The Ensuite & Bathroom

The items that we have selected so far have been relatively easy to choose, now it is starting to get much harder. Deciding on the combination of tiles, vanity unit and worksurface colours for the Ensuite, Bathroom and Toilets has had us scratching our heads a few times.

The walls will be fully tiled from floor to ceiling using Gloss Travertine rectified ceramic tiles (300mm x 600mm) from Beaumont Tiles...

and the floors will be covered in matching Satine Travertine rectified ceramic tiles (300mm x 300mm)...

The vanity unit and worksurface that we have chosen are made by Laminex, and will be in the same colour range as the Kitchen.

The vanity unit will be in Nocturne Oak in a natural finish...

and the worksurface is DiamondGloss in Limestone...

The worksurface looks very yellow here but is actually very similar in colour to the tiles.

Above the vanity unit in the Ensuite we will have what are called shaving cabinets, these are shallow cabinets with mirror fronted doors. Between the two will be a recessed shelf which will look something like this ensuite...

The Bathroom will have a normal mirror above the vanity unit.

The basins will be the Posh Domaine Vanity Basin...

with an Mizu Overflow Push Plug...

and the Phoenix Cruise Basin Mixer...

The showers will have frameless glass doors and a Nikles XL 120 Rail Shower...

with a Phoenix Cruise Shower/Bath Mixer with a square backplate...

and a Mizu 900mm Shower Channel Grate if it's not too expensive...

Otherwise we will have to use the same floor waste as the general one, the Mizu Square Floor Waste...

The bath will be the Decina Carina 1675mm with an optional white Bolle headrest...

with a Phoenix Cruise Shower/Bath Mixer (see above) and the Phoenix Cruise Wall Bath Outlet with square backplates...

The close coupled toilets with a 6/3 litre dual flush system will have Phoenix Plus Double Toilet Roll Holders...

The Soil...It's All Good

We have just received the news that the preliminary engineering has been completed and it's looking good.

The soil report has identified a M-D class soil which is as expected and typical of the area. M means Moderately reactive clay or silt sites, which can experience moderate ground movement from moisture changes. D means that the Depth of the expected movement is greater than 3m.

The reactivity (shrinking and swelling) of the clay can have a significant impact on the footings/slabs of a buildings foundation which need to be designed to counteract the movements of the clay soils, otherwise damage (cracking) of the house may occur.

If the soil report had returned a classification of H (Highly reactive clay sites), E (Extremely reactive sites), or P (Problem sites) our foundations/slab would be far more costly. So good news!

The bore logs did pick up some shale fragments but they were pretty deep, and they didn't find any rock. If this is all that is encountered when digging then we shouldn't have any costly issues, but you still never know what you will find.

It has also been determined that the house will sit well in the specified location, and the splits will be around 860mm (5 steps) from the lower to middle level and 670mm (4 steps) from the middle to upper level.

Now that we know the levels of the house the roof can be designed. A 3D version of the house and an updated floor plan will follow shortly.

As soon as we have finalised the main details of the house it can then be submitted to the local council for approval. Way hay :)

The Lighting

As with most new modern homes we will have lots of downlights throughout the house, with a few pendants and possibly some wall lights in the Home Theatre.

I have a lot of lights to find but here are my selections so far, although they are liable to change at any time!

Downlights
In keeping with the general theme the downlights will be square...

If we can afford it we will go with LED bulbs instead of halogen, because of their cheaper running costs.

Stair Lights
Recessed mini (7cm) wall lights in stainless steel will be used to highlight the two sets of stairs, probably three per stair on the hand rail side...

Kitchen LED Strip Lights
A LED strip light (in white) will be used under the kitchen worksurface (dining room side) to highlight the island bench...

Kitchen Pendant Lights
I am thinking of using three of these dark brown Trinidad oval pendants from Beacon Lighting over the island bench...

They look good in this home...

External Downlights
Exterior downlights will be positioned in the eaves at the front of the house, plus the Porch and Alfresco.

External Spot Lights
Square up-down spot lights in stainless steel will be installed on the Porch and Alfresco columns, to the far left and right of the front of the house, and to highlight the area outside the Kitchen and Dining Room.

Our Neigh...bours

We are looking forward to being introduced to our horsey neighbours...

The neighbours on the other side of us have a dog, who we have already got to know and is great fun. He brings you a tennis ball and waits for you to throw it, then tears after it like crazy.

No Natural Gas...No Worries

The area that we are building in does not have a natural gas supply, which of course we would want to use to heat our home and water, and for cooking.

The answer to this problem is to use Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) stored on site in a cylinder. This service is provided by ELGAS in South Australia. As the house will be a long way from the street, refiling the cylinder from a tanker will not be practical. The solution will be to have the LPG supply placed underground in the front garden close to the road.

So there will be no swapping of cylinders and deliveries will be scheduled based on usage, and you only pay for the amount that's filled. I expect that the 90kg (176 litre) cylinder will be sufficient but they do come in larger sizes.

ELGAS have advised me that the canister costs $385.00 (I assume that this is the bit that protects the cylinder underground), and the annual rental of the cylinder is $165.00. We will also have to pay for a hole to be dug and the system installed including rather a lot of piping to the house. Oh well, I guess it's the price we have to pay to ensure that we have a gas supply.

The Views

We have been back to our block of land to have another look at the potential views from each room of the house. We want to be as certain as we can that we have made the right decision about the location of the house. It's not like a paint colour where you can change your mind later.

Here are the views...
from the Lounge looking east

and looking north

from the Master Bedroom

and the Guest Bedroom

from the Study looking south

from the Kitchen looking north

and from the Dining Room

We have a number of established bushes that are now flowering in the spring...

The first one (I believe) is the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) which is the floral emblem of Australia, the second one I have no idea.