Off the Plans Home Almost Built

L

lowpoint

Registered User
Messages
29
Good morning all,

Bought a house off the plans and it is due to be completed in June with handover late June.

Based on the fact that nothing will be in the house apart from the basic fitout I wanted to see if anyone had any advice or helpful tips on anything I could be doing 8-10 weeks in advance of moving in. The biggest issue is that although we have the plans no drawings have the dimensions added and we have been told that they do not give the dimensions out until after the snag list has been checked with the builder. This is 2 weeks before handover date so leaves us little time to organise flooring, carpets, tiles, beds, TV's, wifi, couches, garden etc etc.

The extended lead times for all home products and services is what concerns us most as some places are quoting 3-6 months for home items to be made & delivered, however leaving that aside is there anything that we should be taking note of now or things to check based on your similar experiences of moving into a new build? Currently we're expecting to just get a bed with plates and cutlery and an oven / hob to cook in with us adding as we go over the first few weeks & months.

Are we correct with this assumption?

Thanks in advance for any replies received.

W
 
Best advice I can give you is to live in the space for at least 6 months before you start decorating.

Ask around your extended family for curtains/sofas/rugs/lamps etc., they can toss your way. Start haunting your local charity shops for crockery & cutlery. You'll pick up second hand bed frames cheaply & IKEA mattresses & mattress toppers are excellent.

It'll all be horrible and none of it will match, but that means you won't mind when the day comes to tip it back into the charity shop (if still in usable condition).

Spend the money on good quality appliances for now; the rest of it can wait.

It's worth checking what appliances are included in the kitchen - I thought they all did oven/hob as standard these days?
 
lowpoint said:
Bought a house off the plans and it is due to be completed in June with handover late June.
Click to expand...
Our completion date moved out by 4.5 months and it seems to be a regular occurrence. It was pushed by 2 months, then a month, then another month and finally a couple of weeks. Great if it works out but maybe don't expect to be in your new home in June/July

Thirsty said:
Best advice I can give you is to live in the space for at least 6 months before you start decorating
Click to expand...
Each to their own but I think if you are any way competent with interior design and have some spatial awareness, you can start buying your furniture and flooring now.

lowpoint said:
The biggest issue is that although we have the plans no drawings have the dimensions added and we have been told that they do not give the dimensions out until after the snag list has been checked with the builder. This is 2 weeks before handover date
Click to expand...
This shouldn't be the case, you need this info to get things organized on your side. Is there even a show house ready that you can view and/or measure.

In our case we literally showed up on site and waited around until we got the site foreman. Dealing with the solicitors, EA's, PM's and architects was a pain but the site foreman was a lot more accommodating. Accompanied us on site at least twice well in advance of snag and we took our own measurements to verify the drawings we had. Even minor things like where sockets and rads are located can change your mind about how to position furniture. So if you manage to get on site, take lots of pictures of each room

Other than that, blackout travel blinds are great when you move in. Suction cups & Velcro let you stick it up wherever you want. They are usually marketed at babies/kids so you'll usually find them in most stores selling car seats, buggies etc...
 
lowpoint said:
The biggest issue is that although we have the plans no drawings have the dimensions added and we have been told that they do not give the dimensions out until after the snag list has been checked with the builder.
Click to expand...
What drawings were lodged with the planning application?
 
Leo said:
What drawings were lodged with the planning application?
Click to expand...
_OkGo_ said:
This shouldn't be the case, you need this info to get things organized on your side. Is there even a show house ready that you can view and/or measure.

In our case we literally showed up on site and waited around until we got the site foreman. Dealing with the solicitors, EA's, PM's and architects was a pain but the site foreman was a lot more accommodating. Accompanied us on site at least twice well in advance of snag and we took our own measurements to verify the drawings we had. Even minor things like where sockets and rads are located can change your mind about how to position furniture. So if you manage to get on site, take lots of pictures of each room
Click to expand...

This is exactly as I said & thought but it is apparently company policy to not give the dimensions out until snag day.

This has been confirmed for us on two separate occasions which is creating some of the lead time issues.

EDIT: The dims are not offered out as the builder can at any time make changes to interior walls, floor plans, windows where necessary and to avoid complaints when the interior is not as per exact dimensions on the brochure / drawings. This is all in the contract and just something we have to deal with apparently.
 
lowpoint said:
This is exactly as I said & thought but it is apparently company policy to not give the dimensions out until snag day.
Click to expand...
I meant on the plans submitted to the LA, those are public douments that anyone can download.

They must build in substantial compliance with those plans, so it is unlikely that interna dimensions will change significantly from those, and they certainly should be good enough to get a good idea of areas for the likes of flooring and what furniture will fit.
 
Thirsty said:
Best advice I can give you is to live in the space for at least 6 months before you start decorating.

Ask around your extended family for curtains/sofas/rugs/lamps etc., they can toss your way. Start haunting your local charity shops for crockery & cutlery. You'll pick up second hand bed frames cheaply & IKEA mattresses & mattress toppers are excellent.

It'll all be horrible and none of it will match, but that means you won't mind when the day comes to tip it back into the charity shop (if still in usable condition).

Spend the money on good quality appliances for now; the rest of it can wait.

It's worth checking what appliances are included in the kitchen - I thought they all did oven/hob as standard these days?
Click to expand...
Exactly what thirsty said.

Get a feel for the space. Get a feel for different configuration options. You may see various styles that fit your kitchen & fit your taste in those month. Also a frenzy of interior designing & a frenzy of furniture & fittings can be expensive mistakes if you change your mind in a few months.

Pick up some used utilitarian items for this cooling off period. Washer & dryer & dishwasher maybe you could proceed with as they're close to standard dimensions & also essentials imo.

Best of luck in your new home!
 
Agree with @Thirsty - that's good advice.

On a practical level, I would invest in some A3 graph paper, one of those architect's rulers that have different scales built in and a laser gizmo for measuring distance. You'll get the whole lot for about €40. Do up accurate drawings of your rooms and you can cut out scaled templates for furniture and move it around on the plans to see how it works.

When you get in, and your doing room layouts, try and get large cardboard cutouts for things like sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, bedside lockers and experiment with different sizes and layouts. (You can use cut up old sheets to model bed sizes.) It's far too easy to go for something in a showroom and then realise it doesn't fit properly in the room or spoils the lines of a room.

Never buy furniture without taking the exact dimensions and checking it out at home before you place the final order.

And enjoy it! Take your time and aim to do it right rather than than do it quickly. You'll be there for s long time.
 
Thanks all, some good advice there and I think taking our time is the way to go.

Maybe we're just a bit excited in our new home and a bit too keen to have everything in place. I might just set a target date of Christmas to have most things the way we want them rather than a month after move in date.
 
Hi all,

After various delays with Irish Water & ESB we finally got to look at the house last week. Very happy overall except for a few minor things that weren’t to our taste (some can be modified by ourselves).

One thing that we certainly didn’t like was the fact every window internally came without a sill & apparently that wasn’t a mistake and is the way it will be finished. It looks unfinished to us and was just wondering if anyone else had this in their new build home? Smacks of cost cutting to me but just wanted to get your thoughts?

We’ll be fitting sills ourselves now as putting flowers, ornaments, or whatever on painted plasterboard will definitely end up with scratches and marks on the surface rather than a painted wooden sill which would be better in terms or wear.

Appreciate your thoughts as always.

Thanks

W
 

Attachments

  • E543C5D2-6B41-4A75-80C3-109EF286C0DA.jpeg
    E543C5D2-6B41-4A75-80C3-109EF286C0DA.jpeg
    1.8 MB · Views: 213
  • 85BE47D0-0FB0-4809-85F6-67EA5EA4C794.jpeg
    85BE47D0-0FB0-4809-85F6-67EA5EA4C794.jpeg
    1.6 MB · Views: 206
It won't be easy to get a good finish on the window board from the photos you've shown. Very surprised that it's plasterboard around the windows and cill, thought it would be plaster on to blocks. Are you sure it isn't?
 
Apologies NP, I’m sure it is finished on blocks. My post might have suggested otherwise.
 
lowpoint said:
One thing that we certainly didn’t like was the fact every window internally came without a sill & apparently that wasn’t a mistake and is the way it will be finished. I
Click to expand...
I suggest tiling rather than window sills. Either just the bottom in a neutral colour or the whole frame as a feature. Window sills fade, get water marks, are generally hopeless.
 
@lowpoint

What's the story with the skirting boards, perhaps its just me but they look rather strange with what looks like a bad crack at one point?
 
Coldwarrior said:
They are often left only lightly tacked on by the builder in new estates, to allow the home buyer to easily remove and reinstall them when getting their floors put in.
Click to expand...
It’s a dirt mark but not our exact house (same house type used to measure up) and yes they are lightly tacked in to allow for easy removal & refitting when flooring is in which suits us a beading trim is awful looking.
 
cremeegg said:
I suggest tiling rather than window sills. Either just the bottom in a neutral colour or the whole frame as a feature. Window sills fade, get water marks, are generally hopeless.
Click to expand...
Interesting idea - let the investigating begin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top