The layout, and which wastes, toilets, showers and walls move
Moving a waste or a wall drives cost and every later stage.
Ask: Is anything that drains moving? Check the fall to the sewer before you commit.
Plan · Stage 1 of 10 · 6 decisions
Decide before design
Before anything is pulled out or ordered. Layout, what moves, and what has a long lead time. The cheapest stage to change your mind.
Copies the decisions shown, with a prompt, to paste into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Appliance models: oven, cooktop, rangehood, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer
The joinery is built around their cut-outs and clearances.
Ask: Do you have the spec sheet, with cut-out sizes, for every appliance?
Shower type: step-down, level entry with a linear drain, or a hob
It sets how the floor is built and how deep the screed is.
Ask: Can the floor be set down, or do you need a hob or linear drain to get the entry you want?
Everything recessed: shaving cabinets, niches, cavity sliders, TV recesses
Each one needs framing, so it has to be known before the carpenter starts.
Ask: Which items sit in the wall rather than on it?
Order dates for long-lead items: custom joinery, imported tiles and tapware, stone
Some take weeks or months to arrive, longer than the gap to the stage that needs them.
Ask: What has a lead time longer than the time until it is needed?
Which NCC and state rules apply to your work
Livable housing rules, for example, apply differently by state and not at all in some. source
Ask: Have you asked your certifier or builder which rules apply to this job?
Prompts, not rules. Most choices can wait; these can't, because a later trade builds to them. Code items cite their source; states adopt parts of the NCC differently, so check yours. Your builder, trades, certifier and each product's install sheet decide. Download the list (JSON, CC BY 4.0).