Every one has dreams and expectations of building their ultimate home, but sometimes don't realise how time consuming a project of that capacity can take.
In my column today I will be taking some time to outline some pitfalls to be avoided when building a new home, and will be sharing some hot tips from one of Sydney's most famous northern beaches building designers, Peter Downes.
Peter has one numerous awards, actually too many to name, but one of his recent ones is best use of glass for a residence he designed on Warriewood beach. Peter says the architecture on the northern beaches of Sydney at present is reflecting open plan living, louver windows throughout to create great cross flow ventilation, and lots of vivacious curves.
Gone are the days of boxed rooms and enclosed kitchens, the house has to reflect our personalities which are in a sense a lot more open, not closed as we were thirty years ago. People want to be talking and socialising while they are cooking in the kitchen, and the home really needs to bring the outside in.
Peter also suggests that you should be very aware of what type of material you use when constructing, because certain materials like brick for instance in a seaside location can look out of place. He says that weatherboard when constructing near the beach is the preferred material; it just seems to blend in a lot better with the environment.
Peter has been a northern beaches resident for over thirty years and has built over 50 homes at peter downes designs and suggests that when you are choosing someone to build your home that you choose a local designer that knows the local council back the front. A lot of the time when you go out of area to choose someone to design your home, they just don't know how far they can push the boundaries with council to get what your client wants to achieve.
It is important to be patient when building because there are many things that can hold you up in council, for instance complaints from your neighbours.
I suggest if you are going to put in a development application that you speak to your neighbours about what you are proposing to do, rather than just surprise them with a letter from council saying this is what your neighbour is proposing to do .If your neighbour decides they want to make it difficult for you, the development application process could take twice as long. Tom Milicevic director for Milpete constructions who builds a lot of Peter Downes designs, is presently building one of many projects on the Northern beaches which includes a $5 million dollar waterfront. He says the neighbours were giving him some grief, so rather than be in council forever in a day he adjusted the project to suit so he could get on with the build. Tom says the main thing to do when hiring a builder is to make sure they are fully insured, and personally visit the last three of their projects to see the quality of their work and how they looked after their previous clients.
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