We thought we already had one, but we didn't. But now we do! The big day is next Friday, October 26. Final walkthrough is at 8am and if all goes well we can head straight to the office to pick up the keys. It's a little disappointing to have the date moved back again, but really a couple of days isn't a big deal and the Friday works a little better in terms of taking leave from work (actually, as we will be taking the day of handover as well as the following week off our time off runs into cup weekend, so we should have a decent break from work, and hopefully some time to settle in and enjoy the new house). We intend to move in on the day of handover, so appliances will also be delivered that day.
We have been told that there will be one outstanding issue at handover. The door handle and seal of the bifold doors cannot be replaced by the end of next week. I know many would advise not to hand over in these circumstances, but we will insist on the proper documentation and we trust our Site Supervisor when he tells us he will make sure it gets done. The problems are aesthetic, not functional, so it won't be a hassle for us in the meantime.
The landscaping contractor contacted me yesterday to advise that he will be excavating in the estate on Thursday, and that if we can have the driveway marked out and the bricks moved from the front yard* they will excavate our yard. This is good news, as it means that our garden shouldn't be too far away. If we can't move the bricks or have the driveway marked then we will have to wait until this batch of gardens are done before they bring the excavator back. I found out by chance that our driveway guy lives in the estate, so hopefully it won't be a problem for him to mark it out.
*The bricks. We had about 3 pallets of bricks left over from the house. Our Site Supervisor asked if we wanted to keep any and we thought we might use some for a letterbox, so they left behind one pallet for us. We have since decided to buy a ready made letterbox, so now we need to move the bricks. We don't have time to sell them, or offer them for free for fear of being stuffed around. We found a local brick recycling centre that will take them fairly cheap and they are open to 1pm on Saturdays, so we will be spending tomorrow morning taking the bricks there.
Showing posts with label Driveway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Driveway. Show all posts
Friday, 19 October 2012
Sunday, 16 September 2012
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.
Although it was installed a couple of weeks ago, today we saw the front of the garage door for the first time.
The cladding on the facade and plastering under the eaves have also been completed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!)
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.
The rest of the house has us completely stumped though!
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 |
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!
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