So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye....

Its quote ironic that my previous post way back in 2012 was called we are still here as after living in our wonderful Nolan 45 for over 3 years we have decided its time to move on and up. We have loved everything about this house, the layout, the light, huge kitchen, wonderful master suite and on and on I could go. But due to our location it lacks on thing and that is a view. Since building work is complete on the surrounding blocks we feel slightly hemmed in and began talking about moving around 6 months ago. First we tested the waters by going to opens in our local area as we love our suburb and the school of son goes to so didn't want to look at leaving the area.

We decided it would be a good investment to move a rung up the property ladder and buy something more expensive while the housing market is flat.
Now while we had seen some lovely homes none of then held a candle to our beautifully designed and planned for our family Metricon Nolan.

In early November we viewed a large older style home on a very big block and decided it would be something we could renovate and possible sub-divide at a later date. However, there was intense interest and we learn we had been pipped to the post by about $25,000. Money we simply couldn't raise as we were not only at the top of our budget but past it.

Funny how things turn out though, the next day our real estate agent rang to tell us a contract had fallen through on a house she felt would suit us perfectly. Excited we tee'd up a view for later in the week. 

Well we weren't to be disappointed, it's not often I walk into a house and find myself saying 'wow'. But this house wowed me, from the huge expansive living ares, 4 car garage and master suite the size of a small apartment I was impressed. the add to that the piece de resistance - a river view!

And the rest is history - offer made and accepted and our Nolan on the market and sold within a matter of days. People just know a well built and well designed home when they see one.

So its a frenzy of packing and we move in less than 3 weeks.
Are we sad to be going - we'd be lying if we said no but it is time for the next adventure and project and to have room for our family and friends as our son grows.

So as a final farewell here are some photos of our home....

We Are Still Here

It has been around 10 months since we moved in and we have been busy with life, work, school and family. The house is now feeling more homely as we continue to put our own stamp on it. We have had some custom made entertainment units installed in the family and leisure rooms and storage cupboards built and installed in the garage so we now have somewhere to put coats and shoes and all those other garage odds and ends that you never have space for.
We have even started buying decorative pieces which really add character and express who we are thus making this our space. Still however we are struggling to decide on art works and have vast amounts of bare blank wall space staring back at us but its not too bland as we have some lovely views out of our up sized windows and bifold doors.
We have a brilliant veggie garden and have begun harvesting salad leaves, herbs and this week broccolini - loving having a garden big enough to give is the space to do this. Soon we will have French beans, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots and beetroot. Yummy. With sweetcorn, broad beans, capsicums and egg plants to follow assuming they all grow successfully.

The build directly behind us has started (and stopped for now) they have had the slab poured and then nothing has happened since. Sadly they are building about 2 meters off our rear fence so our lovely views out to the gum trees and I suspect lots of our natural light from the early morning sun will soon be blocked. Look we knew it would happen one day but after living here for so long with an empty lot behind you just kind of get used to it.

Next door had handover last week but are yet to have their drive done so not sure when they will be moving in. I think it is the slowest Metricon build I have witnessed so far having said that though there is a house on the estate that was started about a month after ours and it still isn't finished!

Are we still happy with our home? Yes we love it and can see ourselves living here for many, many years to come.

Photos to follow......

Its Been A Year

One year has passed since the diggers came and did our site scrape ready for construction of the lovely home we have now been living in for over 6 months. Time goes by so quickly. So to those of you caught up in all the stress of building your new home - hold on in there it will all soon be a dim and distant memory and hopefully you'll be as happy and satisfied with the end results as we have been.

Updates

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.

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?

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!

A Few Photos

That Land Drain Doesn't Work Then

Where's The Ark?

Veggie Patch or Duck Pond?

Pumping Out The Downfall Again!

The Yard In Progress

From Another Angle

There's Going To Be A Shed There So Can You Shift Your Tools

Drainage! And It Works

Stepping Stones

And Its Finishes

Front Yard - We Will Plant Mini Black Mondos Between Paving

Closer View

Angel Appreciating The New Garden