Crace Terraces & Toilet Humour

people’s expectations are not adjusted to the fact that if you want a quality place in a quality location, you have to pay a premium and that premium continues to rise as the years progress

these places are built as shown to get them into a price range where people will buy them. And to justify the capital expenditure and returns required, they have to be built cheap

agree that there is still good and bad design, but in this price range, it is pot luck

Jim Jones said :

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with West Belco: big blocks, bourbon and broken dreams.

Those big blocks are getting some pretty big prices lately.

Over $400k for an ex-govie 3 bed, with near original kitchen and bathroom.

Yes, two doors between, or an airlock as it’s described in another post, and a fan for internal wc’s with no window, is what I remember. Another thing though was the requirement in two storey residences to have a wc on each level. Not many options for that in such small places. I agree with the suggestion that people should vote with their feet.
Regarding the shared wall comment, what about fire safety regulations?
Btw I don’t think I posted on the Ticky Tacky thread, but GREAT pic!

When I was doing architecture many years ago a toilet had to be separated from eating areas by two closing doors and also have permanent ventilation (not just an exhaust fan).

farq said :

All the bogons will end up renting all the way out there, allowing the western belconnon suburbs to renew.

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with West Belco: big blocks, bourbon and broken dreams.

cbrjoe said :

There seems to be alot of hate regarding the crace terraces recently, have these people actually had a look at the demo village? And compared it to the other offerings in McGreggor / Bonner / Casey?

Yes, we checked them out about two weeks ago while visiting some relatives who live out that way.

The hate is well deserved. Crace could go down as the worst large scale development in Canberra for the last 40 years (maybe more).

Still in one way it is good. All the bogons will end up renting all the way out there, allowing the western belconnon suburbs to renew.

cbrjoe said :

Actually, they are two different designs, and two different price points. The OP seems to have conveniently neglected to mention that the toilet in question is a second toilet, or “powder room”. The main being upstairs, which would have been shown on the wall in the Demo too…

wow.

Well, I can’t speak for others but knowing it is a second toilet, or “powder room”, opening onto the kitchen, makes it perfectly acceptable. I just hope drunken dinner guests can aim.

I think it’s safe to say the OP thought it wasn’t necessary to mention the second bathroom, at the risk of people thinking designers planned for the occupants to shower in the laundry tub or kitchen sink. On the other hand, given the crap standard of the design…

cbrjoe said :

Lazy I said :

Interesting that the plan in the terrace you link to has been modified so the Laundry creates a buffer to the kitchen.. wonder if all of them were changed.

Actually, they are two different designs, and two different price points. The OP seems to have conveniently neglected to mention that the toilet in question is a second toilet, or “powder room”. The main being upstairs, which would have been shown on the wall in the Demo too…

Regardless, for the $280,000 that was being asked for them last year I think it’s a bargain, bigger than a 1br or even some 2br units and you get some “land”.

There seems to be alot of hate regarding the crace terraces recently, have these people actually had a look at the demo village? And compared it to the other offerings in McGreggor / Bonner / Casey?

The linked apartment actually has 3 toilets.. which seems a little excessive for a 2 bedroom + study… I think i’d prefer guests having to walk up a flight of stairs than having an awkward feature in the kitchen.

I have actually checked out the Crace demo village and thought there were some good quality homes there compared to the alternatives, but the land sizes are a real problem.

I also find that the use of rendered blue board for the exterior of new homes is a little scary, interested to see how well it holds up compared to existing brick veneer homes in a couple of decades.

Do agree about $280,000 being a good price for something like this.. especially if owners manage to connect with a $400+ weekly rental income.

Lazy I said :

Interesting that the plan in the terrace you link to has been modified so the Laundry creates a buffer to the kitchen.. wonder if all of them were changed.

Actually, they are two different designs, and two different price points. The OP seems to have conveniently neglected to mention that the toilet in question is a second toilet, or “powder room”. The main being upstairs, which would have been shown on the wall in the Demo too…

Regardless, for the $280,000 that was being asked for them last year I think it’s a bargain, bigger than a 1br or even some 2br units and you get some “land”.

There seems to be alot of hate regarding the crace terraces recently, have these people actually had a look at the demo village? And compared it to the other offerings in McGreggor / Bonner / Casey?

farq said :

Future shit hole for sure.

Future?

Turns out the terraces don’t even use brick for the shared wall.

Just chip board and some sound insulation.

So for $445 a week, you get to crap in your kitchen and listen to your neighbors watching tv though the wall.

Future shit hole for sure.

gospeedygo said :

$445 a week! Bargain.

http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/act/rent-residential/7-dobikin-street-crace-canberra-main/14139276570011?lid=167624129&prid=1392765700

Interesting that the plan in the terrace you link to has been modified so the Laundry creates a buffer to the kitchen.. wonder if all of them were changed.

Frano said :

Spectra said :

What on earth were the designers thinking?!?

“Wow…check this out! I get paid no matter how ridiculous I make this!”

Yes kind of like the builders getting paid a million dollars for building a measly school hall in Gillard’s School Halls debacle.

Hate to break it to you but that one has now been so busted that making the claim is beyond absurd.

See http://larvatusprodeo.net/2010/07/08/analyzing-craig-maynes-claims-full-post/

$445 a week! Bargain.

http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/act/rent-residential/7-dobikin-street-crace-canberra-main/14139276570011?lid=167624129&prid=1392765700

Update: floor plans are still available on the Crace website. The red signs on the ‘interactive map’ can be clicked to zoom in. The red ‘Mio’ blocks ‘Gallery/floor plan’ links. There’s a 2nd toilet/bathroom is upstairs. Despite this, a quick map check shows a lot have sold. The display village may still have the tiny demo terrace open for viewing pleasure.

Larger terraces have a stench buffer: the laundry or a different layout.

Reminds me of the Seinfeld bathroom privacy bit:
http://speakeasy.jazzcorner.com/speakeasy/showpost.php?s=9c5b25cb823ce7849f237e8813dfe82f&p=539838&postcount=63

The bigger ones are a lot better (toilet is separated by the laundry and there are two more upstairs) but the 1 and 2 bedroom ones you practically have to turn sideways to get from the front door to the back.

But hey, I’m sure investors will buy then and rent them for obscene amounts of money.

I didn’t say your cooking was $hit, I said you need an oven that flushes…

What were the designers thinking??

What were they thinking? Probably ‘If I design it this way we can cram even more units into the development’.

As OP notes, the model is potentially misleading because, (perhaps among other tricks of the designer trade) it uses small scale furniture. eg if the benches are 60cm deep (which they probably have to be to fit the kitchen sink and hotplates), the table would appear to be only about 77cm by 153cm- very narrow by most standards.

This untimely media exposure is probably why their website (www.crace.com.au) currently has conditional entry. You have to agree to acknowledge that everything on the site is indicative only-

“Floor plans and perspectives shown are artists impressions only and are not drawn to scale. Any references to size or dimensions are all approximate and are not intended to be precise. CIC Crace Pty Limited (CIC Crace) reserves the right to make changes to these floor plans (including the changing of the internal layout), elevations and any specifications, fittings, finishes and dimensions without prior notice to a Buyer. Furniture layouts, vehicles and landscaping (including any paving) are for illustrative purposes only. A party should refer to individual sale and home building contracts to determine what is included as part of the sale/build. ”

They also carry a reminder about copyright, and a statement that the developers ‘intend by this statement to exclude liability for all information presented herein’

Sounds like they are backpedalling at about a million miles an hour. I wonder why- stand by for an avalanche of spin.

Hopefully there’s a bathroom and bedrooms upstairs…

Spectra said :

What on earth were the designers thinking?!?

“Wow…check this out! I get paid no matter how ridiculous I make this!”

Yes kind of like the builders getting paid a million dollars for building a measly school hall in Gillard’s School Halls debacle.

A toilet right next to the kitchen? I guess it means less walking after the meal. What’s next? The dining chairs replaced by toilet seats?

We’ve designed thousands of units around the world, and if I were to present this plan to a developer (for which the plan is the product) they would have serious concerns about the quality of their lead designer. Even in China, where you blink and a 30 storey tower pops up over night, they would struggle to accept this.

I find that now, developers in Canberra are just becoming lazy. They know that people are desperate to buy property here, and will accept anything.

The only way to teach them a lesson is to vote with our feet and not buy substandard product! In relative terms, would you buy a fry pan with a handle so small that you cant actually lift it?

The quality of design needs to come up, and can only be done so by informed buyers who truly scrutinize what they are getting for their buck. Nothing speaks louder to developers than unsold units.

maybe its an indication of the potential owners cooking skills.

Im sure the price is reasonable though….. cough.

I wonder what happened to the old building rule that there had to be an airlock between a dunny and a kitchen? Does the provision of a fan in a dunny negate the requirement, or did money change hands sometime in the last 40 years to have the rule changed?

Fung Shei. When the toilet floods all the water goes outside as it is supposed to i believe.

What on earth were the designers thinking?!?

“Wow…check this out! I get paid no matter how ridiculous I make this!”

What on earth were the designers thinking?!?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

That is pretty poorly thought out – unless there is one upstairs as well I guess