Colour Selection Appointment 2

Last updated: 08.02.15

For the second colour appointment we were straight into it. Our day started at 9:30am and ended at 2:30pm, our schedule was as follows: 

1. Electrical 
2. Tiles & Carpet 

1. Electrical 

Supplier: HSI (Home Smart Innovations) 

Time taken: 2hrs

Experience: A delightful experience, our consultant listened to our requests and provided us with valid advice and recommendations. Also, we really appreciated that we could visualise the floor plan on the monitor and see a running tally of all the additional costs.

Standard Inclusions / Extras (for the Livingstone 23):
Category	Description	Qty	Extras	Total
Lighting	Batten Holder	17	5	22
Lighting	Junction Box Light	0	3	3
Lighting	Bulkhead Light	1	0	1
Switches	Switch, 1	10	0	10
Switches	Switch, 2	3	0	3
Switches	Switch, 3	3	0	3
Switches	3 Way Switch	0	1	1
Power Point	Socket 1 10A	6	0	6
Power Point	Socket 2 10A	12	15	27
Power Point	Outdoor Socket	0	1	1
Power Point	Junction Box 15A	0	1	1
TV/Phone/Data	Phone Socket	1	0	1
TV/Phone/Data	TV Point	1	2	3
TV/Phone/Data	Data Cat 6	1	3	4
Fans	Exhaust Fan WE	1	0	1
Fans	Heat Fan Light	2	0	2
Safe & Secure	Smoke Detector	2	0	2
Safe & Secure	Motion Detect	2	1	3
Safe & Secure	Additional Keypad	1	0	1
Misc	Key Fobs	0	1	1
Misc	HDMI Cable	0	1	1

Standard Electrical Floor Plan for the Livingstone 23

Electrical Floor Plan Key

Costs & Leads Times: 

Costs are quoted at the time of your appointment, so there is no waiting. All upgrades and corresponding costs for electrical can be found on 'Our Upgrades - Part 2'.

Tips: 

• Ensure you visit the display home and markup your ideal locations of the following items; switches (1-2-3 way), powerpoints, outdoor powerpoints, data 6 points, lighting, fans, gas points, sensors, security keypad, HDMI cables etc. Don't freak out if you're not confident in what you're doing, they do have a standard layout for all of these items. My advice is just to make sure you're confident with all the placements. For example the WIR in the main bedroom we plan to fitout post. The placement of the light switch was on the left hand side as you walk through the door, however we know it would intrude on the space needed for the fitout, so we moved this to sit on right hand side as you walk through the door
• It doesn't cost any extra to have additional switches, however 2/3-way switches do 
• To save costs, strategically place powerpoints on walls which can be double-backed
• Consider what type/colour of powerpoint you'd like for your home.
  We loved that the SC2000 Slimline powerpoints came as standard! 
• Consider if you want single or double power points, if you want one with USB ports
• Consider if you need any powerpoints recessed into the walls or into shaving cabinets
• Consider offsetting bayonet lights for future installation of downlights 
• Consider upgrading your sensor in the garage to be duel tech (heat and motion activated)
• Consider where you'd like junction boxes to be placed for future outside lighting
• Consider adding provisions for fans in the future (noggins and switches) 
• Consider hiding cables from wall mounted TV's via a wall track or HDMI cable
• Consider any other upgrades you'd like to make at this appointment i.e. audio, security, ducted vacuums, doorbell, intercoms, cooling etc. They won't tell if you don't ask!

Here is our electrical plan which we put together prior to our appointment.
This proved to be helpful as our consultant provided great advice and recommendations
from this. It took time to develop, but worth the peace of mind!  

A quick snap during our appointment. 
You can see they use a nice big monitor to help visualise placements!

Final Electrical Floor Plan

Key

SC2000 Slimline Series comes standard! 

2. Carpet & Tiles

Supplier: Di Lorenzo

Time Taken: 2.5hrs (two appointments split; 2hrs tiles and 0.5hrs carpet)

Experience:  Lovely consultants who thankfully agreed with all our colour choices. Consultants were knowledgeable and knew what they were talking about. Also very happy to provide all the upgrade options without really explaining the cost implications.

Decisions to be made:

• Main floor (floor boards, tiles, carpet)
• Bathroom floor, walls, skirting, features
• Ensuite floor, walls, skirting, features
• Kitchen splashback (if not chosen through Kitchen Culture)
• Laundry floor, walls, skirting, splashback
• Porch floor (upgrade) 
• Alfresco floor (upgrade) 
• Floor waste drains
• Grout colour
• Grout width (3mm - standard or 1.5mm - upgrade)
• Tile layout (vertical, horizontal, square, brick pattern)

Our Selections (all of which are upgrades except for the standard neutral grout):

• Main floor tile: Everstone Durastone Grey Steel Honed Porcelain tile 600 x 600 
• Grout colour: Standard neutral (grey)
• Grout width: 1.5mm
• Layout: Square
  
  
• Bathroom feature tile: Casa Dolce Casa Wooden Grey Reclaimed Porcelain tile 150 x 900
• Grout colour: Casa Dolce Casa Silver
• Layout: 1/3 offset (brick pattern)
  
  
  
  
  

• Bathroom wall tiles (to ceiling): Satin White Porcelain tile (300x600)
• Layout: horizontal
• Other: Floor to ceiling in bathroom/ensuite
  
  
  

• Carpet: Redbook Green Natural Haven 91 Thunder (Fibre: Polymer - 37% natural corn sugar)
• Carpet underlay: blue 10mm
  
  
  
  
  

Costs & Lead Times:

All upgrades and corresponding costs can be found on 'Our Upgrades - Part 2'. All selections made with your consultant are passed onto an Estimator at Eden Brae. Unfortunately no costs are confirmed on the day, except the the cost of the tile and whatever 'extras' you can verbally squeeze out of them. If you don't ask they don't tell. Our quote was quick and we had it back within 24 hours, however they estimate within 5 working days. 

Tips:

• Do your homework when it comes to flooring and know your budget! Visit Di Lorenzo as often as you need, seek advice and get a thorough understanding of all the additional cost - as there are lots! Here are some of the additions we incurred:
• To lay larger tiles (>450mm) to main areas $19.80/m2
• Underlay charge for larger floor tiles (>250mm) in wet areas $24.50/m2
• Labour to lay wall tiles above standard height in bathroom $48/m2
• Upgrade to 1.5mm grout (vs 3mm) $19.80/m2 (1.5mm standard on walls w/ porcelain)
• Labour to lay coloured grout $15/m2 (plus a small fee for the coloured grout)
• Labour to lay tiles in an off-set (brick) pattern $16.50/m2
  
  For example, say you decide to lay 600mm x 600mm tiles with a 1.5mm grout on the floor in the main bathroom (so in a wet area), you would be charged;
• + $24.50/m2 (underlay charge for wet areas) 
• + $19.80/m2 (1.5mm grout charge - standard colour) 
• + cost of the tile (ours was $50/m2)
• - less the standard tile discount ($24/m2) 
• x times by the floor area (don't forget to include the skirting tiles if applicable).
  
  See how it can get out of control!
  
  I know I said to see the 'Our Upgrades Part 2' for costs breakdown, however I thought I'd save you to click so you have all the information on the one page. Here were our costs -
• Main floors inc. wet areas and skirting excl. bedrooms: Everstone Durastone Grey Steel Honed Tile 600 x 600 ($50/m2), including labour, 1.5mm grout joint, and supply of additional conflex glue (97m2) - $9,306.40 (excludes credit of $24/m2 = $-2,328)
• Feature tiles in main bathroom and ensuite (full wall): Casa dolce casa Wooden Tile Grey Reclaimed 150 x 900 ($103/m2), including labour to lay above standard height, offset pattern, coloured grout (11m2) - $2,470 (excludes credit of $24/m2 = $-275)
• Floor to ceiling tiles in main bathroom/ensuite: White Satin Tiles 600 x 300 ($35/m2), including labour and silicon. Grout comes as 1.5mm as standard (36m2) - $3,342 (excludes credit of $24/m2 = $-314)
• Square stainless steel tile insert smart waste drain - $38ea
• If you decide to run tiles from floor to ceiling in your bathroom (so above standard height) be mindful of the additional call out fees incurred from Eden Brae (that's right, in addition to what I have already mentioned above)! 
• Return trip for plasterer to fit cornice to wet areas $384
• Additional house cleaning $250 - $300
• Following from above bullet point, we upgraded at tender stage to run a feature wall (inc. mirror) beyond the bath hob to the ceiling in the main bathroom (as per the display home) for $962. This cost for us included the additional call out fees!
• Watch out! As just mentioned, we upgraded to have a feature wall in the main bathroom. In the display home the feature tiles run over the bath hob and continue straight up the wall to the ceiling. However, as it turns out the cost in the upgrades list only relates to the wall beyond the bath hob to the ceiling, so not the bath hob! We unfortunately were lumped with the extra costs to cover the hob.
• If you're keen to upgrade to 1.5mm grout throughout be mindful that ceramic tiles often have a non-rectified edge so they're generally laid with 3mm grout. I'd suggest checking this information with Di Lorenzo so you're not disappointed! 
• Get an understanding of the different types of tiles available (ceramic vs porcelain). Ensure you look through the entire show room as they may have a cheaper alternative. Consider visiting the Di Lorenzo Redfern as they may stock a different tiles (this is where we found ours!)
• Understand your carpet requirements. Learn the difference between the different fibers (nylon, wool, polypropylene, blends) each have very different qualities and properties that will ultimately lead you into making your decision. Highly recommend reading the Choice review.
• Highly recommend upgrading to the 10mm carpet underlay ($8/m2). Frankly there isn't much of a difference between the 3mm (standard) and 5mm ($5/m2) underlays.
• If you can, request a sample! This really helped us out!
• Otherwise, feel free to check out the 'Standard Inclusions' page which shows more of the standard tile and carpet options from Di Lorenzo.  

Di Lorenzo Showroom, Bella Vista.

Di Lorenzo Showroom, Bella Vista. 

Di Lorenzo Showroom, Bellavista.

This is one of the racks containing the standard builders
ceramic floor tile range - 450x450mm! Eden Brae's range is
represented by the yellow dot.

Pictured here is the builders carpet range, plenty to choose from!
All carpet options here are 100% nylon and have a 5-7 year warranty. 

Standard drain waste (top)
Smart drain waste 'Bermuda Tile Inset' (bottom)

All of the drain waste options to choose from...who would have thought!

Final thoughts and wrap up
A less stressful day! It helped as we had our draft electrical plan completed and had already decided which carpet and tiles we were going with. Despite our preparation the process still takes time as there is quite a bit of paperwork to go through. 

Nonetheless a huge weight has lifted off our shoulders now these appointments are done. Next step is to work through the budget and see what we can and can't afford!