412 square metres....yep...its small. Not the smallest.....our estate starts at 390sqm and I have seen other local estates selling 370sqm but small none the less. The largest block in this release was only about 600sqm. We felt it was worth the extra $10k to get the 4 in front for psychological reasons lol. We also chose a block that was extremely flat, no sewerage or other impediments and no BAL requirements to reduce additional site costs. Other considerations were the back of the land (rather than the front) fanning out to give us extra room where it counts most and trying to get a block where the backyard is facing as north as we could. (We had a choice between a NW or SE facing backyard so we went with NW). The biggest reason we chose here to build was because it was so close to the kids school but we were also very aware of not wanting to be affected by buses or families doing pick up or drop offs so wanted to be a bit further back from the school in a quieter street.
We bought in to the first release of our suburb so we were ridiculously excited to show up one day (yes we stalk our patch of dirt!!) to see road signs up. The building tension as we drove up to see what our address was going to be was intense! At first we thought we were ******* which we loved given our Italian heritage, however we had driven up the wrong road, but were still pretty happy with ****** St....certainly easier to spell and say than our last address, Chasselas ?! No one could agree how to pronounce that one!
Kitchen Appointment
So this is the kitchen which was my inspiration for colours. It is in the Willowdale aspiration display home and I just love the look of it (our kitchen is a totally different design). I am desperate to bring in as much light as I can to our house as I am a bit worried at how close we are going to be building to our neighbours and how much natural light we will get in. Whilst needing something light I did not want white on white but at the same time I wanted a kitchen that wouldn't date too quickly. I'm hoping white and seasoned oak will do the job.
Should I mention now that I am extremely indecisive, second guess my every decision in life and have no natural design flair? Why oh why did I decide to build? I have a tremendous fear that our home will end up as an example of bad taste!!
In the end we did seasoned oak, riven finish for the top cupboards and one wall with pantry doors and off white (alabaster) poly base cabinets. We upgraded the benchtop the same as this kitchen to organic white which we love. I have hidden the extractor and put a cupboard there to make a more streamlined finish to the upper cupboards and added all the extras like integrated bins, soft close cupboards and I've made the walkin pantry more of a butlers pantry. The overall add ons were about $16k!! Please remind me that the kitchen is where the value of your home is!
So this is the kitchen which was my inspiration for colours. It is in the Willowdale aspiration display home and I just love the look of it (our kitchen is a totally different design). I am desperate to bring in as much light as I can to our house as I am a bit worried at how close we are going to be building to our neighbours and how much natural light we will get in. Whilst needing something light I did not want white on white but at the same time I wanted a kitchen that wouldn't date too quickly. I'm hoping white and seasoned oak will do the job.
Should I mention now that I am extremely indecisive, second guess my every decision in life and have no natural design flair? Why oh why did I decide to build? I have a tremendous fear that our home will end up as an example of bad taste!!
In the end we did seasoned oak, riven finish for the top cupboards and one wall with pantry doors and off white (alabaster) poly base cabinets. We upgraded the benchtop the same as this kitchen to organic white which we love. I have hidden the extractor and put a cupboard there to make a more streamlined finish to the upper cupboards and added all the extras like integrated bins, soft close cupboards and I've made the walkin pantry more of a butlers pantry. The overall add ons were about $16k!! Please remind me that the kitchen is where the value of your home is!
So here are our kitchen plans. The biggest changes we have made are to put a cupboard in front of the extractor, and instead of having a mini-what on earth am I going to use it for- bench next to the fridge we have put a pantry size cupboard. (We are adding more bench space in the walk in pantry. We have also put waterfall ends on both sides of the breakfast bar. I was determined not to be pressured into waterfalls but with a perpendicular breakfast bar floating on top of the island bench I felt it looked really odd......so we added them to the seemingly never ending list of upgrades 🙀
So this is the closest picture I have found to what we are doing with our walk in pantry. We have put a fixed narrow window on the left above a row of cupboards and stone benchtop and the remainder is the original shelving. (I had bigger plans but we ran out of money 😜)There is no sink as I don't want 2 sinks to collect dirty dishes but really wanted a bench space hidden away to put the toaster and kettle and hopefully contain the kids mess when they are making breakfast. I also chose to put the microwave under the bench here because even though the one we are getting with the house looks great, I'm sure when that goes and we replace it, it will be an eyesore in my hopefully organised kitchen.
so here is the pic of my kitchen cupboards and bench samples with the floor tile.
Tile appointment
Once we had our kitchen colours it was time to pick our tiles and carpet. This was the most stress I have had so far. Despite 4, yes 4 previous visits (each a 1 1/2 hour round trip) I was still completely up in the air about what to do. First I previously didn't have definite kitchen colours so wasn't completely sure what would work with tile colours. Then I needed to know how much money the kitchen upgrades would be to know whether I could afford the tile upgrades I wanted. Problem 1... Even though I had the kitchen appointment I wouldn't get the quote for some time, so still had no idea what the budget was. Stress levels rising!
Now my first flooring choice would be wooden floors, I loooove them. My Italian husband however hates them, for him it's tiles all the way, so those wood look tiles in my inspirational kitchen above would be perfect. Now here's the rub....they would cost $8000 more and with all the kitchen upgrades we just put in I just didn't think it was going to happen. This also meant that hardwood was out as it was about the same price, if not a bit more. The included tiles did not have a huge amount of choice in colours (450 had a better range but I really wanted the biggest I could get 500 x500 ) I still felt they were a little small but I thought if I paid a bit more for reduced grout lines it would be OK. Problem 2... No. They won't reduce the grout lines for tiles under 600 x600. And that size would add about $5000 to the bill.... And I still don't know how much my kitchen is going to cost!!! After nearly having a meltdown, ringing friends and family for advice (my husband has no helpful opinions on this) I decided to go with the 600 tiles for an additional $5000, if we needed to bump the mortgage by a little I felt it was worth it given what a big impression the downstairs flooring would make to the house.
phew, big decision made...now onto the wet areas which I had already decided on. Oh, except for all the little things I hadn't even thought of like if I wanted the tiles laid horizontally or vertically, where do I want the feature tile, what tile do I want around the bath???? Did I mention that I don't make decisions well on the fly?? (I changed my mind about the bath tiles by the time the quote came in and changed the powder room tiles completely after I realised the feature tiles we chose for it were going to cost an extra $400) Fortunately changes made before signing the quote don't incur additional fees. Although I did make two more trips to the tile store!!
Carpet was easy.....we didn't upgrade as we are now penniless! But we did upgrade the underlay to counter the feel of our cheap carpet. I'm also hoping the thicker underlay may soften the sound of my children thundering around upstairs since the sound screen wasn't in our budget, but I have a feeling I just made that up 😀
so.....tile and carpet upgrades ended up about $6500...... Hmmm......we may need to live with candlelight, not sure we have any money left for electrical!!
Tile appointment
Once we had our kitchen colours it was time to pick our tiles and carpet. This was the most stress I have had so far. Despite 4, yes 4 previous visits (each a 1 1/2 hour round trip) I was still completely up in the air about what to do. First I previously didn't have definite kitchen colours so wasn't completely sure what would work with tile colours. Then I needed to know how much money the kitchen upgrades would be to know whether I could afford the tile upgrades I wanted. Problem 1... Even though I had the kitchen appointment I wouldn't get the quote for some time, so still had no idea what the budget was. Stress levels rising!
Now my first flooring choice would be wooden floors, I loooove them. My Italian husband however hates them, for him it's tiles all the way, so those wood look tiles in my inspirational kitchen above would be perfect. Now here's the rub....they would cost $8000 more and with all the kitchen upgrades we just put in I just didn't think it was going to happen. This also meant that hardwood was out as it was about the same price, if not a bit more. The included tiles did not have a huge amount of choice in colours (450 had a better range but I really wanted the biggest I could get 500 x500 ) I still felt they were a little small but I thought if I paid a bit more for reduced grout lines it would be OK. Problem 2... No. They won't reduce the grout lines for tiles under 600 x600. And that size would add about $5000 to the bill.... And I still don't know how much my kitchen is going to cost!!! After nearly having a meltdown, ringing friends and family for advice (my husband has no helpful opinions on this) I decided to go with the 600 tiles for an additional $5000, if we needed to bump the mortgage by a little I felt it was worth it given what a big impression the downstairs flooring would make to the house.
phew, big decision made...now onto the wet areas which I had already decided on. Oh, except for all the little things I hadn't even thought of like if I wanted the tiles laid horizontally or vertically, where do I want the feature tile, what tile do I want around the bath???? Did I mention that I don't make decisions well on the fly?? (I changed my mind about the bath tiles by the time the quote came in and changed the powder room tiles completely after I realised the feature tiles we chose for it were going to cost an extra $400) Fortunately changes made before signing the quote don't incur additional fees. Although I did make two more trips to the tile store!!
Carpet was easy.....we didn't upgrade as we are now penniless! But we did upgrade the underlay to counter the feel of our cheap carpet. I'm also hoping the thicker underlay may soften the sound of my children thundering around upstairs since the sound screen wasn't in our budget, but I have a feeling I just made that up 😀
so.....tile and carpet upgrades ended up about $6500...... Hmmm......we may need to live with candlelight, not sure we have any money left for electrical!!
Bathroom tile choices
The large carrera I am holding is the floor tile, the plain white above is the wall tiles and the 3D tile for the feature. We are doing feature walls rather than niches or strips but chose a cheap feature tile so didn't cost too much more. We are doing these colours with all bathrooms and laundry along with the same organic white stone benches and seasoned oak laminate vanities as the kitchen for a bit of colour. Did I mention I am obsessed with having a light house? Lol
The large carrera I am holding is the floor tile, the plain white above is the wall tiles and the 3D tile for the feature. We are doing feature walls rather than niches or strips but chose a cheap feature tile so didn't cost too much more. We are doing these colours with all bathrooms and laundry along with the same organic white stone benches and seasoned oak laminate vanities as the kitchen for a bit of colour. Did I mention I am obsessed with having a light house? Lol
So it's time to start preparing for colours appointments. Step one bricks. Now my family all love the dark chocolatto brown bricks and I like them too, but I do worry that they might be a little polarising. I know a lot of people who hate them and I worry that they may go out of fashion over the years and affect the value of the house so we have opted to go with a safer choice. PGH dark rum is our current favourite. Wisdom have a terrific selection of inclusive bricks (I met a woman from another builder who only had 4 bricks to choose from!) The only thing we need is to make sure we have exposure grade which is why we opted to visit Pgh rather than austral who only have a small selection of exposure grade bricks to choose from.
Now this picture is of our dark rum brick.....yes the whole wall! Why does the top look so different from the bottom? The top has natural grout, the bottom off white. Who knew grout could completely change the look of your bricks!?!? We will definitely have the off white grout. I particularly like how the bricks change colour and tone.
Now this picture is of our dark rum brick.....yes the whole wall! Why does the top look so different from the bottom? The top has natural grout, the bottom off white. Who knew grout could completely change the look of your bricks!?!? We will definitely have the off white grout. I particularly like how the bricks change colour and tone.
You have the chance for one (they record your visit so just one!) sit down with a consultant to help with all the accompanying colour choices. You know, guttering, fascia, window frames. I had to google what fascia was! Now whilst some people seem to have this as their actual appointment, we officially do this at colours so whilst they write it all down and give you colour samples there is no pressure to make final decisions then and there. They don't have the same tile supplier so the tile here is a bit of guess work. Otherwise our windows are white, our fascia and panelling surfmist (closest to white I could get) and the rest is woodland grey. At the time we were thinking we would do the garage door and driveway in woodland grey too. We have since rethought it and will probably do surfmist for the garage door.
Once you settle this you can ask for addresses of houses with your assigned bricks to drive by and see how it looks on a real house........ So now we are not only stalking our block of land but doing slow drive bys of random strangers houses. I should note that given most of these houses are just recently built their owners are often out the front completing landscaping jobs on the weekend. Driving slowly past whilst taking photos definitely takes us to a whole other level of crazy!
Once you settle this you can ask for addresses of houses with your assigned bricks to drive by and see how it looks on a real house........ So now we are not only stalking our block of land but doing slow drive bys of random strangers houses. I should note that given most of these houses are just recently built their owners are often out the front completing landscaping jobs on the weekend. Driving slowly past whilst taking photos definitely takes us to a whole other level of crazy!
Both these houses have the dark rum brick and we are happy with the look, so am pretty confident we will stick with it at colours. Just worth a mention....when you get the list of brick addresses you really need to do your homework before you head out. A lot of the streets are not yet on any maps and some only have lot numbers. I had to look up some streets on the land release websites. You also need to visit quite a few. Some of them have only used them as a feature brick or have rendered the whole facade so you don't always get a good look at the brick itself.
You will find, if you are anything like us that once you have reached this step in the build you suddenly find yourself looking at every building for brick colours. You know your colour bond colours well enough to comment on how good the dune coloured guttering looks on a passing house and the previously unnoticed fascia is suddenly a point of interest.
I find myself wondering what on earth I am going to do with myself once we have finished the build 😊
You will find, if you are anything like us that once you have reached this step in the build you suddenly find yourself looking at every building for brick colours. You know your colour bond colours well enough to comment on how good the dune coloured guttering looks on a passing house and the previously unnoticed fascia is suddenly a point of interest.
I find myself wondering what on earth I am going to do with myself once we have finished the build 😊
August 2016
So contract signing has occurred and 5% deposit down. Yay!
I received the contract the day before and spent the evening after work reading through the 123 page document. (Fun!). There were a few minor mistakes which were fixed up immediately when I emailed the next morning before we came in and they agreed to extend our tender without charge due to the small delay experienced so far. They even extended it beyond the time they had delayed the process when I asked to keep hubby happy and confident that we would make build time. (Our land is already registered) We had one issue with Windows as we had changed the windows in the back two bedrooms to make them bigger. (My daughter was struggling with the thought of high Windows she couldn't see out of....felt hemmed in). I noticed that it said subject to council approval on the tender and did some research. Found out they wouldn't pass council guidelines. When I emailed my concerns wisdom immediately agreed that they wouldn't and that someone should have discovered that sooner. I thought we would have to delay contract signing to correct the drawings but they are going to fix them in the coming weeks, no charge, no delays.
Overall another fantastic experience. Wisdom have provided us with some fantastic sales and customer service so far.....very happy.
Here is a pic (below) of a majestic bedroom in the display home. We have decided to add another window like this one has to create more light. Hopefully this will appease my daughter whilst still fulfilling council regulations.
Next.......colours.......better get some paint samples!!!
Colours appointments
So today was the day! We had contract signing last Friday then had a phone call the following Monday to book colours which we decided to book for the very next day! A little panic about being ready but we dont want to delay the build any more than we need to so we pushed ahead.
We started out with landscaping. And discovered that despite our block being described by the sales agent as "flat as a pool table" we still require a small retaining wall along one side and steps to the front porch. I will be holding my breath for the quote because we haven't really left any money for landscaping beyond the driveway, we are just hoping to do it as we go once we move in! Here is our first draft of the landscaping plan from today:
Next up was colours......
As we mentioned above we had PGH dark rum bricks with off white mortar already decided on. We added Titanium flat profile roof tiles and Basalt gutters and fascia to blend in with the roof. Then Surfmist for the garage and front door.
There was plenty of discussion over the colour of the panelling above the garage and around the side of the upper floor as I liked the idea of continuing the surfmist but was worried about the left of the house being all surfmist, which is very pale and the right side of it all brick and looking a bit strange. Our consultant agreed that it would look better with a deeper colour to the panelling so we went with coffee cake from the Taubmans colour range. I am a bit worried about that decision as I don't want our house to look too brown. I do appreciate how ridiculous that sounds since we chose a brown brick but a brown tone brick is very different to brown paint and I wanted the rest of the house to have a grey and white tone. Once we add brown (Jasper) down pipes and water tank to blend in with the bricks, it is suddenly sounding very brown!
Everything else was pretty much standard. We gave her codes for different shower heads instead of rails for the ensuite and main bathroom which we had already researched prior to the day, then we chose our front door (painted surfmist) and upgraded to translaminate glass.
We had already decided to upgrade to a second paint colour so we could have white trim and doors with some contrast to the walls but were a little disappointed that the second colour could only be used on the trim and doors. We wanted white on the trim, doors and bathrooms and the second colour everywhere else but the bathrooms and trim were going to count as two additional colours! I wasn't going to pay $1200 to have white trim and bathrooms so we decided that the bathrooms would be the same as the rest of the house. Fortunately they are similar colour schemes. My only real concern with the paint was that it wouldn't end up making my kitchen or floor tiles look yellow or pink so we went with a grey undertone. Our paint colours ended up as crisp white for all woodwork and doors with Struan Grey for the rest. Fingers crossed it all works out ok!
Here are the standard bathroom fittings for the prestige range, we changed the two upstairs showers to shower heads but everything else is standard which we are happy with. If we weren't so budget conscious I would have preferred a rounder basin but other than that I like all the standard fixtures.
I forgot to mention electrical:
We ended up spending just over $5000 on electrical as we were very budget conscious at this point. I don't imagine you could walk out with much less than $4000 to add powerpoints, switches and additional down lights etc... So we're happy with that.
Most of the cost was in additional down lights downstairs, we had 15 included in our package and we added another 16 to the downstairs, upstairs we left as standard as I personally prefer a light shade in a room but if future buyers of the house want to add down lights it's easy to do upstairs. We also paid $375 for the tv antennae we need, $396 for a fan in the alfresco, $345 for a motion detector sensor for the front door light (I hate fumbling for the keys in the dark lol), $160 for a hard wired doorbell (I always forget to replace the batteries in our doorbell and people are forever banging on the door) $360 for a Foxtel point, $85 for a tv point, $800 on addition powerpoints, $2000 on additional down lights plus a few extras like a dimmer in the leisure room and 3 way switch in the hall so we can switch the hallway lights on and off from the front door, kitchen or garage. Here are the plans we received on the day:
This is a copy of the approximate admin timeline we were sent.
So our long awaited kitchen drawings came in and they look great. The attention to detail is terrific. I picked up a few little things that I think are wrong and have emailed them back but otherwise really pumped to have this kitchen. Just need to contact wisdom to confirm how I want the shelving in the walkin pantry now that I have added a bench and cupboards on one side. I'm thinking to leave the back wall empty rather than have shelving all around. (Shelves on the left wall, lower cupboards with shelves above on the right wall, back wall empty) I will lose some shelf space but have better access to the benchtop. Might need to think on that for a day or two.
Council
So we have been in council for 3 weeks and neighbour notification period has finished. We were looking forward to the next step and then we received the email you never want to get....a neighbour has objected to our plans! Due to shadows on their lot of all things! We are a double storey house and you purchased a block of land where the side elevation is north facing, any double storey house was going to produce a shadow! Absolutely fuming!
Council has recommended we reduce the pitch of our roof from 25 to 22.5 degrees and lower our upstairs ceiling height. We will agree to the roof pitch change but we only have standard ceiling height upstairs and downstairs is only marginally higher at 2590 instead of 2440 so we are not going to lower downstairs to standard height. Besides being unreasonable, wasting a lot of time and money, it will lower our property value and with family members over 6 10' completely impractical!
At the end of the day they're just unhappy we are building a double storey and we have every right to! So now we will see how long this bogs us down in council. Because everyone has said our house will pass, we have fulfilled every council guideline in our build and made a considerable effort not to overlook anyone in any way. Great start to neighbourly relations!
Council has recommended we reduce the pitch of our roof from 25 to 22.5 degrees and lower our upstairs ceiling height. We will agree to the roof pitch change but we only have standard ceiling height upstairs and downstairs is only marginally higher at 2590 instead of 2440 so we are not going to lower downstairs to standard height. Besides being unreasonable, wasting a lot of time and money, it will lower our property value and with family members over 6 10' completely impractical!
At the end of the day they're just unhappy we are building a double storey and we have every right to! So now we will see how long this bogs us down in council. Because everyone has said our house will pass, we have fulfilled every council guideline in our build and made a considerable effort not to overlook anyone in any way. Great start to neighbourly relations!
DA approved
Out of council....yay!!
so after some negotiating, the neighbours have withdrawn their objection and we have DA approval. Very excited to be moving again and now the race is on to get to construction before our tender expires in 3 months (with Christmas break in there too).
so after some negotiating, the neighbours have withdrawn their objection and we have DA approval. Very excited to be moving again and now the race is on to get to construction before our tender expires in 3 months (with Christmas break in there too).
Here is the email outlining the next step of the process....
Waiting for the bank
whilst we are waiting for the bank to get their act together (they have lost paperwork twice and we are 4 weeks into a 2 week approval process!) we have had to deal with dumping neighbours..
After chasing up the neighbouring builder for a few weeks they 'remove' the 4 truck loads of dirt that is clearly theirs. Only to have 4 truck loads of dirt from out of area mysteriously appear on our land at exactly the same time!!!
The conversation with the builder made it clear that "I couldn't prove anything" but we both know he was responsible 😡😡
The conversation with the builder made it clear that "I couldn't prove anything" but we both know he was responsible 😡😡
$1500 later we had it cleared ourselves!!
Our builders were great and agreed to put up fencing as soon as we cleared to prevent further dumping. (Even though we are STILL waiting for bank approval!)
I am definitely starting to become frustrated with the process ☹️
Our builders were great and agreed to put up fencing as soon as we cleared to prevent further dumping. (Even though we are STILL waiting for bank approval!)
I am definitely starting to become frustrated with the process ☹️
Bank finally comes through ...
Bank approval finally came through!! Took 5 weeks instead of the promised 2, but was excited we finally had it... then realised that we still needed a letter of commencement from the bank for our builder to start...and of course, a 24 hour process took another week!!
Finally we are in production estimating!
Almost a year to the day we put the deposit down on the land we can wave goodby to admin!
Bring on the build 🎉🎉
Finally we are in production estimating!
Almost a year to the day we put the deposit down on the land we can wave goodby to admin!
Bring on the build 🎉🎉
The build begins
Preconstruction wk1
Portaloo delivery 👍😜
rocks...
Preconstruction wk2
Site has been prepped and excavated.....definitely exciting. Trying to hold myself back to two visits a week but it's hard lol
Preconstruction wk3
So of course now that we are waiting to build it rains non stop!!!☂️
We have received a call from our SS at least. He's hoping we can start form work for the slab next week if the rain eases up.
Fingers crossed our SS is great and the rain stops soon.
We have received a call from our SS at least. He's hoping we can start form work for the slab next week if the rain eases up.
Fingers crossed our SS is great and the rain stops soon.
Officially in construction!!!!
Week 1
THE RAIN FINALLY STOPPED 🎉
2 days without rain saw our SS squeeze in the plumbing and piering on site. Very exciting to see work done...of course it poured with rain that very afternoon and we're expecting even more rain tomorrow 🙁
2 days without rain saw our SS squeeze in the plumbing and piering on site. Very exciting to see work done...of course it poured with rain that very afternoon and we're expecting even more rain tomorrow 🙁
Week 2
Waffle pods and steel delivered today in the torrential rain. Supposed to have 3 dry days this week but the site is such a mess they may need to wait for it to dry out a bit.
I've been away for work so haven't had a chance to get to site. Photos courtesy of my other half. I'm a bit worried by how close the slab looks to the back fence as we should have 4 metres. I'm hoping it's just the angle of the photo, but will check it out as soon as I can. (may need to keep my gumboots in the car during this build 😂)
I've been away for work so haven't had a chance to get to site. Photos courtesy of my other half. I'm a bit worried by how close the slab looks to the back fence as we should have 4 metres. I'm hoping it's just the angle of the photo, but will check it out as soon as I can. (may need to keep my gumboots in the car during this build 😂)
Our SS updates us every Friday now. They've started the waffle pods and steel and are hoping to have the slab poured by next week.
We all went past on the way to hockey and had an explore. It's trickier than you think walking over the steel and some patches of dirt under the rubber were super soft. But loved every minute! First time we have something other than dirt to look at! The distance to the back fence looks right. Definitely a small garden but we knew that,and hubby is very excited about how little mowing he'll have to do 😂
Waved at security who was doing slow drive bys as we traipsed all over the block. Not the same one I spoke to last week. I wonder if they'll keep letting us get away with it or not 🤔
We all went past on the way to hockey and had an explore. It's trickier than you think walking over the steel and some patches of dirt under the rubber were super soft. But loved every minute! First time we have something other than dirt to look at! The distance to the back fence looks right. Definitely a small garden but we knew that,and hubby is very excited about how little mowing he'll have to do 😂
Waved at security who was doing slow drive bys as we traipsed all over the block. Not the same one I spoke to last week. I wonder if they'll keep letting us get away with it or not 🤔
Standing in the backyard at the smallest point after the alfresco. To the left the garden is 2.5m longer.
Only half done.
Slab prep all finished for pour this week.
Went past on the way out to my weekly trivia not expecting to see anything done in the continual rain only to be surprised by a completed slab!! Will need to get some daylight photos tomorrow.
Hubby went to get pics of the slab in the morning and was very surprised to see frames going on!!
He had a chat with some of the guys and said the slab had only gone down yesterday. At which point they realised the frames were on the wrong site. Supposed to put them on the neighbour across the road who's with the same builder and had slab down a few weeks ago! So then they had to put them back.
Luckily doesn't seem to have caused any damage. Very excited to have something physical to see and walk on at last!!!
Week 3
Was expecting a quiet week this week. SS said the slab would need to cure for a couple of weeks so with the Easter long weekend at the end of this week they would book exterior plumbing and frame delivery in for next week.
Then we had a call from the builders landscaping supervisor and met him on site. Confirmed what we want quoted on. We've asked them to quote for driveway, concrete path for bins, step to porch, letterbox, clothesline, extra concrete to side of alfresco and site prep. Pretty sure we can't afford all of the above but will see. He also recommended stockpiling which I think (he had a strong French accent!?) meant delivering turf before we lose good access to rear of the site and keeping it there?? Honestly don't know. He's going to get it to me tomorrow as he wants to get started?? I feel like I'm missing something ? Might confirm with SS if the email isn't clear.
Also noticed when we were on site that exterior plumbing had been done ahead of schedule.
Then we had a call from the builders landscaping supervisor and met him on site. Confirmed what we want quoted on. We've asked them to quote for driveway, concrete path for bins, step to porch, letterbox, clothesline, extra concrete to side of alfresco and site prep. Pretty sure we can't afford all of the above but will see. He also recommended stockpiling which I think (he had a strong French accent!?) meant delivering turf before we lose good access to rear of the site and keeping it there?? Honestly don't know. He's going to get it to me tomorrow as he wants to get started?? I feel like I'm missing something ? Might confirm with SS if the email isn't clear.
Also noticed when we were on site that exterior plumbing had been done ahead of schedule.
Unfortunately in the process one of the pipes on the slab has been broken. I'm assuming the SS will spot that pretty quick when next there and fix it up.
We were fortunate enough to bump into our back neighbours as we were leaving. They'll be getting keys in a few days and our back fence will be up in a week. They are a lovely older couple and it's exciting to start meeting our future neighbours!
Although without access to the back of the lot it might make things interesting for my builder. They'll want to get the frames and scaffolding up and finished asap as I imagine my other neighbours will be done in 3/4 months too and then we'll have all the fences up with very narrow side access.
Although without access to the back of the lot it might make things interesting for my builder. They'll want to get the frames and scaffolding up and finished asap as I imagine my other neighbours will be done in 3/4 months too and then we'll have all the fences up with very narrow side access.
SS rang at the end of the week and told us that frames would be delivered next week around Thursday and they would probably begin putting them up the week after. He also said the external plumbing would be done next week, was quite surprised when I told him it had already been done!
Got the quote from wisdom landscapes with the additional concreting in and it's still pretty reasonable. Have just requested clarification on the 3 loads of fill removal charges. At $780 a load it's pretty steep. Would love to get that discounted somewhat as it's about $1500 over our loan amount which is due to the additional concrete we requested but still not ideal.
Fingers crossed work resumes post long weekend.
Got the quote from wisdom landscapes with the additional concreting in and it's still pretty reasonable. Have just requested clarification on the 3 loads of fill removal charges. At $780 a load it's pretty steep. Would love to get that discounted somewhat as it's about $1500 over our loan amount which is due to the additional concrete we requested but still not ideal.
Fingers crossed work resumes post long weekend.
Week 4
Frames delivered!!
So exciting!! A day later than expected so with school holidays at the moment we've been doing drivebys about twice a day 😂
So exciting!! A day later than expected so with school holidays at the moment we've been doing drivebys about twice a day 😂
Landscapers on site today too doing the backyard site cut and prep before they lose access to the backyard next week when frames and back fence go up.
They will scrape and do levels to where we will have grass (100mm) and garden beds (200mm).
They will scrape and do levels to where we will have grass (100mm) and garden beds (200mm).
so this is the backyard site scrape...
Not exactly what I was expecting. I thought there would be different levels for the garden beds. I suppose it would make more sense to do the finer details at the end of the build. Will wait and see what happens (this is my zen approach to building 😂)
Week 5
Have changed my weeks on the blog to reflect the construction timeline as the first 3 weeks weren't technically considered construction, rather site prep. This way it will help me keep track of the 30 week build schedule.
First day of frame construction.
The powder room vanity plumbing is clearly in the wrong spot!
They have pencilled in where the frames should go and they all match up perfectly except this wall. Might need to take a tape measure and see if it all measures up ok. I'm assuming the frame is right. But this is the kitchen wall that has a 40mm change for the kitchen design so hopefully all good.
Wow, the frames go up quick!!
3 days of framing and all that's left is the roof trusses. The carpenters left their camping chairs on site this afternoon so I'm assuming they'll finish off tomorrow 😂 (I also measured up a few walls and it all looks good)
3 days of framing and all that's left is the roof trusses. The carpenters left their camping chairs on site this afternoon so I'm assuming they'll finish off tomorrow 😂 (I also measured up a few walls and it all looks good)
End of week 5 and almost finished frames. The almost is key as I did receive an invoice for completed frames 😂
There was an error on the invoice anyway so I've sent it back asking them to reissue with correction once they have actually completed them.
Having said that, they are super quick and I imagine one or two more days will have it done. Still need roof trusses on portico and back of house including lounge and alfresco and there are a lot of smaller timbers that need to be put in too.
Oh and windows have been delivered. I love that they have stacked them all neatly in our garage to protect them, a very unusual practise from what I've seen.
Spent over an hour there walking through but forgot to take photos, not there has been much done since the last ones. I'll get some more next week once frames have been completed.
There was an error on the invoice anyway so I've sent it back asking them to reissue with correction once they have actually completed them.
Having said that, they are super quick and I imagine one or two more days will have it done. Still need roof trusses on portico and back of house including lounge and alfresco and there are a lot of smaller timbers that need to be put in too.
Oh and windows have been delivered. I love that they have stacked them all neatly in our garage to protect them, a very unusual practise from what I've seen.
Spent over an hour there walking through but forgot to take photos, not there has been much done since the last ones. I'll get some more next week once frames have been completed.
Week 6
Frames completed first day of the week and windows went in. One window pane was broken during installation but all others look great. Really impressed with the care that has been taken to date: windows stacked neatly in garage before install, sliding door tracks protected with plastic capping and tape. And today saw a bobcat and truck cleaning up the site after the carpenters. Very happy 👍
Gas and water fit out began the day after frames finished and windows in. Discovered that the 'mistake' of the plumbing under the frame isn't a mistake at all, thanks to a helpful forum member. The plumbing needs to go through the wall because we have a floating vanity!!! Maybe I should ask our ss rather than rely on google next time I think there's an issue 😂
So the end of the week has seen all plumbing installed and the sand and cement delivered ready for bricks. We also had an email informing us that we're being assigned a new supervisor. Haven't heard from him yet so fingers crossed we don't get slowed down too much by the change and the new guy is as good as the last one 🤞
Week 7
Thought the change in supervisor might slow us down and it appears it has. Nothing at all this week, not even bricks delivered. (Well someone has been down and changed the supervisors name on the fencing) Even more frustrating when another build nearby with the same builder that started a couple of weeks after us has had first floor bricks up this week. Should have a call today from the supervisor so we'll see what he says. I can feel our anticipated November completion slipping away.
Had some progress on the fencing this week though with our back fence going up as our rear neighbours prepare to move in.
Although the fencer has requested we ask the builder to cover the fence in film or similar to prevent the brick mortar or chemicals from the brick clean causing the fence to rust in a couple of years.
My poor new supervisor will think we're high maintenance when I forward this all on the first time he calls. I haven't had to ask anything up until now lol
Had some progress on the fencing this week though with our back fence going up as our rear neighbours prepare to move in.
Although the fencer has requested we ask the builder to cover the fence in film or similar to prevent the brick mortar or chemicals from the brick clean causing the fence to rust in a couple of years.
My poor new supervisor will think we're high maintenance when I forward this all on the first time he calls. I haven't had to ask anything up until now lol
NO BRICKS!!!!
Apparantly picking bricks 9 months earlier and ordering them 2 months ago does not actually guarantee you bricks. They've "run out" and it will be at least 2 weeks until they are in stock.
The new supervisor who (predictably) rang the male rather than the one who has been the contact person the entire 12 months! Told my husband that we could change brick if we wanted. Hubby asked him to call me, which he didn't, so I rang him but just got voicemail and no return call (not a good start new ss 😒)
We can't afford any delays so went around to pgh today to look for alternatives. Will pop into austral too.
Can't believe we're back to driving around looking at houses and bricks again!!
Will ring ss on Monday and see if we can arrange new bricks. Just need to make sure we can change panelling colour too. Tossing up between pgh chocolatto, Gibson or austral pepper.
Apparantly picking bricks 9 months earlier and ordering them 2 months ago does not actually guarantee you bricks. They've "run out" and it will be at least 2 weeks until they are in stock.
The new supervisor who (predictably) rang the male rather than the one who has been the contact person the entire 12 months! Told my husband that we could change brick if we wanted. Hubby asked him to call me, which he didn't, so I rang him but just got voicemail and no return call (not a good start new ss 😒)
We can't afford any delays so went around to pgh today to look for alternatives. Will pop into austral too.
Can't believe we're back to driving around looking at houses and bricks again!!
Will ring ss on Monday and see if we can arrange new bricks. Just need to make sure we can change panelling colour too. Tossing up between pgh chocolatto, Gibson or austral pepper.
Week 8
Big fat nothing!
Left 2 more messages for ss on Monday which were ignored, so fired off an email to my customer service consultant (who I've had for 9 months and ❤️❤️❤️) SS then got back to me Tuesday and told me that our original bricks were being delivered Friday. I said we were happy to change brick as we can't afford delays but I was assured bricks would come Friday and wasn't any point in changing with such a close delivery. Ok no problem.
Friday rolls around and I don't receive my weekly update call from ss (again) so I pop down to the site.....surprise no bricks 😤
Is it too much to ask to get honest, regular communication?? I'm starting to think the ss knew the bricks wouldn't be in and is just stringing us along because he doesn't want us changing, since pgh had already told us it would be at least another 2 weeks on the brick. Apparantly playing nice and trusting that people will follow through when they say they will doesn't work. Game on!!
Left 2 more messages for ss on Monday which were ignored, so fired off an email to my customer service consultant (who I've had for 9 months and ❤️❤️❤️) SS then got back to me Tuesday and told me that our original bricks were being delivered Friday. I said we were happy to change brick as we can't afford delays but I was assured bricks would come Friday and wasn't any point in changing with such a close delivery. Ok no problem.
Friday rolls around and I don't receive my weekly update call from ss (again) so I pop down to the site.....surprise no bricks 😤
Is it too much to ask to get honest, regular communication?? I'm starting to think the ss knew the bricks wouldn't be in and is just stringing us along because he doesn't want us changing, since pgh had already told us it would be at least another 2 weeks on the brick. Apparantly playing nice and trusting that people will follow through when they say they will doesn't work. Game on!!
Week 9
My amazing cso shot my email up the chain. Had a call confirming bricks would be delivered Wednesday and they had arranged an on site meeting with me, the ss and his boss the day after. They were great. Sorted out the issues in communication and feel much better about moving forward. So glad we went with this builder, they have excellent standards. Here are some brick pics. Hubby hates the colour of the mortar as it is now, but it should dry much whiter.
Neighbours tiler using our water tap 😤
I very kindly asked them not to use our water again. Then took pics of their licence plate and disconnected the hose. Will keep an eye on them in future, we have enough bills of our own without anyone adding to them!
Had a few issues with this lot...I would never build with Beechwood, their site is a disgusting mess and when they finally cleared up they scraped it onto the vacant lot behind. They were the bunch that dumped on our land before we started too, real grubs!
I very kindly asked them not to use our water again. Then took pics of their licence plate and disconnected the hose. Will keep an eye on them in future, we have enough bills of our own without anyone adding to them!
Had a few issues with this lot...I would never build with Beechwood, their site is a disgusting mess and when they finally cleared up they scraped it onto the vacant lot behind. They were the bunch that dumped on our land before we started too, real grubs!
Before pics of rooms..
Decided I wanted to have some before and after pics of the house room by room so took some this week....
Alfresco
Lounge
Kitchen
Dining and stairs
Laundry
Storeroom
Cloakroom
Powder Room
Garage
Cinema Room
Study
Then we went home and I realised I didn't take any pics upstairs!! 😂😂
Will have to do those next week 😜
Then we went home and I realised I didn't take any pics upstairs!! 😂😂
Will have to do those next week 😜
L's room
And walk in robe
Linen cupboard
J's bedroom
and walk-in
Upstairs lounge (aka. Xbox room 😂)
Toilet
Bathroom
A's bedroom
and wardrobe
Master bedroom
Ensuite
Ensuite bath
Ensuite shower and toilet
Ensuite vanities
Week 10
Another quiet week in terms of actual build work but I guess slow progress is better than none.
Scaffold put up and bricks delivered.
Scaffold put up and bricks delivered.
Week 11
So of course, just as we are in a position to build again, it rains. Brickies were on site one day this week and finished one wall. Should be back on site next Tuesday 🤞 if weather holds up.
Week 12
Bricking continued this week. Good progress with just a little rain, although still very muddy onsite. The front portico is my favourite. Can't wait until the scaffold comes down and we can see it properly. Tricky getting good pics with all the scaffold.
Week 13
Bricks are finally finished. Really happy with the quality of the work at first sight.
They finished up on Tuesday and was hoping to have scaffold raised and possibly gutters on by the end of the week but unfortunately didn't quite get there. SS has said that next week will see that happen plus roof on. Looking forward to having the roof. It's hard to get decent photos with all the scaffolding 😒
They finished up on Tuesday and was hoping to have scaffold raised and possibly gutters on by the end of the week but unfortunately didn't quite get there. SS has said that next week will see that happen plus roof on. Looking forward to having the roof. It's hard to get decent photos with all the scaffolding 😒
Week 14
Scaffold finally got raised so gutters and fascia are done. Tiles have also been delivered ready for install next week. SS seemed to have forgotten he said it would be done this week 😜The colour looks a lot paler in the sun than the shade, not entirely sure I like it but too late for regrets now. I'm sure I'll have more regrets before we're done. 😂Will reserve judgment until the whole exterior is finished.
Week 15
So when they say roof on this week, they really mean 90% of the upper roof on this week 😂
SS said it won't slow the work for the next 2 weeks though which will go ahead as planned. Didn't get an exact list but I believe eaves will be installed/painted, expansion joints siliconed, upper bricks cleaned, down pipes (and of course upper roof finished) over the next 2 weeks.
Asked him about timing and he is not at all concerned about not making Christmas shut down for completion. Fingers crossed 🤞
SS said it won't slow the work for the next 2 weeks though which will go ahead as planned. Didn't get an exact list but I believe eaves will be installed/painted, expansion joints siliconed, upper bricks cleaned, down pipes (and of course upper roof finished) over the next 2 weeks.
Asked him about timing and he is not at all concerned about not making Christmas shut down for completion. Fingers crossed 🤞
So went past the day after SS called and turns out they finished the upper roof the next day. Happy with the colour. And it seems to make the guttering look darker too so I'm happy.
Week 16
Had downpipes put in early in the week, followed by the scaffold lowered a little around the front cladding area so that eaves could be installed. Next week should see upper bricks cleaned and eaves and down pipes painted. SS mentioned that he now has everything booked in through to kitchen install at the end of August. So very excited that we should see some real movement over the next 6 weeks 😀
Week 17
so this week has seen the upper bricks cleaned, eaves painted, downpipes painted and expansion joints siliconed on the top of the build. The bricks were startlingly orange brown at first but seem to be less so on subsequent visits. Not sure if I'm just getting used to them or if they were still wet from the clean the first time. I still love the colour variation in the bricks though which is what drew me to them to start with. Very happy with the way the downpipes blend in to the bricks and the silicone is a good match to the mortar so the expansion joints are not at all obtrusive. If progress continues this steadily I'll be happy 😊
Week 18
Not too much happened this week. SS didn't call last week so I'm not sure what the plan was. Majority of scaffold came down with just one platform left at the front. Gutters and fascia were put in for lower rooves. I do love seeing more house without the scaffold. Our neighbour is nearly finished and took down construction fencing which left us without fencing down one side so our builder put some up. Not sure if they realised that they have left a pallet of our bricks on the neighbours side. Not sure they'll be happy with that but I'm sure they'll fix it up soon.
Next week will hopefully see lower roof tiles complete.
Next week will hopefully see lower roof tiles complete.
Week 19
Glass doors have gone in to the laundry and the 2 back stacker doors this week. We also showed up to find one side fence up. No word from neighbours so I'm guessing they're footing the bill. Their garage is almost to the boundary so interestingly they've not fenced where the garage wall is. I'm assuming they will fix up the gap between the fence and garage or they'll be getting daily visits from our dogs. Still tossing up if we want fencing in front of garage wall or not? Also not overly impressed that the fence isn't the same type as our back fence and they've left long sharp exposed nails on our side all the way along. They'd better not ask us to pay for half of it!
So at the end of the week lower rooves have been finished and the lower eaves and cladding delivered ready for next week. Once that happens we are all good to start internals which will be an exciting stage to move into. Love seeing progress ❤️
Not sure why a bob cat has been down the side of the house but they've dented and scratched the fence up. Thought they might have been levelling our land but they didn't do that either, very strange. The neighbours have filled in the gap in the fencing which is good but couldn't be bothered doing the coloured facing us, might need to plant over that.
Theres one area where the roof sarking is loose and there's a gap. Not sure if it's an issue or not but I'm really tempted to borrow the neighbours ladder and fix it up.
Week 20
By midweek nothing much done. Seems as though Thursdays and Fridays are the 2 days a week we generally have trades on site 😂
Having said that the AC ducting had gone in by Wednesday. Went around and had a look at where they had marked the ducting positions on the floor. The girls rooms have been put directly over their beds which we had specifically requested not to happen but the kids don't seem too worried. They'll probably be under blankets when the AC is on but at least they won't be hot 😂😜
The only issue is that they will need to move the position of the boxing in Js bedroom cupboard but we prefer the new positioning so will take that as a win.
Having said that the AC ducting had gone in by Wednesday. Went around and had a look at where they had marked the ducting positions on the floor. The girls rooms have been put directly over their beds which we had specifically requested not to happen but the kids don't seem too worried. They'll probably be under blankets when the AC is on but at least they won't be hot 😂😜
The only issue is that they will need to move the position of the boxing in Js bedroom cupboard but we prefer the new positioning so will take that as a win.
They really moved at the end of the week as usual. Lower eaves are in, cladding almost finished, electrical rough in complete. Insulation next week...
Week 21
Insulation went in this week. It has been put in really well and looks good. Just a few spots in the upstairs ceiling without any but I assume that's to maintain roof access.
More great progress at the end of the week. Lower bricks cleaned and gyprock sheeting complete. Love love love seeing the house look like a house and seeing all the ceiling features and niches 😍
Definitely a very exciting phase of the build which I'm going to enjoy before the inevitable slow down near the end. I find myself wanting to visit the house every day just to wander around 😂😂
Plasterers came back Saturday and finished off!
Definitely a very exciting phase of the build which I'm going to enjoy before the inevitable slow down near the end. I find myself wanting to visit the house every day just to wander around 😂😂
Plasterers came back Saturday and finished off!
Week 22
Nothing to report this week other than
receiving the gyprock invoice. 😥The SS
just back from a few days off and gyprock
finished earlier than anticipated I suppose explains it. Next week we should have lockup, stairs installed and kitchen delivered
so an exciting week ahead!!
receiving the gyprock invoice. 😥The SS
just back from a few days off and gyprock
finished earlier than anticipated I suppose explains it. Next week we should have lockup, stairs installed and kitchen delivered
so an exciting week ahead!!
Week 23
Well turns out we do have work done on Mondays and Tuesdays 😂
A lot has happened so far this week. Cornices are all on, stairs are in, skirting has been delivered and waiting for install. Doors have been delivered, with front door, internal garage door and bathroom doors installed. Bathroom window frames have also been put on. Also have cut out all electrical and lighting points. So officially at lock up 🎉 Only thing I'm worried about is the PowerPoint we put on the kitchen wall where the laminate panelling will be. I'm hoping (but not expecting) ss will let us move it directly behind into the pantry.
A lot has happened so far this week. Cornices are all on, stairs are in, skirting has been delivered and waiting for install. Doors have been delivered, with front door, internal garage door and bathroom doors installed. Bathroom window frames have also been put on. Also have cut out all electrical and lighting points. So officially at lock up 🎉 Only thing I'm worried about is the PowerPoint we put on the kitchen wall where the laminate panelling will be. I'm hoping (but not expecting) ss will let us move it directly behind into the pantry.
No kitchen delivery yet but only a couple of days past the date ss gave us. But waterproofing done ✅
and rainwater tank in place
So the week ended disappointingly kitchenless but with so much done this week it's hard to be too upset. Second coat of waterproofing done and water tank plumbed in to finish off the week.
Week 24
A quieter week this week but that's probably to be expected after so much happening last week. The kitchen has been delayed a few weeks (due to the colour?!) but they're hoping it will be here mid next week, although it didn't sound like they were expecting it to be installed.
The first coat of paint has been done inside and on the exterior cladding and screeding has been done in the wet areas. Tiling has just commenced in the wet areas and portico which should be finished by the end of next week. So excited to see the tiles done but with vanities being delivered with the kitchen I imagine the wall tiles will be held up until they arrive. We'll see how we go and hopefully there won't be too much of a delay!
The first coat of paint has been done inside and on the exterior cladding and screeding has been done in the wet areas. Tiling has just commenced in the wet areas and portico which should be finished by the end of next week. So excited to see the tiles done but with vanities being delivered with the kitchen I imagine the wall tiles will be held up until they arrive. We'll see how we go and hopefully there won't be too much of a delay!
Week 25
Kitchen and vanity week! 🎉🎉
Also had wet area floor tiles put down
Week 26
Carpenters have been through this week and all the skirting has been done as well as door frames, doors and the framing for the stair walls. Wall tiles have been put in, second coat of paint, grouting of the floor tiles, garage door installed and bottom floor expansion points finished.
The kitchen light switch in the panel wall i was hoping to avoid having had been arranged with ss and electrician but unfortunately the really efficient kitchen installer cut it out! I was devastated at first but i guess its one of those things that got past us at planning stage. SS was great and was also upset that it got past him so has agreed to upgrade that light switch to a better one at no extra cost. Certainly better than nothing.
We have also had our last fence installed this week so will need to start thinking about getting quotes for our side fences although im not sure how i gain access so i might wait until front construction fencing comes down.
The kitchen light switch in the panel wall i was hoping to avoid having had been arranged with ss and electrician but unfortunately the really efficient kitchen installer cut it out! I was devastated at first but i guess its one of those things that got past us at planning stage. SS was great and was also upset that it got past him so has agreed to upgrade that light switch to a better one at no extra cost. Certainly better than nothing.
We have also had our last fence installed this week so will need to start thinking about getting quotes for our side fences although im not sure how i gain access so i might wait until front construction fencing comes down.
I absolutely hate that they've tiled the bottom of this opening from the ensuite to the main bedroom. Besides the fact that it is extremely ugly we had planned on putting glass or plantation shutters here once we had a bit of money but this will definitely complicate things.
Couldnt get a picture of the garage door down since we dont have any power points yet to plug it in.
It will be a bit squeezy getting the bins down here lol
Will be interested to see what all of these are for. Im guessing its the internet stuff but i thought that would be on the external garage door and this is the internal one. Ah well che sera...
Week 27
Only half way through the week and have already had so much done that I'm doing a mid week post.
Stone benches have been installed in the kitchen and bathrooms. I just love the organic white stone, I think I'll be running my hands over it all the time when I move in lol!
Have also had all the sinks installed and the baths and toilets are in boxes in the garage. I'm hoping they will be in by the end of the week too. The toilets we were going to get were out of stock so received an email offering us a free upgrade to a very similar one. I personally preferred the original toilet as this one is a bit square for my taste but it would have held up the build so we went with it. I suppose it matches the basins that I thought were a bit too square but we couldn't afford to upgrade .
Electrical fit out has happened and I love the downlights (standard white). Im concerned over the placement of the pendant fittings in the ensuite and the main bathroom as they have centred them over the sinks rather than to the sides as we have specified on the electrical plans so will need to think on this as to whether I can live with it or want them moved. Im leaning towards moving at this point. The garage door is connected and down and the doorbell is in and working. (yes I gave it a ring and switched on all the lights like a kid at Christmas......I am so sad lol.)
Also saw the painters in the house doing more coats, mostly on the ceiling and doors from what I could see, but also the staircase. Every time something goes in the house gets whiter lol. Keep reminding myself that the furnishings will add the colour. (Not that I have much or any money to buy them!)
Still waiting on grouting of wet area wall tiles. But overall some really great progress again this week.
Stone benches have been installed in the kitchen and bathrooms. I just love the organic white stone, I think I'll be running my hands over it all the time when I move in lol!
Have also had all the sinks installed and the baths and toilets are in boxes in the garage. I'm hoping they will be in by the end of the week too. The toilets we were going to get were out of stock so received an email offering us a free upgrade to a very similar one. I personally preferred the original toilet as this one is a bit square for my taste but it would have held up the build so we went with it. I suppose it matches the basins that I thought were a bit too square but we couldn't afford to upgrade .
Electrical fit out has happened and I love the downlights (standard white). Im concerned over the placement of the pendant fittings in the ensuite and the main bathroom as they have centred them over the sinks rather than to the sides as we have specified on the electrical plans so will need to think on this as to whether I can live with it or want them moved. Im leaning towards moving at this point. The garage door is connected and down and the doorbell is in and working. (yes I gave it a ring and switched on all the lights like a kid at Christmas......I am so sad lol.)
Also saw the painters in the house doing more coats, mostly on the ceiling and doors from what I could see, but also the staircase. Every time something goes in the house gets whiter lol. Keep reminding myself that the furnishings will add the colour. (Not that I have much or any money to buy them!)
Still waiting on grouting of wet area wall tiles. But overall some really great progress again this week.
So wall tiles were grouted by the end of the week!
Week 28
Main floor tile week this week. We upgraded here and the colour of the floor is so critical as to how the space looks that im really keen to see it all together.
Week 29
Main floor tiles have finished and really happy with the results. Love the colour and they have finished the change from portico tile to floor tile really well with the join under the front door. (With such drastically different colours i was worried how it would look) They have also installed the baths and tapware although there has been an issue with the height of the plumbing for our non standard shower heads that is being rectified. Still dont like the look of the toilet that we agreed to with the standard one out of stock, as my kids put it "it looks like a portaloo". Ah well, im sure i will get over it quick enough.
Week 30
Plasterers came through this week. All the patching has been done and the walls on the stairs completed. They've also patched the giant holes in the wall from fixing the shower head plumbing. The hole in the side of the laundry tub that had been forgotten before has now been drilled so we can actually access the taps and power point for the washing machine.