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Which house do you prefer?

Which House do you prefer?

  • Cheaper Metricon House

    Votes: 11 29.7%
  • More expensive Timeless Customized House

    Votes: 26 70.3%

  • Total voters
    37
Again I should probably remove the pictures... People are focusing too much on it...

The research project I'm doing is 'How do you add value to houses through design?'
Oh.

OK.

Ummmmmmm...

Doesn't it depend on what people perceive as "design"? I'm sorry if I'm being thick about this, but I really think that good design is quite independent of price. To me, a well-designed house is easy to live in, easy to maintain, and
easy for guests. Alignment, floor plan, airflow, natural light, and intelligent placement of utilities are by far the most important aspects of design in my book, followed closely by materials. I could get those things right or wrong at pretty well any price and in any style.

Does that fit with what you're thinking about, or am I on a different line of thought altogether?

Ghoti
 
This is a RAL that i Built in Victoria with the help of a RAL builder. A great home, fantastic living experience. Its for SALE too i hear.

Cheers,
You BUILT a RAL. Omigosh that's the most exciting news I've heard since whoever invented the Quonsett hut.

How long did you live in it? How did you find it? Were the curved walls a problem? How many rooms did you have, and in which modules? Why have you moved? How was resale? Would you live in one again?

I've been eyeing these things for several months, and we intend to visit the company some time this year. One of the attractions to me is that they seem very practical for bushfire areas. OTOH I have trouble figuring out a floor plan that puts the all the windows where I want them?

Maybe it's time for a separate thread on kit/modular homes?

Ghoti
 
Hi Ghoti

I had a look at 'ralhomes' - great idea and great interior spaces, but I am not at all sure about the cladding for the roof - metal roofing is fairly hot stuff, but then it cools down quickly as well - good insulation needed. From the outside there is also the Nissen hut look - they are also not really cheap -
but thanks for posting that link - I have a friend who might be interested.

Taurisk

Hi Taurisk,

They're interesting aren't they. They claim very good insulation as standard; there's a cross section in the "Energy" section which seems to show 2 layers of fibreglass batts, a reflective barrier, and an air gap between the outer skin and the lining. But a lot would depend on alignment.

Cheers,

Ghoti
 
So with these ral homes is the water mains or do they throw in a tank as well? Actually why bother with the tank, I guess you'd be livin in one :eek:
 
I don't understand.... now that the photos are gone all we have to go on is price?

How can anyone possibly make an informed decision without even floor plans to look at?
 
I don't understand.... now that the photos are gone all we have to go on is price?

How can anyone possibly make an informed decision without even floor plans to look at?

A metricon home represents budget and mass production catering for the masses. For every 100 Metricon houses 4 of them will be identical to yours

A customized home represents the unique needs tastes that the occupant searches for. When appointing a designer you're getting quality and service... usually anyway
 
A metricon home represents budget and mass production catering for the masses. For every 100 Metricon houses 4 of them will be identical to yours
Yabbut if it's a well-designed mass produced house that suits me why should I care that when it was brand new it was identical to 4 - or even a 100 - houses when they were brand new. They won't be identical for long.

A customized home represents the unique needs tastes that the occupant searches for. When appointing a designer you're getting quality and service... usually anyway

What does a designer do for a new house that an architect doesn't? In fact, when it comes to houses what's the difference between a designer and an architect?

Why is quality and service from a designer more important than quality and service from the builder, plumber, electrician, tiler, roofer etc.?

You said your research question is 'How do you add value to houses through design?'. You also said 'a lot of people are voting based on their favorite style house and not on 'service and quality' vs 'Budget'.' Isn't style a significant part of design?

It almost sounds as if you've decided that design = service and quality, which seems too general to be useful. Most people who are trying to sell you something will include service and quality in the pitch.

Is this a marketing question? I'm expecting to buy or build a home within the next couple of years so I'm very attuned to the subject, but I really don't understand the choices you've offered. If there's a marketing message, it's whooshed straight past me. If you're looking for a way to sell me design services you need to find a way to tell me what they are, as well as why I want them.

HTH

Ghoti
 
You BUILT a RAL. Omigosh that's the most exciting news I've heard since whoever invented the Quonsett hut.

How long did you live in it? How did you find it? Were the curved walls a problem? How many rooms did you have, and in which modules? Why have you moved? How was resale? Would you live in one again?

I've been eyeing these things for several months, and we intend to visit the company some time this year. One of the attractions to me is that they seem very practical for bushfire areas. OTOH I have trouble figuring out a floor plan that puts the all the windows where I want them?

Maybe it's time for a separate thread on kit/modular homes?

Ghoti

Hi Ghoti, i lived in it for about 12 months before personal circumstances changed and i moved on. We sold it for cost to build, but its put on another 25% according to the Vendors current price. I had been looking at RAL's for a long time and the visit to Ararat sealed it for me. Reini (not sure if spelled right) is the owner and he was fantastic with his support, he truely loves and believes in his product. It was a three bedroom RAL. The master bedroom had an ensuite that also joined onto the laundry room to serve as the main toilet as well. The kitchen was huge with nearly 6 meters of benches and a really cool free hanging stainless steel range hood.

I insulated the floor with a mate, once that was done it was very cozy, even with it being on top of a hill amongst the Iron Barks.

They are easy to live in, you don't notice the walls. It was cooled with a single split system, and heated with a small wood heater. I loved the smell of the timber inside. The floors were the original plywood, but polished and they looked really good. The windows were only single glased after a misunderstanding, i had wanted double glased and they were not that much more money. I installed a BOSE LifeStyle 5 sound system to take advantage of the great accoustics, it was awesome.

It is so well insulated that you could just barely hear the rain on the roof, somewhat disappointing for that reason, but very warm.

If you have any other queries PM me and i would be happy to provide other details and photos etc. I feel bad for hijacking Insider's thread, sorry mate.

Cheers,
 
Yeah sorry Insider. I didn't mean to hijack the thread either. I get excited by houses.

Ghoti.
 
Yeah sorry Insider. I didn't mean to hijack the thread either. I get excited by houses.

Ghoti.

Nope... it's perfectly OK with me... Hi jack it as much as you like because there are some good points and invaluable research being conducted here... :D Thanks heaps
 
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And then you'll tell us what it's all told you and what the project is part of?

Also what a designer does?

Also (this is a new one) is there a difference between "customised" and "custom"?

Also how many bedrooms in that container house?

And how many people on non-property forums recognised "Metricon" as a building company (I didn't).

And how much effect do you think showing the pictures had on the results here?

;) :D :eek: :)
 
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