Month: April 2020

If your home has seen better days and you’re looking to giving it a freshen up, you might be considering whether it’s better to renovate or to knock down and rebuild in Sydney. While it’s an entirely personal choice, asking yourself these four questions could help to clarify your decision.

How many rooms are you planning to refresh – one, two or all?

There’s little sense in rebuilding a perfectly good home when some new bathroom tiles could lift the quality of your home, but the decision becomes more complex if you’re planning to renovate most of your home’s spaces. Structural work such as taking out or changing load-bearing walls can quickly become expensive – not to mention the complexities of asbestos management and disposal if it’s present on your property. At a certain point it’s worth drawing a line and rebuilding instead. By knocking down and rebuilding, you can also gain greater energy efficiency, a better insulated home, more modern spaces and the peace of mind that comes with a new structure. Oh, and no old plumbing or electrical wires to worry about!

How do you feel about the structure, layout and quality of your existing home?

Here’s where we consider the ‘bones’ of your current home. Do you like your outlook, the rooms within the home, and the way the home captures natural light and breezes? Or can you see greater potential in your block of land? Residential architecture and building have come a long way in just a few decades, particularly for complex, narrow and sloping sites. You could well be enjoying a far superior outlook in a contemporary home, complete with the location and neighbourhood you already enjoy.

How long do you plan to live in your home?

It’s worth asking, because this can have a significant effect on your choice and your budget if you do decide to knock down and rebuild. If the home is an investment property and you plan to rent it out, you might choose to simply renovate the key areas such as the bathroom and kitchen. If it’s your family home and you’re planning to live there into the foreseeable future, then there may be great value in investing in a home that’s tailored to your family and lifestyle by working with reputable custom home builders in Sydney.

How much will you have to spend?

It’s common to wonder, “How much does a knock down rebuild cost in comparison to renovating?” It’s often surprising to find that a knock down and rebuild can actually cost less per square metre than an extension or renovation, due to disassembly and disposal costs. Some of our clients have been pleasantly surprised when their fixed price quote for a new home matched their initial renovation budget.

To fully gauge the costs of a knock down and rebuild, it’s worth engaging a home builder to assess your site and explore the options for a new home design to suit. It may well be a comparatively affordable option if your existing home requires major work.

The age of your building can also have an effect on your financial decision. If you’re dealing with a historical 1920s home that exudes character, then a thoughtful renovation might be best. However, if you’re faced with mounting maintenance costs for a 1970s or 1980s building for example, then a rebuild could almost certainly be wise.

Ready for a professional opinion regarding your home? Wincrest Bespoke specialises in knock down and rebuilds throughout Sydney and the Central Coast. You can explore our custom home designs or read our client testimonials to gain a sense of what could be achieved at your own property.

Building on a sloping block can introduce many challenges – making it important to know what to look for in a custom home builder. Your new home could be perfectly positioned to make the most of beautiful views, a sense of privacy, fresh breezes and natural light. These diverse sites can also provide the opportunity for architectural innovation and interesting design when it comes to building your custom home. So how do you get started on a sloping site build?

Who to talk to about building on a sloping site
There are some unique complexities to take into account when planning a sloping site build, which we’ll cover in a moment. Intelligent design and planning will be key to ensuring success, so it’s vital to speak with a designer/builder who has experience with a wide range of sloping sites. The builder will topographically survey your site to maximise the potential of the site, while minimising the need for expensive earthworks.
The considerations of building on a sloped site
There are a number of considerations that sloping block builders and designers/architects will take into account before a home is designed and built.

• The incline and positioning of your site, and whether it’s sloping up, sloping down or has a cross fall to factor into design decisions. Good design will make the most of these unique qualities.
• Soil or rock structure, and how this will shape decisions about drainage and foundations.
• Natural light and how this reaches the site. The position of your home and its windows can determine how comfortable your living spaces will be year-round.
• Potential outlook and viewpoint. Thoughtful house plans for sloping blocks can provide unique opportunities to gain extraordinary views that other homes can’t.
• Ventilation and wind exposure. This will ensure fresh breezes can flow through your living spaces, without allowing any gale force winds to cause havoc through the home!

The perceived costs of building on a sloping site
If there’s one factor that makes people hesitant about building on sloping blocks, it’s often cost. Many will envision expensive earthworks and costly problems arising through the building process. While it’s true that there can be some additional costs such as excavation and logistics, the value of working with an experienced designer/architect and builder is that they will use the slope to its full advantage. The right design can remove tens of thousands of dollars from the cost of building with a less experienced team.
What’s more, sloping sites can cost less to purchase and result in you living with a view and a lifestyle that’s absolutely priceless.
The thing about sloping sites is that they’re all unique. The key to success is working with those who offer the services to make your design and build process straightforward and enjoyable.
Explore our portfolio now for inspiration on sloping block house designs, including those on blocks with falls of up to 7 metres. The testimonials from our clients demonstrate our expertise in unique and split level home designs for sloping blocks.

Whether you’re working with budget home builders or luxury home builders, you’ll most likely have a budget in mind for your home build project. When building at the bespoke end of the market, you’ll naturally be looking for exceptional quality and attention to detail for your investment. How can you ensure your budget is being put to its full potential, without unexpected budget blow-outs?

The key to a successful design and build is to work with a design and building team with three specific qualities.

Expertise

A designer/architect with expertise and experience that’s relevant to your project will help you to avoid the hidden costs of building a home – and there can be many, depending on the project. The same goes for your home builder. One prime example is that of sloping sites. An inclined block can impact on the overall cost of your project, and complexity and costs of the project can sometimes increase along with the steepness of the slope. By working with an experienced designer/architect and builder with extensive knowledge in these more complex sites, you will ensure you receive breathtaking views and a breathtaking home – rather than breathtaking bills.

Communication

Communication is central to designing within your budget. Before working with a builder, ensure you review their client testimonials to assess how well they worked with past clients. If you can communicate your cost requirements clearly to your designer/architect and builder, and if they have the foresight to ask the right questions about your vision and lifestyle, you will vastly improve the likelihood of opening your door to a beautiful home that comes in on or under budget. Being able to speak frankly about choices in materials and design elements can be vital on both sides of the relationship, and quality designers, architects and builders will be able to suggest ways to extract top value for your dollar.

Transparency is key, so feel free to ask questions at every stage of the process. For example, most builders won’t build on a site with a fall greater than 1.5 metres. If your block is sloping and has fall, ask your builder up front if they are happy to build on your land – rather than finding out later that they can’t.

Focus

Designing a custom home is all about focusing on the right elements – the elements that matter to you. By working with a team that works to your requirements in detail, you’ll be able to obtain maximum value for your budget. That might include innovative storage solutions for your home workshop; sustainability measures that can save you money in the long term; or paying extra attention to the rooms where you’ll spend the most time when at home. This all comes back to communication and asking the right questions throughout the design process.

There is no magic answer of how to build a custom home on your budget as every home is unique, but there are shared qualities of those who will consistently deliver outstanding results. Choose your customer home builder well, and you’ll have a true partner throughout the process.

Contact us today to speak with the Wincrest Bespoke team about your custom home project and the services we provide.

Home style is a highly personal thing – after all, our homes reflect who we are and how we live. While some of us love classic and cosy, others are after innovative and contemporary. The choices can feel particularly overwhelming when it comes to custom designing and building a home. If you’re unsure of how to choose a design style for your home or even how to describe the style you’re looking for, then let’s explore the two important considerations: the exterior and interior styles of your future home.

Architectural styles

Sydney home architecture tends to draw inspiration from various influences: our spectacular weather, European design and the aspects of our local culture that embrace the outdoors and entertaining. There are many historical styles to explore, from Colonial and Federation homes to Art Deco and beyond. However, many new homes today centre around two central styles:

• ModernistWhile modernist style first flourished in the post-war years to the 1970s, the warmth and openness of this architectural style seems to tap into the Australian psyche, and as such it can provide endless inspiration for modern home designs. The style is simple yet welcoming, typically with full-length windows to open the home up to the natural light and environment. Flat or raked roofs, geometric angles and the use of natural timbers create character and a timeless simplicity.
• ContemporaryWhere modernism is warm, contemporary style is often cool. This architectural style typically shares the expansive windows and flat roofing of modernism but adds cool contemporary styling with sleek materials such as metal and exposed concrete, and deep neutral tones such as charcoal grey. Neutral timbers or textures are often used to add a sense of fluidity or texture to exteriors. Sustainability can be a key aspect of contemporary homes, including passive solar design and thoughtfully reused materials.

Home interior styles

Your interior styling will shape how you live in your new home. There are a number of modern choices in how to design your home interior that prove popular with our custom home clients:

• Contemporary or Scandi-style interiors evoke calmness with light timbers, natural textures and neutral colours.
• Resort-style interiors are indulgent and relaxing, often with sand-coloured neutral tones and luxe touches.
• Classic interiors are inviting – think warm whites, local timbers and composed colours.

Essentially, your home design should centre around your lifestyle and location. Are you looking forward to opening up your home whenever the sky is blue with expansive entertaining spaces? Does the site contain mature eucalyptus trees to incorporate into the view? Do you require a clever multi-level design to make the most of a sloping site, or will you require separate wings for your grown children and their families to stay? Your architect or designer should be asking these factors when considering how to design a new home that’s perfect for you.

Whether you have a vision in mind for your new abode or no idea of where to begin, the right builder can help you navigate the process of how to build a custom home. With Wincrest Bespoke you can choose to work with our specialist team of architectural designers or with your own architect of choice. Whichever process you prefer, we’ll help you bring your lifestyle to reality in a stunning new home.