There was much to get right with the Mackie’s home. While the house might not be considered large by today’s lifestyle standards, with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, office and hobbies rooms, double garage, lounge, dining and open-plan kitchen and family room, the finish throughout the house is highly specified and individual. Cathedral ceilings in the lounge and kitchen-family room, built-in furniture including wall-mounted cabinets and extensive architraving all required exacting attention to detail in every room.
The need for flexibility was put to the test during the build when the Mackie’s had to make a decision about including large decorative trusses in the cathedral ceilings in the lounge and kitchen-family room. Richard gave them options and prices and showed them pictures of trusses in similar houses he had built so they could make an informed decision. With the cathedral ceilings complete in both rooms, the Mackie’s could see how the trusses would impact upon the lovely sense of space and light, and happily decided against including them. Richard says Radius sequenced building the home so the trusses could be added at mid-build without extra costs (other than for the trusses themselves) allowing Gaye and Jack to make their decision at the latest possible time. Their decision not to proceed with the trusses was one of many changes made as the build progressed.
‘Once the framing was in place, we designed and priced items for their consideration’, says Richard. ‘This included changes to inbuilt joinery, timber decks and hard landscaping and working closely with the sub-trades to find suitable space for central vacuum and ventilation ducts.’
Keeping track of the build (and the cost) was made easy for the Mackie’s by Radius Building using an innovative building software programme called ‘Co-construct’. The programme enables house owners to see at a glance the building schedule, any variations to the plans and the timing for when decisions need to be made before they occur.
‘Co-construct is excellent – it keeps everything on track’, says Jack Mackie. ‘We knew in advance when decisions were coming up. We made some changes as the building progressed and the programme was updated to keep the dates accurate. It took the pressure off us.’
