As I've mentioned before, I (Holly) am currently in process of building my very own home (well my boyfriend is doing most of the building, I'm the new apprentice)!
We originally purchased our block on the Mornington Peninsula in November 2009 (I know, saaa long ago), we then went on to save an eff load of money so we could build our home 'owner-builder'. So to be an owner-builder you need to have at least 20% of the house construction costs plus an additional 20% overhead (basically because when you do it yourself you're more likely to go over budget).
About two years after we purchased the block (circa January 2012), we got our plans drafted up. So surprisingly we spent the entire 2012 re-drafting our plans, getting them approved by council, amending the existing planning permit for the land, obtaining a building permit and finally getting finance approval. Phew, that is a long list and yes, it really did take us all year.
So come 2013 we have some serious ants in our pants and are ready to roll!
Here's a little montage of what we've completed thus far:
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| BEFORE PHOTO: This is pretty much the block as we bought it (there was a little cubby where those four stumps are but we gave it away). That hideous thing down the very back is a portable toilet - well there is a real toilet in there, for when construction starts. 19/01/2013 |
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| The block has been cut here to allow for the construction and all those braced posts are for a retaining wall (I used the nailgun for this, I'm pretty tough). 09/02/2013 |
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| Concrete stumps in! 16/02/2013 |
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| Concrete slab in for garage. 19/02/2013 |
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| Bearers and joists going in 23/02/2013 |
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| Bearers and joists done! 23/02/2013 |
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| Me cutting foil board (floor insulation). I'm looking saaa hot here hahahaha 02/02/2013 |
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| Foil board in and chipboard going down 02/02/2013 |
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| The last of the chipboard 02/02/2013 |
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| Finally all the chipboard is down - the boys are marking out the rooms 02/02/2013 |
This weekend (yep, we're pretty much limited to weekend work) the frames are being built, so hopefully I'll be able to walk into all the rooms and really get a feel for the house... and how to decorate it!
Just so you can get a feel for where we live, here are some recent pics of the beach near our block (3km away). We might live a good hour of so from Melbourne, but look at what we get instead...
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| Your basic 'just before the Summer storm' pic 29/11/2012 |
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| Gorgeous day at the beach 03/03/2013 |
If you have any stories about when you built your home, I would love to hear them xx
Building your home from scratch? This will be a long journey for all of you. But I've read your update last April and seen that you finished the framing and roofing. It's a good progress, and I hope it will keep that way for you to finish it according to your schedule.
ReplyDeleteKayce @ EasyWayBuildingBrokers.com.au
It's exciting to build your own dream house, especially if you see it getting into shape each day. It's going to take a couple of months, or a year maybe, but I'm sure that it's worth all the wait. Who made the design, by the way? And it's already July; how's everything going on?
ReplyDeleteNothing is more exciting and adventurous than building your dream home from scratch! Though it will surely take quite a long time, I'm confident that it's all going to be worth the wait. I hope that the construction will go smoothly. Congrats in advance!
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