The Couch!

OMG, OMG we bought a couch!!!!!! Well, we ordered one. It's unbelievable how a pile of timber, springs and foam can incite so much joy and excitement! You'll have to use your imagination a bit... It's the same style as the one above, only in the colour below (all over). It will be 4m or five cushions on the long side (as opposed to 4 cushions in the pic). And it will have the chaise on the opposite side, which will be extra long (2.5m), with the armrest running down it halfway. We did this because we wanted the side of the couch that backs the kitchen and dining to be 'backless' so the lounge area doesn't look too enclosed.
Ordered it from 'Nice and Cheap' Furniture in Nth Coburg, after finding them during a google search for reasonably priced furniture. Don't be put off by the cheesy name, their stuff is beautiful, cheap, and they will custom make whatever you want. They use all the same fabrics as the Freedom couches and to us they look and feel the same quality.

Bricks at the front (yay!) and garage

Bricks on the side of the garage as of today.

And more on the back of the garage... It's going to be strange not being able to see through it anymore!

And the long awaited 'bricks at the front'!! They look really great against the timber windows and match the roof colour really well too. Very pleased with the exterior colours at this stage.

Eastern side of the house bricked up as far as humanly possible before the scaffolding comes into play. Not sure what the thingy on the left is, but it looks like a temporary brace for the scaffolding maybe...?

Front, right hand corner the house- the first course has been laid ready for tomorrow! Can't wait :-)

First bricks were laid down the east side of the house today- lots of progress!

More courses done on the rear of the house- you can see where the mortar is darker that it's still wet.

Bricking halfway up on four walls

Our very plain looking temporary front doors (that are nailed shut). Note also our lovely skinny window to the left- would you believe the timber venetian for it is going to cost almost $300??? Apparently the tinier or weirder the size, the more money they cost! Silly window.

Western side of the house (three minor bedrooms) has been bricked just over halfway up the wall today.

And they did the same to the two walls backing onto the kids' retreat and kitchen.

Then we got really excited when we turned the corner because they've done some at the back too!!

Bricks and Doors!

At first glance this looks like just a concrete mixer and a pile of sand right??? Incorrect! Look closer and you can a see a couple of bricks peeking up at you from the back of the garage!

They've done 5-6 rows all around the back of the garage and around the blind side a little.

And here you can see they have put on the door to enter the house via the kids' retreat! They've also put on two temporary front doors and the door between the garage and the pantry.

Love our bricks :-) They look exactly how we thought they would. Can't wait to see the front bricked and look at how they look against the timber windows. Ooo and then we'll want to see how the front looks with the garage door on.... Omg I feel like Veruka Salt with all this wanting!

And the laundry door is on! It looks so nice and clean. We will be scraping off those idiot alert squares as soon as we move in.

Look at our bee-yoo-ti-ful bricks!!! We still love them (even though we'd pretty much forgotten what they looked like as it's been 10 months since we picked them). I wanted to take one but Chris said no :-(

28 pallets were delivered, so there's not much room to move on our driveway now. The whole front of the house is crowded with bricks.

And they've also delivered the lock up doors- the clear glass one for the laundry, two temporary front doors,

And two doors like this one, for entry into the house at the pantry and the kids' retreat.

Wonder if the brickies will start Monday????

Have just received news that bricks will start next week and plaster not until end of January. Seems they can't make up their mind what to do first! Temporary fencing magically appeared last week. Wish we didn't have to have it. Feels a bit unecessary given that we have permanent fences on 2 out of 3 sides anyway. They have buzzed back and padded out a lot of the studs to straighten the walls, but doesn't look like our ss has checked them yet as there's no pink paint anywhere. Hot water service pipes are in too. Would be very exciting to see some bricks. We're hopeful!!

Quick update

Apparently we are having a lock up inspection this week and "plaster to follow." So looks like they won't be leaving it until after the end of Jan after all. Not exactly sure what a lock up inspection is.... We don't even have a front door yet!!!

Bargain microwave- thanks Ted!

Went to Ted Chwasta Good Guys Thomastown massive sale tonight. They are having a 'pay the supplier invoice plus $1 sale.' Heaps of people there. Wanted a large microwave that was stainless steel look, but not actual staino (hate the fingerprints). Found the perfect one - Sharp Carousel- and got it for $150 (40% off!) Mum and Dad bought a huge 5 k telly, Ryan bought the same, Lesley bought a 1k telly, and we all got a few other bits and pieces. Got a big group discount off the already cheap price because we bought so much stuff and mum knows Ted from where she used to work. Thanks Ted, you're a champ!

More blind shopping- on a budget!

Just when we thought we had the best deal ever on blinds, I decided on a whim to get another quote from Home Outlet in Thomastown. Their timber venetians are about $30 per blind cheaper than Spotlight... Just not sure I like them quite as much! The colour is slightly too 'red' and the blinds are 100% timber, not a timber/resin mix (which would be more suitable for us as one of the blinds will be in the portico- exposed to some weather) Will take their quote to Spotlight tomorrow. Apparently Spotlight price match, so if they can beat HO that would be sensational. But HO has the ones with the wider slat (63.5mm) compared to Spotlight's 50mm....*oooooo!* I don't know...

Plumbing and electrical

What a surprise! All the plumbing and electrical cables were roughed in late this week some time. This is the laundry, where the trough will go.

And they've put in the bath hob! Can't wait to soak in there :-)

Our shower- you can see where the taps will be attached on the left and the shower head on the upper right.

Plumbing for ensuite vanity.

Also got our quote from Spotlight for the blinds. All up, just a fraction over 3k for all window coverings except minor bedrooms and two family room windows (not sure what we want there yet). An excellent deal. Would have been over 4k if not for the 25% off sale. Will go and pay the deposit tomorrow.

Site meeting

Fronted up to the house this morning at 7:30 and ambled around with steaming hot maccas coffees until our s/s arrived to meet with us at 8am. He was very responsive to all of our questions/concerns and assured us that most of them are easily fixed, as we thought.
* The bolts on the front portico support pole will be relocated so they are in the concrete,
* The master bedroom doorway will be widened as per contract drawings (his plans were also incorrect),
* The alfresco studs are within the load limit as there is a double stud in the centre of the corner,
* One of our front windows will have part of the surrounding sill replaced (splintered timber),
* Crack in the slab is apparently nothing to worry about. Anything less than 2mm is supposed to be ok. Not 100% convinced on this still...
* Bulkhead in kitchen will be secured later.
* Walls will all be straightened and triple checked before plaster goes on (yay!)

Also found out there won't be much action on our place over xmas and all of January as our s/s will be on holidays. Bricking and plaster will not start until Feb. It'll be a long wait with not much action, but makes a holiday completion time (end of March) more likely which is a good thing :-)

Ready for insulation

Well not much has happened in the last two days. But we do have this sheet stapled to the frame, which from what I can gather, means that the insulation people have inspected the site to make sure it is safe before they come in and put the fluffy stuff in.

And here's how it looks from the street. They've taken lots of rubbish away from the front so could have actually driven into the garage for the first time. Might try that tomorrow! Really looking forward to those bricks now :-)

We're wrapped!

We're all wrapped up! Took me about 10 seconds to notice. I stood there thinking- something looks different.... Duh! Nice to see the builders are using the fold up chairs we left there for them!


Looking nice and.... green.

Kitchen wall and fridge cavity

Site meeting Monday

Organised for a site meeting first thing Monday morning. What a great birthday present for Christopher! Will be writing a list of concerns so we don't forget anything and discussing these things with our SS. Looking forward to visiting the house this afternoon to see if anything has been done (electrical, plumbing etc) Haven't been out there since Sunday, which is the biggest non visit stretch we've had since starting. Feels like it's been weeks since we've set eyes on our frame!

Probs with the frame

Trying to organise a site meeting as soon as possible. Several issues with our frame still and we are not happy to pay the frame invoice while we still have a defective product.
* The studs supporting the corner of the alfresco are single- they should be double. Single will not support the load.
* The kitchen bulkhead frame has only been secured at each end, not nailed up in the middle- it sags into a u shape.
* No wall straightening has been done-plaster will be all wavy if it goes up.
* Doorway to master still not adjusted.

Hopefully we can discuss the problems asap and have them fixed. Will not be a happy possum if they continue with the plaster before fixing the frame!

Hot water & blinds

Two of these beauties (but longer) will be going in our ensuite. They're the PVC ones, not wood, so perfect for a steamy area.

Pretty sure this is the colour we will go for across the front of the house (ignore the yukky pelmet at the top- the real colour will be same as the slats) Still considering the plantation shutters for the front, but they don't come in exactly the colour we want (not too light, not too dark), they are $110 more expensive (each) than the venetians- so for 9 windows that's a lot of extra $$$! The other thing that really put us off was that they say installation is 'compulsory' when ordering the plantation shutters- and it's about $70 per panel. Too expensive overall, for a look that is not too different to the venetians anyway.

Scored a measure and quote appointment with the Spotlight lady next weekend, which was lucky as normally there's a few weeks wait. She will show us the full range of colours and we can decide then. Looked at the ready to hang ones- which are a really good price- but all our windows are non standard sizes so they would all need to be cut. On top of that, when I tried to find the nearest sizes, they were all out of every one. Even though we're getting the 'custom' option, we still got 25% off the final price anyway because of the sale they have for ordering 13 or more custom blinds. This brought the entire quote down to a very reasonable figure and they'll be made to measure! Be great to have them ready to install the day we move in!

Also noticed when I went up to chat to our neighbour, that they have put our solar panel on the roof for the hot water. Some progress after all!

A bit of a setback

Alas, our run of rapid progress looks like it has come to a grinding halt- our brickies were supposed to start this week, but, there are no more of our bricks! Our SS called and asked if we wanted to change our mind about the bricks we chose and get something else instead, but we've decided to stick with our initial decision and be patient. It's only supposed to be about a three week wait and next door's house is being built with our second choice brick- Mocha- so that discourages us a little further from changing. Apparently they're going to build our place in reverse (sort of)- just like Krystal's :-) They'll do the electrical, wrap it and plaster it before the bricks arrive. Sounds interesting!

Loving our roof more and more. Went out for a drive just before and saw that they have finished pretty much all of the roof tiles. The chippies we had have moved over to next door but nobody is working at our place today. Excuse the skip in the foreground!

Roof tiles- tick

Roof tiles are done apparently. Just got to put the flashing on. No sign of any bricks yet, but they can't be too far away! Here brickie, brickie, brickie.......

Our house is getting a lid!

The view of our roof tiles from underneath. Looks like they nail or hook them onto the bits of wood going across ways. Interesting.... Not quite sure how they keep the water out, but I hope it does!!

Without the flashing on yet, there are pieces of blue sky poking through.

The view from the back.

Looking at the roof of the kids' retreat (left) and the kitchen (right)

About a third of the house is done already!! Sooooo glad we chose the flat shingle tiles- loving them :-)

Roof tiles delivered

Got the roof tiles delivered today!! Same as next door neighbour's. His frame has started now too. Tilers should be done by early next week and then brickies starting by Friday- yippee!