Andrew's blog

So Andrew and I have decided to finally build on the section we've owned since 2004.

We don't tend to take decisions lightly. So in coming to this decision, over the years we've spoken to: 2 Architects, 3 Designers, 1 Draughtsman and 4 Design and Build Companies. Not to mention the hours of online research, visits to suppliers, reviewing pamphlets and checking out showhomes etc. I've also had hours upon hours of fun coming up with 30-odd designs using Inkscape - The BEST free and open source vector drawing software available.

Having just spent 18 months project managing a major international 7 day conference, linux.conf.au 2010, we decided we would not project manage the house build. So, we've decided to go with a design and build company. We took their design and tweaked it (using Inkscape) to better suit our section, and came up with this:

Now we have the design, it's time to work out how we're going to pay for it. Thanks to our mortgage broker, we're now pre-approved to value x. The Design and Build company has estimated the pricing as x minus $5,000. The only way to get the actual price is to draw up the working drawings, which of course costs money. So here's hoping the Design and Build company is accurate in their indicative pricing!

So to help the build fit the budget, we've started looking into supplying some of the materials ourselves and getting in our own tradesmen...I find myself wondering, if something looks like project managing the build and smells like project managing the build, is it not project managing the build? Sigh. We may be in for a long 3 months (apparently the build will take only 3 months, but I will not hold my breath).

A while back, we were lucky enough to be introduced to a man who owns a subdivision down the road from us, who happens to have a hole that he needs to fill. Conveniently, our section is made up of the kind of rock that fills holes in subdivisions. So naturally, we struck a deal and lodged an application for resource consent to complete some earthworks on the site. The Council should be granting the application any day now. So we've had to move fast on the build process so that we'll know what earthworks to do as soon as the application is granted.

So to help us with the build so far, we have:

• A design and build company, who has provided the... initial design we based our custom design on, and who will provide... some of the materials and... some of the tradesmen
• A Mortgage Broker, who has sorted out the funding;
• An Engineer, who is ready to go out on the site to check the stability of the build platform and to advise us of the gradients of the land for the earthworks;
• A Valuer, who is valuing the plans.

Next on the list, a surveyor, who will tell us the topography of the land.