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.

Counting Down

It's now less than two weeks until PCI, and with all the little things happening to finish the house off it would almost be easier to list what is yet to be done!  The outside is looking great, with the temporary fencing and port-a-loo gone we are just waiting on the external painting.

The taps have been moved to the front of the house as per the estate covenants, and the WIR window has been changed to obscured glass.  This window was an oversight on our part, thinking that we would just manage privacy with blinds, but once construction was underway we realised that without a door between the WIR and the ensuite this window was effectively a window from the street into the ensuite, and privacy became a whole lot more important!  Fortunately our site supervisor was very accommodating and arranged the change for us.

WIR window and taps

Carpet

The big change this week is that we have carpet!

Rumpus room

Master bedroom

In some ways I'm not thrilled with the carpet.  It matches the tiles quite well where they meet, but the carpet doesn't have the same depth as the tiles, which makes it look quite brown.  However, I'm not unhappy with it.  It works with our colour scheme, and although I would probably prefer something lighter, we specifically chose something darker on account of the little guy.

Electrical

The fibre hub has been installed, and the data points are in.  The pre-wiring for the TV wall mounts has also been started.

Data point and TV wall mount

Bathrooms 

The bathrooms are close to complete.  Both toilets are now installed (the one in the ensuite having been delayed due to a crack in the first one delivered.  Both shower screens are installed, and the plumbing appears to be complete.  There is a tile missing in the bathroom, which appears to be intentional to allow access to the bath pipes.  The bath itself is in but is not fixed.
 

Toilet

Bathroom Shower

Bathroom

Ensuite

Ensuite

Kitchen

There hasn't been much action in the kitchen for a little while now.  This week some preparation is underway for the glass splashback, which has been delivered.

Kitchen

Windows and Doors 

Most of the door handles have been fitted (I think it is the doors with privacy sets that are yet to be done.  Door stops have also been fitted throughout.  In the wet areas with tiled skirting the doorstops are attached to the door which makes perfect sense but was interesting as I had never seen that before!

Internal door handles

Linen cupboard

As mentioned above, the window in the WIR has been changed to obscure glass.

WIR

The windows have all been cleaned, and it appears that the broken window we identified early on has been fixed.  The gap above the sliding door in the alfresco has been covered, but the bifolds, bathroom and ensuite window are yet to be done.

Sliding door

...including the kitchen sink

With just two and a half weeks until PCI, we are getting down to the nitty gritty of it now.  This week was dominated by plumbing and electrical.  We multi-tasked our visit this morning by meeting a representative from the curtain and blind company to measure up the windows.  When we arrived there was at least one person working in the roof.

Electrical

The electricians were in early in the week.  Lights have been installed, as well as power points, the alarm system, smoke alarms and the doorbell.  I wanted to try out some lights, but we didn't know what the guy/s in the roof were doing, and we didn't want to do anything annoying or risky.  This is all really boring stuff.  I have a heap of really dull photos of light fittings (obligatory power saver bulb and plastic chinaman's hat), but it's hard to justify sharing such bad, boring photos!  So here's just a couple.

Down lights

Doorbell chime

Heating and cooling

Heating and cooling vents are finished, as well as the return air vent.  The controls have also been installed.  Believe it or not, these photos are more boring than the electrical ones, so you will have to make too with the glimpses of cooling vents and the controller in the electrical photos.

Plumbing

The plumbers have been in and the difference the finishing touches have made in the bathroom is significant.  Although for the most part the basins and taps etc. aren't features in their own right (and add nothing to the colour palate, they do have the effect of bringing everything together.

One toilet has been installed, the other had a crack in it so needs to be replaced.

Basins in the bathroom and ensuite are in.

Ensuite vanity

Ensuite vanity

Bathroom vanity

The bath has been installed.

Bath

The shower rails have been installed in both bathrooms, and the shower screens have been fitted in the bathroom (with the ensuite screens delivered but waiting for installation).

Ensuite shower

Bathroom shower

In the laundry, the trough and veggie sprayer have been installed (not that we are expecting to see a lot of vegetables in the laundry!), as well as the washing machine taps, including the compulsory recycled water tap.

Laundry trough

Laundry trough

Washing machine taps

The kitchen sink and tap have also been installed.

Kitchen sink

Kitchen sink

Other fittings

The walk in robe, wardrobes in the bedrooms, pantry and linen press have all been fitted out with rails and shelves as appropriate.

Walk in robe

Bedroom 3 wardrobe

Letterbox

Yesterday we ordered our letterbox, the "Maddison".  The centre panel can be ordered in any colour, and we have chose Colourbond woodland grey to tie in with the roof, the garage door and front door, and to contrast against the lighter render that it will be in front of.
.

The Maddison Letterbox

Tiles

We're at the business end now!

Tiles

On Saturday we arrived at the site to find the tilers working.  It looked like they had just started, with a couple of dozen tiles laid in the ensuite and laundry.  We didn't stick around long because we had the little guy with us and we didn't want to get in their way but did get a peek at the tiles.

Piles of tiles

Tiles waiting...

The tiles had been distributed through the house.

Laundry from outside

Laundry from inside

There were two guys working, one in the ensuite and one in the laundry.  We were actually lucky they were there, as for the first time our 'secret' entrance was locked (presumably to protect the tiles which would have been conveniently packaged for a thief to make off with).  It was also nice to see them working on a Saturday, as it gives me the impression they are keen to get the job finished.

Waterproofing

The showers and bath have been waterproofed in preparation for tiling.

Bathroom Shower

Bath

Painting

Obviously, to get to this point the internal painting has been completed.

Painting finished

With the tiling underway, we hope that our site supervisor will be able to give us an estimated completion date soon.  When we met with him a few weeks ago he told us that once the tilers give an indication of how long they will take he books in the rest of the trades and have a good idea of our 'best case scenario' completion.  So we're hanging out to hear from him this week.

Paint!

This week there wasn't a large number of changes, but we saw a big difference in the house.

Garage

 

Garage

Garage

Garage

The first thing we noticed was that the garage door has been installed, but that was nothing compared to the next change...

Paint

 

Living/Dining

Entry

Pantry

Painting is well underway and it has completely changed the look of the house (for the better, of course!).  We can now really see the finished product coming together.

You can also see in the picture of the entry that the cornice above the door has been fixed.

Benchtops

Kitchen

Ensuite

Bathroom

Laundry

All the stone benchtops are in and they are looking great.

Like I said, this doesn't seem like much of an update, but the difference in the house is incredible.  It feels like the end is in sight!

Our first meeting with the Site Supervisor

Last Friday we had our first meeting with our site supervisor (SS), at the house.  I'm a bit concerned I've left this update too long as I don't really remember the details, but the crux of it was that we are very happy with the site supervisor and the meeting renewed our waning confidence in the process.  A great outcome for everyone.

The SS was friendly, professional and helpful.  We had a few concerns to raise with him, and he patiently went through all the issues.  Most were 'standard' things that will be fixed up in time, but we weren't to know and he was never condescending.  Some of the things we were assured were:

• The roofer will be back to do a pre-handover service and will fix the piece of raised colorbond.
• The window supplier will provide matching aluminum strips to be fitted above the windows and doors that have a gap between the window and the brickwork.
• The missing plaster in the garage will be fixed up before painting.

The SS told us that we will be finished in October, but says he can give a better estimate once the tiling has started.  We'd be happy with October, but happier still with September!

The week's progress seemed slow again, but there were a few new bits and pieces for us to see.

Bathrooms

Ensuite Shower

Bathroom Shower

The shower bases are in in the bathroom and ensuite.

Internal doors

Pantry Door

All the internal doors have been hung.  The picture above shows the pantry door, which was the most interesting of the doors.  We had chosen the Balmoral 2 doors for all internal doors except the pantry, which was to be a flush panel door, but a Balmoral 2 has been delivered and hung.  We spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about it and have decided to stick with the 'wrong' door.  At least it will match all the other doors!

Architraves

 

Living/dining architraves and skirting

The architrave saga continues.  Despite calling the site supervisor at 8am Monday morning about the mistake, the carpenters didn't get word that they were using the wrong architraves/skirting until they had completed the architraves and were well underway with the skirting.  The correct materials have been delivered, and the SS tells us it should all be fixed up by the end of this week.

Front door

 

Front door (external)

Front door (internal)

Our front door has been hung and it looks great.  The wrong deadbolt has been put on it (it should be square), but apparently that is an easy fix.  The door is yet to be painted, but we are very happy with the look - we've been hanging out to see it hung and it didn't disappoint!