Ep 16 - Paddington House - Insights from the owner.

Welcome to Building with Bluebird

On todays episode we have a special guest, one of our past clients from a project we completed in 2019, the Paddington House

Sean has graciously agreed to come on the show and provided us with his insights and view on how his project went.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Speaker 2: All right folks. Welcome back to Building with bluebird. Today we have episode 16 and we're extremely lucky to have a past client come on the show. In 2019, we completed a build in Paddington, Brisbane for our client, Shawn and Frankie. This was a substantial raisin build on a beautiful old Queenslander. Shawn has come in today, it's a, to talk about his experiences throughout the entire process.

Let's jump straight in. Welcome to Building with Bluebird, the Design and Renovation podcast, brought to you by Christian Case and Jeremy Thomason, directors of Bluebird Design and Build, highlighting the dos and don'ts of renovating or building your dream home. This podcast will give you the insiders guide to the home building journey, as well as interviewing other industry specialists, Christian and Jeremy, bring their knowledge and expertise to the table for you, the people.

Now, let's get into this. And if you enjoy, please like, share and subscribe.

[00:00:59] Speaker 3: Hello. Hey Sean. Thanks for coming in today to see us and chat through what you experienced with your build and design process many years ago. How many was that? 

[00:01:08] Speaker 1: Oh, we probably finished Jeremy three years ago. Yeah, I would say Is that 

[00:01:13] Speaker 3: like just before Christmas we, you finished, wasn't it? Yeah, I think 

[00:01:16] Speaker 1: we've probably.

Three Christmases in the house. Yes. Since you left. Perfect. , how's it going? Yeah, great. Yeah, great. It's a lovely house. 

[00:01:24] Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful. So I guess we just want to get you in today and chat through sort of your experience from when you and the family sort of decided you wanted to do something and I guess how you decided you were gonna renovate something you already hard, rather than go and find something that was already done.

So, yeah, I just we're just keen to sort of get that from, from you and see what it was all about. Why was it that you decided that you guys wanted to renovate rather than go and buy something that was sort of, you know, already done and not worry about the whole build and design 

[00:01:56] Speaker 1: process? Yeah, I, I think in our case, Jeremy, my wife and I were pretty committed to the sort of Paddington area as the part of Brisbane that we wanted to live in that we're most familiar with.

Yeah. And so probably. Sort of search started with the location as being the starting point. Yeah. And then, you know, obviously with Paddington, you know, there's always been a lot of timber and tin and opportunities to renovate not so many opportunities to new, new build. Yeah. Unless you went all out and you know, demolished something and started again.

So when we started sort of considering a family home, we were probably just looking for something in Paddington that had bone. and so we're probably on a renovation path by definition. Yeah. Cuz our quest was to find existing bones and then, you know, imagine what might be possible from there. Yeah. You know, I 

[00:02:45] Speaker 2: guess your site is very rare.

In Paddington it was flat or flat-ish, and a grand old Queenslander, which Yeah, on an extremely large block or 800 block in Paddington Flat. Is very rare. So for that like as a starting point was a great basis, I guess, for a house. Yeah. 

[00:03:02] Speaker 1: Frankie found it and yeah, we, that's how we felt about it. Christian, it, it was.

I mean, it's not, it wasn't sort of an iconic block of land, but when you sort of stood on it, you recognized it had real scale. Yeah. It was more of a 

[00:03:13] Speaker 2: home, like it's definitely had a homely 

[00:03:15] Speaker 1: feel. Square is it had some lovely mature trees. Yeah. Um, the house was quite a tasteful Queensland and nothing remarkable, but, but a, just a well proportioned.

Tasteful Queenslander and And we could imagine that there was maybe something that we could do to it to make it a place that we'd really wanna stay. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:03:32] Speaker 2: So what was, I guess, the driving factor to renovate or 

[00:03:36] Speaker 1: to expand the home? Yeah. Yeah. So we have three children and at the time they were all sort of primary school age and the house wasn't actually legal height on the lower level.

So it was your classic two-story Queenslander with a sort of walk up timber front stair. To the upper level and the lower level had a sort of garage and a couple of children's rooms and opened up onto the yard, but that lower level wasn't legal height. And so after living there, if you've ever lived in a house that's not legal height Yeah.

It, it's just not a great experience. Yeah. It's, it's dark, it's moldy. It's musty. It wouldn't be something you'd really want for your kids. Yeah. So that was the tipping point for us that we felt living in a house with a compromised level needed to be addressed. Yeah. And so that was actually the trigger point to the brief is how might we bring these good bones into something more spacious vertically?

Yeah. That could solve this problem of low, lower level. Yeah. 

[00:04:37] Speaker 3: Yeah. So it wasn't a hard decision at all. Cause I guess you've bought an existing property in Paddington already had downstairs built. It wasn't a painful decision at all to sort of like rip that out and start again. Rather as sort of think, can we just, you know, extend onto what we already have because, you know, what you guys ended up with was a pretty substantial renovation.

[00:04:56] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right, Jeremy. Yes. The, the need to intervene and kind of do something to the house. It had an obvious. Floor. And so yeah, the idea of just nibbling away or extending or tacking something on wasn't going to cure the problem. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so we did need to sort of, I guess, rip some bandaids off Yeah.

to make it, um, you know, something more special. 

[00:05:17] Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. There was a few bandaids to rip off . Remember being in there for demo, it was a pretty big job. 

[00:05:23] Speaker 2: So from the next step, I guess, is you've engaged, um, an architect. What was the process, I guess, behind deciding on an architect and how did you go about deciding who to work with?

[00:05:34] Speaker 1: We were somewhat lucky in that we had a friend who was a, an architect at, you know, fairly, probably at the time, an emerging architect in Brisbane, Matt Kennedy from Archie is his name. And because he's a friend of ours, he was sort of willing to come and look at the site and in. I think we actually showed him the property before we actually settled on purchase.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And just from a forward looking point of view, I, I think we asked him as a friend, Hey Matt, we're thinking of spending money on this thing. What's your point of view? Yeah. And I think at the time this was. Well before we engaged him or started the project. Yeah. Um, but he said, yeah, look, I can see why you would commit to this site, and I think there are possibilities.

Yeah. And so that was the start of that professional relationship. And when we did finally decide, let's actually go forward with this, Matt was probably our, our start in the process. So we went to the architect as our, as our starting point. Yep. And that's how the project. Yeah. Right. So 

[00:06:32] Speaker 2: I guess from there you've got through gone through and designed what you needed and engaged Matt.

How long was that process, I guess, of the preliminary design before you came along us and I guess, how was that journey and what was the, 

[00:06:46] Speaker 1: what did it involve? Yeah, so in terms of the time of working through the design process, I would say. I would say working with the architect fits and starts was probably about a year.

Yep. And I think my wife and I had probably done our own, we probably spent a year before in our own minds, yeah. Imagining what might be possible and looking at examples of properties we liked and a actually sitting down and trying to draw concepts ourselves on page to imagine, yeah. What might be possible.

So after we'd sort of exhausted our own curiosity, Engaging. Then Matt, we worked with him, I'd say for about a year. Yep. And it's not continuous work, it's, it's no, yeah. Back and forth, putting things down. Yeah. Sleeping on things for a few weeks and you know, Christian, there's probably a process where you have to pull in a little bit to find some simplicity and, and find a few compromises.

Yep. Cause I think probably the initial planning. Possibly in some respects, a bit grander and a bit more all inclusive than what you end up deciding on. Yes. Because you sort of have to reality check some costings at different points. Yeah. And there's also, I guess, a process of, well, just iteration. Yeah.

You know, because, You can include a lot of ideas in a house renovation. There's so many possibilities. I mean, for some people there's brick fireplaces. There might be beautiful temperature controlled wine cellars. There might be jacuzzis, there might be double lockup garages. Yeah, there's an endless list of possibilities, and I think the process over that year was.

Knocking them back to the things that we felt were the most important things. Yeah. And, and letting go of the things that didn't matter as much. Yeah. Your 

[00:08:29] Speaker 2: wants versus your needs and finding those because Yeah, you can, like you said, there's so many ideas and 

[00:08:36] Speaker 1: haven't used seemingly endless . It was only until That's every client though.

It was only until we were sort of challenged. To switch from wants to needs. Yep. Your right question. That's a key moment actually in our thinking about the project is, is to switch into truly a needs analysis. When you're in that mindset, you can make more helpful decisions. Yeah, 

[00:08:58] Speaker 2: yeah. You can start picturing yourself how you gonna use the house and actually day to day, whereas like, do I actually need that?

Wine cellar, do I need, yes, that jacuzzi like these are all great things, but how often are you gonna use them and is it worth paying for that or could you spend that 

[00:09:13] Speaker 1: money elsewhere? Yeah, I totally agree. And so I think just the passage of time, I mean maybe it sounds like a long time to be working with an architect for 12 months, but it flies by like that 12 months.

Like yeah, it flies by, there's this old. Someone once said that if I had more time, I would've written a shorter letter . And it's a bit like that with plans. Yeah. But you need time to knock them back to the basics. Yeah. Yes. 

[00:09:37] Speaker 2: So it's, I think it's good the fact that you've brought up that it's 12 months and you didn't rush it because so many people, I guess just wanting to jump straight in.

without actually that consideration of how the plans are gonna work and 

[00:09:49] Speaker 3: how you Yeah, we do see that a lot. People trying to rush through the design phase so they can get to site and start building, whereas I think the way that you put it is really good. Like planning stage and getting the drawings right is so important and having that time to can actually consider.

What you're designing, how you're gonna live in it and taking that time. 

[00:10:08] Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I certainly agree with that. And in hindsight, I would say that was a really good decision to spend time. We actually lived in the house for a couple of years before we even commenced the renovation. Yeah. And that, that was actually, I mentioned the architect was with us before we finally bought the house, and he did say at that inspection, Just cool your jets for at least a year and live and experience all four seasons in this house before you know what the house is capable of.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that's That's good advice. That was really strong advice. Yeah. To, you know, know what, what does a hot day feel like and where does the family sort of retreat to and. And where do you look to fling open winter for light, you know, these things that you have to live in to appreciate. Yeah. Yes.

So that was good. And look, I, I don't really, I, I should say I don't really have any specialty in any of this, like design or building. I'm a rank amateur at, but I tried to take on as much information as I could. We included a, a lap pool actually in our house, as you know. Yep. And when I was investigating pools, I went to the swimming pool expo.

It's like called Spaza or something. Oh yeah. Yeah. And it happens that maybe it was the Echo or the Yeah, yeah. It's at the 

[00:11:15] Speaker 2: RNA showgrounds 

[00:11:16] Speaker 1: every year. Yeah. And it's all these pool builders and like, you know, it's a world of pools. So I went out there and in amongst all the sort of exhibits and, and displays, they have kind of speeches or presentations.

And I went to a presentation at at spaza by a pool builder and he had his first slide at the presentation was just three words on the first slide, design or die . And his point was, your point Jeremy, he said that most people that come here go straight to tile selection or grout color. Or pool cleaners or is it mineral or, or chlorine.

Yeah. And all of these execution things. But he says the real merit is in thinking. Exactly where in the garden do you want the pool? Yeah. Yes. And exactly what is your intention to use it? Is it just to cool off with a beer or is it to stay fit? Yeah. Or is it for the children to have their friends around?

Yeah. These considerations, in his view, were designed considerations. Yeah. That had to be worked through before you considered building anything. Yeah. Well, it's 

[00:12:24] Speaker 2: good advice as well. Like a lot of people don't think about that. They just jump straight in and well jump straight in anyway. But they , they, yeah, they just, they get too excited about all the shiny objects instead of going through the process of, Hey, I've gotta think about where this is located.

Because like for your site, I guess, as well as like you've got a lot of established trees and then the landscaping was a big consideration on your project, so that in. Is a nightmare when, when it comes to pools, cuz you're constantly having to clean them. So. Correct. And trying to get that positioned with the house and then get maximum sunlight on it is definitely a big consideration of it.

And especially because of the, the size of it. It's quite the feature. So you want to be incorporating that as well. So obviously it's, you've gone through the design and then we'd work with Matt on a previous project, so he's introduced us to. . And then from there we've quoted, and I guess I think there was a little bit of back and forth.

Mm-hmm. while we sort of massaged everything to fit within the budget. Mm-hmm. in terms of designing to a budget, how do you think that came into play and where do you think the accuracy and how that was portrayed sort of worked within the job? Like? Yeah. Do you think there was, because there's no exact science to designing to a budget.

Like Yeah, we based off a square meter to start with and then especially with 

[00:13:38] Speaker 3: a house like yours, yours. Really custom and a lot of sort of fine details, like hard execution work. Yeah. So yeah, you're right. There's no exact science to designing to a budget for that. But sort of how did you, I guess, find that process and the 

[00:13:51] Speaker 2: initial shock, I guess, of the first build quote that comes back to you?

There's also that, and what was your expectations versus reality in 

[00:14:00] Speaker 1: the pricing? Yeah. I guess what it took ultimately was fair bit of patience from the people we were working with. You know, which we are grateful for because as the kind of, I guess client as we were, we had stars in our eyes about what we would want.

And you're very aspirational. Yes. When you're imagining your forever heart. Yeah. And you're right, n numbers at that aspirational stage are just sort of best guesses. Yeah. And I think sort of at one key moment, the plans were put to a quantity surveyor. Yep. To just do a notional cost analysis. And in some of our early.

That produced a bit of shock that we had to go back and reconsider. Yeah. Some of our choices. And then at that key stage of, you know, you guys getting involved and doing a detailed quote based on at the time, what was very close to final plans, you know, you guys also came back with a number that we wouldn't have been able to afford.

You know, I remember that meeting that you guys said, look, there's many. To this. Yeah. Um, because, you know, you understood that there was a budget and that wasn't, I mean there of course there's a budget. Every client, every client has a finite amount to spend. And I think you did have patience and persistence to sort of say to us, well, everything is achievable and possible if we can just make some really efficient decisions.

Yeah. And where it was different with your review versus the architects. You guys were really dealing with the art at the possible. You actually had to be the ones with the hand tools and the materials Yeah. To actually bring some of these line sketches to life. Yeah. And you knew exactly what the buildability of different solutions was.

So I, I do remember Christian part of the process at that time was that, in collaboration with us. I mean, these meetings were happening with us yourselves and the architect all present. Yeah. Yeah. And part of the, the challenge that you guys were putting was where could some different approaches or different solutions be imagined that might start to make this a bit more efficient?

Yeah. And a bit more cost friendly. And, you know, that would've been a, that would've been a terrible waste of your time if we didn't end up going with you. Yeah. Because you put a lot of time into the process. But that is what the process required for us. We were grateful for that patience because we were a little bit naive.

Yeah. Probably as clients about what the true cost of things was. Yeah. But happily in the end we, you know, by the time that we'd done that sort of re brieff and work through with you, we did get to a number that we felt confident about working with. Yeah. And I guess that's why we 

[00:16:26] Speaker 2: probably put in the time, because it's not just, here's a number and then see you later.

It's like, we can still achieve what you want to. We've just. Do the dance and go back and forth. Yeah. And then I guess that's even more realities for you guys is like that list of wants just maybe gets smaller or we just find other 

[00:16:43] Speaker 1: ways to build it. That's right. And so that was, that was a good experience because it didn't create any sort of conflict or in, in our minds as.

As, as you know, husband and wife, it didn't create necessarily any pressure or tension or conflict. It was just, it's always good to hear because , it was just a challenge that we had to be a bit more honest and ruthless within ourselves about what mattered most. Yeah. 

[00:17:05] Speaker 2: And I think that's probably, yeah, the best way to articulate it, that you have to look at it and be like, this is what we can spend.

Are we just gonna throw in the towel or we gonna actually pull this back and pull it into line? So thanks. Some compromises. Yeah. Which is great because sometimes we see that people don't wanna compromise and it doesn't proceed, so it's sort of a waste of time for everybody in a lot of emotion. Whereas you guys have actually taken on board, everybody's.

And, um, sort of pushed forward with it and followed everybody's guidance. So it's been, um, yeah, it was a good process. Yeah. Yeah. So then obviously we've gone through design pricing, and then we've moved to signing contracts and moving onsite. You guys had to move out for yours because we were raising the house.

So you were living offsite, but just up the street. How did you find. I guess the bill process and the duration of it and your expectations versus reality. Again, sort of what you'd perceived that it would take and then how long it actually took. 

[00:18:01] Speaker 1: Yeah. I think it ended up taking the intended amount of time with, I think when you first arrived, we roughly had a sort of 12 month.

Build schedule. Yeah. Yeah. Give or take. And I, I think we ended up landing at roughly a 12 month Yeah. Result. Um, yeah, we had a 

[00:18:17] Speaker 2: few additional variation, like additional items put in, but I 

[00:18:20] Speaker 1: think the timeline was pretty close with yours significantly. This is all pre covid, by the way, pre Covid construction.

Um, but look, that, that was. I guess one of the reasons that, you know, I'm happy talking about it all. It was a pretty interesting and exciting moment in our lives. To be creating something that was purpose-built for us was, was exciting. Yeah. So, you know, I probably spent a lot of time on site myself and lots of coffee runs.

Lots of, yeah, lots, lots of coffee runs and getting to know the team and that was just interesting to me. You know, I've always kind of wanted. Understand what the work is that people are doing and any problems that they're encountering, it's, I find it's just useful to know rather than, rather than not.

Yes. So, you know, you guys tolerated probably a lot of site visits. I think some builders actually, from what I've heard, prefer clients to not attend site. 

[00:19:12] Speaker 2: Depends on the, depends on the client maybe. Yeah. And also the timing of it. Like if you've, I guess it was probably good that you weren't there when they were raising the house, cuz the house was so big and raising it up was like, I remember that day it was, it was a big day lot going on.

Yeah. So I guess from coming onto site, like it's your home so you gotta be comfortable and I guess it's also a good education for you. Yeah. 

[00:19:35] Speaker 1: So, so that was, um, I mean the team was good. You know, I don't know how often the same team works with you guys on each of your projects, but it felt to me, Almost all of the trades were people you were really familiar with and had some prior history with.

And so there was, it just felt that there was a good sort of understanding and rhythm between each of the different contributors. So I never really saw, you know, slack attendance or, or any tension or any sort of quality lapses. Yeah. Um, from, from what I could see as an outsider, it looked like there was good teamwork, uh, going on.

And, and that's, you know, When in anything Right. Must 

[00:20:14] Speaker 2: have come on the happy days. . 

[00:20:15] Speaker 1: Well, well, but, but in, in anything, you know, whether it's, you know, anything at all building or family life or sports teams, you know, when you see what seems to be good teamwork Yeah. You know, you're on the right 

[00:20:26] Speaker 3: track. Yeah. I mean that's definitely our intention.

As you said. We, we try to use the same people from job to job. You know, you will always have one that you'll switch out every now and then, but if everyone knows what everyone expects and get a good sort of rhythm on together, it just makes for. Better work. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:20:43] Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. I think, yeah, we've got the same carpenter still, so that was a few years ago.

Yeah, which is good. 

[00:20:47] Speaker 1: The, the other thing I would say about, about sh taking an active interest in, in fact, that would be probably my one recommendation, I would say and, and have said to anyone who's ever asked me about going through a renovation. My, my main advice would be take an active interest a hundred percent.

[00:21:01] Speaker 2: I think the more you know and actually being involved, like obviously not overpowering and trying to be controlling, but actually. Getting to know the ins and outs, it makes the process a lot easier. I think the other extreme where people don't get involved or they just turn up on site once we start doing all the cabinetry and they're like, oh, that's what that looks like.

Like I think that's sort of a recipe for disaster because. You can be, I guess, unhappy with the product or forgotten about what, what's going on. But also being on site, you are sort of seeing firsthand what's happening and that Yeah, it's a good way to approach it. Yeah. I think the 

[00:21:34] Speaker 3: other thing about that too is on a job like that, there will no doubt be one or two hard conversations to have client builder and architect throughout the job where.

It's a custom home, something will come up that you didn't anticipate or hasn't gone exactly right. If you are sort of immersed in it, know the team, you sort of feel comfortable and trust everyone. When someone comes to you to have that sort of conversation, you probably feel more comfortable and no, they're not trying to pull the woo over your eyes or something like that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't remember if we had to have. Yeah, I think many of those conversations, but I'm sure there was one or two to 

[00:22:07] Speaker 2: date. A few to date. I think your job's the only one we've ever gone back to with a builder's renovation, uh, variation cause of the floor. Remember the, there was some termite damage.

There was a lot of rot damage in one of the 

[00:22:19] Speaker 1: beams. I can't 

[00:22:20] Speaker 3: remember. I think 

[00:22:21] Speaker 2: there was a lot. Bathroom or something. Yeah. So we had to change some things. I think that's the only time we've. Requested a variation from Yeah. Construction point of view. And I 

[00:22:29] Speaker 1: guess that's the, oh, there's a couple of things that I remember.

You know, we had a really strong goal to have great gardens. Yes. All, all around the house. So the house as, as you know, kind of blends the indoors and the outdoors. Yeah. Mm-hmm. , that's kind of one thing. So a lot of sliding doors open to courtyard gardens and, you know, big windows have, you know, elements of garden kind of growing and hanging around them.

There's just a. , a lot of foliage in and around everything. Yeah. And one thing I came to learn through being on site was that I learned about how the footings on retaining walls and block walls, and even the earring of slabs, yes. On the groundworks. And I hadn't ever really considered the, you know, reinforced, reinforced steel footings and how they.

Go into the ground and then spread out to kind of anchor into the ground. Yeah, and what becomes very visible when you see the footings going into walls and slabs is you actually see what the true ground level and the potential for soil and drainage. And planting actually looks like. Yeah. Because you're now in a environment that's full of steel and concrete.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. . And that was probably one thing. And you, you remember Jeremy, in, in hindsight, and I know you'll remember this because you patiently spent a couple of days jack hammering concrete. 

[00:23:49] Speaker 3: I think we had an apprentice, quick, quick carpentry because of this. He spent a week and a half on a 

[00:23:54] Speaker 1: jackhammer , but, but we all kind of noticed that whilst the engineering, cause the engineers are the ones who sign off, obviously Yes.

On these fittings. And whilst the engineers had done a very sort of thorough job. That also left a few points where viable planting and gardens were going to be out of the question because there was just too much concrete 

[00:24:15] Speaker 2: between Yeah, we need another a hundred or 200 mil for soil. 

[00:24:18] Speaker 1: I remember that. Yeah.

Yeah. And, and, and so that was probably one that, I mean, frankly, that sucked for you guys to have to, to have to unpick. That that work once concrete had set. Yeah, it was a long week for him. Yeah. cutting it off. And in hindsight though, I mean, cause you guys have been back to the property since, in hindsight, I'm sure you would agree that that was work worth doing.

[00:24:37] Speaker 3: Oh yeah. The gardens at your house are amazing. Like the house is amazing itself, but when you sort of add the gardens into it, it just makes for a really nice experience being. It's, as you said, it's like indoor outdoor living. It's all so green. It's beautiful. 

[00:24:52] Speaker 1: Yeah. There, there was one of the, thanks, Jeremy.

There was one other time, again, you'll remember this. We, we don't have a double lockup garage at our property. We have, we have two carports Yeah. Out the front, which was a whole decision in itself. That was actually a really big decision. It was, it was essentially driven by trying to keep the large trees Yeah.

That we had out the. . And so we had a limited amount of storage, and the way we solved that is, you remember we built a, a storage zone underneath the pool deck. Yeah. So we effectively excavated underneath the pool deck to build a, a generous lockup storage shed. Yeah. And I remember again, after the sort of footings and peering was done for that site, I think probably you and I stood there and it became apparent.

We would have to hunch over to be inside that storage shed. Yeah. Because it wasn't quite deep enough. Yeah. And that realization was after the Rio and the Concrete Authority in , if you remember. I vaguely remember this. And so again, it all just ties back to the main point is that it's how you live with things that matter most.

You know, it's not what matters most isn't how things look. It's how you can live with them. Yeah. And so, for example, in a storage area, you wanna be able to stand upright and walk free. and I remember giving you that feedback and you know, without hesitation you said, fair enough. Let's jackhammer it out and start again.

You can only Christian do that if you're sort of a little bit onsite and paying attention. Yeah. Otherwise you just go through life with a sore back in your, in your Yeah. . 

[00:26:24] Speaker 2: Yeah. And see, I guess that's the other benefit. Yeah. I've obviously being involved and getting on site, having a look, Exploring and understanding exactly what's happening, because I guess from our point of view, we work with plans every day, but if you are not, if you're just looking at some lines on a paper, you can't actually visualize what the outcome's gonna be or how high that area's gonna be.

And I guess, yeah, being on site and having those meetings that we did on site a fair bit that. Help with the whole process. Yeah. 

[00:26:51] Speaker 1: Yeah. So 

[00:26:52] Speaker 2: getting through the build, obviously I think yours was a little bit different to normal cuz you had an architect managing it. How did you find, I guess, the difference in, I guess you wouldn't know the difference actually because you haven't done it without it, but having an architect manage that, did it help with communication?

They manage the onsite construction. Yeah. Yeah. Instead of like the contract admin, they manage that and also the documentation and the back and forth between us and you. How did you find all that in terms of them managing it? Did it make it easier for you? 

[00:27:21] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it did. Yeah. I, I wouldn't say it's the most impactful part of the architect experience.

Yep. Because it's, it's sort of what you are talking about is, is about project delivery and accountability. Yeah. And, you know, monitoring, it's almost just a second set of eyes to run over payment milestones. Yep. And run, run over quality. You know, I, I think in my experience, that wasn't a huge part. Of the architect's role?

Yeah. I mean, you'd worked with them before, you know, you already knew what each other's expectations were. Yes. So, yeah, look, I, I would say it was valuable for sure, helped sort of provide some extra supervision and accountability, but it wasn't the most critical part. Of the project management. 

[00:28:06] Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. I guess cuz you were so involved in it, I think you'll cross it a lot more than the other clients we've had where they've had an architect manager where they've sort of taken a backseat and just let them, so, so I, 

[00:28:18] Speaker 1: I'd broadly say it was helpful.

Yeah. Um, but not the most decisive. Part of the whole thing. Yep. 

[00:28:24] Speaker 2: So we've gone through the whole build, gone through a few hurdles, got everything finished. I guess the next step is obviously you've been living in the home now for a while. Looking back, is there anything you'd probably look at changing or wish you knew?

Earlier on in the piece, or any advice I guess, that you're wishing knew that you can pass 

[00:28:43] Speaker 1: on ? Um, yeah. Uh, well this is, this. Here's Bluebird . This is probably, oh, hindsight's a great thing. This is probably like, I, I kind of, you know, old enough to know that sometimes you don't wanna live with regrets. Yes, regrets suck.

And this is why I think paying a lot of attention to the plans and trying to understand them as best you can, and. You know, showing this active interest in, in the team that are doing the work. Yeah. And the decisions that are being made and the execution, what the active interest allows you to come away from it all with is no regrets.

Yes. So, you know, broadly, I'm really, you know, delighted that, you know, we're able to create this house. Yeah. And I would never leave it, you know, it's in some respects Perfect. Yeah. But, you know, of course nothing's ever perfect. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so what would I learn differently or do differently c. I guess time will tell, you know?

Yeah. As, as, as the kids sort of, you know, go through different life phases, go from maybe school to work or uni, and there'll be changes in how the house works. Yes. For the people that live there. And that may reveal a few things, but for now with, you know, three school-aged kids and busy lives and we're trying to keep, you know, social and.

Have the house is a place where people can come and meet and hang out and just enjoy. Yeah, it does a perfect job. 

[00:30:03] Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely think your house is definitely one of those houses that can change over the generations because the kids are away from you guys a little bit, but they're not too far away.

So then eventually as they get older, they've got their own little spaces. And then obviously downstairs is definitely a great open space for entertaining, especially flowing to the backyard and. Yeah, I'm sure half the kids in the neighborhood are always floating around. Yeah. It's 

[00:30:25] Speaker 1: a great meeting place, which, and 

[00:30:26] Speaker 2: especially like that photo we got from you, I think it was like a rainy day and the kids were inside playing handball.

Like that's, that's like a 

[00:30:34] Speaker 1: great, remember I think from Frankie, my wife's point of view, ultimately she just wanted a house to be, to kind of be a meeting place. Yeah. That that we, that was probably it for her. Yeah. All the other detail, all the other stuff that we spent acres of time on was just detailed towards an end goal of creating an open, welcoming meeting place.

Yeah. And it's been very successful from that point of view. Yeah. There's obviously considerations in things that you choose and build that. You kind of have to come to live with, like, we've got a, a fairly large void mm-hmm. in our house, you know, a two story open void, which lets, it's probably a key feature actually.

Yeah. Which was lets a lot of light in and it creates a lot of ventilation and a, and a sense of volume. You know, it's quite a, it's, oh, it's definitely 

[00:31:19] Speaker 2: a key piece and a 

[00:31:19] Speaker 1: showpiece. It's a glorious space, you know? And, and on the other hand, when you live in a house with a large open void, you don't have great acoustic separation.

Yeah. So if the kids want to be going sick on YouTube upstairs, Yeah. Then you, you know, and you are trying to sort of, I don't know, enjoy some time cooking or something. Yeah. And then, You're all there together as one. It's all meshed. It is all, all the sound is all meshed. And that's, you know, added to the fact that we've got, you know, concrete flooring and, and a lot of brick and glass.

And so, um, I'm not saying that I'd do it differently, I'm just saying that you probably have to be aware of this stuff. Yes. If you're someone, actually some people would have real sensitivity towards Yeah. Too, too much noise. and if you were a super sensitive audio person, you probably wouldn't want a void in your house.

Yeah, 

[00:32:07] Speaker 2: yeah. Oh for sure. Yeah. Like those big considerations. I guess that, and especially cuz your upstairs lounge room, I think that was one of my favorite rooms in the house. Like it out looks out through the windows, but then also down through the void. Yeah. I guess is a double-edged sword that Yeah.

Noise does travel in the house and these things I guess you don't think about until you start living 

[00:32:26] Speaker 1: in it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the electricals. Stood up pretty well. This is sort of a boring, unseen detail, but there's just been so much change going on with, you know, the electrification of houses.

Yeah. Um, you know, energy. It's just such a big thing. Yeah. You know, with, you know, how far can you get off the grid with solar and then, you know, uh, how and when do you think about maybe even an electric vehicle in your house? Yeah. And what does that mean in terms of do you need three phase supply? Where are going to be your key connection points for higher voltage appliances.

Yeah. And this sort of stuff. Yeah. So it's actually stood up quite well from that change. Yeah. But it's something I'm a little bit conscious of that if you think about older houses from a generation ago, yeah. They actually don't have electrical plans that are suitable for the future. Yeah. You know, probably also a double lockup garage.

Christian, I've mentioned it before, we don't have one. And it's probably odd for a family home that, you know, we, you know, spent a decent amount of money on. Mm-hmm. Doesn't even have a, a garage again though, if it, we don't even have a front fence. Yes. . Um, so, you know, the house is, is it's, there it is. 800 meter square block in Paddington with no front fence and no garage.

And that's challenging idea, isn't it? 

[00:33:45] Speaker 2: Oh, a hundred percent. Like for people to wrap their minds 

[00:33:48] Speaker 1: around that is, as you know, and as I've come to experience, the separated lightweight kind of carports, they're in amongst mature trees, and then the sort of garden elements that run from the street to the house.

It's actually the absence of a garage and the absence of a front fence that actually makes the house as beautiful as it is. Yeah, agreed. And so the, the only thing we don't have is the opportunity to clutter a double lockup garage with all the crap that people put in there. Yes. Which is hard cause it's as much storage.

But on the other hand, if you think about the way garages get used and abused, I don't know how necessary they are. 

[00:34:25] Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. No, it's definitely, I guess from the outlook from your street, it's definitely a key feature and draws you in when you're walking past. I remember a lot of people stopping and watching and sort of having a little bit of a gander.

But yeah, that, I guess trying to wrap your head around how it's gonna work and your perception and how you functionality using your storage and everything. That was, I guess, thought about in some way because there is some storage elsewhere and across the perimeter you do have complete security. So I guess, yeah, trying to wrap your head around that whole how things actually work is, is a whole different scheme of things.

So, but I think the outcome was amazing in terms of what you've got there. But yeah, trying to plan for the future is, I think something everybody needs to think about when designing a house. Yeah. Yeah, especially, yeah, if you're gonna go three phase or if you're looking to put an electric car off solar, like wheel allowed.

Um, we've got solar on yours and then there was the allowance for the air con and these sort of things. So there was provisions for the future. I think that's probably a good thing to take away as well as just planning for the future. Not just for that stage in your life. Yeah. So, 

[00:35:26] Speaker 1: yeah, yeah, yeah. I think so.

Some of that, you know, anatomy of how does the technical detail of the house actually work? Yes. I know that you guys spend a lot of time thinking about that. It's not always obvious. Sometimes maybe clients want to, they get the beautiful things that they can see. Yeah. Yeah. But sometimes it's the things you can't see.

Like even the in-law, in floor heating system that you put in there to the concrete slab, that's been, and that's an interesting idea, isn't it, that the whole whole house sits on the ground on a large concrete slab in Brisbane, which in summer is beautifully cool. Yep. And also in winter, it just gives us that opportunity to put that gentle, warm glow of heat through the heating system that just leaves the whole house just, you know, mild, but it's doing it without air conditioning.

Yes. You know, it's doing it just with a, a gentle in floor system. Yeah. So lots of possibilities. Cool. Well, I 

[00:36:14] Speaker 3: think that's, I think it's 

[00:36:16] Speaker 1: the overview of 

[00:36:16] Speaker 3: the whole, yeah, whole process. So 

[00:36:19] Speaker 2: thanks for coming 

[00:36:19] Speaker 3: in. Yeah, thanks for sacrificing your morning and coming in and chatting for an hour or so. 

[00:36:23] Speaker 1: Always good to chat to you guys.

Appreciate your work. Look 

[00:36:26] Speaker 3: forward to doing the next one for you, . 

[00:36:28] Speaker 2: I hope so, 

[00:36:29] Speaker 1: yeah. All good. Cool. Thanks. 

[00:36:33] Speaker 2: All right folks. Thanks for listening to Building a Bluebird. We hope you got some great information outta today's. If there are any questions or topics you want us to cover, or even if you want to be a guest on the podcast, please reach out via Instagram, which is bluebird underscore db, or head to our website, www.bluebirddb.com.au, and contact us through there.

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