The Process
The 4 Stages Of Our Process
1. Design and Build
We are here to make the journey as smooth as possible.
2. From Sign to Start
We know that you will be excited to see some action happening as soon as possible, and so are we.
3. During the Build
We will step you through the build process, so you always know what stage your build is at.
4. Your New Home is Almost Complete!
As we approach handover, we invite you to do a walk-through with our project manager to identify defects.
1. Design and Build
Whether you’re on the hunt for your new section to build on, or already own it and are ready to embark on the new build journey, we understand that building your new home can be a little bit daunting but also really exciting! That’s why at Echo Homes, our team is here to make that journey as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
You may have already seen one of our standard plans that you like and think may be suitable for your site and close to what you want your new home to be. We can work with one of our plans and modify it to suit, or, start with a blank canvas and design the perfect home to suit all your needs and wants! Throughout this process, one or more of our team will also come and check out your site with you to make sure we are ticking all the boxes.
Our experienced designer will work with you to design the perfect plan for you. They will check town planning rules and subdivision covenants to make sure we are designing a home that is able to be built on your site. We usually require a geotechnical report and survey contour report for your site in order to help get things right. Most developers can offer these, though sometimes we may need more site-specific information than what they’re able to offer.
The team at Echo Homes understands that designing a home is not only about how many bedrooms and bathrooms you want, but also what is important to you, such as flow and functionality, space for your loved ones and other special design features to make sure your new home is one that will keep giving for years to come.
Once you are happy with your design and product selections, we are able to provide you with a quote for your new home. That’s right, a quote, ready for contract and ready to continue onto the next stage of your new build journey!
2. From Sign to Start
We know that once you’ve signed your build contract you will be excited to see some action happening as soon as possible, and so are we so while we are waiting for your plans to go through the necessary draughting and building consent stages, here are some things that will keep you busy.
If you’d like, we can organise for you to meet with a colour consultant who will help you decide on design and décor options such as your flooring colours, internal and external painting, kitchen cabinets and bench top options, joinery colours and all the other little pieces that help make your new home everything you are after.
At pricing, we will provide you with a standard electrical plan with any extras you’re aware of at this stage. Following this we can also organise an electrical consultation with our electrician to go over this plan and add any extras you may have thought of. Arguably one of the most important areas of your new home is the kitchen. We will also organise a consultation with our kitchen supplier to discuss your design options and all of the ‘must haves’ within this space.
When it comes to wardrobe fit outs, our allowance is stated in the specification, but you may want more. The best way to organise this is to meet with the wardrobe company and come up with a design that works for your needs.
3. During the Build
Pre-construction meeting – Once building consent is issued, we are able to make a start on site. Before we start, we will meet with you again to go over the build from more of an ‘onsite’ perspective. Here, we can give you a good idea of what stage you can expect your build to be at over the next 1-2 months and how we expect things to progress.
On-site Health and Safety – even though this is your home being built, it is also a construction site. This means we have to limit your access to the site significantly. You will go through a health and safety induction and then require permission to access the site.
On-site meetings – We invite you to participate in on-site meetings with the project manager during office hours when either you or they see one as beneficial. Usually, this will be limited to a few meetings at important stages of the build but we are always happy to discuss more regular options.
Construction updates – We will endeavour to provide you with fortnightly updates on how your new home is
progressing. We will provide you with photos and our projected build schedule for each stage.
Other Communication – We are happy to discuss any enquiries you may have throughout the build. We will provide you with an email address and mobile numbers for the people who will be your best point of contact.
4. Your New Home is Almost Complete!
Exciting times! As we approach handover, we invite you to do a walk-through with our project manager to identify defects. We generally aim to do this walk-through right after the initial interior clean is complete so that you can see all surfaces looking nice and fresh. This is also the stage where we go for our final inspection with the council. From here, we aim to have any defects remedied and your new home ready to hand over to you within a 5-7 day period. You will receive a preliminary settlement statement showing all the payments you have made, any variation extras you have added, provisional sum adjustments and the final balance owing. You have time to look this over and compare it with your own records. We remind you to organise your own insurance and try to make the whole final settlement and hand over the positive start to moving into your new home that it should be. We will have journeyed together for quite some time by now and this is where we have all been heading since the day you first made contact with Echo Homes. On handover day, our team look forward to meeting with you in your new home to take a moment to enjoy the experience of giving you the keys and full ownership.
