Thread: House building - any tips.

A good architect will design a liveable house.
If you'd rather not pay someone like me a few $K for air conditioning, design for your location. Where we are that means wide eaves, NE aspect, and make sure your house will catch the breeze. There's various things you can do for natural 'air con' like shade trees, good ventilation (think getting the building to have a chimney effect like traditional Moorish architecture, for e.g.) fountains (not really practical in Oz, of course).
Look through libraries full of home decor / architecture & similar books, magazines, etc. Watch lots of architecture program's like Grand Designs. Go to open homes at the weekends (leave nonsense contact details so the estate vultures - sorry, agents - can't bother you).
All that should give you some ideas on colour & decor schemes that you like.

Its going to be 6 star energy rating, so things like double glazed windows are definately helpful (best money we spent on our place), lighting, insulation (look at a product like aircell as well as batts), also buy brands you have heard of, don't scimp to much, partularly on appliances, brands like euromaid, are rubbish,get hings that you won't have to have repaired the day after they run out of warranty.
As for electrical fitting, clipsal for your powerpoints and swithces, lighting though is tricky (thats why i get most of my customers to pick there own), but if you like the downlight look, they a making some really good LED ones now. If you need a builder i can recommend a really good one in Traf that i do work for. If you need a sparky, don't ring me, i'm to busy

if i were building again i would go 12v led lights (not down lights) run from a battery and a solar panel

Originally Posted by richard4u2

if i were building again i would go 12v led lights (not down lights) run from a battery and a solar panel

That's what a dude is doing in a joint I just done, not a bad idea

Hi,
I put the vacuum tubing in the sand just under the slab, and ran the 12V wiring to each outlet along side the pipe.
It stayed unfinished for 10 years or so 'cause we were so broke, but I'm glad we put in the tubing etc when we did.
It was only about 30 minutes work to mount the motor and wire up the connections when we were a bit more cashed up.
I don't like the motor in the garage though - noisy and fine dust comes out the outlet (that is now piped out side)
cheers

Do as Richard suggested earlier, and get the architect to do the colour, and fit out design, if he can't do it he'll probably know an interior decorator.
They can cater the design to your budget, it'll be well worth it in the end. generally people in shops are just sales people, without a clue about design.

I'm an architectural drafty, and I know a good architect designed house is well worth it. Climate responsive so little, or no aircon or heating needed.

You just have to control their 'arty' urges sometimes. So that what is designed can be built affordably.

Originally Posted by biggin

The problem is though, we haven't got the faintest idea how to go about selecting things like doors, windows, floors coverings, electrical fittings, bathrooms, kitchens, paint colour etc.

Is there a one stop shop you can go to to arrange all this stuff,
Any tips will be greatfully appreciated.

Interior designers do this work ... Just pick a "theme" and they do the selection for you

Cheers
Mike

white ceilings and white woodwork (doors windows etc) and just pick your colour for the walls go for something neutral and have things like furniture,rugs, pictures bring up the colour and style of your place, a colour scheme like that never ages