PCI

Yesterday we finally had our Practical Completion Inspection (PCI).  It went reasonably well; our private inspector also attended and found no major problems.  I have made a separate post which details the progress since the last time we were in the house here.

The inspector's list of defaults (summarised):

• Concrete floor of the garage dirty (paint stains, blobs of mortar and plaster etc)
• No draught weather seals to the front door
• Door handles on the bi-fold doors scratched and acid stained
• Outer edge of the timber door sill between the garage and house was chipped
• East side of the capping at the top of the rendered column at the front porch was not fully painted
• Paint on the aluminium in-fill above the bi-fold doors was scratched
• Paint on the glass panels of the front door
• Down pipe on the south-east corner is dented
• Surplus mortar on the brick sills on the west side of the house
• Holes around waste pipes in the ensuite vanity were not completely covered
• Gap between laundry trough cabinet has not been caulked
• Dents in laminate of laundry cabinet
• Laundry cabinet doors not flush
• Sliding wardrobe doors not fitted
• Mark in vanity shelf in ensuite
• Joins in largest pantry shelf not flush
• Interface between toilet and floor tiles in the ensuite has not been caulked
• Painting: general paint touch ups required

Additional things that we spotted:

• Missing power point for alarm box
• Alarm keypad in the wrong place
• Missing roller bolt from front door*
• Missing solar panel
• Kitchen drawers out of alignment
• Bedroom wardrobe door runner needs replacing (this is why the inspector had cause to note that the wardrobe door was not fitted)
• Lots of paint touch ups
• Meter box wrong colour

All of the above are going to be addressed.  Estimated handover is next Wednesday, the 24th of October!  The site supervisor expects that everything will be done by Monday except for the bifold door hande (which will need to be replaced) as the manufacturer's maintenance department is typically a bit slow.

*We were pretty keen on the roller bolt for the front door; basically we wanted something to hold the door shut if we just run out to the letterbox without having to lock the door, as there is no latch (just a pull handle and a deadbolt).  We pushed for it at contract, and were told that we were definitely getting something to that effect, but it was written into the contract for our peace of mind.  At the time we were skeptical that the person we were dealing with really understood what we meant or what was involved, but as long as it was in the contract we were happy.  Of course, there is no roller bolt on the door, but as it is written in the contract they need to work something out for us.

Part two of what we wanted for the door was a hydraulic closer, as it is a very heavy door and we have little fingers in the house.  We were told that although the door supplier does make one for our door, it was not an option with Porter Davis.  We resigned ourselves to adding something after handover, which won't look as nice as the integrated option (and we'll have to organise it ourselves) but will have the same effect.    What does this have to do with PCI?

Our supervisor says that a roller bolt isn't a good option for us, as it will need a large striker plate that will extend past the edge of the door.  However, a hydraulic closer may provide the resistence we are after for the door.  So the supervisor is going to look in to our options in that regard.

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!

Completed Frame

We were invoiced for our frame on Wednesday, so we took that as an indication that it was done.  Yesterday we drove out to check it out, and it was very exciting!  Windows, sliding doors and (glassless) bifolds were in, which we weren't expecting, so that was a bonus too.

Our independent inspector had been out in the morning.  We haven't seen his report yet, but we did notice some pink paint indicating some issues.  We'll know more once we see the report, but hopefully they are not difficult fixes.

We noticed an issue too, many of the door frames are the standard size, not the increased height that we had upgraded to.  This is a bit disappointing, as we noticed that the plans only showed some of the door frames at the increased height, and we questioned it at our final drawings meeting where we were told it didn't matter that it wasn't on the drawings.  Well, apparently it did matter, because only the marked doors have been upgraded.  We have checked the contract and we have definitely paid for the upgrade so we will raise it with them tomorrow.

I took a billion photos, so here is a pictorial tour of sorts.

The front

Front

Front (master bedroom/WIR)

Front (garage)

Garage

Portico

Internal

 

Master bedroom

 

Master bedroom

Master bedroom

WIR

Ensuite

Ensuite (shower niche)

Ensuite (WC)

Theatre

 

Theatre

Study

 

Study

 

Family

 

Family (Living)

Family (Kitchen)

Family (Living)

Family (Kitchen)

Family

Family (Meals)

Pantry

Bathroom/WC

 

Bathroom (from family)

Bathroom

Bathroom (shower niche)

WC

 

Rumpus

 

Rumpus

Rumpus

Rumpus

Bedrooms

 

Bed 2

Bed 3

Bed 4

 

Laundry 

 

Laundry

Laundry

External

 

Rear

 

Rear

Rear

Rear

Alfresco