Oh Mr Hart - What a Mess!!!

Painting, Plastering & Promises!!!


As the title states - it has been just over a week since my last post and there has been a lot happening!

Firstly, the external colours have all started to fit together and take shape with the linea boards being painted Shale Grey.. I was so excited to finally see this colour on a larger scale, as prior to finally settling on it back in May last year, I had lost about a weeks sleep tossing colours around in my head, driving around Stage 1 & 2 of Eynesbury, changing my mind every 10 minutes or so as hubby wasn't much help saying, "you choose, I am colour blind anyway!!"..

They look a little darker in the overcast photo above, but as you can see in the photo below they lighten up once the sun hits or reflects onto them... love the girls showing you.. haha

Promises were delivered from our site supervisor Paul, with my beautiful 5 panel timber bi-fold door being installed between the dinning room and alfresco - see below.

More promises were delivered with the support under the bathtub being rectified to Australian standards.. looks odd to me that you just chuck some brinks and mortar under it (see photo below) and that's Australian standards, but hey I am no expert!!

The plaster was also delivered and installed to all internal walls within a week!! This really impressed me as I thought it would take so much longer to do.. hope we don't see any cracks in the near future though!!

I did speak to the guy installing it and he advised that they use paper tape, applied 3 coats to the joins etc and that we should have no problem. My concern is new houses and being able to see the joins in the plaster, especially on the roof.. he advised this won't be the case due to the 3 coats they apply and other company's only applying 2 and not using paper tape... hmmmmm.... I am still a sceptic - time will tell I guess, but it does look good - take a look below!!

Above: Photo after delivery

Below - girls in back hallway - with niche & downlight showing in distance as a feature to each end of the hallway.

Below: looking from entry hallway into the Kitchen, Dinning and Lounge Room. Hopefully the painters will be in next week to do the internal painting!

Photo below: Looking from the garage - entertaining side of house onto the golf course.. Don't you just love my huge kitchen window? Not that I will be standing at it.. haha

The only hiccup we had this week was again with Greybox administration!! GRRRRRRRR... back in May last year I requested that the mouldings around the windows be painted the same colour as the windows - Colourbond Pearl White (this was put into our specifications).

One night we went up there and he was there still painting. I noticed the mouldings had been painted Shale Grey - the same colour as the linea board. I asked if he knew that the mouldings were meant to be Pearl White - the same as the windows and he said he hadn't been advised and would speak to our site supervisor the next day!

Paul called us and said he had no record of this on the current specifications or working drawings. I had a quick look at our specifications and he was right - it wasn't on there!! WHAT THE?? I advised Paul that I had had several conversations with Greybox administration about this and spoke to another person from the company who advised that it is probably stated in the developer approval documentation. He also remembered that I requested this way back when, as we were one of the first clients to request this, and now a lot of new clients want this look also - so they painted them.

However, now the colours don't match... yes that's right... the Colourbond Pearl White windows don't match the Colourbond Pearl White paint on the mouldings around the windows!! Go figure... I am soooooo annoyed!! I am wondering whether it is because it was painted Shale Grey first and then painted Pearl White??

I don't know - I just want it fixed and to match exactly with the windows, posts and trims!!

I finally found an email back in May 2010 with old specifications attached stating that I requested the mouldings to be painted white to match off with the windows. How it is stated on an old specification and removed and not transferred to updated specifications again blows my mind - hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) this is rectified asap due to another one of Greybox's administration errors.. Seriously, if it wasn't for the quality of the final product and that we could custom build our home, we would have pulled out of our contract a long time ago due to poor administration, constant errors and headaches they have caused...

Overall, I am really happy with the progress, the look and quality and am still secretly hoping we can start to move in from 1st July 2011 - come on Paul.. I am counting on you... hehehehe :-)

Looking for an Independent Broker - look no further!!

I forgot to mention on my last post about how thankful we are for having such a wonderful independent finance company -
Finance Path - 1300 780 440.

And for the record - NO, I am not getting paid to say or write any of this..

I just like giving recognition to a company who has outstanding customer service! We seriously would not be in the position we are today if it wasn't for them.

To Mark, Chris, Dennis, Melinda and Melissa - thank you for making us feel comfortable, answering our never ending questions, deciphering all the financial jargon, showing us the process step by step, following our application through from start to finish (we didn't have to enter or even speak to the bank ourselves) and keeping us informed at every stage of the process.

We feel like we can call on you guys at any time to seek advice with any question or concern. As you can see from our blog we are almost at lock-up stage and we still continue to receive their support through phone calls and emails.

Seriously, if you are thinking about applying for your own home loan or any other financial advice, we highly recommend the team at Finance Path. We have greatly appreciated the time, effort and support that they have given us in making one of the most important decisions of our financial future!

Me :-)

Still Almost At Lock Up!!!

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock..

Time is just flying by! I can't believe we are almost at the end of March already (and it's less than 3 weeks to school holidays.. yippee). I am secretly hoping the house is completed and we can move in on 1st July as this is when Term 2 holidays start and it would be perfect timing... but then again it is winter and hopefully it won't me raining.. grrrrr.. one can only hope.. :-) The linea board is pretty much completed on the whole house. I must say I am not 100% happy with the workmanship on some of the joins under the windows, so I will be taking this up with our site supervisor this week. Looking forward to seeing it painted in the colourbond shale grey colour we selected with the window trims in pearl white. The Bi-fold doors are going to be replaced, Greybox blamed the window company for it, which was interesting as one would have thought someone in their office would have had to place the order - go figure! They took the aluminium bi-fold out last week and our wooden one was meant to arrive yesterday, but apparently will be arriving Thursday and installed on Friday now.. can't wait to see it in. Kitchen window hasn't been replaced yet, but will be soon due to a scratch. Our site supervisor was not happy with the quality of the seals on it. It was nice for once not to have to mention or bring something that was not up to scratch to their attention.

A family in the next street are building a very similar house to us, but their Alfresco and Verandah area was poured with concrete with their slab and ours is to be constructed on stumps! Weird, as I can't work out why two houses (which are so much alike) would be built using two different footings! They installed some sound proofing (Earthwool Wall Batts - which is a cost-effective thermal and acoustical barrier for energy - efficient construction) on to the cinema room, part of the lounge, between one of the bedroom and the bathroom and between the master and the ensuite - fingers crossed it blocks out lots of noise.. hehe. Hey dad, with the energy saving from the insulation, this will balance the cost of all the extra power points.. hehe - love you.. xx

Our site supervisor also called us last week when they were installing our air conditioning and heating units. He wasn't happy as in the working drawings it stated the vent was to be placed in the back hallway roof. He said the unit will not work efficiently if it goes there and that it should be installed low in a wall. So we decided to use half of my broom cupboard in the laundry to place the unit. I would rather the unit work properly and lose a little space, so we are glad he called in regards to this instead of just installing as per the working drawings.

Love this photo... her first bath in her new bathroom.. hehe

We had another inspection last week by New Home Inspections. Rob has been fantastic and we believe this has been the best money we have spent.. especially for our peace of mind to know our house is being constructed as per Australian standards. This is our second inspection, the first being at slab stage. We were annoyed to find out that issues in our first inspection had not been completed as we were advised they had!!! Due to this, we requested a hold on the plaster until we were satisfied they had all been rectified. As you can imagine this is frustrating, but our site supervisor seems to be on top of it and getting them plus the 7 additional ones from the frame inspection completed. He is confident that they will be able to start plastering on Thursday or Friday. Wow - I think I have covered most things.. until next time.. Me.. :-)

Almost at Lock-up!

Almost at Lock-up!!

Hi All - sorry but work and family have been keeping me very, very busy. Lot's has been happening with the house and we can hardly keep up with it ourselves. In a matter of 2 weeks.. * Windows went in * Gutters and fascia went up * Roof went on * Wrapping went up * Wooden borders went up around the windows * Lina boards went on this week * My beautiful huge kitchen window went in * All electrical work completed, and * The bi-fold 5 panel door went in which gives us access from the dining room to the alfresco HOWEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Greybox's administration again out did themselves by ordering and installing a white aluminium bi-fold door - which should have been TIMBER.. they even stated that there was no variation for this change so the doors would remain! ummm.. EXCUSE ME!! We soon sent through an email stating the door will be removed and replaced with a TIMBER one as per the: 1. Specifications 2. Working Drawings, and 3. Quote We have yet to receive a response, but I can't see how they can not change it when it is stated in black and white. I also couldn't understand why our Linea boards where going up when they are the wrong colour!! We queried this today and were told that they were to be painted the correct colour.. hmmmm.. can anyone tell me why I had to choose a colourbond colour for the boards when they are are going to now be painted?? Why couldn't I just choose any colour, for example from the Dulux or Bristol range?? Anyway, we are really happy with the progress - haven't asked when it will be finished as we don't want to be disappointed, but fingers crossed it will continue to go along at a steady pace so we can organise a big house warming - with lot's and lot's of beverages.. hehe Have uploaded some photos below also.. until my next post.. ME :-)

Mia being cheeky as ever!

The view from our backyard... Above: Kitchen, Dinning and Living RoomThe WRONG bi-folds.. but I love the look.. if only they were in TIMBER!!! PATIENCE.. hehe

FRAMED!!

We finally have a frame.. Yippee!!

I can't tell you how excited we are! Things are moving along very quickly and we couldn't be happier. I am hoping all the colours we selected so long ago come together nicely.

Half the windows have been installed and I am wrapped with the size of the kitchen and lounge windows - Bigger than I thought - but on the flip side now I have to work out coverings for them!

# Facing house - Right hand side view

# Looking from the backyard

# Right hand side -looking at Alfresco

# Looking from the Left hand side

# Looking into the lounge, dinning and kitchen area

# View from the kitchen looking at the dinning and lounge rooms

The independent inspector is coming on Friday 18th. We advised the site supervisor prior, so hopefully with them knowing this things will be done right the first time! Well again, I have my fingers & this time toes crossed also... xxxxx

WOW - 52 Piers!!

Wow 52 Piers..

I couldn't get over how big the 52 piers actually are! They measure 600mm in diameter and were drilled more than 750mm (some deeper) to hit natural ground! The footings were also drilled for our Alfresco and Verandah having to be 1000mm min deep and founded into stiff clays! Crack control bars, measuring 2000mm long will also be incorporated and tied to the underside of slab mesh. Our plans are below showing them spread across the house. The piers are the round circle everywhere..

Below are photo's of pier's drilled and what they looked like before being filled with concrete...

These are the piers now they have been filled with concrete... they are massive I tell you.. hopefully this helps with house to stay in the one spot with minimal to no cracked walls in future!

And the 2 photos above show that our plumbing has been installed.. yippee...

The site manager called today advising they are currently boxing it all up and laying the base for the slab to be poured which has now been pushed back to Thursday - 4th Feb! It was meant to be poured by Monday 31st, but I think they want to pour the slab next door to us at the same time as it is also a Greybox home. Time will tell..

Our slice of Heaven!

Wow - life has been crazy! Where do I start?
Finally we settled on our slice of heaven on 1st October. We were very excited and was told that our slab would most likely be down by Christmas, but of course we were not holding our breath!

Our excitement soon turned to disbelief when we received our soil and engineering reports. We were advised that due to so much fill on the land we had to upgrade (not sure if you call it an upgrade - feels like a downgrade) to a P class slab and that we would also require 52 concrete piers to be placed under the slab with an additional $8,500 price tag! Wow, Merry Christmas to us and there goes my plantation shutters.. :-( We had a friend look over the reports to get a second opinion and he advised pretty much the same - with that amount of fill, this is what would need to be done..

We had a final meeting prior to Christmas with the builder to ensure we were happy with our specifications and also our working drawings. I don't know how but my kitchen island bench went from being 1.45(w) x 2.5(l) down to 1.2(w) x 2.5(l). I was not impressed to say the least as this wasn't the first time changes had been made to our drawings without any communication. Other minor things also needed to be corrected and these were done before we signed off! At this meeting the builder advised that due to being so close to Christmas they wanted to hold off and start fresh when all the tradies returned - which we agreed as we didn't want exposed pipes or a frame sitting their over the shut down period.

To our surprise, our site manager called a few days before Christmas saying that they had cut the site, marked & pegged it out, connected the power and also had the temporary fencing up! He also advised that our piers would be installed today - 18th Jan (not sure if they have been, but will take a drive and check tomorrow), our slab is booked in to be poured on 31st Jan and we should see a frame by the end of the first week of Feb! Wow, we couldn't believe what we were hearing and decided to jump in the car that afternoon and go for a look. Finally, we could see progress.


So hopefully we will be able to see some more progress this week and that the rain holds off for a while so we can start to see it all coming together... what a journey it already has been so far and we know there is just soooooooo much more to come!