The home was built circa 1975 and typical of the homes of the era, with just three bedrooms and one bathroom.  As it’s quite a classic home extension project, we thought we’d share the costs so you can see exactly what’s involved in an extensive renovation project.

We began with the original plans for the house, and marked out the current way the rooms were utilised.

After discussions with the family we noted the existing Master Bedroom, Bed 1, was not much bigger than the minor bedrooms. An extra bathroom was needed, the laundry area was not functioning to its full potential, and another opening from the laundry toilet area to the alfresco area was needed.

Our clients now had a list of wants and desires for their home for us to start the design and building process;

• Larger bedroom for Master Suite / Parents retreat
• Luxurious Bathroom to take the couple into old age and beyond – featuring a freestanding bath, large shower recess with frameless screens, double basin vanity unit and full height tiling
• Extensive robes to the bedroom
• Update the laundry to include a more friendly work zone with new cupboards, tiles and window
• Replace the old glass sliding door in the living room with stackable sliding doors – to bring the outside in

Our process is to give our client an approximate cost estimate for what they want to achieve before going any further. This enables them to determine if it’s ‘in the ballpark’. It also enables them to assess the subsequent value of their home for their future equity.

Once our client was happy with their approximate cost estimate, we drew up a Preparation of Plans agreement. This requires payment of a small fee, which is deducted from the cost of the home extension project when it proceeds. The fee enables our team to spend the time designing plans for the home extension and also includes some pre-construction costs. This stage usually requires a bit of back-and-forth, making sure our clients are achieving exactly what they want, and it fits within their budget.

So what did this home extension cost?

We break down the various aspects of the components of a building project to be open and provide full transparency for our clients. Whilst we’ve taken the specific costs out in this case, our clients will see this detail. This is very hard to get with most builders.

Here’s what this home extension quote included;

The total cost to complete project

$106,077.00
GST $10,608.00

Total including GST $116,685.00

As you can see, each component comes together to give you the total cost of this home extension project. Whilst every client may not want to spend as much as this family, it’s important to think of what the clients received for that investment. They gained a luxurious ensuite and Master bedroom, making every day more enjoyable. They gained another bathroom and toilet – critical when visitors come to stay.

The owners also gained a significant value on their property. When it comes to selling their home, the luxurious “parent’s retreat” and “connection to from the living to the alfresco” will become key selling points. Most real estate agents will tell you that a smart renovation like this one is money well invested in the value of your home. All the while, the client’s budget was kept in mind and costs were discussed at every opportunity.

If you’d like to find out how much your home extension might cost, you can make an appointment with Ralph to discuss your ideas.

The post Case study: What it costs for a home extension appeared first on Exactus Homes.

Make an impression with a revamped entry
First impressions count! The front door and entry really sets the scene for your entire home, and is a relatively simple area to modernise or improve.

Give your kitchen a makeover
There’s a reason they say the kitchen is the most important room in the house. It’s the place where the modern family spends most of their time together – cooking, eating, doing the dishes, living. When potential home-buyers walk through your house, they imagine themselves living in the space, so the kitchen represents a large part of their evaluation.

Upgrade the master bathroom
If your house is being purchased for personal use, it’s a safe bet that the buyer will occupy the master bedroom and bathroom. While bedrooms can be largely transformed with furniture and homewares, the bathroom is more (sometimes quite literally) set in stone. The master bathroom is therefore an important feature for the buyer, personally.

Add an alfresco
These days, most new homes include an alfresco area. Alfresco’s have become an attractive area for living and entertaining that suits the WA lifestyle, so it’s often included on the ‘wish-list’ of potential buyers. Exactus Homes has plenty of experience in alfresco extensions, like this addition to the living room.

The post Value-adding renovation ideas appeared first on Exactus Homes.

Pinterest – (http://www.pinterest.com/ ) – you can collect and organise inspiring home design content (called ‘pins’) from all over the web on this popular, photo-based social media site. Originally invented for designers to collate their inspiration on virtual pin-up boards, you’ll be collecting like the pro’s in no time!

You can also upload your own content for yourself and others to enjoy, and browse content uploaded by others into categories. While Pinterest is not exclusively intended for home design / home improvement, its Architecture and Home Décor categories are very impressive, with dozens of sub-categories and endless pins to explore.

HouzzAU (http://www.houzz.com.au/) – like Pinterest, Houzz lets you organise content from its website into your own personal collections or ‘ideabooks’, as they call them. The difference is that Houzz is dedicated to sharing inspirational home-related products and spaces that link back to its original supplier or producer. Suppliers of home-wares, furniture, building materials, etc. are able to post their beautiful content onto the site, so when you find something you love you can also contact the people who can make it a reality.
You can view the Exactus Homes Houzz page here: http://www.houzz.com.au/pro/exactus-homes/

Freshome (http://freshome.com/) – full of fantastic photography and informative articles on just about everything related to creating and maintaining your dream home, it’s no wonder Freshome has been coined as one of the most successful online magazines in its category! You can get completely lost in all this e-magazine has to offer, including a facility to collect your favourite images from the website. Alternatively, find them on Pinterest for a more consolidated experience. We love that their content, collected from all over the world, is both innovative yet applicable to real-life residential construction. 

The post The 3 sources of home design inspiration you can’t live without! appeared first on Exactus Homes.

Double brick refers to two solid structural layers being built side-by-side; of either two layers of brick or a layer of concrete and a layer of brick. Both layers are integral to the structural support and results in a very dense, thick structure.

Benefits:

• Easier to place heavy fixings such as artwork anywhere on the walls.
• Blocks noise better than brick veneer homes.
• No risk of termites or decay.

Timber-framed construction is where steel or wooden framing is used to support the house, and a birck or  façade is used for the exterior appearance. While the type of brick used can be the same as double-brick, the bricks do not support the structure of the house itself.

Benefits:

• Simpler and faster to install.
• Generally more cost-efficient.
• Better insulator due to the cavity between the brick and the timber structure, which can be filled with insulation.
• The cavity blocks moisture from entering the house.
• Better energy efficiency due to ability to change the room temperature faster.
• More flexible, innovative and efficient cladding options.

Don’t let the risk of decay or infestation stop you from using timber; both issues are easily preventable. All timber used by Exactus Homes is waterproofed and treated for pests like termites, so longevity is not a problem.

Exactus Homes has the skills and experience to do both double brick and brick veneer construction. Of course, the decision is yours, but we like to recommend timber-framed construction as the benefits are far-greater than double-brick.

We are happy to talk through the differences in cost, time and suitability for your construction project – just get in touch!

The post Double-brick vs. timber-framed construction: a builder’s comparison appeared first on Exactus Homes.

TIP: Explore the predicted colour trends for 2015 and colour schemes of your choosing with this fantastic colour tool for interior design! 

1. Feature tiles – one of our favourite modern trends is the utilisation of tiles as a design feature. A great example of this can be found in a new home we recently completed in City Beach, where we designed and installed rainbow-coloured bathroom tiles in a herring-bone pattern.

2. Painted feature wall – colours have the power to affect our mood and energy levels. With over two-thousand Pantone colours to choose from, you’re sure to find a shade that conveys the mood you want to create in your home. You can get creative by making the ceiling a feature or painting a stencilled section of the wall, like this playroom…

3.Eye-catching wallpaper – simple but impactful, wallpaper can add a statement to any room. It’s a cost-effective option with plenty of space for intricate designs and patterns – but keep in mind that your furniture and homewares must be able to complement this.

4. Modern splashback – you can transform your entire kitchen by adding a splash of colour to it with a modern glass sheet splashback. You’ll find these in a number of colour options ranging from rich and subtle to bright and playful – or alternatively, choose from an unlimited range of colourful tile options.

5.Decorating – While the impact may not be as significant, using colourful furniture and homewares is a great alternative to add colour to your home, which also avoids the permanency of the colourful style if you are worried about committing to it in the long term.

The post 5 ways to make your home more colourful appeared first on Exactus Homes.

Intelligent home design
By optimising the effect of environmental conditions through the design of your home, you can reduce your environmental impact. A common example of this is house orientation. Your ability to take advantage of environmental conditions will depend largely on the abilities of the architect or designer you choose to work with.

Timber-frame/ brick-veneer home construction
Timber framed construction is great for reducing energy usage in the warmer and cooler months, because it is a lighter, less dense material than brick and therefore takes less time to respond to temperature changes. As well as being an insulator itself, timber also enables insulation materials to be used in the space between the frame without increasing wall, ceiling or floor thickness.
In the long term, timber is a more sustainable material than brick and a smaller quantity is required to establish the home structure, which means less waste when the structure is eventually demolished.

Insulated glass windows
Air is a fantastic insulator when confined to one place, which is what makes insulated glass possible. While double-glazed windows are a viable option, we prefer to use Clear Comfort – an intelligent insulating membrane that is more cost-effective and is so simple to install that you could do it yourself!

Energy-efficient fixtures & fittings
From low-flow toilets to energy-efficient lighting options, your selections can have a significant combined impact on your energy output. You can talk to Ralph about environmentally friendly options to suit your home, lifestyle and budget. 

The post Clever ways to make your home more eco-friendly appeared first on Exactus Homes.

Pros:

• The most obvious reason to stay throughout the renovation is to save time and money that would otherwise be spent on renting. Having to find an appropriate property, move your possessions, deal with rent inspections; it’s enough to put anyone off even before you factor in the crazy cost of a decent rental property in Perth! Of course, there is the alternative of moving in with family  ….but in some cases this can be more annoying and stressful than living through the renovation in the first place.
• If your renovation timeline is hard to estimate, you’ll be happy you stayed in your home. There would be nothing worse than getting kicked out of a rental property only weeks before your own home renovation is completed.
• By living-in, you get to see your project come to life and admire the daily progress. This can make the process more exciting as you get to be more directly involved and learn things along the way.

Cons:

• If you are a clean freak, there is no question that your nerves will be put to the test. Some aspects of cleanliness in construction can be managed, like throwing rubbish away and leaving a tidy, contained worksite. Exactus works hard to ensure we are as tidy as possible, cleaning up as we go. However, other by-products of renovating are harder to control, like sand and dust making its way into living areas.
• Another downside of living onsite through a renovation is the inevitable noise of drilling, banging, sawing, etc. that is often encountered daily. As building hours are restricted to between 7am and 7pm, and with most builders being considerate of the waking routines of live-in renovators, the impact of noise can be minimised. However, if you spend a lot of time at home with children or working from home, then you may find noise to be a big drawback.
• Depending on the size and nature of the renovation, you may be confined to just a portion of your original living space after the construction area has been marked off and possessions from these areas relocated. Access to a kitchen and bathroom are also fairly essential, unless you don’t mind showering in the sprinklers and eating vegemite sandwiches for dinner throughout the duration of your renovation!
• With different tradesman coming and going from your home at any given time, you’ll also have to say goodbye to your privacy for a little while.

The post Live-in renovations – is it worth it? appeared first on Exactus Homes.

1. Can I make changes? With so many decisions to be made in the renovation process, it’s common to want to change your mind about something along the track. Most builders will allow you to make a variation to the contract, but you’ll also want to know what the process is and how far in advance you need to raise the variation. Exactus Homes aims to accommodate variations where possible.
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2. Can we live through it? Whether or not you can live at home during your renovation will have big implications on the viability of the project – most significantly due to the cost of relocating and the disruption of your everyday lifestyle. Find out as early as possible if you can live through the renovation, so you can factor it into your plans early on.
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3. Will the cost change?  At Exactus Homes we use fixed price contracts, so you will know exactly what you’re up for. In some cases, provisional sums will be used, where it’s not possible to know up-front the extent of work involved. Variations can increase or decrease the contract price, depending on the change.
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4. Are we insured? Ultimately, it is your responsibility to insure your property during the renovation. If your house is being extended, the extension is insured by the builder for any accidental damage caused during construction, but not the effects of criminal activity like theft or arson. It is best to speak to your own insurance company to discuss your coverage.
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5. Who do I deal with? It’s good to know who to go to at each stage of your project for information and updates. At Exactus Homes, you will deal with the same two key contacts throughout the entire project – our highly capable client liaison manager and the director/ builder himself, Ralph.

At Exactus Homes, transparency is part of our commitment to Build with Pride. We make sure you have the answers to these 5 questions before we start working with you. 

The post 5 Things You Should Know from your Builder Before You Renovate appeared first on Exactus Homes.