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.

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!

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!

Defects - Frame Stage

Independent Inspection

Yesterday we recieved the report of our independent inspector, explaining some of the pink paint that we saw on site.  There were no major defects, but a few things that need attention.  The pictures below are from our inspector's report.

There are a few spots where the frame overhangs the slab by more than the recommended maximum of 10mm.  The east and west walls of the garage are both affected, as is the west side of the portico.

Portico overhang

Garage overhang

Garage overhang






One nogging is not firmly fitted between the two studs under the theatre window.

Nogging

Nogging

 




There is no packing between the door jamb studs and the door frame between the garage and the house.

Door jamb

Door jamb

 


 

Finally, there is inadequate blocking/support below the underside of the timber beam above the bi-fold doors. 

Support

Support

Support

 We notified our site supervisor of the issues this morning, and they will be rectified.

Door frames

I mentioned in my last post that some of the door frames were standard height where they should (according to the contract) be higher than standard.  The site supervisor noticed this himself and has arranged for the carpenter to come and rectify this.

We have been impressed by the site supervisor's response to these issues, and hope that, given they are all minor, they won't cause unnecessary delays.