A long 6 months later...a contract has been signed!!

I'm going to get to the good stuff first and show the working drawing floorplans and explain the incredible 6 month delay to get to this point after.

Click any picture for larger resolution. Some things to note are:

• Once entering the house, overlooking the pool there will be an immediate view of Mt Tamborine  
• An added built-in desk so I can work while overlooking the pool 
• Both bathtubs look at western views while soaking
• Separate access to the pool from the master bedroom
• Indented area in garage for either a mudroom bench/storage or fridge/freezer (TBD)
• Covered alfresco area extending slightly past the railing. Pool is not covered. 

The front of the house - notice how the door isn't where you'd think 

but instead "hidden" and protected.

The overall house on the block

Side elevation (North) 

The rear (west) and south elevations 

And now...I would have loved to post something more exciting house-building news months ago, but honestly the stress levels were high due to unforeseen circumstances with this build! AHHHH!! But all is right in the world now. :)

After doing more investigation on that huge 9m slope (see previous post from July), it was determined that the existing soil was too unstable to build on. Greaaaaaaat...

So as a result, after months of consulting with engineers and our builder, a solution has been found which now involves REMOVING almost all of the dirt on the slope to make the problem just go away. Simple, right? No wait, that costs money! There's a good side to it though - that dirt being removed can be used to level out the bottom of the lot AND the entire area under the alfresco will now be flat which allows for storage or even a nice sitting area eventually. Unfortunately, the pool in the middle of the house was going to be built into that same slope and now virtually floating in mid-air which means it will have to be built up with concrete forms.

It's unladylike (who am I kidding? I'm not a lady) to mention the costs of all of this so all I will say is that we got the lot at a bargain price knowing that there may be additional costs to make it work. That thought makes the delays and additional costs sting a little less.

In mid-December, we finally signed the house build contract after the solution was found and revised pricing was done. The plans (see below) are officially with the Gold Coast City Council for approval and we have been told to make appointments with the tiling and carpet companies and then meet with our builder's colour coordinator. We have made progress and there's something to report!! Sweet, sweet progress!

It has been mentioned that ground will officially break the first week of February but I'm expecting closer to the 3rd week because that's how things go here in typical, relaxed Queensland fashion. It is expected it will take 224 days from the ground breaking to move-in. Honestly, I'll be ecstatic if we have a house to move into by Christmas 2015!

Stay tuned for future posts with updates on interior choices and who knows, anything else that happens (good or bad!).

Mel

Getting closer to the plan!

In March 2014, Brian and I purchased a 2000m2 lot on the Gold Coast. The views facing west are absolutely spectacular and although the lot wasn't exactly what we were looking for, the sweeping views sealed the deal.

In the distance is Eagle Heights (Mt Tamborine) and we overlook a quaint valley/paddock where horses and cows roam. The top part of the lot is flat and about halfway in, there's a huge 9m drop to another somewhat flat space below. Many previous prospective buyers were turned off by this - hopefully we won't regret it (shall I eat my words now? or later? I hear regretful words can be delicious if you add honey).

The view facing south - it doesn't look like it, but that drop is 9m. Good tobogganing hill, wrong country.

Fortunately, the bottom of the lot has lots of space for the kids to play and dogs to poop - good thing it's Brian's job picking that up. ;)

After weeks of meeting with a variety of builders and deciding whether to build a single story or split-level into the slope, I actually designed a plan myself from a few existing house plans and we took it to builders to get pricing. The plan is a single story on the upper flat part of the lot. The alfresco area will slightly overhang the slope which is great for dramatic effect. We have narrowed it down to 2-3 builders.

One of the things that were important to us were having the living area and master bedroom facing west (for the views) along with an alfresco/deck which also takes advantage of the view and sunsets. With this design, once you walk in the front door, you look directly out over the pool and see the mountains. Stunning! An extra bonus is that while in the pool, you also have a view instead of the pool being tucked away on the side of the house. It's now a main feature of the house design!

I created the plan using software called Home Designer Suite - it was surprisingly easy to pick up after several hours worth of fiddling around, wine and extensive swearing. It also does 3D modeling so here's a "doll house" view of the rough layout. I think it looks pretty good (*toots own horn*). This was about 6 hours of work and had me dreaming about it in my sleep. Ha!

View looking from the front (facing west). I even managed to squeeze in my piano!

View looking back into the house.
Check out the amazing entertaining alfresco with Brian's prized propane and charcoal BBQ's.
I still can't figure out why he needs two but there they are. You're welcome, Brian.

Hopefully in the next week we will have decided which builder to go with for this custom plan and get the ball rolling down that 9m drop! Lots of work (and patience required) in the coming months!

And 100 bonus points if Brian and I are still married in a year's time. Juuuuuuust kidding! :) x