Fixing stage complete



Ducks swimming in the pond

 We received the fixing stage invoice two weeks after we received the lock up stage invoice. That means that there is only one 'stage' to go!

Looking at the house though, there are still lots of things that need to be done.

When we were walking through the house with our SS a couple of weeks ago, we saw a potential problem in the kitchen. The overhead cupboards that sit above the kitchen sink seemed to be too low, so the kitchen tapware we selected may not fit underneath it properly. This is something that the draughtsmen should have thought of, because we weren't able to get exact height measurements for the tap. We raised this with our SS and requested that the overhead cupboards be installed slightly higher (we were asking for 150mm) just to be sure that the tap would fit. He said that the cupboards had already been installed, so they couldn't do it.

We think it will be ok - there might only be a small gap between the cupboards and the tapware, but as long as it fits, that's fine. Fingers crossed.

At the start of the week we asked our SS for an update on where things were at, conscious that we only have one invoice to go, and things are still looking very much incomplete.

He said that the eaves were painted over the weekend, all of the outside work is done, so the scaffolding will be coming off during the week, the internal walls would be painted during the week, and all of the bathroom and kitchen vanities would be installed.

We went out to have a look yesterday. Luckily, some of the painters were there so we were able to get inside and take a look. We walked up our staircase for the first time and had a look upstairs.

Staircase - just needs to be stained.

Powder Room vanity and backing for mirror. The vanity will be entirely covered with Cesarstone in Jet Black.

Laundry cabinets.

The kitchen! In the foreground is the island bench, which will have Cesarstone in Organic White over it. At the back of the photo is the kitchen sink bench, with the window splashback and overhead cupboards. This is where the tapware will be, and we're hoping that there's enough space under the overhead cupboards for the tap.

On the right-hand side of the kitchen is the benchtop where the stove and oven will be.

Upstairs landing. We are standing in the upstairs lounge or 'activity room' looking towards the stairs. On the right of the photo is the entrance to Bedroom 2.

Ensuite vanity.

Bathroom vanity.

Staircase - looking from the front door.

Scaffolding removed - we can definitely get a better feel for what the house will look like now. All of the rendered areas and the balcony panels still need to be painted. The eaves are looking nice and white though.

Front of house from the right-hand side.

Close up of entrance area.

Rear view. We noticed a few cracked roof tiles which we will let our SS know about. 

Close up of rear and Alfresco extension. The backyard is a mess with discarded bricks and roof tiles. 

Side of house looking from the back. The brick colour has come out really nicely.

   

Noticeable items that are incomplete are:

• All Cesarstone to be put in (kitchen, bathroom, ensuite, and powder room)
• All toilets, sinks, and bathtubs to be put in
• Glass splashback in kitchen
• Power points and light swtiches haven't been pulled through
• Flooring not done
• Cornices, architraves, and skirting incomplete
• Gutters incomplete
• Rendered areas not painted (makes us wonder why they took all the scaffolding away)
• Hardiplank at the rear not painted.

There are lots of other things, but this list should give you an idea of the larger items that still need to be completed.



Progress made during our holiday

Two weeks away from work and the house seems to have given us a decent break. Although, the house was still on our minds while we were discovering the laneways of Hong Kong, gamblng in Macau and sipping Singapore Slings in Singapore...

We had arranged a meeting with our SS on the day we returned. It was great to finally meet him and get an idea of where he was coming from throughout this building project.

The house has come a long way while we were away. It has reached lock-up stage! That basically means that most of the work on the outside of the house has been completed, and the bigger jobs inside are being worked on - the kitchen, bathroom/ensuite/powder room vanities, flooring, wardrobes, staircase etc.

We were able to have a look at the progress made downstairs - see pics below. However, we couldn't get upstairs as the staircase was being built onsite while we were there. That was a shame because now that we've reached lock-up stage, it will be difficult to get up there and monitor the progress as things like the bathroom and bedroom fittings go in.

We noticed that the door that leads from the Garage into the hallway has been damaged even more since the last time we looked at it. We will definitely be asking for this to be fixed. We also noticed that the correct front door has been put in - hopefully there is no damage to this during the rest of the project.

Our SS said that we should be in by Christmas - which sounds great, but we foresee a couple of problems if handover is too close to Christmas. In order to get a certificate of occupancy and be able to move in, estate guidelines require us to have driveway, letterbox, and fencing to be completed. Given that a lot of the trades shut down over the Christmas period and don't start back until mid-late January, it will be difficult to get these things done. Also, Carlisle Homes allows a 90 day maintenance period from handover, during which we are required to identify any problems (structural or cosmetic) that arise during normal daily living in the house. If we take ownership of the house before Christmas but can't actually move in until mid-late January, then we'd be losing about a month of that 90 day period.

We raised this with our SS, and he was quite certain that many of the trades are still around during the Christmas break (higher hourly rate??). Anyway, he also said that, as a general guide, the house will be complete about a month after tiling begins, so once we get to that point we'll be able to judge whether or not it will be too close to Christmas.

Another point we noted and brought to our SS' attention was the amount of crushed rock and gravel that was strewn all over the front yard, rather than just to the area that covers the driveway. He was quick to point out that a landscaper would remove this when doing the front garden, but we responded by saying that they wouldn't just do it out of the kindness of their hearts. Plus, we might do the landscaping and gardens ourselves. He promised us that he'd get the extra rocks and gravel removed for us when the site is properly cleaned up, prior to handover.

We also asked for any spare bricks, tiles, and paint to be left for us in the Garage. Our SS said he'd do this for us as well.

Here are a few pics of the house at lock-upstage:

Side view of the house with brick, tiles, and rendered areas almost complete. The rendered areas still need to be painted, and the bricks still need to be cleaned up.



  Rear view of the house with Hardiplank on and in need of paint. Dulux Snugglepie is the colour we chose and it should blend in nicely with the bricks. The Alfresco area also needs to be completed.

Door jambs lined up and ready to go in.

View of the Kitchen area. Underneath that window will be the double-bowl sink, and to the right of that will be the fridge. Above the sink will be some over-head cabinets that will go up to the bulkhead.

 View of the Family Room from the Kitchen. The two windows will sit either side of the fireplace provision, and the stacker sliding door leads out onto the Alfresco.

 Looking from the rear of the house towards the (correct) front door.

 Staircase being made on-site.

 Front facade of the house. Lots of painting still to be done. We couldn't check the progress of the Balcony because we couldn't get upstairs.

Master Bedroom windows above the flat-profile roof of the Garage. The window on the left hand corner is a 'corner window' so it's still taped up.

 Side elevation of the house. The rendered part at the front of the house will be painted in Dulux Yarwood - a very dark grey. The sides will be painted in Dulux Pale Earth, which should blend in with the colour of the mortar used on the bricks. There is a lot of rubble all around the house that our SS has agreed to have removed prior to handover.

Up, up, and away!

Along with the big decision to build a house this year, we had a milestone birthday to celebrate - a 30th! We decided that a holiday away would be the best way to celebrate.
Taking a break in the middle of the Melbourne winter was a really good idea. This winter has been the coldest and wettest of the three winters that we have spent here.

Our destinations of choice were Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. We had never been to any of these places before so we were really looking forward to it. Plus the temperatures were expected to be in the high twenties to mid thirties (day and night).

Here are a few pics of our holiday:

Hong Kong

One of the first things we saw on the way from the airport to our hotel. This is just one small part of the cargo port in HK - one of the top 3 busiest ports in the world (along with Shanghai and Singapore). Approx. 20m containers per year go through this port - that's 55,000 per day! Those tall buildings in the background are residential towers.

This is the HK we wanted to see! This is in front of our hotel. Check out the cars! There's definitely no shortage of HKD for some people around here!

One of the really cool things we noticed in HK was that all of the scaffolding was made entirely of bamboo.

Clear view of the International Commerce Centre (ICC) - HK's tallest building, and fourth tallest in the world.

View of part of the Hong Kong Island skyline - it's hard to get the whole city in in one shot!

The view from the cable cars up to Ngong Ping village, on Lantau Island, where the Big Buddha is, is probably the best view of HK. There is so much to see all around you.

That's a road winding through the hills!

This is the first full view of the Big Buddha that we got from the cable car. Definitely worth seeing.

We were really lucky to get a clear day, so the Buddha and the view were clearly visible.

This shot gives some context to the size of brass Buddha statue.

Tai O fishing village is located on one side of Lantau Island. The village has all sorts of dried seafood, and included in this pic are some of the stilt houses.

Anyone hungry?

The view of Hong Kong Island from the ICC observation floor (Sky100) - 100 floors up!

Times Square - Hong Kong style!

Macau

Talk about contrast. Residential buildings below with hotels and casinos in the background. There is no shortage of luxury hotels and casinos in this place.



Despite there being so many things to see and do here, we're glad we were able to relax a bit at our hotel too. The customer service here was really good and the hotel was really relaxing. Definitely a good half-way point in our holiday.

The main sqaure in Macau - Largo do Senado. You can definitely see the Portuguese influence in the architecture here. At one end of the square are various ancient ruins and forts.

 On a Tuesday night... I don't think there is any such thing as a weekend here...

The ruins of St Paul's. Only the front facade remains. There are other ancient ruins here, but we were there at night and couldn't see much.

Picture perfect view of Macau by night. The Grand Lisboa definitely adds a touch of luxury to the place.


Singapore

Raffles Hotel - full of history.

View of Singapore from the Flyer - in the foreground is one of the luxury gated residential communities. $1-2m for a 3 bedroom condo in one of these!

 

Marina Bay Sands - world famous. The three hotels are 5 star rated. Singapore only has 2 6 star hotels - The Fullerton, and the Ritz Carlton. Raffles is rated separately as there are no hotel rooms as such - they are all presidential suites.

The Singapore Flyer - worth a fly on a clear day.

 



Clarke Quay - great food and great entertainment.



Kings and Queens of the Jungle - lions at the Night Safari.

Shoppers on Orchard Road.