Perry and Bernadette's List of Lists
(last update: 3rd April, 2008)

Welcome to our list of lists.  These are some of the things we've thought about when building our own home, and we hope that some of these items can assist you when building your home. The list items are provided in no particular order.

Feel free to print these lists and use them as checklists.

Things to consider when planning your electricals

• In the bedrooms, think about where the beds will go, and plan powerpoints accordingly for bedside lamps, clocks, and television
• You can never have too many powerpoints!
• Consider powerpoints at different levels for wall mounted television, or tumble drier, etc.
• Think about your garage - do you have a drinks fridge? It needs a power point.
• Don't forget the external weatherproof powerpoints.

Extras to consider when building a new home

General Internal

• How many coats of paint are standard? Sometimes only 2 top coats and no sealer.
• Do you have stairs? Standard is probably painted MDF, not stained timber
• Floor coverings are often cheaper is you organise them yourself after handover
• Want a timber look floor? While it's cheaper after handover, you need to think about the skirting boards - most builders will not leave them off for you, so you will need to add some quad beading to hide the gap later.
• Do you want locks on your windows? Get the builder to order window winders with built in (keyed alike) locks

General External

• Do you want to extend your garage?
• Is an internal entry door into the house from the garage included?
• Render versus paint and bag? Will you home have one or the other? Sometimes display homes are rendered, but the includion is bagging and painting.

Kitchen

• A water point behind your fridge
• A capped gas point outside near your entertainment area
• Check your fridge space - you may want to enlarge it slightly to get a bigger fridge in later, specially if you want to go to a 2 door.

Bedrooms

• A higher than standard shelf in the wardrobe if you planning on putting drawers in a walk in robe, you might want a higher shelf.
• Check the hot water system - it might be worth an upgrade

Bathroom / Ensuite

• Do you want frosted windows in bathroom or toilet? Some builders use plain glass.

Laundry

• Do you want an extraction fan in the laundry?
• A heating duct in the laundry for drying clothes

Things to do before plaster

• Run your speaker wires
• Run your home theatre projector wires
• Install your home network wiring
• Install your TV antenna coax
• Install your Foxtel cables (remember, IQ needs 2!)
• Put insulation batts in, if they are not already included in the contract
• In a two storey, put sound insulation around the pipes coming from the upper level
• Take photos of where the pipes and cables are
• Make a movie! Go through each room and talk while filming
• Install the wiring for your security
• Install the wiring for your intercom (for a large house)
• Install some extra noggings for your towel rails (normally at 1000 mm high)
• Install some noggings for your toilet roll holders (normally at 900 mm high)