Saturday picture update

The pillars on the front verandah have been installed and the tilers have moved the tiles, sand and cement to where they need them. They will probably start the laying on Monday. The CaesarStone kitchen bench has also been installed but it is covered with cardboard so you can't see it. If you look closely, you can see the edge of it in the bottom of the appliance cupboard (next to the oven hole) and it looks like there is an offcut in the microwave hole.

Here are some photos I took around lunch time today. Again, they are all through the windows but are clearer since it was quite sunny.

Wednseday Update

The kitchen cupboards, vanities and laundry cabinets were delivered on Monday and then installed on Tuesday.

From what I can see through the windows, it also looks like all the architraves have been completed.

I received a call from Allworth today requesting payment of progress payments three and four which is fair as progress payment three stage was completed weeks ago. Can't remember if I explained how the progress payments work but this is what happens.

Allworth issue the first four progress invoices all at once for the fixed amounts listed in the contract with the fifth and final payment being issued once all variations have been taken into account. They then phone at the completion of each stage requesting payment. It all seems to work quite well as all payment requests so far have been made well after the stage has been completed. I just hope there are no nasty surprises in that final invoice.

Anyway, the lady mentioned that the tilers were due in later this week and when they are finished the painters will follow. Depending on the size of the house, painting can take up to ten days to complete. Once painting is completed it is usually around three weeks until completion so I had better pull my finger out and make up my mind on which tiles and carpets I want for the rest of the house!

The photos were taken through the windows after work on overcast days (it's a real bugger now daylight savings has finished). There wasn't much light and I had to turn the flash off otherwise it lit up the window and you couldn't see anything so that explains why they are quite dark. The ensuite vanity shot was takes on full zoom which made it look even worse.

I will try to get some better pics on the weekend.



The Tasmanian Oak cupboards look darker than expected but I'm sure once the light floor tiles, bench and splashback are installed won't look so dark. The kitchen faces west so will also get the afternoon sun.

I'm not so sure I like the handles I chose now that I see them on the cupboards but I can live with them and just like an ugly baby, they will still look good to the owner ;-)

Anyway, anything is better that the horrible 70's colour scheme of the house I am currently in!!!



On the down side, the roof has received some minor damage. Since it was completed I haven't really look up there much but I did notice this the other day. The last time I took a photo of this section was on the 3/04/09 and it was fine then. I'm sure it will be fixed by the time completion comes around though.

All locked up

It's only been two days since I last visited the house (have now stopped calling it "the block") and I was stunned to find it has reached lock up stage already.

Most of the internal doors have been fitted and the architraves also partly completed. All photos will now be through the windows.

The spa bath is also in the main bathroom but you can't see it because of the obscure glass (damn, wish I had put clear glass in now!).

A new "stink pipe" has also gone in outside the back door.

Below you can see the old washing machine somebody has dumped into the rubbish pile. I'm still waiting for them to drop around a nice shiny new one :-)

I'm plastered!!!

The plasterers have been in since last weeks update and put up the cornices and finished off the walls ready for painting.

The electricity and telephone cables have also been run to their respective boxes out on the street and somebody has dumped a washing machine in the rubbish pile out the front. Thanks for that but I'd prefer new appliances :-)

I've got batts in the belfry and gyprock too!!!

Another busy week with tradies working late. On Monday when I went by after work around 5:30PM there was someone working and the same on Tuesday so I didn't get in to have a look around until today. I missed getting any photos of the batts being installed but they can be seen around the edges of the gyprock where the cornice will go. Things have been moving at a cracking pace, good work Allworth and all the hard working tradesmen.

Wet all week but.....

Despite the rain all week and the site turining into a boggy swamp, the build has progressed.

I knew the electrical work would happen soon and since I wanted a few extra lights and a power point put in I have been driving past all week in the hopes of catching the electrician on site.

Nothing happened Monday. Tuesday saw two lads out in the rain cleaning the bricks with a high pressure sprayer. Wednesday came the delivery of the fibro sheeting and timber for the eave infill (if that's what it's called) and the insulation batts were delivered on Thursday.

I cruised by Friday morning around 8:00AM and it was all go. The electrician was onsite as well as several other blokes installing the eave infills. Heart pounding, I ventured into the forbidden zone of the construction site (where no customer is supposed to be!) and sought out the electrician. I asked if I could pay him directly to add the wiring for seven downlights and an extra power point. He needed to call his boss who agreed as long as I paid up front, which I was happy to oblige. It was actually handy talking to him as he wanted to clarify some of the locations for switches and things. It turned out where I had put the kitchen light switch was an impossible location due to a thick solid structural pillar so we worked out a better position. I also wanted to put in pendant lights in the lounge room (in the centre of the raked ceiling) so he fixed a couple of bits of timber in the ceiling to support them from. So all in all it was a good outcome. Now all I need to find is somebody good at woodwork who can make me a couple of angled wooden things to secure the lights to!!!

What follows is my little rant about Allworth's inflexability at times. You can safely skip down to the photos. I would have been more than happy to pay Allworth for these extras (including their markup) but they are very strict and won't allow any changes once the contract is signed. Unfortunately I didn't think of these things until well after contract signing and it was too late. I know I could have waited until after handover and had them put in but they were right at the edge of the roof line and impossible to reach without removing roof tiles and cutting through the sarking and I didn't want to do that. The annoying thing is there have been a few extra material charges and Allworth raised an alteration for those so why can't I add a few extra lights and they raise another alteration??? I can understand no big changes but come on, lights and power points are minor. The moral of this is if you are building with a project home builder who won't allow changes then make sure you think of absolutely everything you need beforehand.

These pictures are from Friday night when everybody had gone.



Back wall of garage. This is where the Hills Home Smart wiring hub will go. I wanted the house wired with data cables (I know wireless networking is popular these days but I like the reliability of wires) so included the option from Allworth's vast list of optional inclusions.



This is what I call eave infills. Not sure of the correct term but it sounds good!



The bricks look 100% better now they have been cleaned.



Forgot to mention the downpipes were also installed today.



See how much better the bricks look cleaned. Scroll down to previous posts if you don't believe me!