Pre-start

Tile selections - check
Electrics plan - check
List of questions - check
Plans - check
Wishlist - check

Okay, we have everything, let's go!

And so it was, 'armed to the teeth' with plans plastered with post-it notes, pages of points-to-mention and cuttings of various bits and pieces we thought we'd ask about; Rayleen and I made our way to Balcatta for the pre-start consultation.

We had heard horror stories of seven hour meetings and cost blow outs, so we were a little nervous about what may happen and what the final balance may look like! Arriving promptly at 8.30 we waited for the consultant to invite us into her office ("Come into my parlour." said the spider to the fly.) And the consultation began;

To be honest it was not as difficult as I thought it may be. Just as expensive, maybe even more so, but the planning we did paid off as it was over by 12.00.

The main extras were;

1. The electrics plan. We installed extra powerpoints in the majority of rooms and I had conduit and blank face plates added to the rooms I wanted to run data cabling to.
2. Upgrade the front doors. This was more than I thought it should be, seemed as if I wasn't getting credit for the doors I was replacing.
3. The garage door. Upgraded to a cedar look finish.

These were in addition to the upgrades we had made with the sales consultant; raised ceiling to the living area, double drop bulkhead to the kitchen, the upgraded bath in the ensuite, upgraded shower heads in the main bathroom and the ensuite, replacing the single window in the Home Theatre room with three awning windows, to name a few of the changes.

All in all we added about an extra 15% to the base price. But, I think it was money well spent.