The Majestic

The Big Move

2010-09-03T17:59:00.000+09:30

Sorry for the delay once again - things just keep getting busier. We have our keys! Floorboard and carpet installation is organised for next Tues and Wed 7th and 8th of Sept, and the big move date is set for Saturday, 11th of Sept.

We have settlement of our current house on the 20th of Sept, which will allow us to get Stormwater, Tiling, AirConditioning Unit installation, Driveway, Fencing and Blinds organised soon after. We are in a bit of a catch 22 at the moment with waiting for settlement to access money, but needing things ready for when we move in, but needing to move before settlement. We'll get there. We always do.

Only 9 more weeks until little bub is here. Hard to believe how time has flown.

Will update with photos soon.

Rest in Peace

2010-07-16T13:16:00.000+09:30

Grandpa - although you will never get to visit inside our house, we will be sure to take many happy memories of you there with us. We love you very much.

So much has happened over the past month since my last post.

Both my Grandpa's were admitted to hospital for aggressive cancers which were only discovered recently. Unfortunately, my dad's dad lost his battle, but he is now at rest without further pain.
Little bubs is fighting fit, with the 19 week ultrasound going well. It is kicking all the time and the obstetrician has supported that it will be a very active baby. D will be happy with that.
Back at school I completed my AST1 (Advanced Skill Teacher) which is a process that allows for recognition of the strengths and skills I bring to the job.
Our current house is still on the market. Seems like the interest is there, people are just being cautious with interest rates hovering, an election coming up and a lower demand in general. We are hoping a couple interested parties who will return again this weekend for an open inspection may actually put pen to paper.

Our beautiful Majestic is now nearing completion. The final fixings, painting, tiling, plumbing are all complete. Our 2nd Electrician is doing the final fix this week, leaving only the clean up to take to place. We have been given a walk through date of the 26th of July and Handover 1st of August. We just need to confirm with our work places for time off in the afternoon for this to happen.

Anyhow, here are some pics...

Beautiful stained front doors

Vandalised front doors (paint tins left in mini-skip)

Front of house (render finished painting, balcony complete)

Electrical Hub (in garage)

Grand Entry

We are now looking forward to the big move and not looking forward to all the extra jobs that need to be organised - carpets, floorboards, driveway, front fence, water tank...Busy Busy Busy... :-)

Lots of Action

2010-06-07T17:37:00.000+09:30

Since my last post, there has been lots of action on site

all tiling
painting
installation of powerpoints
installation of downlights/heat lamps/outdoor lighting
bathroom vanities installed
balcony rail put on

Today all hands were on deck, with the Electricians, Plumbers, Tilers, Painters and Site Superviser all there. We have been given an approximate completion date for the end of July, which is exciting news. We will still have carpets, tiling, floor boards to install before moving in, but just knowing and being able to have a rough plan of time frame is wonderful.

We are glad we put our house on the market when we did, it just means having to live immaculately for all the open inspections, so lots of tidying and cleaning all the time. (Part of the reason for such a delay in updates)

So here's the photos...

(Family Room)

(Ensuite 2)

(Main Bedroom Ensuite)

(Ktichen)

P.S. I go for my 19 week Ultrasound this Friday.

Other news (as promised)

2010-05-07T17:15:00.000+09:30

Sorry for the long delay (as mentioned in the last post, we have been busy with preparing to sell the current house we live in). But...with no further ado...

I'm pregnant. Yay! Due 4th November 2010

Front Doors - We love them!

2010-05-07T17:10:00.000+09:30

After a busy week, I finally have time to provide an update. Last week our gorgeous front doors were installed. They are yet to be stained, but we love them already!

From the inside

Ceiling speaker holes cut

Another view of the grand stairs

These pictures are actually from over a week ago. Haven't had a chance to go past the house this past week as we are in the process of putting our current house on the market. Our real estate agent came around last night and we signed all the contracts ready for sale. Selling our current house has become a matter of priority with another building invoice received bringing the build to 90% completion. Still looking forward to hearing an approximate building completion date.

Stairs, Kitchen, Roller Doors -Lots of Action :-)

2010-04-23T14:42:00.002+09:30

With no work expected other than waterproofing of wet areas, we were greatly suprised during the week to see a great list of additions having taken place.

Kitchen cupboards installed

Gas meter installed

All doors (internal and front entry) delivered

Roller Doors Installed

and...

Grand Entry Staircase Installed

(note in the background you can see the vanities for the upstairs ensuites)

It was such an exciting day to see all this done in one day. Apparently once the waterproofing is complete the tiler will be in. We have emailed the builder asking an approximate completion date because from our point of view, there musn't be a lot left to do.

Oh and one more thing happened during the last week too, which I will share over the weekend when I get time, so don't forget to check back soon :-)

P.S. All internal photos were taken through dirty windows so sorry if there is glare or it looks like poor quality.

Gyprocking

2010-04-12T18:09:00.000+09:30

Gyprocking now looks complete. We're guessing the next stage is to pull the electrical wires through. Although it makes it feel so much more like a house and really defines each room, we've just posted one photo as all the photos look so much the same.

(Taken from the kitchen area overlooking dining and family rooms)

Insulation

2010-04-04T13:15:00.001+09:30

Last Wednesday 31-3-10, we had a walk through to check all the electrical work had been completed. Although there were a couple minor things that need addressing, all in all everything is looking good. On Thursday, we had a second walk through with the 2nd Electrician - J from Vision Living. I really can't recommend these guys enough as they have been so thorough with everything and ever so helpful. All the coloured cables are a sample of Vision's work.

While we had our walk through, the insulation was going in around us. Wow, what a difference 1 hour makes to the look of a place.

Gyprocking is scheduled to begin tomorrow (yes, even on a public holiday). We have our fingers crossed they have the last of the electrical fix ups sorted before the walls begin otherwise they might be making it more difficult on themselves.

We are so happy to see things progressing at a steady rate again!

Something to share once more.

2010-03-28T13:22:00.000+10:30

Render complete (although still needing painting) and garage roof complete.

1st Fix Electrical for all 240v work is now completed (although these pics are progress shots)

The 1st Fix for all the Home Automation work should be completed this coming week too, with a scheduled walk through this Wednesday. Gyprocking was due to start on Tuesday, but that will be delayed a couple of days.

Electrical Resolution

2010-03-09T17:40:00.000+10:30

If all goes to plan... (after a meeting today with the State Manager and Construction Manager) we should have

the electrical variation signed off tomorrow
the electrical returned as part of the contract
the electrical covered by insurance
a retraction of the 19 days extension in time
electrical work commencing on site on Monday.

We are feeling happy once more. Just need to sign on the dotted line.

Electrical Report Sent...

2010-03-04T19:29:00.000+10:30

...to Head Office today. Fingers crossed for the outcome we're after.

Electrical Options

2010-02-28T19:25:00.000+10:30

This week we continued to follow up our Electrical options. We have tried to source Insurance so we can work with the Electricians independently, but have kept coming up against a brick wall. Currently we are awaiting responses from 3 different sources to see if we can get covered, but also (with thanks to Dad) have another idea to try out when the working week starts. We hope to have this all sorted out this week. (1 year since our first electrical meeting)

On site, the bottom level is now almost completely rendered and the frame for the garage roof has now been completed. It doesn't seem like there is now much left for the exterior to be completed.

We have contacted a new Independent Inspector after the last one became uncontactable. We had previously given him all our plans but then did not hear boo from him (over 3 weeks now, after 3 emails and 6 phone messages left on his phone). The new one turns out a bit cheaper, so that is a bonus.

The week of NOTHINGNESS!

2010-02-20T16:45:00.000+10:30

Nothing at all was done this week...
...except us chasing up the electrical work once again and...
another extension in time to the build - we now are up to a 19 day extension. (Never mind that the electrician is in hospital - the delays are clearly caused by us as written in the extension request)

More time to save money to pay for it all hey :-)

New Look

2010-02-14T19:47:00.000+10:30

The scaffolding came down during the week. Our house has a new look now that you can actually see it.

The renderers should be back this coming week to start on the lower level. Meanwhile, we will also continue trying to sort out the Electrical. We may now go through the Electricians independently (i.e. without the builder margins) but this means sorting out independent insurance. After yet another request for extension in time (now 13 days, for us delaying works), we will be putting in an official complaint to Head Office, outlining the delays and providing documentation showing how the delays have not been caused by US. Fingers crossed that maybe this week the Electrical will be sorted out once and for all (12 months since first meeting with the Electrician).

Top Level Render Painted

2010-02-08T17:39:00.001+10:30

Sorry for the delay in updates. The pics should help tell the story.

Temporary front doors at Lock-Up

Garage to Kitchen door

1st Fix Air Conditioning

Top Level Render Painted (Paperbark)

(The painter worked on a Saturday, so we were really pleased to see things happening. We are also extremely happy with our colour selection even though it looks more cream in these photos that what it really is.)

We met with the 2nd Electrician from Vision Living on Friday evening and feel like we are really close to being able to finally sign off on everything in that area. Henley have still increased prices in a couple areas so we will just get that sorted and fingers crossed this time it can move ahead to the next stage.

We have made contact with an Independent Inspector (Kris Jones from Blue Square Developments) and hopefully will have an inspection date in the next week or so. We have noted 8 issues, 3 of which we have already mentioned to Henley. Thankfully all seem minor so should be easy to fix.

tap relocation out the back (signed off on a variation)
brick work missing where a pipe was positioned wrong in the slab
Air conditioning thermostat cabling in wrong position
Normal black piping used in laundry instead of green for connection to water tank (signed in original tender)
Air conditioning insulation showing where no joiner was used leading up to 2nd story
split in insulation around cabling for air conditioning
small chips in pillars on balcony
paint from over render on gutter

The scaffolding is due to come down this week. It will be great to see our house with it's clothes on hehe...

LOCK-UP

2010-01-25T23:30:00.003+10:30

As of Tuesday 19-1-10, we have been locked up and locked out. I have photos of the temporary doors and a new tap at the front of the house, but apart from that I have not been able to take pics of anything else new. From my understanding, the 1st Fix internal plumbing is now complete and the air conditioning is soon to follow. We received our variation today for all the Electrical work, so will spend some time Australia Day going through it with a fine tooth comb. Hopefully is it finally all sorted so we can sign and get that ball rolling. Will post a photo of our 'lovely' doors soon. In the meantime HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

Day 100

2010-01-15T17:04:00.000+10:30

We have officially reached Day 100 (as of 13-1-10) of our build (only 265 days to go hehe...).

The upstairs render is now complete and ready to be painted (Paperbark).

The 1st Fix plumbing started on 14-1-10.

We noticed they have put the back external tap in the wrong position, so hopefully they will respond to our email and relocate it. Should be an easy enough fix.

The next stage is LOCK-UP.

Nothing New

2009-12-22T15:58:00.002+10:30

Well it seems that since last Thursday, the Christmas break started. Nothing new has been done.

I spoke to our CSA today, who said lock up won't occur till the New Year (even though the lock up carpenter was nearly complete 2 weeks ago - 'what the?')

We are also still waiting for the revised quotes from our 3rd party Electrician.

As I don't expect any further news or progress until 2010...

Merry Christmas and a
Happy (80's) New Year to all.

Lots of updates...now rendering!

2009-12-16T16:47:00.001+10:30

I have been extremely busy this past week, so haven't had time for updating. This now means, there is lots to share. YAY!

Roof Tiles Complete

From Inside

From outside (West View)

Eaves Complete
Timber Look Infill on Roof Complete

3 phase power connected

The big box is ours

Rendering Begun

Look closely as side wall

Closer view of side wall

From Back

I spoke to the renderers today (yes, they were busy at it in 40 degree weather). They said they are almost complete on the upper level, which means the painters then have to come in. That will be followed by the scaffolding getting removed and the lower level being rendered.

An update on the electrical front... after further errors being found, I had a meeting with Henley, followed by a meeting with the electrician. To cut a long story short, we now have a 3rd party coming on board who will take over just over half the work. This has been supported by our first electrician, so now Henley have come to the party and agreed to contract work out to the 3rd party. In the end, (although we are now waiting for revised quotes), everyone ends up happy, AND we end up with a much superior system. Now who can complain about that!

Roof Tiles Sent Up

2009-12-07T17:49:00.000+10:30

East Facing

West Facing

Max and Molly visit their new house!

2009-12-06T17:59:00.001+10:30

During the week the gutters and fascias were installed and the tiles for the roof were delivered.

Monument Gutters and Fascias

Boral Ebony Roof Tiles

Max and Molly joined D and I for our Friday drink at the house, and they got to see their new room (the Laundry). They also said hello to their new neighbour who introduced himself with some bigger woofs than they can produce. They were excited.

'The Carlton Dry Stand'...lol

2009-11-29T15:39:00.000+10:30

We now have about 45 empty pallets, with a house that is extremely close to being completely bricked. So what is left?

the top third of half of the western facing wall
above the windows of what will be our gym at the front of the house
the top third of the front pillars.

The tradies were ever so kind to have accidently left the interior ladder open (saving me the nervousness of climbing the really big outer one on the scaffolding). What a beautiful sunset. The framing for the baths/spa are in now too. One tradie thought that we might like to know that Mike loves Tim hehe...

We had a drink to celebrate this viewing and typical of D, and brothers D and M, they decided to each (at exactly the same time) drop their empties into the yet to be finished front pillars. None of the bottles smashed, so now our future balcony has been nicknamed 'The Carlton Dry Stand'

Rain on Friday and Saturday has created a swimming pool in our Family Room. Anyone care for a swim?

Two Thirds of Bricking Complete

2009-11-25T15:15:00.000+10:30

The scaffolding has moved up yet again. We counted 30 empty pallets on the block, and it seems as though they will still need more bricks for the last 1/3rd. I'm a bit fearful of going up on that scaffolding (height), but D. of course mentioned he would love to go up and have a look. Wonder what the end of week will bring, given such great progress up 'till now.

Front View

Empty Pallets

Side View (non garage side)

Back View

Scaffolding

2009-11-22T18:51:00.000+10:30

The next level of bricking started through the week, with all the scaffolding put up on Tuesday 17/11.

Front View

View from Scaffolding over Garage

Rear View

Grand Entry - Framework

2009-11-16T17:23:00.000+10:30

The framework for the Grand Entry was installed today.

It's beginning to look Grand :-)

(No more bricking done today though)

Solar Panels

2009-11-16T15:02:00.000+10:30

Went Solar shopping this morning. So many different systems to choose from. We think we will probably go with the following 33x60w Kaneka Solar Panels and SMA SB-1700 Inverter, through the Solar Shop. Although the panels take up a lot of space, they are very highly energy efficient and should in theory reduce our electricity bills to $0. We will connect it back to the grid, providing us with .44c credit per k/w extra produced. We will put them on the West facing roof as there is plenty of space there, and also will hardly be seen (not that that is an issue).

A single panel

View of a full system

The Inverter (converts DC to AC)

More Bricks

2009-11-14T15:14:00.001+10:30

Nat, these ones are for you. You said you keep looking to see when the pics are updated. So here they are!

Front Balcony Pillars

Pillars without Scaffolding

Front View

Windows and door frame delivered for Grand Entry

Gas Pipes installed

Garage (from back)

Rear View

It seems like we are about 1/3 of the way through bricking, which is great given our current heat wave of temperatures between 37 and 40 degrees all week.

Doors, Windows, Bricks PICS

2009-11-08T18:22:00.001+10:30

Dining Room Sliding Door

Rear View

Second Floor

Bricking

Windows, Doors and Bricks

2009-11-08T17:06:00.000+10:30

On Thursday we arrived at our house to find the windows and glass sliding doors had been installed. It gives the house such a different feel about it. Brother D just had to do his customary blowfish on one of the doors to christen the place. The house is nowhere near completion and he has already created my first cleaning job! We were lucky that day, because the contractors left the ladder open and unlocked, so we were able to go to the second floor and have a sticky beak (and take lots of photos). D and friend R pretended to play pool in what we will be our games room.

On Friday, we arrived for our (what is now a 3 week tradition) end of week drink to find the bricking had started and on one side wall was almost to the second floor.

What an exciting couple of days. I will post pics as soon as I'm able.

Not sure what this coming week will bring given the weather is forecast between 36 and 38 degrees everyday. Hopefully they will work at least until lunch time so we can see some progress.

Moving on Up!

2009-10-30T23:21:00.000+10:30

Now it really looks like we are building a mansion!

Front right hand side

Left Front Side (showing entry)

Back View

They should finish all the carpentry work early next week :-)

We already have bricks delivered too!

DownTime

2009-10-28T17:14:00.000+10:30

No work has happened on site for the past two days as the carpenters have been working on a site down south. At least someone else will be happy with the progress they are seeing. On a positive note, I met a neighbour who is building diagonally across the road - Sue. She seems really nice, which is a good thing as she will be a neighbour for many years to come. We have now met - Sue (who has a husband and a 20 month old child), Betty and Peter (an older couple), Raelene and Don (an older couple), and a name yet to be known neighbour, who D scared off with his 'toilet' antics.

The Second Story is on its way!

2009-10-23T20:32:00.000+10:30

YAY! YAY! YAY!

Framework Begun

2009-10-21T23:25:00.000+10:30

What a busy week it has been since the slab was laid. I'll try to be as brief as possible, but cover the main points.

The day after the slab was laid, I noticed Max and Molly's paw prints had been swiped over. Disappointment Plus. We now need to think of a new place to imprint.
The timber for the framework was delivered on the 16th of Oct.
On the 17th, we put down a deposit for our carpet and floorboards at Carpet Choice. What a great deal we got too.

This style

In this colour

On the 18th, we had a slab party.

D. met our back neighbour when going for a toilet stop in the back corner of our block. A friend (W.) decided to kick a footy at D. as a joke and the footy went over the fence. Friendly neighbour went to give it to D. but D. had to explain his predicament of his 'hands being full'. We never found out anything more about this neighbour as I think both parties walked away a little embarrassed, but with grins on their faces.
The slab party began at 1pm and finished at 7:30pm after a couple slabs (of beer) were polished off and a couple people a little under the weather. By gee what beautiful weather we had for it though.
On Monday 19th of Oct the framework began. How quickly things seem to moving now. Yay for all this nice weather !!!!

Front view

Back view

The guy in the picture was cementing where the setdown from the kitchen to the garage was too short and where the framework needed to be placed.

On the 20th, we received our 1st invoice for the base stage completion. It's the most exciting bill we have ever received.
As of today,

Magpies keeping a check on things

Floor of second storey

Side view looking towards entry

HAPPY SLAB DAY

2009-10-13T09:16:00.003+10:30

After massive downpours of rain overnight, the last thing I was expecting to see today was the concrete mixer blocking our road and concrete going into the trenches. But that is exactly what I saw!

7am

I spoke to the contractors, querying the weather, asking if they will stop during the day given the forecasted showers and thunder, but no, they will just add accelerator to the mix. They said to go back about midday for the printing of the paw prints in the garage.

I'm that excited I'm sure I'll be back for more pics before that and then again later in the day.

I was lucky to have pre-warned work that I may be off today and thank their understanding of the importance of this day to me - given it is not officially a sick day.

Will update with more pics later. YAY! YAY! YAY!

1O:45am

We thought blocking the street to all traffic was pretty cool too!

12:45pm Preparing to Paw-Print

1:15pm Paw Prints

(Not quite as good as planned, due to: M and M squirming, flapping plastic that kept going over the slab, and being on my own, but we happy with it just the same. D thinks blobs makes it even cuter anyhow)

1:15pm Slab Progress from back view

(Paw prints on garage slab on right hand side of this picture, near orange plastic)

1:15pm Slab Progress from front view

Post paw-print paw clean

Will go back to block at 5:30 this evening to see it completed.

What a great day!!!!

5:45 All done and dusted (so to speak)

Steelwork

2009-10-11T13:15:00.000+10:30

A lot of steel was used for our footings. We now understand why the contractors weren't looking forward to the job. We noticed an inspection has taken place and there is a note on one of the pegs of things to fix up. We had a pre-slab drink too while we had a look around.

The concrete has been scheduled to be poured on Tuesday, but given the forecast rain until at least Wednesday, we won't be getting our hopes up. At least it saves the predicament of having the first day off of school for paw printing. I can organise that for later in the week. Will probably have to get the contractors to call as soon as they decide they are going ahead with the job so I can organise a reliever. Maybe next weekend for the slab party? We'll wait and see.

Plumbing laid out

2009-10-08T17:34:00.004+10:30

The plumbing has been laid out today. I spoke to one of the contractors who said they will finish that today and then will move on to the steel tomorrow. Apparently it is a big job and they are not looking forward to it.

He also mentioned the slab may be poured on Monday and was more than happy for me to bring the dogs to paw print. Only catch is, I have to be there about 9am. They will begin pouring about 7am, ready for imprinting at about 9am and then it should set reasonably well by about 2pm. The difficulty is I'll be back at work. After work the concrete will be too hard. I could have a day off - 'it's not like you get a slab laid everyday', but the difficulty is having confirmation it will definitely be poured Monday. The weather forecast is for rain. It's also the first day back at school for Term 4. Oh, what to do.

P.S. After looking at our Footings Construction report for a query from Aqua about our Footings Type, I realised I've placed the money under the front porch, rather than the actual front door (1 trench back). Hope wealth and prosperity are still welcomed into our home hehe...

Trenching Complete

2009-10-07T17:06:00.002+10:30

By the looks of it the trenching is now complete. They seem to be placing lovely bright orange plastic everywhere, and are beginning to lay out the steel reinforcement rods.

I placed the money under where the entrance will be. As it is now covered with plastic, I had to actually jump into one of the trenches to put it underneath. Won't tell the builder about that one or they would jump up and down about safety. It was fun trying to get out. I needed to push off the side of the trench as they are about my shoulder height deep.

Fingers crossed the superstition about welcoming wealth and prosperity into your home is true.

Can you see what I see?

2009-10-06T14:35:00.004+10:30

Finally some action is underway!

The contractors from O'Neills were on site before 8:30 this morning beginning the trenching. I will go by later this afternoon to take some more pics and put down some money under the position of where our front door will be to welcome wealth and prosperity into our home. We may now be on schedule for the slab to be laid this week while I'm on holidays, so I can get M and M to print their paw prints into history.

At the end of the day...

(back view)

Still No News

2009-10-03T17:35:00.003+09:30

So okay, there is still nothing new to report. Fingers crossed for action next week when the weather is clearing.

Not even the light fittings had progress. When we made it to Beacon Lighting, D decided another light (which I liked in the first place) may be more suitable. On top of that the supposed discount only came to about $50 and we figured if we wait and get all light fittings together, we may end up with a better deal.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the other light (which is longer and may suit the space better - being hung from the second story). Any opinions on which you prefer are kindly appreciated. We have some thinking to do!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2009-09-26T21:06:00.004+09:30

the builders are snoring...

With all the rain, surprise surprise, but our slab is on hold again. The builders will be happy - they can have sleep ins every morning.

In effect - we have no new news to report this week.

Well, maybe...

We plan on going to Beacon Lighting tomorrow to buy a pendant light for our grand entry. I'm excited about that. It will be our one splurge with the lights.

Fence Removed

2009-09-20T18:26:00.007+09:30

The fence has finally been taken down after recieving permission and with thanks to brother D who is a very helpful handyman. We gave him a mixed pack of Mexican beers to thank him. He did it in no time at all, and enclosed the neighbours back yard better than we would have envisaged. Great job D.

Now we should finally see progress again, and maybe the slab really won't be that far away. We have been told trenching will begin this week (but we will wait and see, given 2 weeks a go we were told we would have the slab by the end of that week). Bring it on, I'm looking forward to a slab party!!!!

P.S. I hope you like the bigger font, as suggested by Annie. Cheers!

Site Scrape and Portaloo

2009-09-12T20:18:00.007+09:30

There is no further progress with the fence removal, but here are photos of progress over the past week.

Site scrape 4-9-09

Steel reinforcement for the slab delivered 8-9-09

The excitement of the porta-loo delivered 10-9-09

Although many may not understand the excitement of this seemingly insignificant event, there is a saying 'from small things big things grow'. This is a small step. Plus, I know our fellow homeone forumites get it.

We were told in an email on Wednesday that our slab would be down by the end of the week. This has not happened, but that is probably because we are awaiting permission to remove the fence. (Although we are unable to understand how and why this would hold progress up and there is a retaining wall underneath the fence anyhow).

Maybe this week, we may have our first sighting of concrete :-)

Sand (part 2)

2009-09-04T17:23:00.007+09:30

Although not exciting for everyone else, here is a pic of our sand pile. I was rather excited by it, and D a bit surpised that I would want photos of it. Nevertheless, here it is...or rather was.

D drove past the block today to find the sand had all been levelled out. About 2:30pm he recieved a phone call from Henley requesting the side fence (which you can see in the above photo) to be taken down by the end of the weekend as it is full steam ahead next week.

Now that was a surprise, given the block was still a 'swimming pool' on Monday and we've had showers on and off all week, so there was no chance of it drying out.

As for the fence, well..., given we have intellectually disabled neighbours (lovely mind you), there will be no chance of us having that fence removed that quickly. I tried contacting their carers through the appropriate agencies, but they had gone home for the day, so nothing can be approved until at least Monday. The next step will be to actually take down the fence. Any ideas where to leave it? On our back fence line maybe? Will it get stolen (like the Hot Water System)? Of course this will be at our cost, and if the neighbour requests temporary fencing, that will be at our cost too. All these little things that you wish the builder would tell you when you first sign up so you are prepared.

At least we really are on the building journey now. We should continue to see action from here on in :-)

Sand

2009-09-02T17:24:00.002+09:30

While the footings may still be on hold due to the water collection on our block, two large piles of sand have magically arrived. At lease we know, Henley haven't forgotten about us and further action is just around the corner (albeit hiding hehe..)

Footings Delay

2009-08-27T22:58:00.002+09:30

No great surprise, but found out through our weekly update that due to all the rain any further progress with our footings is on hold. The land is still too boggy, and at this stage there is no end in sight for all this rain we are having. Additionally, as there is now a hold up, there is a build up of people on the waiting list, meaning further delays. Oh well, its what we were expecting given a Winter Site Start. All in good time. Good things come to those who wait.

We've been pegged!

2009-08-11T20:28:00.001+09:30

The boundary of the house has now been laid out on our block in the correct position. It might not look like much, but is really exciting for us and it means the construction is really beginning.Just need that water to dry up now from the downpours a couple weeks back.

Site Start

2009-08-06T17:18:00.002+09:30

We received our first official construction letter yesterday, informing us that the Site Start has commenced. Here we were waiting for a start DATE, but to our surprise the day is here. Hoping to make a visit past the block this evening to see if the house has been pegged out.

On other related, and good news, we have received a lump sum payment for the day of work lost by GP and Sons Demolition when the gas meter was not removed as scheduled in preperation for the demolition. Although we hadn't contacted the Gas Ombudsmen again, we do know a case file was opened as obviously the gas company thought they wouldn't have to be held liable and made their own queries. They must have been told that someone must be held accountable and that it clearly was not our fault, so with no further dispute payment was agreed upon.

More photos to come as we actually start seeing progress. The excitement begins!!!!!

An empty block

2009-07-19T17:40:00.002+09:30

We now have an empty block. Thankfully the heavens opened, meaning we didn't have to make use of our Water Permit for pre-wetting. After this photo was taken, so much rain occured that our block is now like one big swimming pool. We had a site re-survey on the the 15th of August, so any day now we should here of a site start date. Woohoo!

Timb...er

2009-07-10T17:35:00.010+09:30

The Purple Palace is no more!

2009-07-09T21:24:00.000+09:30

After phoning the gas ombudsman at 9am, they magically arrived at 9:30, therefore full demolition of the house could take place. I'll let the photos tell the story.

We will no lodge a claim for the day of lost work on behalf of GP and Sons Demolition, who have just been fantastic.

A Whisper in the past...

2009-07-09T21:07:00.001+09:30

As the internal walls were getting stripped, a little suprise was found. A letter from an 11 year old girl. Here is a sample of it.

It was such a lovely gesture. We also found out why the purple palace was actually purple.

And not that I think it is linked to the letter in anyway, but this was also found - labelled Christopher 2 and 1/2 years. Looks like it would be from the 70's, going by the carpet colouring and clothes.

A few pics for starters...

2009-07-08T12:17:00.009+09:30

P.S. The big machine is called an Excavator.

Today's the Day

2009-07-08T09:42:00.003+09:30

The trucks have arrived on site - they are almost as big as the house itself.

ETSA provided a prompt, efficient service on Monday.

The Hot Water System has officially (with police and insurance) been reported as stolen. It was gone before the plumber got there to remove it for us.

The gas company are considered hopeless and may very well lose us as a future customer. After a lot of run around - having it booked at the same time as ETSA, follow up phone calls assuring us the meter would be removed yesterday at the latest, we are here now, with a statement saying it should be removed today, tomorrow at the latest.

Of course the demo team can't start until the gas is removed, so the gas company are holding everyone up now. I thought that's why booking a month is advance was meant to ensure work would be done. Seems not. Here's hoping it WILL get removed today after my angry outburst on the phone and that I can post pictures of progress soon...

10, 9, 8, 7...Demo about to begin, 3, 2, 1...

2009-07-06T17:13:00.009+09:30

The Demolition of the Purple Palace is about to take place. The tenants moved out yesterday.

The hot water system is gone (hopefully the plumber did this as arranged 2 weeks ago, and it wasn't stolen - haven't heard from the plumber since 2 weeks ago)

The electricity meter has been removed by ETSA

The lovely looking gum tree to be removed because of borers :-(

View from the back of the house.

The significant tree has approval to be removed. Our new house will finish where that tree currently is.

The distance of our future back yard, from the significant tree to the fence. About 14m. Still a very nice size by todays standards.

Hopefully I can post updates of the demolition in the next day or two.

Our CSA today in an email said "It will all start happening for you now. It's an exciting time though it can be a bit stressful to some but just enjoy the ride as in the end you will have a beautiful new home to show for it."

It's getting exciting. We will soon see action!

Finance Approved

2009-06-22T20:31:00.000+09:30

We have official word that after a lot of negatioting, revaluing, reworking - we have our finance approved. The bank had difficulty setting up the loan as it is of a complicated nature, but in the end our wonderful bank manager (Yes S, that's you if your reading) got everything organised. We would never go to anyone else. (And no S. you are NOT allowed to retire while we are on this earth - I know very selfish. but hey your great!) S. should be informing Henley any time now. Full steam ahead. Only a week and a half and I'll be able to start posting photos of our demolition. WooHoo!

Development Approval

2009-06-09T17:09:00.003+09:30

We received confirmation today of having received our Development Approval for building. YAY!!!! Just awaiting finance and demolishment of 'The Purple Palace' for the next stage to go ahead.

Currently tenanted until Sunday 5th of July. Demolition to commence Monday 6th of July.

No Pictures Yet - but moving ahead

2009-05-29T20:56:00.004+09:30

Sorry, there are still no pictures of anything exciting yet, but we have made some progress. In a nutshell:

tenants given notice to move out by 5th July on 26th of May (held over from a Fixed Term Contract that expired on 3rd of April)
received 2 demolition quotes ($10 450 and & $7500 - take a guess as to which one we are more likely to go with)
further discussions with Bank about Finance (valuation came in lower than expected because we aren't building in a 'new' area)
2nd Stage of Council Approval received - Building Rules Consent.

According to our contract, the slab should be laid no later than 19th of August, but at this stage we are ahead of schedule, with the final council approval expected in next couple of weeks, along with Finance approval. Hope it all goes through smoothly.

Demolition Application Approved

2009-05-11T17:47:00.002+09:30

We have received notice that our application for demolition and removal of the significant tree has been approved. In what was expected to take 4-5 weeks to come through, only took 11 days.

We potentially have someone who may want the house and take it away, but if that falls through we will simply go through a demolition company.

Spoke to T. from Henley today who is still trying to finalise pricing and break-down of costs with the electrical contractor, but other than that we are progressing well.

The bank pack has been submitted with BankSA and we expect to hear back from that late May.

T. expects final Development Approval to also come in within 4-5 weeks. So all in all, we are on track and will soon give notice to the tenants to leave so we can go ahead with the next stage - BUILDING! YAY!!!

Colours

2009-04-16T14:25:00.022+09:30

Because pictures are better than words, here are colours we will use in our home.

Boral Roof Tile - Ebony
(looks much darker in real)

Render - Paperbark

Gutters and Facias - Monument
(looks much darker in real)

Aluminium Window Frames - White Birch

Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets - Echelon Redwood

Kitchen Benchtop - Caeserstone Night Sky

Bathroom and Laundry Benchtops - Diamond Gloss Starlight

Stairway railing and Front Door - Jarrah

Front Entrance Doors - Corinthian Sunburst

Panelift Door - Paperbark but with Sherwood windows

Contract Appointment

2009-04-14T18:15:00.001+09:30

Part A
I’m still up at 12:30 in the morning, researching and trying to prepare for our Contract Appointment at 2pm this afternoon. By no means are we ready, but really that is at no fault of our own as we still haven't received a quote for the electrical layout.

We are completely moved in to our new house. Our old home settles on the 16th of April (after a delay with finance from the buyer), so only a couple more days before we no longer have access. This place has scrubbed up quite well, with many thanks to D and K, D, and R, who have all helped with painting, cleaning, gardening, electrical work… and also M and J who helped with the moving and clean up of our old home. We had a BBQ as a bit of a house warming on Thursday evening, welcoming our lovely neighbour from our old home. I’m so pleased we don’t have to say goodbye to all the good things about our old home.

It has been an extremely busy and slightly stressful past couple of weeks, but in no way overwhelming. There is still so much to organise: fence, change of address details, cancellation of Electricity, quotes (driveway, water storage, solar panels, sliding fence), and lodgement of development application (for removal of the timber frame house and significant tree) with council.

On a more positive, less hectic note, congratulations goes to B and S who had their 1st baby this week – Jake John.

Part B
The contract is now signed, sealed and delivered. Well, received anyhow. We have our draft drawings, contract and bank pack. Whilst we finally received our quote for the Electrical this morning, T acknowledged that we didn’t have time to thoroughly sort it out and said it will just be recorded as a variation. As I now understand these are post contract variations which have no cost, it is only Building Variations that will now have a charge of $550. It feels even more real now that we actually have something official to show for it all in our hands.

What is wrong with the photo?

2009-03-27T21:58:00.003+10:30

I hope we don't encounter this kind of problem!

Photo source from http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=15476&hilit=ratio

Tender Appointment

2009-03-20T18:33:00.004+10:30

Fuzz mode! That is what my brain is at the moment.

Why?
Our tender appointment went rather smoothly yesterday (although after I explain it may seem like it didn’t) – but I guess it had to as there really aren’t many options, either accept the price and keep something in or not like the price and take it out (hence, not getting the upgrade you may have really wanted).

The initial price we looked at was really scary - not including any electrical work, nor extras such as driveways, fencing or demolition of the current house. However, because we have been active while waiting for the tender appointment I have received quotes for carpet, floating floors and tiling and no matter how we looked at it, it was less than half of the quoted price from Henley’s suppliers and tradies. Predictably we took these options out of the tender.

The news of our really bad soil wasn’t all that good though with Site Footings coming in at $27 285 plus Earthworks cut and fill at $5850, totaling $33135, which is $15135 over our provisional allowance of $18000 (which I also thought to be high). But what can you do. ACCEPT IT. Would rather the house to be safe and secure than go back to square one of the whole building thing.

Other minor variables were the cost of the air conditioning unit (which was quickly sorted out), additonal double hand rails in all bathrooms, changing of tile selection for the balcony and some thought being needed about downlights in the overhead kitchen cupboards and the porch cement slab based on cost. Each of these I will follow up as soon as I can.

At that point I discovered a current promotional Greenfields Saving (of living in a metro area) had not been discounted. YAY! – a saving of $10000, boy did we need that. I pointed this out to T, who thought I had it confused with the house base price being a certain amount and the discount already being applied. I restated that on our original meeting with V, Head Office agreed to us getting a certain discounted base price even though a price rise had just been applied through the Melbourne offices. I also followed this up on the Monday following our meeting via a phone call as V accidently recorded on our paper work two different amounts on 2 different pages. V. confirmed she would make the corrections on the paperwork prior to the Henley office receiving it. T tried to contact V at our appointment but had no luck. An email received today from T, tries to put it all back on us, saying V thought it had all been sorted out and we have to contact V who will explain it to us. Explain it to us I think not, we will explain it to her and she can correct it like she said she would in the first place. $10000 is $10000 and something I am willing to argue about.

On the positive side of things, through receiving the engineers report I now have a scaled drawing of 1:200 to submit to council to apply for demolition of the existing house. I just have to organise an arborist report to send along with the application.

So jobs to undertake now:
Get an arborist report for the significant tree on our block.
Get a quote on a cement slab for the porch.
Decide if $ for 4 downlights is worth it.
Visit Beaumont Tiles to ensure we are happy with our new tile selection
Phone V to follow up the house price.
Phone T to clarify - the type of Panelift door we want, the fridge width, and to request a detailed breakdown of costs for the Site Footings.
Submit the Development application to Port Adelaide/Enfield council for demolition.

Over the past week (through numerous emails and phone calls) I have also tried to follow up W from Henley’s recommended Electricians for a quote. On Wednesday (18th March) when I finally got hold of him, he said he would have a quote for us by Friday this week (originally told by Thursday last week). This still has not arrived by email as promised. He told me by having the weekend to look at it we could make an appointment next week to discuss it further. This of course will be delayed further as he has not come through with the goods. Under normal circumstances I would say stuff them – I’ll go elsewhere, but what can you do when they are the only mob Henley will deal with and it needs to be completed during the build process not after handover.

After a busy day at work, with many follow ups there needed too, my brain has kind of gone into melt down. I’m on my second drink and it’s only 6:20. For anyone who knows me, this is not good as I will be off with the fairies anytime now! Oh well, I must fly off for now, as another busy day ahead tomorrow painting our investment property. We have to move there by the 6th of April, not the 16th as originally thought. Blah!!!

P.S. Sorry for rambling, I kind of do this a bit. Will try to keep it to a minimum from now on.

Facade

2009-03-08T19:07:00.003+10:30

Here is a copy of what the facade of our house will look like based on the changes we requested. In Victoria this exact design would be known as the 'Airlie'. Here, we were told we couldn't choose from the Victorian counterparts facades as their division was much bigger than ours in Adelaide and it would not be cost efficient. In the end we got what we wanted, just with out using the word 'Airlie'. Our tender appointment has now been booked for Thursday 19th of March. I'm feeling a bit nervous as I know after this it becomes harder to make changes and it will cost to do so too. Will keep reading the HomeOne Forums just to make sure we have all bases covered.

The settlement day for our current home of 9 years is the 16th of April. The rest of the packing begins!

Carpets and Floating Floors

2009-03-03T23:15:00.006+10:30

After our busy day last Thursday and learning the quote for carpets to be $10440, we decided (well, I did anyhow) that we should make some comparisons and see if we could find a better deal.

The first place we went to had one equivalent carpet, but even more expensive per lineal metre, and a sales rep who barely even acknowledged our presence in their showroom.

Then we went to Carpet Choice, where I first went to learn about the difference between different types of carpets, however this time it was the Parafield store, not Modbury. The moment we entered, we received the offer for help, and the opportunity to return should we think of any questions.

In the end after answering many questions regarding ounce of carpets, branding, quality, wear and COST, we think we will more than likely get something through these guys.

Based on these rough workings, which were rather confusing to calculate, given my ignorance of the difference between square metre and lineal metre and not having the Carpet Choice quote in both measurements, Carpet Choice comes out a clear winner on COST at a saving of $4250.

The other differences are kind of counter acted, in that the greater thickness of the carpet may require modification to door clearance, a solution dyed nylon ensures the colour ran through the carpet prior to weaving ensuring less fading, and with the timber, even though it is less thickness, at Carpet Choice they assured me it is the quality of the underlay that affects the acoustics, not the laminate itself. Additionally, the Carpet Choice flooring has a greater variety of colours, coming in the Jarrah we were hoping for.

P.S A lineal metre is approx 3.66 larger than a square metre.

How wide is carpet? (How do I know how much I need?)The standard width for carpet in Australia is 3.66 metres; however, some styles of carpet can be produced in widths of 4 metres. The reason for this width measurement is that the machines used to produce carpet are constructed to allow 12 feet (or 3.66 metres) of carpet to be manufactured. There are only a limited number of machines in Australia that are capable of producing 4 metre width carpet.
(http://www.godfreyhirst.com/faqs.html)

P.P.S. D finds all this boring and is much more looking forward to setting up the Home Theatre! No great surprise there - hehe…

Colour Selection Appointment

2009-02-28T14:30:00.003+10:30

It was an exciting day on Thursday making our selections, but also a learning curve in learning about different features e.g. types of tiles and all the elements of the electrical set up. Whilst I will go through our day process and the selections we made, I will have to add photos at a later date once I actually have samples of them all.

First appointment: Cosham Interiors

9:00am to 11:00am (1 hour less than expected)
First things first: the façade we chose – The Scottsdale, with the full balcony, and the side entry, being a grand entry from The Windsor façade did not really match together. T spotted the discrepancy questioning if the Sales Consultant had offered the suggestion of simply raising the roof above the door on The Scottsdale façade. We had not had that option presented to us, but yes it definitely made more sense, so we didn’t have two separate looking houses matched together. She will follow this up with the designers/architects.
Smooth sailing from then on.
Exterior
Bricks: to be rendered
Render: (Colourbond) Paperbark
Roof tiles: (Capri) Ebony
Gutters: (Colourbond) Monument (a very dark blue – blacks have been removed from their range)
Fascia: (Taubmans) Pebble Bay
Downpipes: (Colourbond) Paperbark (we don’t want them standing out)
Infill above windows: (Taubmans) Pebble Bay
Aluminium window frames: (Dowell) White Birch
Meterbox: (Colourbond) Paperbark (don’t want this standing out either)
External doors (laundry and garage): (Taubmans) Pebble Bay
Front door: (Corinthian) Sunburst – (Cabot’s) Australian Jarrah
Garage door – Front: (Panelift) Statesman – Paperbark (with Sherwood windows)
- Back: (Henley upgrade - Rollerdoor) Paperbark
Internal
Kitchen
Benchtop: (Caeserstone) Nightsky
Cabinet doors: (Laminex) Echelon Redwood (now comes with rounded edges as standard)
Kickboard: (Laminex) Echelon Redwood
Splashback tiles: (Beaumont Tiles) Gloss Stone (63201) 200x300 stacked
Frieze tiles: (Beaumont Tiles) (93246L) (to be laid one tile down below Gloss Stone beneath overhead cupboards)
Mixer: not the rounded one
Door handles:
Bathrooms and Laundry
Benchtops: (Laminex) Starlight - Diamond Gloss Finish 873
Cabinet doors: (Laminex) Echelon Redwood
Ensuite cabinet: (Henley upgrade) 4 doors and 3 drawers
Wall tiles: (Beaumont Tiles) Limestone Bone Gloss (48550) 330x330
Floor tiles: (Beaumont Tiles) Limestone Bone Gloss (48550) 330x330
Basins: rounded
Walls: (Bristol Paint) Moon River
Stairs: handrailing – (Cabot’s) Australian Jarrah (to match front doors)
Carpets and Timber Flooring we had quoted from Floors Plus but have since decided not to go with as the cost seems excessive.

Second Appointment: Meccair
We fit in time for a quick bite to eat prior to this appointment as we knew the remainder of the day would be really busy. We spoke to the Henley consultant, who was very helpful, especially in explaining the benefits of the system (which I had previously selected without D’s consultation) to D. The system we have selected (although expensive) is the Actron Plus, which enables us to zone 8 areas, but only have areas running that we need, helping reduce the capacity of energy the unit itself needs to pump out at any given time. The Sales Consultant commented that he wished all people were like us, to make the time to sort out their requirements (including placement of the unit and controllers) so we know what to expect when we get it and can have input into the placement, rather than complaining later that it wasn’t as expected.

Third Meeting: Clipsal Powerhouse
This was an impromptu decision, as once again, we were running ahead of schedule. D was highly impressed by the display which I had previously seen with D’s mum during the holidays. It helped create further excitement for him for our meeting with the electrician later in the afternoon.

Fourth Meeting: Corinthian Doors

Yet another impromptu meeting rather than an actual appointment, however, this yielded no successful results. When I visited during the holidays they informed me the Sunburst doors would be available for display in about a month. Here we are a month and a half later and it is still not in. We have asked Henley to quote us for it, but we would like to see it for real, rather that just a picture prior to actually getting it. Looks like a return visit here will be required. They will phone us when they come in.

Fifth Appointment: Star Electrical

For this appointment, I had very little knowledge and undertaken no research. I was hoping W could be the person to provide us with information. That he did. Lots of $$ worth.We had allocated/budgeted so much, but the new amount came as a bit of a shock. Why so much? Well, what we thought was a C-bus system turned out to be a whole lot of systems combined to produce what is really Home Automation. While the C-bus can be connected to most of the systems, we need to set up and install the other systems first. These include lighting, power points, security, and star serve (for home theatres). W discussed our lighting layout with us, but reflected that the other systems are a little harder to determine at this early stage as we are unsure about where we will set up furniture and what will be in each room. He suggested he will quote us on everything that we discussed, using his experience to estimate what things we will want and require, and then we can work backwards deleting off the things we don’t want, bringing the price back down. Sounds like a plan to me. At least we have made a start on this side of things. Thankfully, this doesn’t need to be finalised until the beginning of stage 3 in about 5 weeks time.

Sixth (and final) Appointment: Bank SA

Time to share the truth. It was great being able to see Steve before he goes on holiday for the month of March, and tell him we now have our house under contract, however the reality of the expected cost of The Majestic was harder to verbalise. Eventually we spat it out. While rather shocked at first, and questioning if we are building a mansion (YES), he sat down and worked through all the figures with us. Final word: some months will be very tight, but we can afford to continue. We could even borrow more according to the almighty computer, however, this is not a path we would want to follow nor could realistically do. At least we know we can keep our dream alive and continue to put in upgrades to our house that can only be done in the build process and not have to skimp and scrape and just build a mediocre home because it was all we could afford. This is our dream. We only plan on doing it once. We have to get it right the first time!

We arrived home at 5:30pm. Such a busy day, but ever so productive. No, not one fight! D and I were in agreeance with everything. We remain really positive about the process and look forward to the continuing searching of quotes for things like carpet, tiling, driveway…or in D's case Home Theatre requirements and accessories.

The night before Colour Selection

2009-02-25T23:15:00.000+10:30

I feel like a child the night before Christmas waiting eagerly for Father Christmas to put the presents under the tree.

Our colour selection appointment is tomorrow!

Display Home Photos

2009-02-15T15:23:00.000+10:30

While these do not represent our colour selections, there will be some similarities. These are photos of The Majestic show home in Adelaide which closed late in 2008.

Paperwork signed

2009-02-02T19:30:00.002+10:30

After 1 month of researching, searching, viewing, comparing… we returned to see V at the display centre to sign the documentation related to the building of The Majestic.

Officially we now enter Stage 1 of the building process. Whilst I didn’t realise we needed the Certificate of Title for our block at this meeting, everything else was smooth sailing. We requested the Scottsdale Façade at an additional cost, along with the Grand entry from the Windsor Façade. The only structural change was the removal of the wall between the his and hers walk in robe to the master ensuite and we followed up that their will be two sliding doors leading onto the balcony, not just 1 and a window. Additionally, we will include a rear roller door to the garage so we can drive into the back yard for washing cars, and get drawers in the bathroom in the master ensuite. At this point we thought we were being quite conservative with our money, although going for the extras we really wanted. Then came the optional additions we didn’t know about – insulation, instantaneous hot water… and the extras which just haven’t been mentioned to this point but I had listed as questions – footings?, storm water (to follow up ourselves), electricity for 2 stories (3 phase power), connections … In total the cost has come to over $100 000 more than budgeted, without C-bus, solar panels, rain tanks, colour selections (e.g. Caesar Stone Kitchen bench top)… but does include air conditioning and floor coverings. V informed us it was okay for me to fax through a copy of the certificate of title today, which is required for Stage 1 to proceed any further.

The whole process has been really exciting – deciding on roof tiles, colours of tiles, type of flooring in each area, air conditioning… and also mind consuming, creating some sleepless nights thinking about what are the best options and what if we make a wrong decision.

We now have a ‘Complete Home Manual’ which guides us through each stage of the building process, including all the pre-building admin stages like what we are entering into now. I’ve already read it from cover to cover of course, and D picked it up last night have a skim read through the first sections.

Previously I was concerned about D being equally involved in the selections, but I think all has turned out well with him having input in everything and us being in agreeance before any contact has been made with Henley.

Stage 1 is meant to take approximately four weeks. The paper work we signed on Saturday will be checked and accepted by the office. Then Henley will arrange a soil test, siting and site survey by contacting D for us to line up a time with the current tenants of the house on the block. Within two weeks a colour selection appointment will be made with Cosham Interiors for us to put forward all the other exciting decisions we have made and gain more of an understanding to the full extent of cost. The consultant with either be T or C, who may well follow through with us the whole building process. I met T when D's mum and I went to their selection room to view the Bristol paint range and she was more than helpful in answering the many questions I had at that stage. That appointment will last approximately 3 hours, so D and I may well need to take a day off work (or at least get out early) as Henley (at Wayville) are only open Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm. Two weeks after the colour selection a tender will be presented to us (another 2-3hour meeting) showing final costings for the entire build.

In the lead up to the meeting with V on Saturday, we were also preparing to sell our home. I have been busy packing, painting, cleaning, pruning… Then last weekend we had a working bee. Friends and family came round to complete some of the larger tasks – cutting back trees, removing trellis, hard waste dumping, buying and laying of Forever Red bark chips. On Friday night before meeting V we organised a meeting with AS (a real estate agent) (highly recommended by WM) and signed a contract to put our house on the market. So now we have simultaneous processes underway of selling and the early stages of building. The tenants have also moved out of our investment property, so many boxes have been moved over there to reduce clutter here for open inspections and in anticipation of our move, creating less work at a later date.

Stress to this point has been kept to a minimum, with just a few moments popping up here and there. Being stressed is one thing but feeling like we are on top of things and organised is another. The later being more how we have felt about the process.

We look forward to many more exciting times ahead, but of course are not wishing the time away. We want to enjoy the experience.

P.S. V said that currently the build process is at 38 weeks for The Majestic, with the current admin stage taking approximately 20 weeks, including council approval.

First Meeting with Henley

2009-01-08T22:10:00.001+10:30

After several years of planning and saving, the first stage of building our dream house ‘The Majestic’ by Henley Properties, is under way. We visited the Henley display centre (now only at Parafield Gardens) on Sunday and paid a deposit to secure the house price.

The sales consultant provided us with our ‘Complete Home’ package, which more or less provides all the sources of materials for colour selections to be made. We have 30 days to decide
Brick and roof tile colours
Façade (although we have already decided on the Scottsdale – full balcony)
Paint colouring to rendering, downpipes, gutters...
Doors – front entrance, indoors
Tiles – kitchen splash back, bathroom/toilet walls and floors
Laminate colours to all cupboard doors and bench tops
Garage Door
Kitchen layout – doors/drawers
Optional Extras – rear roller door
Non included extras – Flooring (carpets, timber, tiling), Air Conditioning, Alarms, Lighting, Curtains, Electrical home automation…
While it may at first seem relatively simple, it is the things that aren’t included that need to be thought about now, to ensure everything is laid at the right time and that all colours will co-ordinate.

It is an exciting process to be thinking about and planning for. The time frame becomes a concern knowing D is back at work and doesn’t have time to visit all the places that display options. My job is to narrow down the selection, for D to help make a final selection from.

We had emailed to us a list of other ‘Majestics’ that have been built in Adelaide for us to have a look at in terms of Façade and colourings. We went for a drive this afternoon through Mawson Lakes, Northgate and Walkley Heights. Out of the 6 we saw, 5 had the garage on the opposite side to the entry, which is different to the plan we have been provided. I must say, I prefer the plan we have.

Already there are lots of questions to ask about inclusions and extras – e.g. Storm water runoff, waste cleanup, inclusion of shower in ensuite 2, so have started a list of things to ask.

Meanwhile, we are also getting ready to move into our investment property and sell our current home. The clean up and pack up of where we currently are, is taking place simultaneously with the planning of ‘The Majestic’. Lucky I am on holidays at the moment. It would be stress to high heaven if all this were to have been done while both D and I were at work.

We have just started telling people about our decision – D’s parents, his workmates, WM. The common consensus is – “it is beautiful”, “we/I are/am jealous”, “it is a mansion”. The 3 bathrooms shock everyone. It shocked us too to begin with when we first saw the design a couple years back – to the point we talked about taking out a bathroom. Now though, we decided the house has room for everything we want anyway, without making more space, so in general terms, most things are staying exactly as per the plan.

The next step: returning to see our sales consultant and signing the formal documentation. Henley's engineer will visit our block to test and assess soil, levels… Followed within 2 weeks by the Colour Selection Appointment at Henley head office.

I phoned Port Adelaide/Enfield Council (8405 6600) requesting information about removal of a timber frame house and significant tree. They are sending out the information and appropriate forms for that, so that side of things is now underway too.