Nearly there…but not quite

After almost two years of planning and dreaming, we are so close to the end of our building journey…so close! On Thursday we had our PCI walk-through and it went ok. There were several small issues which need to be addressed, but nothing that should hold us up. There was some scratched glass (it was replaced on Friday), dirty planter-boxes (they were cleaned yesterday), paint-patching and a few problems with cleaning….nothing that set off alarm bells. Craig said he would organise the tradies to come out and have those things done by the end of next week for an end of week handover.

Last Friday Craig rang Peter and told him that our Interim Occupation Certificate is not done yet, so that’s a bit of a problem. We still have our fingers firmly crossed for a Thursday/Friday settlement date. We are just so eager to get in and start landscaping and the million other things we need to get done.

That’s where we are at now…hopefully next weekend will be spent moving. Fingers crossed!

Five sleeps to go!

Here we are, only 5 days away from our PCI walk through. The excitement is building as moving into our home becomes a reality. Packing has well and truly begun and I am now on long service leave to make the move and begin the huge task of unpacking and making our house a home.

The house is looking fabulous- better than I expected! The painting is finished and the scaffolding has been removed. The balcony and window that I was so worried about looks fine and everything has come together well.

In the coming week there will be a site clean up, the cleaners will finish cleaning inside and the carpet will laid. There are also a couple of little maintenance issues that will be addressed.

The valuer from the bank came through yesterday, so I am hoping that all is well and the bank will release the final payment so we can get the keys ASAP. I must say that this last bit seems to be going in slow motion- soooo close!

Here is the latest pic- taken today. Thanks for reading.

On the home stretch

As the title says, we are on the home stretch. The driveway was due to be poured 10 days ago and guess what? It has consistently rained which means that we have no driveway yet- I keep checking the weather forecast, and each time I do it stays the same-rain till Thursday. Fingers crossed we have a break in the rain at some stage in the near future. 

Last week we were given a PC date of 5th September- however, Peter spoke with Craig on Friday and it has been pushed back to the 11th September. We will have a walk through and find any issues- after that Wisdom have 2 weeks to rectify them. Handover will be on or before the 25th September. To say I am excited is an understatement.

Last week the splash back went in (looks beautiful) and the garage door was installed. This week the painters will be in to complete the painting and the driveway should be poured. The carpet will go in on the 10th September, 

Craig got back to me about the Merbau door- we had been charged for it (luckily I had the paperwork to back it up as Wisdom stated that it had not charged to us). The option we ended up taking was staining the door to match the frame as ordering the merbau doors at this late stage wil hold us up. 

I guess that’s about it for now- thanks for checking in on us. 

As usual, here are a few pics to show you what it all looks like now.

 

     

 

Update 17th August

As the time of completion draws closer, it’s time for another update. It’s hard to believe that we began this journey just over two years ago, and here we are about 3 weeks away from completion. It’s so exciting seeing our home come together before our very eyes…even more so now that we are packing to move in!

Last week the plumbing was completed and fitted off, the tilers completed the tiling, the pantry and walk in robe were fitted out and the driveway was excavated. The concrete was not poured because it rained, but once the weather clears they will get on with it. The house looks great and the tiles I was worried about are not a problem at all. We had some more blind quotes done and have gone ahead and ordered our blinds, security doors and plantation shutters from Star Blinds. They don’t advertise and work mainly on word of mouth…the quote was great and their products look fab. 

This week the painters will finish and the driveway will be poured. After that the carpet will be laid. The garage door should also be ready to be installed.  There are a few little things that need to be done but I really can see the end in sight.

A small issue: due to our BAL we were charged $580 extra for a merbau doors- the frame is merbau but they have put on maple doors. The timbers are completely different colours. Craig is looking into it for us and hopefully we will have a solution to the problem by Tuesday. Seems like an odd mistake but fortunately I have all of the email correspondence that supports my claim that we paid for merbau doors.

When we were at the house on Friday afternoon we had a little visitor- a  mouse was running out of the internal garage door. Cheeky little freeloader. I guess with so much building going on, it’s inevitable that little critters would be trying their luck. Will need to put mouse baits on the shopping list!

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading. 

Have a great week,

Kerrie and Peter

Here are some pictures of where we are at now.

Update 3rd August

Every day it seems as though something is happening on the house. The most obvious thing that has taken place this week is that the painters have been in and done the first coat of paint. The balustrade has been put on the balcony, and a large part of the scaffolding has been removed.

I love the colour of the interior paint- it’s called ‘Atwill Buff’ and it is very neutral. I was worried it may look a bit pinkish, but it doesn’t at all. The surfmist balustrade looks very bright and stark, and at first I was disappointed- however, with the surfmist garage door and the white plantation shutters in the windows, I think that it will look fresh rather than stark. If it doesn’t, then we can always replace it.

Today the girls and I went shopping for furniture- we chose a dining suite, buffet, hall table and a couple of lamp tables. Laura chose a lovely bedroom suite, and she has ordered it. It’s all becoming very exciting now! Thank you ATO! 😉

Next week the sparky will be in and finish off the electricals, the plumber will finish his stuff and the tiler will finish tiling the main living areas. There should also be a site clean up, but we have heard that before. The landscaper will be in the week after next to build our planter boxes and stairs leading up to the porch. I am almost certain that the driveway will be the week after that.

It looks like we are still on schedule for a late August completion *fingers crossed*.

Thanks for reading- here are a couple of pictures of where we are at now.

 

Another Update

A lot has happened over the past two weeks. The tilers have been in and tiled the wet areas. The have also tiled the front porch and the balcony. I had a mini-meltdown when I saw the tiles that we had chosen for the main living areas- they are a cooler shade than I remembered ordering and I really wasn’t sure if I liked them. It’s funny how different the tiles look in the showroom, so I guess I am not the first person to be disappointed, and I guess I won’t be the last. Long story short, I will wait and see what they look like when they are down and the painting is done. Lots of people have told me that they will look different, so we shall see,

I am happy with the bathrooms- they look fresh and modern. The colours are neutral and I will be able to brighten them up with accessories, which is what we had in mind. The bath and toilets are still to go in…the mirrors and tapware too.

The kitchen looks nice- it is spacious and I love the white cupboards. Can’t wait to put my own things in it- my sister bought us a De Longhi toaster and kettle in red, so I am excited to see what they look like!

The carpenter has finished the skirting boards and frames- they look lovely. The doors have all been hung-  there is one problem though. They have used the wrong sliding doors in the linen cupboard. I double checked the contract and we definitely ordered the correct ones and were charged for them, so hopefully they will change them over quickly.

Last weekend, we went out and finally chose the lighting for above the breakfast bar and above the dining table. We will pick it up next weekend. I think the lights we chose are contemporary and warm, can’t wait to see them once they are hung.

I believe there will be a site clean up this week- I am not sure what else is happening. We are still on track for completion at the end of August, so that’s great news.

Here are a few pictures to show where we are at now.

 

 

 

 

 

Update 12th July

I must say that the past couple of weeks have been the most exciting part of our building journey so far! Every day there wre tradies onsite doing all kinds of things! The gyprock has been completed and it looks great. A huge coincidence- the owner of the company that did our gyprocking is the cousin of our new neighbour! The guys from Designer Staircases have been in and built us a lovely staircase- we are very happy with it! The waterproofers have waterproofed the wet areas in preparation for the tiling to be done. Carpenters have been hanging doors and doing the door and window frames.  Today we went over for a look and saw that the kitchen and bathrooms have been delivered ready to go in in the coming week.

Watching the house take form right before our very eyes is a fantastic experience and every day brings us closer to moving in. On Monday Peter is meeting Stewart from Wisdom Landscapes to talk about the outside stairs, pathways and driveway. We were hoping that the site would have been cleaned up and levelled by now, but no…still looks like a warzone. It will take a lot of imagination to figure out what to do with it all.

Here are a few pictures to show you how it’s all coming along. Thanks once again for visiting my blog and sharing this time with us. 

Update 1st July

It’s been a few weeks since I last updated. The last few weeks have been crazy-busy with assessing, reports and parent interviews. The weekends have been spent with family and friends, as well as some relaxation time to recharge our batteries.

Now I am on holidays from work and have some time to spare, so I will spend a few minutes catching up with what’s going on in Foley Cct.

The air conditioning ducts are in, as well as the insulation. The sparky has been and roughed in the electrical cables. Over the last few days the gyprockers have been and are working on the linings. Everything seems to be going ok- however, we went by today and no one was doing anything at all- not a soul to be seen. Not sure why that is. Maybe they have to wait for the gyprock to dry??

Peter spoke to Craig last Thursday and he said that we can expect the site to be cleaned up this week- then they will prepare the house for lock up. The exterior doors should go on and the staircase should go in over the coming days.

Last Sunday we went over and with the help of our friend Owen and son Vincent, we moved the bricks and rooftiles from the front yard to the back. We are keeping the spare bricks because we will use them to build our letterbox and retaining walls.

Since I have been off school I have been looking around at letterbox designs and house numbers- you really wouldn’t think it would be that hard to choose, would you? I think I need some sort of therapy for my reluctance to commit to any designs/colours/textures etc.

Here are a few pictures of where we are at right now. We have no idea when it will be finished. We were given the date of 24th August, but they have taken it back and now have no idea. Bugger!

Clockwise from top left: Garage, front, media room, entrance.

Thanks for checking in. It’s all coming along slowly but surely. We are so excited, but as you know, when you can’t wait for something, it seems to take forever.

Will write more when there is something to tell you. Thanks again!

Update 7th June

Well, it’s that time again…another update!

Not sure if I have mentioned that we now have a new Site Supervisor. The changeover took place on Monday and seemed relatively seamless. A couple of things have happened since I last updated.

• Brickwork is complete
• Lower gutters and fascia is done
• Upper story bricks have been cleaned
• Eaves have been put on and painted
• Majority of scaffolding has been removed

Here is what the house looks like today it’s certainly getting there…but at the same time there is a long way to go. I prefer to see the cup as half full!

 

In the coming week, the lower roofs will be completed. Then the council need to come and do an inspection- hopefully we won’t need to wait too long for that. After that they will do the electrical rough-in, air conditioning and whatever else that needs to be done before they commence the linings.

One thing I am really happy about is the size of the balcony- it’s much bigger than I thought. We are going to love sitting out there on a nice summer’s afternoon. We will need to start looking for a nice table and chair set to put there.

The window that bothered me looks fine so that’s worked out well. I love the bricks- everything is looking great!

Thanks for reading. Enjoy this gorgeous long weekend!

Kerrie and Peter

 

It’s been a while

It has been a while since I have written an update- this is mainly because there hasn’t been much to say.Last week, however, there was a fair bit happening on the house. The gutters and fascia have gone up and the main roof is on- I am very happy with the roof tiles we chose. The brick work is almost done and should be complete by the middle of the week. Once the bricks are complete, the eaves will go on and the roof tiles to the lower portions of the roof will be done.

On Saturday we went out to look at blinds and shutters- we have not completely decided what we would like to pout on our windows yet- we are leaning towards plantation shutters on the front windows and holland blinds to the rest of the house. We have organised a quote withy TLC blinds at Narellan so we will see how we go. We also had a quote from Wynstan which seemed a little high,

Today Peter took a mate  out to look at the back yard because we will need to have some levelling and retaining done. This friend will bring his bobcat out to do the work once handover has taken place. We are trying to decide exactly how we want the backyard to look- indecisive me cannot make a firm decision!

Here are a few pictures to show how we are going.

Nikki, Vin and Laura standing in the doorway, Mother’s Day

Side wall- bricks complete

This is how the house looks today- 25th May

Thank you Karen for stopping to say hi. Your slab looks great! You will have a lovely view from your front doors and windows 🙂

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a great week- let’s hope for great weather so those bricks can be finished.

Kerrie and Peter