Our practical completion inspection is booked for the 27th April.
Just over a week away...
It seems there are only minor bits and pieces for the builder to finish before then... door handles, paint touch ups etc etc
10 days after that we should have handover, which takes us to the 12th May.
It's looking like we might -just- make it in for my birthday. OOOOH I hope so!!!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Damaged Goods
Our roof tiles were supposedly completed in January. That is, if complete actually means "we have completed your roof but have decided to leave an entire row of tiles". You would think that 3 months would be long enough to finish one row of tiles, whatever the holdup.
But no.
You would think that when it was brought to the builders attention that the house was getting some heavy water damage (particularly after Perth's freak storm on 26th March) that they might arrange for the one row of tiles to be sorted to avoid any further damage. If they couldn't arrange that then perhaps a temporary measure could have been put in place.
But no.
The following pictures show a timeline of the recent damage.
12th April
13th April
Here is the water pouring down through the ceiling
14th April
15th April
What's annoying is that we raised it several times before the rain came and clearly, it was ignored, time and time again.
What is absolutely appalling is that the electrics to the entire house have been turned on with exposed live wires that haven't been fitted off both inside and out dangling where light sockets and powerpoints should be. We realised it was on when we saw the oven light flashing. Add water to exposed electricity and it's not a pretty mix. I made a relatively urgent call to the builder. No surprises, the CLO wasn't available, they never are. I got a call back and raised the issue which feel on deaf ears. We went past last night and they STILL haven't done anything about it. Despite the fact its a safety issue, its also illegal and the electrician could lose his licence. Still, no big deal.
We've got to the point where dealing with the builder has become rather problematic. Every issue we raise gets ignored and to be frank, its not good enough.
On a lighter note, the rain is really pretty to watch from under our verandah. This would have been so much more enjoyable if we weren't so stressed. Just one more month and we'll be done with dealing with them. We're just hanging in there.
But no.
You would think that when it was brought to the builders attention that the house was getting some heavy water damage (particularly after Perth's freak storm on 26th March) that they might arrange for the one row of tiles to be sorted to avoid any further damage. If they couldn't arrange that then perhaps a temporary measure could have been put in place.
But no.
The following pictures show a timeline of the recent damage.
12th April
13th April
15th April
What is absolutely appalling is that the electrics to the entire house have been turned on with exposed live wires that haven't been fitted off both inside and out dangling where light sockets and powerpoints should be. We realised it was on when we saw the oven light flashing. Add water to exposed electricity and it's not a pretty mix. I made a relatively urgent call to the builder. No surprises, the CLO wasn't available, they never are. I got a call back and raised the issue which feel on deaf ears. We went past last night and they STILL haven't done anything about it. Despite the fact its a safety issue, its also illegal and the electrician could lose his licence. Still, no big deal.
We've got to the point where dealing with the builder has become rather problematic. Every issue we raise gets ignored and to be frank, its not good enough.
On a lighter note, the rain is really pretty to watch from under our verandah. This would have been so much more enjoyable if we weren't so stressed. Just one more month and we'll be done with dealing with them. We're just hanging in there.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Our floors are in!
Our flooring was installed last Friday!!!
I'm glad we dropped by because the tradies had left the sliding bedroom door, and fly screen WIDE open. A wandering dog from nearby was sniffing around too - I can imagine our place would be quite the nice toilet for him. Not impressed, sure they may have needed access but they could have closed it and just not locked it if that was the case.
Anyway, their bungle allowed us to have a quick peek at our flooring (bonus!!) before securing the place.
The colour of the flooring ties in with the timber door really well (phew!!)
To be honest, it's better than I was expecting. The flooring selection has always niggled at me as in a perfect world I would have had my beautiful solid timber floors from the start. It just wasn't realistic and would mean we'd have to compromise on a lot of other things to have them, particularly given that we have hard floors throughout due to my allergies and our furry boys. Only the guest bedroom and cinema have carpets (can't mess with the acoustics!!).
Our blinds were supposed to be installed last week but obviously they were held up... as was the roof maintenance. We still have one row of roof tiles that haven't been completed (why!!!!???). We were told they'd be fixed last week, but that didn't happen. We now have a week of continuous rain forecast and the insulation and electrics are in with a roof that isn't watertight. Wonderful.
We were originally told that PCI (practical completion inspection for those lucky enough to not be building!) should be mid April, ie this week.
We still haven't been given a firm date but have been told to expect it somewhere between the 21st and 27th April, and that it should definitely be before the 30th. The builder then has 10 days to rectify any issues identified and key handover occurs after payment of the final invoice.
Working on that theory, we are anticipating handover somewhere between the 5th and 14th of May. The realist (pessimist?) inside me tells me it will be after that.... we seem to have experienced a lot of delays along the way and I'm sure that the end will follow suit.
17th May is my 30th birthday. I want nothing more than to be in before then. Wish us luck!!!
I'm glad we dropped by because the tradies had left the sliding bedroom door, and fly screen WIDE open. A wandering dog from nearby was sniffing around too - I can imagine our place would be quite the nice toilet for him. Not impressed, sure they may have needed access but they could have closed it and just not locked it if that was the case.
Anyway, their bungle allowed us to have a quick peek at our flooring (bonus!!) before securing the place.
The colour of the flooring ties in with the timber door really well (phew!!)
To be honest, it's better than I was expecting. The flooring selection has always niggled at me as in a perfect world I would have had my beautiful solid timber floors from the start. It just wasn't realistic and would mean we'd have to compromise on a lot of other things to have them, particularly given that we have hard floors throughout due to my allergies and our furry boys. Only the guest bedroom and cinema have carpets (can't mess with the acoustics!!).
Our blinds were supposed to be installed last week but obviously they were held up... as was the roof maintenance. We still have one row of roof tiles that haven't been completed (why!!!!???). We were told they'd be fixed last week, but that didn't happen. We now have a week of continuous rain forecast and the insulation and electrics are in with a roof that isn't watertight. Wonderful.
We were originally told that PCI (practical completion inspection for those lucky enough to not be building!) should be mid April, ie this week.
We still haven't been given a firm date but have been told to expect it somewhere between the 21st and 27th April, and that it should definitely be before the 30th. The builder then has 10 days to rectify any issues identified and key handover occurs after payment of the final invoice.
Working on that theory, we are anticipating handover somewhere between the 5th and 14th of May. The realist (pessimist?) inside me tells me it will be after that.... we seem to have experienced a lot of delays along the way and I'm sure that the end will follow suit.
17th May is my 30th birthday. I want nothing more than to be in before then. Wish us luck!!!
Where did March go!?
Ready to be shocked? Our house is so close to being finished now. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. We have been so busy with organising, sorting, preparing, researching and hunting (and working on getting our current place ready to give back too!) that it's taken over everything. Hopefully it will all be worth it when it all comes together! To say that we are both really, really tired is an understatement.
I was just having a look at my previous update and a LOT has happened since then with the build. We are still checking on it everyday (from the outside now that we are locked out!!) but there have been a couple of occasions where a tradie has left a door wide open and of course we've taken a peek then! Lucky we always have the camera on us.
Now for the fun part - the photos! I'll start with the kitchen...
The first ones were taken while the benches were still covered.
This is the space for my microwave to go, under the bench and out of the way. To the left of course is the dishwasher recess.
I love being able to look out over our beautiful park from the kitchen, love love love it!
Fast forward to a few weeks later, once everything had been fully installed, benches unwrapped etc.
And now for our ensuite...
The bathroom...
The laundry. We will be kitting this out ourselves (watch this space after handover!!)
Our render is completed all around the house
We are working on a landscaping plan for the entire house, but our first priority is getting this area right - watch this space!!
I was just having a look at my previous update and a LOT has happened since then with the build. We are still checking on it everyday (from the outside now that we are locked out!!) but there have been a couple of occasions where a tradie has left a door wide open and of course we've taken a peek then! Lucky we always have the camera on us.
Now for the fun part - the photos! I'll start with the kitchen...
The first ones were taken while the benches were still covered.
Fast forward to a few weeks later, once everything had been fully installed, benches unwrapped etc.
And now for our ensuite...
The bathroom...
The laundry. We will be kitting this out ourselves (watch this space after handover!!)
Our render is completed all around the house
We are working on a landscaping plan for the entire house, but our first priority is getting this area right - watch this space!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Evening light
We went past our house this evening and I have to say it was an amazing experience.
One of the windows had been left wide open so naturally we had to get in to make sure it was locked safe and secure.
It was the first time we'd been inside during the evening since the white plaster had been done. WOW. The entire west side of the house was bathed in golden light. It was just amazing and I found myself loving our place even more than before.
The plaster work is amazing, so smooth and really well done.
I'll stop gushing now and let the pictures talk!
The front living room:
One of the windows had been left wide open so naturally we had to get in to make sure it was locked safe and secure.
It was the first time we'd been inside during the evening since the white plaster had been done. WOW. The entire west side of the house was bathed in golden light. It was just amazing and I found myself loving our place even more than before.
The plaster work is amazing, so smooth and really well done.
I'll stop gushing now and let the pictures talk!
The front living room:
Our bedroom and ensuite:
One of the other bedrooms:
Token dunny shot:
The rear end of the house, looking towards the front. One of my new favourite spots.
And another photo of the outside render. It is still the only side of the house with the render work done... hopefully the front will be next!!
We are booked in for our tiling meeting on Wednesday - YAY!!!! Really looking forward to that...
Apparently the kitchen and bathrooms would be installed before then... which leaves tomorrow... We'll see, more updates to follow soon!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
hot hot hot
Today was an awful 42 degrees, insanely hot.
I did a photoshoot for work in the morning and then worked from home for a few hours before picking Michael up from tec. We raced down to see what progress had been done on the house today. It looks as though more plastering was completed... a bit more of the hallway, the bathrooms and cinema. Our bedroom still hasn't been done, nor has some of the front room.
Now that the doors are on we can't get in (wahhhh!)
I learned a trick from someone, peering through the lock hole on the door - and it worked a treat! We could see right into our place - here is our new fandangle front door! It still needs staining but you get the idea.
I walked outside, in the full direct sunlight for this shot. Michael whinged that he couldn't see the front door.
I did a photoshoot for work in the morning and then worked from home for a few hours before picking Michael up from tec. We raced down to see what progress had been done on the house today. It looks as though more plastering was completed... a bit more of the hallway, the bathrooms and cinema. Our bedroom still hasn't been done, nor has some of the front room.
Now that the doors are on we can't get in (wahhhh!)
I learned a trick from someone, peering through the lock hole on the door - and it worked a treat! We could see right into our place - here is our new fandangle front door! It still needs staining but you get the idea.
I walked outside, in the full direct sunlight for this shot. Michael whinged that he couldn't see the front door.
And here is a closeup of the front verandah area looking in. We're going to have to get used to that feeling! Oh it's killing me!!!!
I know I've said it before but we really can't wait until the external render is finished. The design should really come into its own then. Until then..
It's less than a week until our tiling meeting. Our kitchen and bathroom cupboards and benches should be in before then.... we'll see huh!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Locked up
Yessss!!! Noooooooooooooo!
What a landmark, a real 'moment'. At the same time, we can't get in anymore. That's no fun!
We peered through and noticed that no plastering was done today. Hopefully tomorrow.
Loving our front door, can't wait until the render is on and the door is stained.
What a landmark, a real 'moment'. At the same time, we can't get in anymore. That's no fun!
We peered through and noticed that no plastering was done today. Hopefully tomorrow.
Loving our front door, can't wait until the render is on and the door is stained.
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