Tamworth accountant Adam Stacy knows that relationships matter – especially when it comes to building your first house. When Adam and his wife Kylie decided to build, he talked to his network, including property specialists as well as Dunst Bros, a local builder and one of his clients.
His property contacts found him the perfect block of land – before it was released to the public – and his relationship with Dunst Bros meant he had a good background on some of the important details involved in building a house.
The couple spent time thinking about the look they wanted for their new home, before choosing a couple of Dunst Bros’ designs and creating their own version.
“I don’t know if I got special treatment, but basically I picked a couple of the designs and mashed it together – pretty much tweaked everything to make it a little bit more custom,” says Adam.
Tamworth is located in NSW’s north west and it’s a small town, so the couple wanted to balance the need to be a little different from the rest, without being too radical.
“I wanted it to look a little bit more unique I suppose,” he explains. “A lot of new houses these days are a cookie-cutter approach and not very individual. And that’s why I wanted to change it up a little bit.”
However, because it’s their first house, the couple was keenly aware of making sure it was “future proof” and would hold its value, says Adam, in case they sell it in the next few years.
“It is not planned to be a forever home, so we didn’t do anything outrageous,” he explains. “We thought about what key things would be attractive to future buyers and things like that. It’s only our first home, so it’s just a steppingstone.”
“It’s a comfortable house for us at this stage and, while we don’t have children at the moment, if we did, we would be able to fit them in.”
The house has a contemporary look and feel, says Adam, but it’s on a modest scale. “My wife and I don’t really have an interest in older homes,” he says. “That’s why we built in the first place.”
Because it was their first home, they spent a fair bit of time researching exactly the finishes they wanted, including the roof tiles. They drove around Tamworth area looking at different options, and Adam spent some time online looking at visualiser programs.
“All the programs these days make it easier to get a bit of a visual on what things might look like,” he says. “It’s a new world.”
“We looked at many, many houses – different tiles, bricks – everything,” he says.
“It’s a big process, that’s for sure. Because I work with a builder I was well aware of how things work, but it was more of a surprise to my wife. She was just bamboozled by it all. She didn’t realise that every little detail was something that could be chosen and changed.”
The couple ended up choosing Monier’s Concrete Horizon tiles in Babylon colour for their roof, which suited the sleek contemporary style of the home.
“Dunst Bros suggested the ones that we ended up getting,” he says. “They gave us a few samples of what they looked like and they were pretty much what I was looking for.”
Director of Dunst Bros, Kaitlyn Dunst, says that roof tiles are an important staple for their business.
“From first home builds to the ‘dream’ home, the majority of our customers choose tile roofing for its resilience and style,” she explains. “Concrete tiles are the most economical roofing material that can stand the test of time in the Australian climate.”
“Monier offers an outstanding range of profiles and colours to suit any project. Our clients can have peace of mind with Monier’s 50-year performance guarantee that their roof can handle our rural environment and protect their family home.”
As for Adam and Kylie, they are now onto the next stage – landscaping. More drive-bys and online research, says Adam!
