After an attempted break in which left me with a broken kitchen window and a nice big rock in the sink I am now living in the house and won't be udating this blog anymore.
Thankyou to everyone who sent positive e-mails and comments. It's been a fun process updating the blog and keeping you all informed and I hope your building process goes as smoothly as mine has.
Allworth have been fantastic and I can highly recommend them.
All the best
Michael
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I have a house :-)
Handover occurred at 9:00AM today. It was very exciting and I am now the proud owner of a new house. The whole thing went very smoothly.
Allworth have done a fantastic job in less time than stated in the contract. I have based start time on when the block was cut which happened on Tuesday the 27/01/09 until handover today, Tuesday the 2/06/09. That's a total of 126 days or exactly 18 weeks. The contract was for 19 weeks and there had been two one week extensions because of rain yet they still managed to finish ahead of schedule and the quality of the finish is excellent. I had a pretty good look and couldn't even find a single paint run anywhere. I will try to post some pictures later in the week after I have had a more thorough inspection.
Now if only the rain would go away for a few weeks so the ground can dry out enough for the concreter to put in my paths and driveway.
Allworth have done a fantastic job in less time than stated in the contract. I have based start time on when the block was cut which happened on Tuesday the 27/01/09 until handover today, Tuesday the 2/06/09. That's a total of 126 days or exactly 18 weeks. The contract was for 19 weeks and there had been two one week extensions because of rain yet they still managed to finish ahead of schedule and the quality of the finish is excellent. I had a pretty good look and couldn't even find a single paint run anywhere. I will try to post some pictures later in the week after I have had a more thorough inspection.
Now if only the rain would go away for a few weeks so the ground can dry out enough for the concreter to put in my paths and driveway.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Nearly there.....
It's midweek and most things seem to have been completed so it's looking good for hand over next Tuesday.
The rain has held off long enough for the painters to finish off the outside bits, the gas has been connected, a concrete pad has been laid for the hot water tank and the electrician and plumbers were there today doing their bits.
I think all that's left is the fly screens, rehang the internal doors, house clean and site cleanup.
I'm not sure about the colour of the downpipes matching the guttering now that I have seen them painted. I had looked at lots of houses with similar colouring and they either had the downpipes the same as the guttering or the same as the fascia board. I thought the same as the guttering looked better but now..... maybe it will look better once the landscaping is done.
The water tank is a bit of an eyesore isn't it. Good thing it's hidden behing the garage. I should be able to screen it with something. This side of the house is where all the ugly stuff goes as the air conditioning outside unit will sit against the side of the garage.
I may have to repaint the front pillars as they look a bit too light. Like the downpipes, maybe they will look better once the landscaping is done. I can't blame Allworth for the colours as they were my choices ;-)
The rain has held off long enough for the painters to finish off the outside bits, the gas has been connected, a concrete pad has been laid for the hot water tank and the electrician and plumbers were there today doing their bits.
I think all that's left is the fly screens, rehang the internal doors, house clean and site cleanup.
I'm not sure about the colour of the downpipes matching the guttering now that I have seen them painted. I had looked at lots of houses with similar colouring and they either had the downpipes the same as the guttering or the same as the fascia board. I thought the same as the guttering looked better but now..... maybe it will look better once the landscaping is done.
The water tank is a bit of an eyesore isn't it. Good thing it's hidden behing the garage. I should be able to screen it with something. This side of the house is where all the ugly stuff goes as the air conditioning outside unit will sit against the side of the garage.
I may have to repaint the front pillars as they look a bit too light. Like the downpipes, maybe they will look better once the landscaping is done. I can't blame Allworth for the colours as they were my choices ;-)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
I have a hand over date
I received a call from Allworth today advising the hand over is scheduled for 9:00AM on the 2/06/09. How exciting :-)
There still seems so much to complete. The painting looks finished on the inside but the wet weather has prevented the outside from being completed. All the plumbing fittings need to be installed, lights and power points, fly screens and doors, gas connected, door handles fitted, site cleanup and house clean. Seems like a tall order for a week and a bit so will be interesting to see if they can pull it off. Here's hoping they do!
I now have to organise a driveway and paths, retaining walls, fences, tiles in the living area, carpet, tv antenna, clothes line, window coverings....... the list keeps getting longer the more I think about it. I need a strong drink and a lie down, my head's spinning.
There still seems so much to complete. The painting looks finished on the inside but the wet weather has prevented the outside from being completed. All the plumbing fittings need to be installed, lights and power points, fly screens and doors, gas connected, door handles fitted, site cleanup and house clean. Seems like a tall order for a week and a bit so will be interesting to see if they can pull it off. Here's hoping they do!
I now have to organise a driveway and paths, retaining walls, fences, tiles in the living area, carpet, tv antenna, clothes line, window coverings....... the list keeps getting longer the more I think about it. I need a strong drink and a lie down, my head's spinning.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tile update
I called Allworth Monday morning to discuss the problem with the tiling and the lady I spoke to said she would get on it right away. It turns out Beaumont Tiles provided the tiles and the labour so my assumption was wrong about Allworth providing the labour.
About two hours after my call I received a call from the the tiling company. I discussed with them what was wrong and he said he would get back to me. He also apologised and said he had not been told by Beaumont about the extra tiling.
He called me back again this afternoon to advise they would be back tomorrow to complete the additional tiling and to replace the soap holders. He can't do anything about the bathtub trim and since it was only a $20 upgrade anyway I said it's fine the way it is. It doesn't look too bad anyway.
So all up a quick and professional response from both Allworth and the tiler.
About two hours after my call I received a call from the the tiling company. I discussed with them what was wrong and he said he would get back to me. He also apologised and said he had not been told by Beaumont about the extra tiling.
He called me back again this afternoon to advise they would be back tomorrow to complete the additional tiling and to replace the soap holders. He can't do anything about the bathtub trim and since it was only a $20 upgrade anyway I said it's fine the way it is. It doesn't look too bad anyway.
So all up a quick and professional response from both Allworth and the tiler.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Tiling all finished..... but.....
There is a problem but I'll get to that in a minute.
I met a landscaper onsite this morning to discuss retaining walls and to my surprise I was able to have a look inside again.
The good news is the tilers have finished but the bad news is there are some problems.
Some background info first. Tile selection was through Beaumont Tiles and they sold me on upgrades to the bath tub trim, soap holders, upgraded feature tiles and inceased tile height in the ensuite along one wall. All up it came to a grand total of $759.68 and the invoice clearly states it included labour for the upgrades. Not a great deal in the overall scheme of things but a lot when you don't actually get the things you paid for.
The problem is the only thing that has been done was the upgraded feature tiles in both showers. The trim on the bathtub is white not silver, the soap holders are the standard ones instead of the ones I picked which had a shelf to hold shampoo bottles and the biggie.... they didn't increase the tile height in the ensuite.
Now I don't know who is to blame here but I am thinking it is partly Beaumont Tiles and partly Allworth. Beaumont tiles have clearly supplied the wrong soap holders and bathtub trim but there are stacks of tiles left over in the lounge room so I think Beaumont supplied enough to tile the ensuite to the correct height.
From what I can gather, Beaumont only supplied the stuff and Allworth provided the labour. If this is the case it clearly doesn't work very well since I paid Beaumont for the labour. It could explain why they have changed suppliers to one who supplies and installs, pity that change happened shortly after I had already done the tile selection!!!
I called Allworth last week about something else and they were supposed to call me back but didn't. Looks like I will be on the phone to them first thing Monday morning.
It's a shame as things have been going quite smoothly up until now. Still I suppose there are bound to be some hiccups on such a big project. Let's hope Allworth will be able to sort this mess out. Stay tuned.
The front verandah has now been grouted
Ensuite shower screen has been installed
Ensuite mirror has been installed
Main bathroom mirror is also in
Spa bath all nicely tiled. The top edge should be silver like the shower screen
The huge shower in the main bathroom
Inside the appliance cupboard. There will be a power point on the bottom so you can plug your toaster and kettle in then simple close to cupboard to hide them away when not in use
I met a landscaper onsite this morning to discuss retaining walls and to my surprise I was able to have a look inside again.
The good news is the tilers have finished but the bad news is there are some problems.
Some background info first. Tile selection was through Beaumont Tiles and they sold me on upgrades to the bath tub trim, soap holders, upgraded feature tiles and inceased tile height in the ensuite along one wall. All up it came to a grand total of $759.68 and the invoice clearly states it included labour for the upgrades. Not a great deal in the overall scheme of things but a lot when you don't actually get the things you paid for.
The problem is the only thing that has been done was the upgraded feature tiles in both showers. The trim on the bathtub is white not silver, the soap holders are the standard ones instead of the ones I picked which had a shelf to hold shampoo bottles and the biggie.... they didn't increase the tile height in the ensuite.
Now I don't know who is to blame here but I am thinking it is partly Beaumont Tiles and partly Allworth. Beaumont tiles have clearly supplied the wrong soap holders and bathtub trim but there are stacks of tiles left over in the lounge room so I think Beaumont supplied enough to tile the ensuite to the correct height.
From what I can gather, Beaumont only supplied the stuff and Allworth provided the labour. If this is the case it clearly doesn't work very well since I paid Beaumont for the labour. It could explain why they have changed suppliers to one who supplies and installs, pity that change happened shortly after I had already done the tile selection!!!
I called Allworth last week about something else and they were supposed to call me back but didn't. Looks like I will be on the phone to them first thing Monday morning.
It's a shame as things have been going quite smoothly up until now. Still I suppose there are bound to be some hiccups on such a big project. Let's hope Allworth will be able to sort this mess out. Stay tuned.
The front verandah has now been grouted
Ensuite shower screen has been installed
Ensuite mirror has been installed
Main bathroom mirror is also in
Spa bath all nicely tiled. The top edge should be silver like the shower screen
The huge shower in the main bathroom
Inside the appliance cupboard. There will be a power point on the bottom so you can plug your toaster and kettle in then simple close to cupboard to hide them away when not in use
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday update
There was nobody working at the house today so I couldn't take a sneek peek inside. Despite this, there are still signs of things happening.
The water tank has been delivered, the front verandah has been tiled but not grouted, the kitchen splashback has been done and I can see tiles around the top of the vanity in the ensuite so assume the bathroom and ensuite tiling has been done.
The broken roof tiles I mentioned a couple of weeks ago have also been fixed this week and look as good as new.
The water tank hides nicely behind the garage up against the laundry wall. It hasn't been plumbed in yet but hopefully it soon will be so it has a chance to fill up with all this rain we have been getting and also stop it getting so boggy on this side of the house.
The tiles are not as dark as I thought they would be and are a bit too close to the brick colour for my liking. Hopefully the grout will give them a bit of contrast.
This shot was on full zoom through the loungeroom window. You can see the splashback has been completed.
Roof all fixed and just like a bought one!
The water tank has been delivered, the front verandah has been tiled but not grouted, the kitchen splashback has been done and I can see tiles around the top of the vanity in the ensuite so assume the bathroom and ensuite tiling has been done.
The broken roof tiles I mentioned a couple of weeks ago have also been fixed this week and look as good as new.
The water tank hides nicely behind the garage up against the laundry wall. It hasn't been plumbed in yet but hopefully it soon will be so it has a chance to fill up with all this rain we have been getting and also stop it getting so boggy on this side of the house.
The tiles are not as dark as I thought they would be and are a bit too close to the brick colour for my liking. Hopefully the grout will give them a bit of contrast.
This shot was on full zoom through the loungeroom window. You can see the splashback has been completed.
Roof all fixed and just like a bought one!
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