General update

Yesterday we did our PCI inspection.  I was writing a PCI post and added this general update about what has changed, but the post was getting a bit unweildy, so I have split the two.  The PCI post is here.

Since the last time we were inside the house was a few weeks ago, we saw a few new things while we were there.  Of course, defects not withstanding, the house is now "complete" so most outstanding matters have been attended to.  I didn't take any pictures yesterday, so probably won't have any picture updates until handover.

Kitchen

I saw for the first time (and Robert for the first time not through a window) the kitchen splashback, and the lights under the overhead cabinets in the kitchen.  With those lights on the splashback looks decidedly grey (as opposed to the brownish tone that it actually is) which I think is a bit of shame, but Robert tells me only I can see a difference.  Besides, it's not like it looks terrible.

Bathrooms

The missing tile in the bathroom has been replaced, and the bath has been fixed in position.  The shower drain "grilles" have also been fitted (they're not really grilles though, I just don't know what they're called).

Roof

The part of the roof that needed repairing has been repaired.

Front Door (and a little about the bi-folds)

The front door has been painted; apparently the painter was only in yesterday morning and the paint was still a bit wet, which is why there was still paint on the glass that will be cleaned.  Apparently the painter was cringing as he painted our beautiful door; paint over stain is not a popular option for this range.  I'm not sure if I've explained it before, but I'll take a minute here to talk about it here.

The look we have gone for in the house is reasonably modern, but neutral.  Our last house had a lot of timber features and while it looked great for the most part, maintenance was an issue.  We were therefore happy enough that aluminium windows and external sliding doors were standard, and decided to go with aluminium bifold doors as well.  The doors would match our windows, and also the sliding door from the rumpus room to the alfresco (if we had gone timber then I would have wanted that door to match so we would have had to upgrade that door).  We like the bifolds not so much for the look, but for the effect they have when open, so for that reason we didn't mind that the aluminium doors, on their own, don't necessarily look as good as timber.  The consistency through the house and the reduced maintenance was benefit enough for us.  We certainly got the impression at the office that it was an uncommon choice, and our Site Supervisor yesterday commented that he had never done a house with aluminium bifolds before.

So, when it came to the front door, it was looking like being the only timber feature of the house.  It is a beautiful door, but as with the bifolds it wasn't going to suit the house or our tastes.  Moreover, much of the striking-ness (??) of this door is in its size, which it doesn't lose by being painted.  We decided to paint the door, and it is still a wonderful, grand feature.

Preparation for after handover

The company we are using for our blinds have confirmed that our blinds are currently being made and should be ready this week; hopefully we can arrange installation as soon as possible after we are in.  We have bought our lights for the front pillars, and have decided on a feature pendant for the bedroom.  We still need to decide on light fittings for the rest of the rooms that don't have down lights.

Tiled

This week we have seen a big change in the inside of the house, and a couple of small changes to the outside.  We're also trying to organise some of the "finishing touches" that we will be doing after handover.

Exterior

Although it was installed a couple of weeks ago, today we saw the front of the garage door for the first time.

Garage Door

The cladding on the facade and plastering under the eaves have also been completed.

Cladding Completed

Cladding Completed

Tiles

The big story this week is the tiles.

We were told that the tiles would be finished this weekend.  Well, they're not quite finished, but they are close.  They need a clean, and there is a tile missing in the bathroom and a little grout to be done in the ensuite, but the kitchen/study/living area is done, as is the laundry.

Kitchen/living

Dining

Living

Bathroom

Bathroom shower

Ensuite

Ensuite shower

Laundry splashback

None and all of the pictures show the colour of the tiles well!  With the exception of the splashbacks they are all the same tiles, and look completely different according to the light; from a fairly dark brown to a light grey.  Ever since our selection I've been a little (OK, a lot) worried about how they would turn out, but they look great; we're really happy with them.

Some other things

Blinds

Yesterday morning we went back to our preferred blinds supplier, after spending the last few weekends visiting showrooms and getting quotes.  We have gone with a small, independent company based in Coburg who were not only the lowest quote but offered by far the best service.

We will be having roller blinds throughout the house, excepting the bathroom, ensuite, laundry, and rumpus room sliding door.  The master bedroom at the front of the house will have double privacy/blockout blinds, and the rest single blockout.  Our chosen fabric for the blinds is Stamford Lava Blockout.

Stamford Lava Blockout

Next Saturday they will come and measure the windows (having quoted off the plan) and with a three week lead time hopefully we will be able to have them installed shortly after handover.

Landscaping

This morning we met with the landscaper nominated by the developer.  Our front yard will be landscaped in accordance with the development guidelines at the developers expense.   As we spoke to him, the landscaper marked out our landscape plan which will consist of a path to the portico with garden beds either side, a garden bed along the side of the driveway, and another along the front of the house, and the rest lawn.  He will do some drawings to submit to the developer and once approved we will be placed in the queue for the work to be done.  Currently it's a long queue, so it's good that we're having out plans submitted before handover.  The landscaper said it would hopefully be done "before Christmas".

We are also in the process of pricing landscaping the backyard, which will simply be grass.

Alfresco and portico floors

We had been at a bit of a loss about what to do on the alfresco and portico floors, which are currently just concrete slab.  Then, during the week I discovered that there is an external version of our internal tiles.

Wet Cement External

 

Although the tiles are the same range as our internal tiles they look quite different; mostly due to the internal ones being polished.  We feel that this will provide nice continuity between the indoor and outdoor areas without being too "matchy-matchy".  We are currently getting quotes from tilers to do this relatively small job.

 

Alfresco flyscreen

We are concerned about the ingress of bugs into the house when taking advantage of our lovely big bifold doors, so looked for a solution a bit more robust than moving air (although we do intend to put a fan in the alfresco).  We came across these retractable fly screens for bifold doors and other large openings.

Retractable flyscreen

We visited a local showroom and met a very friendly and helpful salesperson.  He was also an excellent salesman who has all but talked us into doubling our order!  His suggestion was to put two screens on both of the open sides of the alfresco, rather than on the bifold doors.  The advantages being that we essentially create an outdoor room in which we can eat bug-free or open up as we like, and we can still open up the bifolds and guard against bugs.  This idea is one of the reasons we are trying to integrate the internal and external tiles (as above).  It will be our most expensive addition if we go ahead, but we are both keen to do it.

Driveway

We have now gotten two quotes for an exposed aggregate driveway and are in the process of getting a couple more.  We hope to have the driveway poured as soon as possible after handover (in fact, our estate guidelines state that the driveway must be completed before the dwelling is occupied, so we need to get it done!)

Lighting

We started looking for light fittings a couple of weeks ago, focusing on the feature pendants over the island bench.  We have all but settled on these gorgeous lights with edison bulbs.

Mercator Toledo 30cm

The rest of the house has us completely stumped though!