Almost Three Months Down

Well we are almost three months into the build, while things are not going as quickly as I was lead to believe I'm still happy.

Dean, my new Site Supervisor took over this week. I had an introductory phone call from him giving me an update on where things were at. Cabinets would be in by Friday, plaster completed, bricks being washed and painters starting Friday.

When I arrived yesterday the painters were there so I took off to get them a dozen (much appreciated Krispy Kremes for morning tea). When I returned Dean was parked out the front doing some paperwork so he introduced himself and then took me through the house. He said he was disappointed that the cabinets were not in (He was disappointed!). His palm pilot had been updated as being installed so he was going off to chase that up and find out what was happening.

He has come from another building company (I forgot to ask him which one) and said the Metricon do things very differently (don't I know it). He was chasing up my Caesar Stone bench on Monday and the back deck as well so he seems on top of things. He said he was still feeling his way and apologised.

I took this photo from the front door with my phone just to give you an idea of how the house looks now that plastering is finished. I didn't take too many photos as I forgot my camera.

Dean hopes to have the cabinets in this week and expects the painting to be finished next Saturday. The tiling will be next on the list. I can't wait for tiling and bathroom to be completed. I'm nervous about my tile selections.

He also said to me that he would see if they can install my kitchen appliances for me. I told him I was advised that they could not do this due to insurance issues, however he's going to check with his Manager all the same. It would be lovely if they could do this.

Finally it looks like we are still on track for a finish some time in mid November. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me as this would be perfect.

I'm really happy that I have been fortunate enough to get another good SS. I was dreading the change as I really liked my previous one but it looks like Rob trained him up well.

Took a quick snap of the back of the house now that the bricks have been cleaned, very happy, nice colour, the odd dirty brick has gone and there is no green like some have had with the lighter Austral bricks.

Just a little post script. Does anyone know how I can get rid of crows? I have a resident Crow who has found that my antenna is the best place to sit and look out over the estate. He has kindly 'crapped' all over my lovely colourbond roof. Just as well it is at the back of the house and not the front! Any suggestions - and no, I don't have a gun.

Another week goes by

So it's Sunday and after a lovely brunch at the Middle Park Hotel it was down to the house to check things out and see what went on this week.

The back yard is lovely and tidy now however, there are two pallets of bricks sitting there just begging for me to do something with them.

The neighbour at the back has moved in despite no fences being up (the developers must not be too fussed about this) and there are heaps of houses just about ready for hand over. It is really getting exciting.

Looking at the house seemed that not too much had happened this week however, the cladding has been put on the front of the house, the down pipes are on, cornices are on and a few doors have been hung. There was also a big sticker on one of the windows saying that the garage had been measured for the roller door. There still seems to be so much to do and I can't see it being finished in 8 weeks. Here's hoping cabinets will be in next week and painting begun like the SS said.

More photos next week.

Anyone want to buy some bricks?

Spoke to my SS this morning about a number of different things (no issues) just getting info on when would be best time to get the fencing done, and the cross over changed etc. He mentioned that there were a lot of bricks left over (a bit of a worry there, did they forget to do something?) and he was kind enough to tell me that they are all mine, why thank you, and just how many are there? I guess I will see when I go down to the house this weekend. My neighbour tells me that people sell them on e-bay all the time so maybe I will do that.

On a better note I was able to get out of him a finish date for the house. Seems I am looking at 60 days from now for the house to be finished! That makes it the middle of November!!!!! I said to him I would plan on the first week in December as I don't want to get too excited and then be let down. Painting starts next week. It will really start to feel like a house once that is finished. Will post some photos Sunday night.

I'm waiting to hear back from the Rental Agent for the house I'm living in at the moment, she called yesterday saying that the Landlord has had a change of plans and would like to know if I wanted to stay on a little longer. I told her I wanted to have it for only another 6 weeks and she said she didn't think it would be a problem but would have to put it to the owner. Here's hoping that she agrees, it would make life a lot easier. Nevertheless I will continue to pack in case they don't like my terms.

Fixings

My SS called me this morning to give me an update on what's happening with the house. Doors were being delivered today and fixings are to commence tomorrow with the expectation that they will be completed early next week. My kitchen will be in by the end of next week however, the best news of all was that I will most definitely be in my new house before Christmas!!!!

Sadly Rob, my SS is being moved to another region and I will have a new SS named Dean in the next three weeks. Rob said he is responsible for training him (obviously new to the job) so will make sure he does a good job. He also added that if I have any problems after the change over I have his phone number and if I want to call him he will get things sorted, I believe he would too as he has been true to his word so far.

Given the slow start I had pre-construction I am very happy with the way things have been going since the build begun. With any luck I may even be in for my birthday which would truly be a bonus.

Will be back down at the house next Sunday so hopefully will have some more photographs.

We're Getting There

So it was another Sunday trek down to the house today to see the weeks happenings. After last weeks visit I sent an email to Nicole by CSC asking that the lights in the dining room be rectified. By the time I spoke to Rob on Wednesday he had already spoken to the electrician and had arranged to have them corrected despite the fact that the position of the lights was not stated in the contract. I would have thought having lights over the dining table would have been a given but anyway there is no need to dwell on it.

Plastering started last Tuesday and Rob expects that it will be finished by Wednesday of this week. From what I could see today all that needs to be done now is the cornices. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets should begin at the end of this week. Everything seems to be going well. I had to make a compromise with the cabinets. I was having rounded bench tops in the bathroom and laundry but it seems that with a recessed basin you cannot do this, a small issue which really does not bother me one way or the other. I am happy to be flexible if it keeps the peace and keeps the build going.

I also went and did some shopping today. I have now done just about all my light shopping. The rest I will add slowly when I get into the house. I have added some photos below. Unfortunately the house was locked up when I was there today so all the photos have been taken through the windows. Rob said he could come across and open it for me but I don't want to get him out on a Sunday so I will wait until mid week and go down when the cabinets are installed.

The Estate is a real hive of activity even on weekends. The display village is along the main boulevard and there is already one home finished with another expected to be finished any day. There are two people already in their homes and I would expect in the next couple of weeks there will be a great influx of new residents as a lot of the homes look like they are almost ready for handover. It's now been two and a half months since my house began, so far no hiccups, let's hope it stays that way.

By the way, for those of you who have posted a comment in the last week I wanted to let you know I have not moderated your comments, I have a new phone which the comments go to and for some reason it has been deleting your comments when I approve them. Think I have it under control now.

These are the lights I will be having at the front of the house. There are four in all, one on each of the brick pillars and then one at each end of the house. I had narrowed it down to three. The other two would have been fine if I were only having one on each pillar however as they were quite large having four of them looked a little over done.

The hardest room to find anything for was the family room, everything was either way too modern or very outdated. When it comes to lighting I think we have very little to choose from. I have chosen the above lights for the family room. They look like a giant ball of string and the colour will match the plantation shutters (which I will get when I win tatslotto lol) and the bi-part doors.

I have two of these lights which will go above the dining room table. I fell in love with these when I saw them in Home Beautiful and had to hunt them down but finally found them in Sydney. They will look good above the table as I have a very heavy rustic wood table.

These lights are for the hallway, something simple again and not to every one's taste but I like them.

Kitchen and family room.

Kitchen and family room again with the rumpus room to the left. When my budget will allow it there will be plantation shutters separating the two rooms as well as the dining room and hallway (background).

Garage, can't wait until my car is siting in here.

Brick Work Completed Insulation Begun

Well I know I've been a bit slack with updating my blog however there really has not been much to report on in the last two weeks.

I went for my regular Sunday drive down to the house this morning to see the progress and was happy to see that the bricking (apart from a few bricks above the garage) is complete. They are still to be cleaned and they are a bit patchy but that will change as they dry out. I was a little concerned when I went down last week as there were great patches of darker brick. Janine (one of my new neighbours) and I had come to the conclusion that they were quite damp having sat in water for the past three weeks. I am happy to say that a check with my SS and a visit today confirmed that this was the case. As you can see from the photos below the patches are less noticeable as they start to dry.

Last week when I was down there the house was locked and I therefore was unable to get in to check that all the lighting and power points were in the correct places. I am glad to say that this weekend some kind person left a door unlocked and I was able to get in for a bit of a look.

Insulation has begun in preparation for plastering which will start at the end of this week. The rain has put us a week behind which I am not happy about.

I'm glad I was able to check as the lighting in the dining room is in the wrong place so I guess it is an e-mail to my CSC to get this rectified before plastering begins.

The framework for the cavity doors in the sitting room has also been added and I must say I think it is the best bit of carpentry in the house so far. I also noticed that there was a check list from the Building Inspection tucked in to one of the frames. I had a little look and it was nice to see that each one of them had been completed and marked off. (There were only 5 this time).

Until next week here's a few photos.

This photo was taken a week ago. You can see the darker brick at the bottom of the wall. Compare that to the one below. You can see that the darkness has shrunk as the bricks have begun to dry.

Insulation has begun. I also noticed that the lock up carpenter had been in and has planed away and or nailed little pieces of wood to different parts of the frame in preparation for the plastering so that there is no bowing in the walls. (There was a lot to do).