Design and Approvals

DESIGN AND APPROVALS STAGE
Hello there,
If you are looking at this page, then you are probably in the early stages of looking to build the right home for you.
The series of posts here will show the building process in its’ entirety, from concept and design (see below) right through to the handover of the keys at the end of the building process.
It is pertinent to point out at this stage that this is a real case study of an actual build for one of our clients. We are putting up these posts warts and all outlining the clients actual experiences, and at the time they occur. This means if you are reading this during the process actually occuring, then you are seeing the home at its’ current stage. If that’s the case, then keep coming back here to watch as it progresses.
Some stages will be shown as pictures with explanation of the works, and some will be in video format.
Anyway, below is the first stage, that point where you are deciding on your builder and developing the home that is right for you. It is a fun, and somewhat daunting stage.
I encourage you to read on below to see how Coastline Homes make it come together for our clients.

CASE STUDY:
Stage 1: Initial Meeting. The clients came to the meeting with a few things. They had been referred to Coastline Homes by a previous client who had opened up the house we built for them and given us a warm recommendation. They had seen a few display homes from the bigger project guys, and had spoken, without success, to some of their sales consultants. They had purchased a block, knew exactly what their budget was for the build, and they had a hand drawn sketch (see below).

This sketch has a lot of good ideas in it, and whilst the final drawings look quite different from the sketch, the intentions of the client to build an open plan, free flowing design with separate storage area for their camping and travelling gear was maintained.
Their initial sketch didn’t reflect the best thinking in energy efficient design, to be expected since they aren’t experts in the field. Upon explanation of the broad concepts of energy efficient design, they started to warm to the relocation of rooms to best capture and use their Northern aspect.
The entire meeting took a relaxed 2 hours or so, during which we filled out a design brief and sketched out the following layout for their home.

The arrows on the sketch show North being to the upper left of the sheet, and the 4 arrows flowing in the other direction show how we were going to bring winter light and warmth into the home through hi-lite windows, utilising this to warm the interior for radiated warmth over winter evenings.

Stage 2: Initial Design/ Pricing & Specification. In this phase of the process, Coastline Homes take everything we have learned from the interview process and translate that into a housing sketch, an addenda (specification list), a quote including an estimate for site costs, and some simple 3ds.
      
You can already see design elements such as the 40cse Living room ceilings, hi-lite windows, extra store area, and the amazing kitchen design coming out in the sketch.
The blue writing on the floor plan was done by the client by way of explaining possible changes to the design. This is done at a meeting to go through the concept and discuss how close it is to the brief, and budget. It is pertinent to mention in this case the home was exactly on budget (a common occurrence).

Stage 3: Refinement of Design/ Pricing & Specification. In this phase we start to narrow down specifics of the design including ceiling heights, furniture positions, structural alterations, elevations etc. We often give clients multiple selections to chose from, and in this case we provided a number of front elevations from a number of vantage points for the client to select from.
         
We also updated the sketch plans with changes from a couple of meetings gradually refining it further and further until it reflects exactly the needs and wants of our clients.

Notice the “fleshing out” of the kitchen and ensuite areas, the variation in ceiling heights, and the widening of the alfresco, all suited to the clients needs.
This design stage can take from a few days to a number of weeks depending on a number of factors such as the original designs proximity to the clients wishes, how many changes they have along the way, and how they wish to add or subtract to manipulate the budget.
In a process that is completely flexible, this stage is the most important to get correct.
By way of further refinement, once the client had settled upon the broad strokes of their design, we started talking about colours, and the overall look they wanted through the home.
Here we see a number of 3ds, all the same design but with different colour palettes. My what a difference colours make.
         
We also started narrowing down requirements such as their electrical needs, ensuring no nasty surprises or costs at prestart.

Try to get a project home salesperson to do that!

Stage 4: Translating all this into formal documents
Working drawings, site surveys, engineering details, quotes for earthworks and services, and fixing of provisional sums. Unlike the project home companies, you will receive a fixed cost contract with Coastline Homes, with everything you want priced up front.
We will do your electrical quotes, siteworks quotes, service costs, cabinetry costs and anything else you want up front so you get the entire picture before you commit to your new home. That is how confident we are in the relationship we build with our clients through the design process.
So, after 4 exciting weeks, what does the house look like in the working drawings?

And so in 4 relatively painless and simple processes you can design that home that you have always wanted, without having to settle for the mass produced design from the project home end of town.
I can not express how enjoyable we find the whole design, documentation, and building process at Coastline Homes.
I suggest you come see for yourself.
Kevin