Builder In Your Pocket

05/04/2020

When design, interpreting the plans and ex*****on fail

14/09/2019

Squeezing an extra day of work into the week.

14/08/2019

Preparing colour selection options for a client.

Selections are one part of building a new home that can quickly blow budgets.

We assist buyers by working with the right products and suppliers, and being creative with feature locations; whilst maintaining the WOW factor and keeping within budget

12/08/2019

When construction doesn't go as per plan..........or the plans were wrong.

05/08/2019

A great article from realestate.com.au with tips on bathroom design

Our top 10 tips are:

1. Towel rails - Make sure you consider where towel rails or ladders will be fixed and ensure the space is sufficient for all bathroom users

2. Lighting and ventilation - Maximise the natural light and ventilation. If this can't be achieved with windows consider a ventilated skylight/ solartube. Ventilated solartubes compared to a solartub with a separate fan reduce the number of fittings on the ceiling, creating a cleaner look

3. Lighting - In addition to natural lighting noted in point 2 above, consider additional lighting above the vanity mirror to avoid shadows when applying makeup

4. Shower tapware - Position the shower mixer/ taps within reach from the shower door/ opening so the shower is able to be turned on while still outside the shower

5. Shower rose - Position the shower rose/ outlet to spray perpendicular to the shower door/ opening. ie not out the door when turned on

6. Shower rose - For large showers (showers over 1.2m x 1.2m or 1.5m x 1m) consider a second shower rose.

7. Storage - Maximise the storage..... you can never have too much. Depending on budget, consider drawers instead of cupboard doors, shaving cabinets and open shelves

8. Tiles - Don't go overboard on feature tiles. Sometimes less is more and a similar (or even better look) can be achieved with a reduced number of features

9. Recessed shower niches - Not only are they practical, they look fantastic. They are a small cost to install, for maximum impact

10. Mirrors - make the mirror a feature. Use shaped mirrors (other than standard rectangular) for a low cost WOW factor

We asked two experts for their top tips on bathroom tile ideas, advice on decorating bathrooms, tips on small basins and more.

03/08/2019

When looking at purchasing land to build on, there are many factors which can increase the cost of construction. One of these is the topography (slope or fall), which is often overlooked.

The amount of fall can add considerable costs and even blocks which 'look flat' or have a flat portion which looks like it's where the house can be built, can have additional requirements and costs.

Site inspections by Builder In Your Pocket, include reviewing the fall, calculating the building pad level, driveway gradient, retaining requirements, additional earthworks, potential rock issues and determining the best construction method (ie slab on ground or split level home design).

This photo was from a recent site inspection for a client who was talking to builder's about slab on ground house designs. The block has approximately 5.5m of fall front to back and 3.5m of fall across the proposed building pad. After discussing with the client the additional requirements for slab on ground construction and showing the cost comparisons and advantages of a split level design, they chose to go split level.

Builder in Your Pocket helped the happy client with the preliminary design to get the best design to suit the slope

31/07/2019

Onsite today completing an inspection for some land prior to purchasing. Builder In Your Pocket site inspections include review and feedback on:
- site constraints - including earthworks, retaining, existing and neighbouring structures and services. This includes providing budget figures for requirements.
- Planning constraints
- Optimum energy efficient and solar orientation for the home design
- Potential views
- Developer covenant/ building guidelines.
In this case the lot had views the owner was not aware of and we redesigned the home to catching city views.

Do you want advise prior to securing block of land? or have you purchased already and want to check the site requirements?

30/07/2019