we were persistent and eventually emailed PD a picture from another Wembley 35 blog, where precisely what we were asking for had been done. Suddenly, it could be done and was included in our contract.
A Sliding Cavity Door to the Laundry
One weakness (in our opinion) of the Wembley 35 is that the laundry is not particularly big. As a family with three sprogs, we produce a lot of dirty clothes and mess, so a bigger laundry never goes astray. So, to maximise the storage and working space in the Laundry, we have installed a cavity sliding door.
A Door to the 'Lounge' instead of an opening
We plan to use what Porter Davis call the Lounge as a guest bedroom and home office. So we have replaced the opening from the hallway with a normal door.
A Door from the Garage to the Hallway
The standard plans do not include an internal door from the Garage - we have had one included.
Re-Locate the Windows of Bedrooms 3 and 4 to Face the Rear
We have moved the windows in bedroom 3 & 4 to face the rear of the property, which for us is east.
This also means we have relocated the wardrobe in bedroom 4.
Widening the Garage
Our block is wide enough for us to expand the garage from standard to around 6.2 meters wide. This will comfortably fit all of our family transportation, including cars, trikes, bikes, scooters and space-hoppers.
Rear Roller Door on the Garage
It won't be a huge opening, but we have paid a bit extra to have a rear roller door installed.
Double-Glazing on all Front-Facing Windows
We happen to have a bus stop right outside the front of out property, so we have opted for double glazing to reduce any noise.
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