Cooking On Gas

The appliances have been installed. We have a stainless steel Mia Cucina 900mm hob as part of the promo package with five burners and 2 Technika ovens in black and stainless steel plus a microwave and dishwasher. As usual I haven't seen them yet and will probably have to wait until we do handover on Friday before I do.

Hob

Oven x 2

Dishwasher - Yeah We'll Be Glad to Have One of These Again

Ping - Microwave

The cleaner is also going to be at the house tomorrow, the painters on Friday to redo the stairs where the stain has been applied substandard and the carpenters have already finished their jobs. The brickies are due back on Friday.

PCI Completed Now Handover Is Imminent

PCI went really,really well only a few minor things like some rough plaster, patchy staining on the stairs and missing mortar to attend to. The building inspector was very happy and said we have an excellent build so that is reassuring. A big thumbs up to Metricon for a job well done.

We signed off on the paperwork and will be getting our KEYS next FRIDAY!!!! 11/11/11 at 11am how cool is that.

EXCITED EXCITED AND VERY E X C I T E D

Site Cleared of Bricks

The bricks have been touched up and damaged ones replaced. The expansion joints have been filled with silicone and the piles and piles of spare bricks have been removed from site. For one moment we though we were going to get stuck with them all. Could have made a brick cubby house from them I guess?

The Council are investigating the build next door to see if they are in breach of the rule for the native vegetation covenant. The inspector is off to discuss it with the development application department and will inform me tomorrow of what is really going on. Hopefully they aren't and never were intending to build their house that far forward but I have a feeling the builder is going to be in trouble for digging up protected land.

PCI tomorrow and if all goes well we might get our keys next week. The bank do not have to send out their valuer yet as we have the pool and fencing included as part of our finances so they will do the valuation only when everything is finished. That means once we are happy with the build we fax in our final invoice for the practical completion stage and it will be paid to Metricon the very next day - no excuse for any delays...excellent!

The bob cat is coming next week and the fence is being erected next weekend. Move date has been set for 17th November. As Sandy is doing all the organising it doesn't seem real to me yet as I'm so busy at work right now my focus is taken up with running the business. It will start being real when everything disappears into boxes!!!

Final Invoice

We haven't even had PCI yet but the final invoice for practical completion and variations arrived yesterday!!!! 

Time To Pay Up

Looks like Metricon want to get us finished as soon as possible. That's good for us as there will be no delays waiting for the invoice and we can get the bank all ready for action once we are satisfied that the house (OUR HOME!!!) has been built to plan after PCI.

The movers are booked for Thursday 17th Nov, the buildings insurance is set up and now all we have to do is order gas, electricity, bins and telephone. We are moving into our new home - yes we really are.

The digger driver, fencer, native plant landscaper and pool builder have all been told we will be ready from Monday 21st so we are pencilled in for these jobs to commence/continue. I would dearly like the pool and paving etc to be finished before Christmas so we get to enjoy it over our break. Oh must get the turf company out as well otherwise it will just be mud or dust to play in depending on the weather.

We are now officially very, very EXCITED!!!

These Will Be Ours Very Soon

21

21 = the exact amount of weeks since our build started.!

21 = could be the number of days until handover (the born optimist!!!)

21 = our potential moving date in November.  Ha ha.

21 = half my age.

21 = the number of the form that the Council use to certify the build.

Its all looking like a good omen.

It's A Date!!!

It's finally happening, the date for the Practical Completion Inspection (PCI) has been set for Friday 4th November. Wow, gosh and double wow that's next week. We are booking an independent inspection as well which will cost around $550 but will be money well spent if it picks up any issues that need attention.

Inspectors

Not sure how long it takes from PCI to handover - can anyone give us an idea from their own experiences?

Our bank have been really good at paying the invoices and getting things organised so I can't see them holding things up. Are we being too optimistic to think we might be moving around the 20th November?

I'm so excited, it's really happening we are getting a new home oh and a massive new mortgage to go with it!!! Brilliant, now we can do landscaping, finish the pool, getting fences and plants, decorate and furnish the place. Oh to have a big kitchen and bathroom again..... I've gone all dreamy.

Information

I sent a few early morning texts and messages to our SS and finally got a phone call in return, it's a miracle! He doesn't want to give us a PCI date just yet as he wants as many of the glitches fixed and finished before the inspection is done. I explained to him that this is OK and we are not trying to rush the house all we are asking is to be kept in the loop. I also explained that it would be really great if we could move in November as the following month is very hectic with our son's birthday, lots of work commitments, meetings and weekends away doing workshops oh and of course Christmas. He said he'd let me know either at the end of the day or today. I guess it'll be today as the only other conversation I had was to discuss the new study door and the position of the the big handle. I'll give him until lunch time then I'll gently remind him that he was supposed to speak to me again.

So the painters have finished (they are lovely guys) and the carpenters were in fixing up the sliding study door which they ruined it by putting a bathroom lock on it and apparently are extremely annoyed that they are having to change it and foot the bill for their mistake - the upgraded door cost nearly $3,000 so it was not a cheap fix!. They are also doing minor little things like inspection hatches and so forth. I find it disappointing that they work in such an angry fashion, that's my home you are polluting with you emotional energy.

I am chasing a few contacts about a digger and driver to move the soil around and we are still finalising the quote for the fencing. We are heading up to Noosa for a day out at the weekend for a bit of rest and relaxation but also to have a look at some mail boxes and other little bits and pieces for the yard at a place called front yard art. I have also sourced a few plant nurseries that specialise in bamboos and structural plants that we might want to put along some of the borders so we might check those out on Friday. We  have also picked out a light for the top of the stairs but are awaiting confirmation of it's dimensions as we aren't sure if it will fit the stair well space.

The Light is Similar to This One

Going Dotty

Ah ah what is that? There have been people in my house as it looks like it has caught a case of the lesser know form of green spotted measles. There are green dots all over the paintwork inside and out. I headed off around the back of the house and low and behold more green dots and the painters are in doing the touch ups on the paintwork and staining the remaining timber work.

Went and had a good look around to find some of the minor issues have been attended to but not all yet. The guy with the mirrors must have gone mad as the one that was in the powder room has also been taken back out so that must have been damaged along with the one for the ensuite. The missing light fixture in the kitchen has been installed and the replacement study door is having a nice lie down in the garage.
Still no news from the SS, really TC pick up the phone will you. I will hound him (again!!) on Monday to see where we are at.

Later on site I peered through the front door and the stairs have been stained (aarrgghhh no camera with me sorry), they look fantastic. I can now suddenly imagine myself really living there. I don't know why but finishing the stairs has made it appear more real that this is our home and we will be living there soon. Amazing.
I will pop back over the weekend to get some pictures.

Driveway Poured

The driveway is now concrete and needs time to harden before it can be used. Nice team who did the job well and asked us to check the position of the mark out and talked about how we wanted things shaped before finishing off the formwork.

There were a few tradies on site fixing things up so now we have a white infill at the end of the white kitchen cabinets, completed carpets and a few other odds and ends sorted out. Sadly we got a "no way are we changing the diamond laid tiles in the showers". Hmm I guess we have to just suck that one up but I will be writing to Metricon to point out how disappointed we are with that and that we feel the displays etc are misleading and there should be a discussion at tile studio about not always being able to straight lay tiles in the shower areas. I feel it is best just to move on rather than keep pressing my point and possibly delay progress. I don't even do showers so I don't know why I'm so bothered as I won't even see the tiles when I'm relaxing in the bath! (Ha ha).

Here's some photos of our driveway in concrete (it will be nice when I can show pictures of grass and plants and soft landscaping too)

Front Path

Portico Area

Drive - The Team In Action

Portico - Again

The Left Side of Portico and House

Path From Drive To Front Door - Either Plants or Water Feature To Go In Garden Bed Area

The Drive Being Poured

Entrance Way and Side Path

Here's some shots of inside for you:

Air Con Control Panel

Study Carpet

Master Bedroom Carpet

Bedroom One Carpet and Inspection Hatch

Leisure Room With Our Son Running Around In Circles (He Did This In Every Room With Carpet!)

The Kitchen Infill (Very End at Right) Is Now White

 And now some shots of the finished driveway:

Ta Da! It Looks Beautifull

Ready For Your Close Up Miss Bushfire Exposed Aggregate?

Oh by the way we got the refund amount for the temporary fencing....$1950.00 well worth chasing that one up as now we can probably stretch to a new sofa for the family room!

Driveway

The form work for the driveway, paths and portico area have been completed ready for concrete today. We have gone for an exposed aggregate in a colour called bushfire which has blacks browns and greys through it so hopefully it will look good against the brickwork.

The fly screens have been fitted, the carpet layers have finished and now the end is so close I think there are only the kitchen appliances left to do.

Formwork and Steels For Drive

The drive has worked out really well and has ended up wider than it was drawn on the plans so we are really happy with the shape of it and it should make it nice and easy for getting the cars in and out of the garage. Eventually there will be a gate next to the front of the garage with a side fence to close the back garden off.

 





Drive Front Path and Portico Area



Fly Screens Fitted

Sliding Fly Screen Door on Laundry

Powder Room Window Fly Screened

Portico Area - We Have Left A Garden Bed Either Side

Side Path For Gas Bottles and Bins

I am yet to hear back about whether they will reconsider about how the tiles are laid in the shower areas so will chasing that up again today. I sound like a stuck record but it has become a matter of principle as if we want to make amendments a variation has to be drawn up, signed and paid for but if the builders want to change something they just do it without even asking you. The problem: builders love building houses but they don't like building them for people! On another note though we have had a result not only did we get the refund on the pot drawers that couldn't be accommodated we also got after much pushing and asking several times are refund on the temporary site fencing which was never supplied. Score! So for all of you who are building if it says in your site fees provide X amount of lineal meters of temporary fencing which you never got you can ask for a refund. (San and Revi I would be straight on to that if I were you, every dollar counts!).

Concrete today and then I'm not sure what happens next.

Carpets and Site Meeting

We went to the house in the morning for a pre-site meeting check to find the carpet is being laid so we had a quick nosey inside and it looks great. I didn't have my camera so you will have to wait to see how amazing it looks. I love the smell of new carpet.

Thankfully the site meeting with the SS was aimable and professional. After wandering around with clipboard and plans in hand (I am very nerdy!) I spotted a missing overhead light in the kitchen, and extra drain hole in the laundry cupboard and a big hole in the wall where the carpet layers got a little carried away. All in all it is looking great and the quality of finishes is satisfactory. Then we hit the snagging point regarding the laying of the shower tiles in a diamond pattern and not straiight laid as per the contract. In the past this would have become quite a heated debated followed by the threat a fisty cuffs. However I have matured greatly over the years and was able to negotiate that he at least run it by the CM and see where we can go from there. The problem with diamond lay - something my nana would have had, looks old fashioned in a contemporary home. The problem with straight lay - hard to get the fall off so water doesn't pool in the shower. We'll wait and see what they say before making a decision.

The Nolan 45 house is beautiful; in fact I will no longer refer to it as house, site, block or build as now it is almost our home. If we leave the tiles as they are PCI will be in around  2.5 weeks. Lots of shreks and loud whooping noises!! The build will have only taken 21 weeks - I know insane.
We will be getting an independent inspection as well prior to handover so pencil an early November moving in date in your diary!

Nearly There?

18 weeks have passed by since the build started with the site scrape and it has flashed by in a blur of concrete, steel, plaster, timber, cables, pipes, bricks and tiles.

Things are slowly coming to an end, the balustrade on the balcony is in place and the air conditioning unit has been installed. We were trying to think what else needs to be completed before our home is finished and this is what we came up with:

• carpets
• appliances in the kitchen
• driveway and concrete path to portico
• stain the stairs
• little bits of painting
• robe doors
• fix minor hiccups
• and let me see can I think of anything more ...... no I can't

No way, is that really all that is left to do before the final inspection and handover, surely we have forgotten something? No it actually looks like this house will be finished in a few weeks (or may be less than that who knows?) now we are starting to get a tiny bit excited, yes!

Balcony With Silver Balustrade

Air Conditioning Unit (This Is The "Ugly" Working Side of The House)

Over Bench Lighting In Kitchen

We have had a stressful few days with the SS verbally fighting with the pool builders. It got very heated and quite nasty and I had to tell everyone to pull their heads in and try to get them to reach a compromise but sadly because tempers had become so heated everyone was digging their heals in and refusing to budge. In the end I had to call the construction manager who eventually calmed things down and got the situation rectified. I never knew temporary pool fencing would cause so much mayhem. I tell you they are worse than kids. However, we are determined not to let a moody SS spoil it for us. But had this happened earlier in the build I would be approaching Metricon regarding a change of site supervisor as I don't appreciate dealing with someone who is dismissive and aggressively defensive and then tries to bully people in to doing everything his way. It is interesting that when you ask him about something his answer is always a sharp "that's standard" I think I'll ask him if he'd like that as his middle name! Yes it has been irritating but Sandy and I are very calm people and can see the funny side of it but when people are threatening to walk off the job and rip up your concrete because a pool fence is too close to the house you know that it's time to say enough is enough. We are supposed to be having a site meeting on Friday so have decided that each time we point out something that needs changing we will be a little tongue in cheek and simply ask "erm is that standard?".

We have had a native plant gardener come and look at the nature covenant, he is going to pull out all the weeds and spray to prevent them coming back, then plant around 40 lovely native shrubs and mulch the entire 250 sqm with a thick carpet of forest mulch. The fencing contractor is also coming out to do a proper measure up and help us decide on the finished designs. We will need to decide where we are having garden beds and turf then get the grass people out for a quote as well. What else will we need to think about - the gas supply, window treatments, mail box, house number, landscaping etc etc etc. What fun!

We would like an independent inspection before handover, can anyone recommend a certifier in the Brisbane area?

Photo Journal Part 4

Power Points Et Al

Light Switches - Clipsal Slim

Down Lights

Outdoor Room Ceiling Fan and Lights

Family Room Celing Fan and Air Con Outlet

Photo Journal Part 3

Sill Tiled

Neat Job

Please can You Move This Pipe To The Right Our Pool Fencing Is Meant to Go Here

Pool Layout Commences

Dig Dig Dig Dig Digging A Hole

Its Getting Bigger

Pool Excavation

Pool Ready For Steels and Concrete

Outdoor Room Prep For Concrete

Outdoor Room Levelled