The painter has been and do the first coat to cover up the touch ups to the damaged plastering as part of the service and maintenance. The plumber is still to come out and hopefully the painter will be back to do the second coat as the walls are quite patchy.
Our electrician has been and put heater lights in both bathrooms which we are really enjoying now that Brisbane is having a mini cold snap. Look in know you guys down south don't think that 1 degree overnight is that cold but for us in is like being in the Antarctic.
Much excitement this week as the cubby house and shed are going to put together and the soil and chook poop is coming for the raised vegetable beds. The garden is almost complete. Scored a great 12v electrical ride on car on EBay for my son so I guess he'll be out driving around or in his cubby from now on - oh the peace and quiet - erm hang on his going to have the coolest play area ever and that means all the kids in the estate are going to want to hang out here too!
The cabinet maker has been out to measure up and quote for some entertainment units and storage and thankfully the price was less than anticipated so there should be just enough left in the budget to get this made up. Oh no that means we have to choose finishes and colours again. It will be worth it and I will most definitely post photos once its all done.
We are getting towards the end of our post build phase so I think this blog will naturally be reaching its conclusion soon, however I must say I have really enjoyed doing my posts and its great to look back at progress. Hard to believe that where there are now houses was bushland and empty fields less than a year ago.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Touch Ups
The painter will be coming on Monday to do some touch ups and repaint the wall by the stairs which had to be reskimmed due it it having some pretty poor plastering finishes, namely big gouges and dents that looked like someone had hit the wall with their suitcase, then dragged it down the whole flight of stairs and just to top it off went back and randomly hit it the gyprock with a nail over and over. It'll be good to get that done as it looks quite messy at present.
We are still waiting to hear from the plumber to sort out the lack of flush toilet and then all our service and maintenance issue will be complete - oh that's if we ignore the retaining wall between us and next door which wont be done until their build is nearer completion.
More houses are being started on our little 36 lots estate with a couple of new site scrapes and some swimming pool holes being done. As for who is building with who it looks like the score is now Merticon 12 Plantation Homes 8 McCarthy 3 Others 5.
We got our first proper electricity bill this week for approx $550 for the quarter Jan - Apr.thankfully we got $85 credit from our solar so this brought the bill down to $465. Now seeing as we haven't had to pay any bills on a big for almost 12 months we can't remember if this seems average, reasonable or expensive... any comments?
We are still waiting to hear from the plumber to sort out the lack of flush toilet and then all our service and maintenance issue will be complete - oh that's if we ignore the retaining wall between us and next door which wont be done until their build is nearer completion.
More houses are being started on our little 36 lots estate with a couple of new site scrapes and some swimming pool holes being done. As for who is building with who it looks like the score is now Merticon 12 Plantation Homes 8 McCarthy 3 Others 5.
We got our first proper electricity bill this week for approx $550 for the quarter Jan - Apr.thankfully we got $85 credit from our solar so this brought the bill down to $465. Now seeing as we haven't had to pay any bills on a big for almost 12 months we can't remember if this seems average, reasonable or expensive... any comments?
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Service and Maintenance Visit
The nice man from the service and maintenance dept came to pay a visit yesterday with our list of minor issues in hand. We expected he'd just have a look then organise the tradies to come out to do what was needed but much to our surprise he attended to all the jobs himself right there and then! He had everything he needed in his van and was very helpful pointing things out and explaining why we were having issues with things like sliding doors sticking and so on. How's that for service?
The only outstanding work now is that the painters need to come to attend to some touch ups and totally repaint the wall going up the stairs which had such a poor plaster finish that it has almost had to be completely reskimmed as it was full of gouges and dents. Oh and the plumber has to come out to see why the main WC toilet doesn't flush completely. So for a score out of 10 we give service and maintenance a 9 so far. Well done Metricon Qld!
The only outstanding work now is that the painters need to come to attend to some touch ups and totally repaint the wall going up the stairs which had such a poor plaster finish that it has almost had to be completely reskimmed as it was full of gouges and dents. Oh and the plumber has to come out to see why the main WC toilet doesn't flush completely. So for a score out of 10 we give service and maintenance a 9 so far. Well done Metricon Qld!
Monday, May 7, 2012
A Few Photos
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| That Land Drain Doesn't Work Then |
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| Where's The Ark? |
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| Veggie Patch or Duck Pond? |
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| Pumping Out The Downfall Again! |
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| The Yard In Progress |
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| From Another Angle |
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| There's Going To Be A Shed There So Can You Shift Your Tools |
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| Drainage! And It Works |
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| Stepping Stones |
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| And Its Finishes |
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| Front Yard - We Will Plant Mini Black Mondos Between Paving |
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| Closer View |
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| Angel Appreciating The New Garden |
Finally A Washing Line
Well it's only taken 6 months but finally we have installed a washing line in the yard outside the laundry door. Yippee, no more having to dry clothes in batches on the airer, using the tumble drier or carting loads of laundry up to the business and hanging out on the line there. It feels like we have put our final stamp on the house to say yes we actually have moved in and really live here!
The Service team from Metricon are coming to visit on Friday to have a look at the jobs that need attention. I have no idea if they plan to do them on the day or if they are just inspecting as when they called they did ask whether we had any spare paint. They have followed up fairly swiftly as the deadline for having the paperwork in was the 4th.
We've been having a few cold mornings (well cold for Brisbane) recently and I am loving how due to the aspect of the house that as the morning sun comes up it streams right into the outdoor room and through the bi-folds to warm the kitchen and family rooms. Perfect. It also means that you can sit outdoors and toast yourself in the sun whilst a cup of tea and reading a good book. I love it!
Lovely long weekend in Brisbane with perfect glorious sunny days. We have spent time hanging out together, walking the dog, playing at the local park, having BBQs, relaxing in the outdoor room, basking in the sun and enjoying my new car.
Yes we have broken all the new home owner rules and bought cars, had overseas holidays and spent money that could have gone to paying our mortgage down. BUT... as I pointed out to the accountant we are in our early 40's not 80's and we want to enjoy life and have some FUN. There's time to concentrate on the mortgage now that we have those things out the way.
I will be updating photos in a new post soon
The Service team from Metricon are coming to visit on Friday to have a look at the jobs that need attention. I have no idea if they plan to do them on the day or if they are just inspecting as when they called they did ask whether we had any spare paint. They have followed up fairly swiftly as the deadline for having the paperwork in was the 4th.
We've been having a few cold mornings (well cold for Brisbane) recently and I am loving how due to the aspect of the house that as the morning sun comes up it streams right into the outdoor room and through the bi-folds to warm the kitchen and family rooms. Perfect. It also means that you can sit outdoors and toast yourself in the sun whilst a cup of tea and reading a good book. I love it!
Lovely long weekend in Brisbane with perfect glorious sunny days. We have spent time hanging out together, walking the dog, playing at the local park, having BBQs, relaxing in the outdoor room, basking in the sun and enjoying my new car.
Yes we have broken all the new home owner rules and bought cars, had overseas holidays and spent money that could have gone to paying our mortgage down. BUT... as I pointed out to the accountant we are in our early 40's not 80's and we want to enjoy life and have some FUN. There's time to concentrate on the mortgage now that we have those things out the way.
I will be updating photos in a new post soon
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