You’ve found the worst house in the best location and street. The block of land is sensational. But the house isn’t worth a cracker. Or maybe parts of the house are worthy of saving and incorporating into a new extensive build.
OR
You love where you live, but the rising costs of renovating, modernising, and repairs have just become a nightmare. You’ve looked at all of the other options, and one thing stands out – you CAN buy the house, or keep your existing location, and replace the old house with a new one. 

We are your experts in listening to what you need, talking you through what’s possible and permissible, and then giving you the knowledge, skills and expertise to get the job of redeveloping your land done with exemplary service.

Interline have been awarded multiple awards as premier Luxury Home and Extension/Renovations Builders over the past seven years, with accolades from both the MBAV and the HIA.

There may be several reasons for your choice to have your Knock Down Rebuild Home constructed – and not all of the reasons will be within your control. The home you have chosen, or currently live in may be:

• Infested with white ants/termites
• In a fabulous real estate location, but the home requires extensive renovations or modifications for modernisation
• More expensive to renovate as compared to knocking it down and starting again
• Unsuited to your lifestyle or design ideals
• Poorly positioned on the block of land, impeding views, security and/or expansion
• Heritage Protected in some respects
• Condemned for demolition (due to cracked brickwork, Insulwool in the roof, lathen plaster, asbestos)
• Eligible for Subdivision either now or in the future (STCA) and the current house is in the way
• Damaged by fire, flood or vandalism
• In need of restumping

WE CAN KNOCK DOWN YOUR OLD HOME AND REBUILD YOUR DREAM HOME

• Affordable Luxury Homes will ensure you get the home you want in the location that suits your lifestyle
• Your new home can be designed with Affordable Luxury Homes to be everything you want it to be (within your budget)
• You can take advantage of having a new, environmentally friendly design with cost-saving features
• You’ll get the advice you need to wade through what is and isn’t possible (due to the zoning of your land)
• You’ll have the features, finishes and the finest in quality workmanship that you deserve – and at a price that works for you.

The difference with  Affordable Luxury Homes is that they will give you realistic suggestions,
honest evaluations of what is possible in terms of your specific knockdown rebuild,
keep you constantly informed on the process of obtaining a Planning Permit and provide you
with an expert design and build team. Not only this, you will also feel comfortable talking to us
the whole way through the construction process.
And, when you finally open the door to your new, luxury home (at the same address), and a brand new lifestyle…Are your customers raving about you on social media? Share their great stories to help turn potential customers into loyal ones.

YOU’LL RELAX
The team at Affordable Luxury Homes will constantly communicate with you through the entirety of the build.
From initial consultations, permit proceedings; the moment your old house is knocked down and the moment a rebuild begins to take place, your project manager will keep you continually informed and updated on proceedings.
The good news is that you can have your dream home designed, quoted, and built by Interline Constructions on your block of land, no matter whether the land is flat, sloping, or undulating. In turn, you’ll receive:
Advice suited to your specific project
An experienced and confident design and build team
Seamless and extensive communication, and
A Premier Award-Winning Company responsible for the build of your beautiful new home Running a holiday sale or weekly special? Definitely promote it here to get customers excited about getting a sweet deal.

You’ll maximise the potential of your land space
Uniqueness – your new home can be custom-designed and built to your own specifications and needs
You’ll be able to create fabulous new entertaining areas
You’ll have the opportunity to experience having the best home in the best street, and thus increase the net worth of your property or investment
You’ll have a home with high quality finishes
You’ll feel proud that you’ve achieved your dream of building a luxury new home in the location you love. Have you opened a new location, redesigned your shop, or added a new product or service? Don't keep it to yourself, let folks know.

POSTED BY INTERLINE CONSTRUCTIONS ON JUNE 22, 2019

Many homeowners in the Melbourne area love the location of their home. The neighbours are great, the schools are ideal, and you’re the perfect distance from friends and family. There’s just one thing missing from the equation: your ideal home.

Sure, you couldn’t ask for a better neighbourhood, but you aren’t exactly living in the home of your dreams. Or maybe you would be okay with a new location, but just don’t want to go through all the hassle of selling, buying, and moving. There are two typical approaches to solve your dilemma: renovate your existing home or knock it down and rebuild from scratch.

Both options have their fair share of pros and cons, and at Affordable Luxury homes we have years of experience working with homeowners on either side of the fence. We know why some people choose one over the other, and we know all the ins and outs of the cost, process, time-frame, and more. In this guide we’ll take a close look at knock down rebuild vs. renovation so that you can make an informed decision with your best interests in mind.

Before you get too far down the rabbit hole of comparing all the variables, you should first determine whether you are actually allowed to knock down your house. It would be a shame to waste a lot of time doing all of this research only to find out that this option isn’t even on the table.

Specifically, certain council planning laws in your region may place limits on the extent of renovations that are allowed. And they may prohibit demolition altogether. If your home is particularly old or may hold historical significance, you should definitely check on the regulations before committing to any big master plans. You can learn more about these rules and search a database of protected places at the Heritage Council Victoria.

If your home is suitable for a knockdown rebuild, the first thing on the mind of most homeowners is the bottom line. So let’s examine what the typical cost of renovating is compared to custom home building from scratch.

While prices are obviously going to fluctuate depending on the extent of your needs, a good guideline for the average cost of a production home is about $250,000 for a 2-storey house and the average cost of a custom home in Melbourne is $750,000 to over $1 million. Renovations are a little harder to estimate because they can vary so widely based on what your project entails. The best approach, if you are trying to decide whether to renovate or rebuild, is to work with a design and build firm to get a quote or two for renovations. If the renovations are more than half the price of a rebuild, it may make more financial sense to just knock everything down and start from scratch.

A rebuild can be a financially sounder choice especially if you’ve got an older home. A brand new home will be built to modern energy efficiency standards, so you could end up saving a lot in the long run. Some modern home rebuilds lead to as much as a 40% decrease in water usage, for example. Likewise, new homes are cheaper to maintain. When you opt for knockdown rebuild, every bit of your home will be brand new. With a renovation, you’ll still have to worry about the existing wear on the parts of your home that aren’t being replaced.

Going hand in hand with the question of renovate or rebuild cost is the current condition of your house. Obviously, the more deteriorated and worn down your home currently is, the more renovations are going to cost. Likewise, if the very structure of your house doesn’t fit the home of your dreams, trying to remodel it into shape may be like trying to fit a square peg through a round hole. It could be that the extent of restructuring that needs to be implemented just makes a renovation unrealistically expensive compared to a knockdown rebuild.

Here are a few factors regarding the condition of your home when it comes to deciding whether you want to renovate or rebuild:

If it is just a room or two that needs to be restructured, along with an addition off the kitchen, you probably don’t need a complete knockdown. If, however, you are going to be making so many renovations that your house is practically being transformed into something new—why not just go ahead and start from scratch in the first place?

Modern residential design aims to make the best possible use of sunlight to improve both function and energy efficiency. Older homes, however, may have been constructed without this best practice in mind. Your home might be facing in a completely unworkable direction for accessing the sun. Especially if you are on a small footprint without room to expand, rebuilding could be a much simpler process than renovating, especially if you are planning on getting solar panels installed in the long run.

If you have termite damage of any sort, some repair is obviously in order. If your support beams are suffering termite damage, for example, you are going to have to tear them out and replace them. But if the damage is significant and widespread throughout large portions of the home, a total knockdown and rebuild is the best solution. You don’t just get to start with a clean slate, you have peace of mind knowing that the problem has been completely eliminated.

If you don’t have the square meterage to extend outward, your only chance to expand your living space is to build up. Sometimes, however, your existing foundation won’t be strong enough to safely support a second storey. While there is the possibility of constructing a self-supporting second floor, the better route may be a knockdown rebuild that includes reconstructing the foundation to allow for a taller home.

Generally speaking, you are considering a knockdown rebuild because you plan to stay in your current location long term. Maybe forever. If, however, you do plan to sell anytime in the near future, you want to ensure that you are getting a good return on your investment. If you spend $900,000 on modifying your home but it will only sell for $750,000 then you obviously have to weigh the benefits and costs of that decision.

Here are some factors to keep in mind when considering your return on investment:

First, you need to know what your total house renovation cost is going to be. This is the baseline from which you will make your decision based on several other factors. You want to compare the cost to renovate versus the cost to rebuild in order to determine which is financially feasible.

Your return on investment is going to be calculated with a pretty simple formula: new market value minus original market value minus renovation costs. You want to calculate your returns based on both the renovation option and the rebuild option.

Here is an example to make that a bit clearer. Imagine the current market value of your home is $900,000. If spending $500,000 on renovations would boost the market value to $1,450,000 then your total return on investment is $50,000.

If you instead spend $900,000 on a complete rebuild and it increases the sale value to $2,150,000 then the return on investment is $350,000. Rebuilds like this are common when your home is located in a very expensive neighbourhood. The market value of the home is boosted due to location, so you can get a much better return on your investment.

Of course, it’s not always easy to get an exact calculation of what your home will be worth. That’s why you have to keep in mind the real estate market in your area, as well as trends over time. If you don’t plan on selling for twenty years, for example, then it could be very hard to predict what your home’s value will be down the road. Your best bet is to work with a knowledgeable real estate agent who can help you make an informed decision based on past experiences in the area.

Something that you don’t want to do is make your house the odd man out in the neighbourhood. If your home is significantly more expensive than the others nearby, then you may have a hard time finding a buyer. Generally speaking, most people buying into a particular neighbourhood pay within a particular range. A home that’s $500,000 outside of this range is not going to attract offers as quickly. You may end up needing to reduce your asking price to the point that you aren’t earning back what you put into the home.

Although it might not be a strong deciding factor in whether you choose to renovate or rebuild, you probably should have an idea on the total time-frame. Knocking down and rebuilding from scratch can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months. Renovations can vary wildly, of course, based on the extent of changes. But a complete renovation of an entire house will usually take between 6 to 8 months.

Whatever option you choose, you aren’t looking at an overnight process, so be prepared for a long term project, especially if you want it done properly by a reputable company

Many homeowners opt for a complete rebuild for the same reason that people buy a new car: peace of mind. Even the most complete home renovation is going to have its share of risks compared to a new custom home build. You are working with old materials, after all, so you’ll have to deal with all the quirks that come with them.

Here are some of the most common pitfalls to keep in mind when it comes to renovating.

For starters, when you choose to renovate your home instead of rebuilding it, you are stuck with the the original architecture to some extent, for better or worse. While you can work around this, it isn’t always easy. If your home was built decades ago, then it is likely based on outdated design principles that don’t meet the needs of modern families and may also attract less buyers if you are planning on selling it once finished. You may be stuck with small rooms and crowded hallways when what you really want is more open space.

Rebuilding a custom home is often easier because you are starting from a clean slate. There are no unknown variables. When you choose to renovate, things are a little less predictable and you might end up having to spend more than planned as things don’t always fall in place. While pre-construction inspections will provide a good deal of insight on the project, there is always the chance that hidden problems will pop up. This means that your costs may end up higher than you originally budgeted for.

Depending on the age of your house, there could be serious issues with the plumbing and electrical work. They’ll have to be taken care of during renovation to protect the longevity of your home and for the safety of your family. Likewise, structural damage can be very difficult to completely account for during renovations. If it isn’t handled properly, you could find your walls beginning to crack in a few years, which generally isn’t going to be a risk you run with brand new construction.

If your house has been around for a while and seen many owners in its life, odds are that it’s been renovated in the past. Some homes, though, see renovation on top of renovation on top of renovation. If these weren’t handled by professionals and didn’t do much to take into account the existing structure of the home, you could be living in a Frankenstein of a house. Renovating it even further could be a lot trickier since there may be past damage that needs to be undone therefore building it from scratch is the best way to go.

In the end, a renovation is just more complicated than a rebuild. You’re trying to merge the old with the new, which means there are a lot more decisions to be made. If you are looking for a simpler process, a rebuild may be better for you. Once you’ve worked with a designer to work out all of the plans, there is very little else you need to do other than wait for your brand new custom home to be built.

Just because there are more variables in a renovation, that doesn’t mean it’s always a bad choice. Some homeowners will be happier with a complete home renovation over a rebuild. Here are some of the reasons why. If many of them resonate with you, a knockdown rebuild might not be what you’re really looking for.

Some people attach their memories to objects or places very strongly. Maybe you have been living in your existing home for decades. Maybe you’ve raised a family there. Whatever the reason, you have a strong emotional attachment to your home, and knocking it down completely might put you off. If so, a home renovation will let you preserve your memories but still update the look, feel, and functionality of your house.

Some homeowners feel a strong tie to their home’s historical roots. Your house could be a century old, and a half dozen other families were raised within its walls. If you feel like your time there is one more chapter in an age old tale, then renovating allows you to keep your home’s story alive while still modernising it a bit.

While modern architectural practices and design trends may have made homes much more efficient and ergonomic, there are some old souls who just fall in love with the charm of older styles. The creaks in the floor, the quirky corners, the classic exterior. Renovation allows you to preserve these charming features while still bringing the home into the 21st century.

The decision to renovate your home or knock it down and rebuild from scratch isn’t always a clear choice. But one choice is clear: Affordable Luxury homes has the experience and expertise to take care of your home either way. 

If you are thinking of building a custom home but you are not too sure on what is involved, which will hopefully give you a better understanding.

Whether you’re ready to get started today or still aren’t sure which is the choice for you, get in touch today. We’ll schedule a free consultation to go over everything and help you make the most informed decision possible.

POSTED BY ADAMW ON MAY 11, 2019

Building your new home from scratch gives you the freedom to create the home of your dreams in a location of your choosing. Custom homes are an exciting and rewarding choice, so you’ll no doubt be dying to see the finished product.

So let’s answer the question that’s no doubt been playing on your mind: how long does it take to build a custom home? The short answer is, it depends. On average, custom homes in Melbourne can take between 6 and 12 months to be completed.

Here are some of the factors that can affect your custom home time frame.

Before starting to build a custom home, there are a few different hoops that need jumping through first.

There are documents, planning permits, and approvals that you need to get before we can get started.

Once all the right documents and approvals have been completed, we’ll need to prepare the block of land you want to build on.

This stage of the build will take a little longer if you don’t yet have permits, or if there are complications with the land.

If the block of land you’ve chosen for your home is on a slope this can also affect the custom home time frame.

Sloping blocks can offer some great advantages like good views, more design options, and more natural light. But building on a sloping block can be a little more complicated, which can add time to the build.

If your land lot has rubble, roots, rocks or even existing services such as pipes beneath the surface, it can take longer to prepare the lot for building. The land will need to be cleared and levelled.

Different soil conditions also require different earthworks to provide a solid and stable support for your home.

Throughout the planning stage you’ll need to make a lot of decisions. You’ll need to decide on materials, layout, style, etc.

This decision making process can be a quick one if you already know what you want. But if you’re not too sure, and you spend a lot of time hesitating, this is inevitably going to add time to the timeline.

If there are certain decisions that haven’t been made before the construction starts, this can cause delays. For example, if it gets to the final stages, and you haven’t decided which windows to go for, your custom home builders will wait for your decision before continuing.

To avoid delays like these it’s best to make all, or most decisions during the planning and design stage.

Weather can wreak havoc with building plans. Harsh rainfall and extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can affect your team’s ability to work quickly and safely. While delays to the build time frame can be frustrating, sometimes they just can’t be avoided, especially if you’re building in the middle of winter or summer.

Simple home designs are going to take much less time to build than complex architectural styles.

Many items in a highly architectural custom home such as cantilevers, structural steel, rooftop decks, basement garages, swimming pools and elevators can potentially add many weeks to the time-frame of a custom home.

If you’re hoping for a quick build, there’s always the option of using a production home design (an existing home design).

But if you’ve got exuberant ideas for your home, and you want to make it truly luxury home you might find the build takes a little longer.

Naturally, if you’re planning to have a large house, with many different bedrooms, this is going to take longer than a standard size family home.

The bigger the surface area of your home, the longer it’s going to take to build. But as well as surface area, it’s also about how many storeys you want your home to have.

It’s worth weighing up whether you want to build up or out. Building out will often take more time, because more foundation needs to be laid. But adding floors to your home can also take time as this will make the home’s structure more complex.

According to this article by the Daily Telegraph on variables when building a home,housing Industry Association (HIA) senior executive director of building, development and environment Kristin Brookfield says a typical contract for a single-storey home is between 18 and 26 weeks, depending on the size of the house, while typical two-storey home contracts are about 26 weeks.

Before you start building, you’ll work out a plan with your custom home builders. But you might find that later down the line you change your mind about a few things. It’s perfectly natural – you want your home to be perfect.

If you change your mind about things early on in the planning stage, this won’t affect the time frame too much. But if you have a change of heart about the plan during the later stages of the build, this could set you back a while.

The type of materials you choose for your home can also impact on how long your custom build will take. If you choose generic materials that are widely available, you shouldn’t have to wait long at all for materials to be sourced and delivered.

But if you decide on more unusual materials, we may have to go further afield to find and deliver them. This can cause the build to take longer.

There’s no straight answer to how long it takes to build a custom home. But custom home builds usually take between 6 and 12 months. A standard home design, without architectural complexities or unusual materials will likely take 6 months or so. But more complex builds can take a lot longer.

One thing to note though, is that it’s not worth rushing the build. Custom homes can be an exciting project. It’s a chance for you to personalise your home, and make sure you have a house that’s everything you dreamed of.

Getting a custom home built in a reasonable timeline isn’t a simple task. So you want to be sure to choose a professional builder with a proven track record of success. Interline Constructions has been serving the people of Melbourne since 1989, and we would love to add you to our list of happy customers.

Get in touch today to learn about how we can help you get your custom home built right.

POSTED BY ADAMW ON JULY 25, 2015 WITH 0 COMMENT

And that’s exactly what you get from a Custom Home Builder like Interline Constructions in Melbourne –  A home that fits YOUR purpose.

You may have visited all of the big builder display villages, loved and loathed some of the designs, done the maths, read over some of their contracts, and come away feeling completely bamboozled and disillusioned.  You liked one room in this one, another feature of that one, and subsequently tried to put all of the positives into one design that suits you.  You’ve then come up with a fabulous concept, but it doesn’t work on your block of land.  Does that sound at all familiar?

And then there’s the scenario where you’ve found the ‘almost’ perfect home design, but you’d like a few changes, but the display village sales team have set you back (again) by saying the changes you want will cost an extra arm and a leg, “and by the way, we can’t change the design that much because it’s outside our policy”.  The fact is, generic home builders can build your home but it’s generally got to be almost exactly as you see it displayed – and if you have a sloping block, or contentious issues with heritage features that need to be retained in a Knock Down Rebuild, then you’re already in trouble.  Don’t even go there if you have a home design in mind that needs to be elongated to fit on a non-conforming Narrow Block.  You’ll be quickly told, by the generic builder, “We can’t stretch any of our designs.  You get what you see – sorry no can do!”

That’s why Custom Home Builders have a definitive place in making you feel cared about.  They’ll listen to what you want, help you with a suitable design, draft in all of the features you desperately want to incorporate, and go ahead and create a unique home that no-one else is having.  It’s just for you –  and designed for your family and your lifestyle.

A custom designed home means that you’ll be able to play with your layout, swing things around to encapsulate views, put your master bedroom a long way away from the kids, and create a kitchen to die for.  You’ll also be able to keep control of your budget by getting all of the facts and pricing before you begin the build.

Variations are commonplace with the big builders, but, by engaging a Custom Home Builder, you’ll be able to negotiate a contract that specifies what’s included from the start, because you’ve set out your wishes, discussed at length how the big ticket items may push you over what you have to spend, and you’ll be able to rely on the expertise of your builder to advise you of other options to keep everything in check.

At Interline, we focus on the whole picture, not just what you see from the street.

Many of our recent clients have come to us with a notebook full of articles about what’s trending at the moment, particularly when it comes to interior design.  The first thing we do is look at their ideas, work out what style of home they’re wanting, and focus on their unique personality.  It’s a bit like profiling.  We have to understand what’s in their heads first, and then get to work on the bigger picture.  Understandably, the interior of any home is down to personal taste, colour palettes, whatever environmentally-friendly concepts are deemed important to them, and the nature of the block size and shape.

We’ve been in this business a long time, and we’ve seen some pretty eclectic ideas put forward.  We put the pieces together, because that’s what we’re here to do.

Trending at the moment are smaller homes in the inner suburbs.  Blocks of land are being cut into bit-sized pieces to go with the urban sprawl, and this has had a big impact on the design side of our business.  Our clients still want big bedrooms and wide open living areas, and they’re not keen on areas with no natural light.  For example, we recently completed an award nominated home in Preston.  The block was extremely narrow, but with careful considerations made, our client could have views of the city fireworks, an office -come-guest-area upstairs, a whole  second storey for the children, and a front entrance way that looked all the way to the back fence.  They didn’t want ordinary.  They wanted a quality designer home, and energy efficient features, with room for a sustainable living veggie patch out the back.  As a Custom Builder we were able to make it all happen.

Another of our recent clients went in an entirely different direction – they wanted Heritage styling, a claw bath in the ensuite, a pizza oven in the alfresco, and a guest wing for the parents-in-law.  The thing is, a reputable builder will take on board any diversity you throw at them, blend it all together, and deliver a tailored lifestyle solution for your new home.

I always get asked what’s trending in interior design at the moment.  My usual answer is “Whatever you want and need to make your lifestyle match your dreams.  Trends are one thing, but anyone who wants a custom home built is usually looking for something unique.  Trends can be addressed with a coat of paint and sea grass wallpaper, high ceilings and spotted gum flooring, but the biggest trend we’re experiencing is a shift away from having a home built by a generic company, especially when there are already four homes in your street of the same design.

Some people buy the Variety block of chocolate for a reason.  They don’t just like one flavour.  With a custom-built home you can share the same principle.

We’ve built a team of professionals you can trust.

One of the real points of difference we have, as one of Melbourne’s Premier Custom Homes Builders, is that we’ve nurtured a select and talented group of tradespeople who are flexible and adaptable to any building style.  Whether your home calls for an avant-garde metal wall-clad feature finish, or a  verandah with fretwork, we can deliver the right look for your tailor-made home with a highly professional finish – inside and out.  We’ll even take care of the landscaping so you can move in, pop the champagne, and just relax – well maybe after you unpack a few boxes and find the champagne flutes
With us as your Custom Home Builder it’s simple.  YOU get to make all the right choices that suit you!