the countdown is on!!!

This is the feature wall, a bit hard to get the real colour in the picture but it gives you an idea.

Only 2 more days to go and the house is ours!!! Hooray!! They are still finishing up but it will be done. The painter is busy today finishing up all the spots where the other workers have chipped bits off and putting the last coats on the front door. The feature wall looks really great and he has fixed the paint colour on the front of the house. The kitchen is done, apart from a broken tile under where the dishwasher goes. The plumber is supposed to be there today to fix the broken pipes for the storm water and the fence guy is there today putting up our side fence. It is all systems go!! We have one problem that the builder picked up on yesterday, the wrong colour garage door has gone up, so that will have to be changed but may not be until after xmas but that is okay as they have noticed and rang us and asked what we wanted to do. We spent an hour just wandering around in it this morning trying to plan gardens and blinds etc!! So much still to do, but we will be there by Friday come hell or high water!!

The kitchen glass splashback is a deep crimson red, also a bit hard in the photos, it almost looks black.

8 days to go!!!!

Almost there!!!

Everything is looking pretty good. All that is left is the carpet has to be laid, the glass splashback has to be installed, feature wall painted, security screens to go up and the gas put on (which is supposed to happen today). There is also the matter of a few small problems which are going to be fixed if they haven`t already. The painter still has to repaint a part of the front of the house which he painted the wrong colour, the electrician has to come back and install some more lights as he mistakenly didn`t give us a batten light over the kitchen bench (and we were going to install some strip halogen lights there) so a repair would have to be done to the ceiling so it was decided by all that the best solution was just to install some more down lights over the bench. The other problem is the plumber has done a check on the storm water pipes and discovered the 1 hole we thought we had is in fact 4 or 5 so rather than patch it up he is going to dig it up and replace the pipes in that section - thank goodness for cameras that go down drains!!

D day is next Thursday and then we get to go through the house with the builder and see if we can spot any defects. Derek went through with him on Monday and said that the builder saw a lot more spots than he did so he is quite confident that in the main it will be fine next week. We will begin to move in Thursday afternoon and the main move will be Friday.We are very excited, can`t wait to be out of this house!!

bathroom and kitchen almost there

The kitchen is almost finished. the oven and cook top were being installed yesterday, Can`t wait for the red glass splash back to go up so we can have a look.
The bathrooms are also almost finished, waiting on all the glass.

we have colour!!

Today the plumbers are hard at work as are the electricians. The inside is beginning to take shape very quickly now. Derek visited yesterday while it was raining and discovered that we had a broken pipe from the storm water, he said it was shooting up like a geyser!! Good thing he went down, the other thing he noticed was that the painter had been back and had made a start on the front of the house and got one of the colours wrong!!! Phone calls to the building supervisor this morning assured us that the plumbers were aware of where the problem was and said it was caused by the guys who boxed up the slab - they stuck a star picket through it!! It will be fixed as will the paint, if it ever stops raining!!!! Thank goodness most of the work is on the inside now as I am beginning to think we are hardly ever going to get many fine days to run together again. As I speak there is more thunder!! I think you will all be shocked by the colours of our house as we decided to go very bright as everyone around us is very dull and routine. Derek says we look like the party house!!Tell us what you think. At least you will be able to find us easily. I think it looks great. The colour that has to be changed is the one that goes around the front door, it is meant to be the same as the poles, cranberry, not the same as the front of the house.

we have a date!!! Hooray!!

Our water views!!!!


We finally have a handover date - the 18th December. We will be moving in for xmas!! It will be a rush but we will be so happy!!
There still appears to be quite a bit of work to be done, but they assure us it will be finished. The electricians will be there this week, as we have to take the cooker down on Wednesday and the plumbers are also supposed to be there. The painter has been delayed by all the rain, so hopefully he will also be back this week. We went for a little visit today and found a window open so we sneaked in to have a look around (unfortunately I didn`t have my camera with me). The bathrooms look very good, all the tiling has been done and the vanities are in. I assume the sinks and the bath will go in this week when the plumber comes. The floor tiles look really good and they are all finished. On the outside we have the concrete pad down for the driveway and footpath, waiting for the pavers to be laid. I do have pictures of that! We also have very nice waterviews at present due to all the rain we have had up here. Luckily our property has had no damage but there have been a few places in the estate that have had a lot of fences and walls blown down.

it is so white (2)

Went down to the house today to meet with the tiler. While I was there the painter showed me where he had been painting outside and I have to say I was surprised, it looks so white!! We picked out what we thought was a pale grey but it sure looks white!! Hope it doesn`t turn out to be a mistake on our part!! Tomorrow, providing the rain stays away( which I doubt) he is going to do the colours on the front, goodness only knows what they will look like once they are on a large space!! More pictures on the weekend. He has finished the inside painting except for the feature wall which he will do once the tilers have finished.

The tiler is zooming along. When I saw him this morning to discuss the bathroom they had laid 2 rows of tiles down the centre of the house. I took Derek down this afternoon at 5.30 to show him the house colour ( and he also thinks it looks really white) and the living area looked to be almost all tiled and around the corner into the laundry!! It is amazing how fast they tile when there is a lot of workers!! Said he should be finished by Monday, I think they will be done by Friday at this rate.

Also noticed that the bathroom vanities have been installed and they look really good, very pleased with the colour. (not white)

It all looks very white!!

Well, where are we up to now? The outside is finished being built, just needs some paint ( and of course the garage doors). It looks like a real house now except for the back deck ( which will be finished once we move in.

The inside is well under way. The painter is very busy painting and tells us he will be finished by Wednesday afternoon as the tiler is due to begin tiling on Thursday!! So far it looks very white with the undercoat and none of our feature wall done yet. The kitchen is taking shape as is the laundry and the bathroom furniture is all in the middle of the lounge room floor waiting to be installed. Its all very exciting!!

Jack ( for anyone who is interested)

For those that are interested here is a little peek at our boy in action!! He gets around so fast now there is no stopping him and he wants to get into everything!!

what are we up to?

Sorry I have been a bit slack with my posts, but since we have reached lock up stage the progress seems to have slowed a bit!! Anyway we went down there today and unfortunately we couldn't get in ( hence the term lock up stage), however peeking through the windows (which is really hard as they put this coating all over the windows to stop you looking in, I`m sure) we did manage to see that we have kitchen cupboards and the sink is there waiting to be installed. We also have internal doors and all the wet areas (for the bathrooms and the laundry) have been sealed. As for the outside the front portico has been finished and the walls have been bagged though not painted yet. The down pipes have been connected (well some of them) to the drainage and we have a new side fence. So hooray for progress!!! I am going to go down this week when the workers are there so I can go inside and have a good look around ( especially at my kitchen). We also noted that the wood for the front of the house was there waiting to be nailed up.
As for the mysterious turf we have more, though as no one is watering it it is slowly dying!! The other thing we seem to be inheriting is peoples rubbish!! I don`t understand why people feel the need to dump their rubbish on my block of land eg old ironing board, microwave etc!! I want ctv footage so I can find them and dump it back at their house!!!

lock up!!

Well we are at lock up stage now, so now the inside needs to be completed. We are missing a bit of woodwork above the windows in the front of the house as well as the garage doors, but apparently you don`t need the garage doors if you have a lockable door from the garage into the house. Inside the walls are done and all the cornices are up, the skirting boards are waiting to be put up and all the internal doors are waiting to be hung. Hopefully by next week we will see some real progress inside.

mysterious turf!!!

Where did it come from? Why is is there? Its a mystery!!! Its even laid very neatly!!

bricks and walls

We have bricks and walls!! Hooray!! The brick work is about three quarters finished and should be finished this week and all the walls (plasterboard) are up. The cornices still have to be done as do the skirting boards but it sure is looking like a real house now!! We can get the feel of it now - especially the changes that we made. We weren`t sure about how our bedroom was going to look as we made changes to the built in wardrobe and added a sliding door, but it looks great much roomier than we had imagined. The other big change that we had made was the living - dining area as we had taken a chunk out of that to add to the garage, but it also looks fine. We just have to hope that the rain we have had on the weekend now goes away so the brickies can get back to work tomorrow. Every time we visit it becomes more apparent just how much work we will have to do when we move in . I am hoping maybe to get a landscaper in to draw a plan of what we want and then we can do it ourselves. We aren`t really sure what to do with the back area as it has varied heights to deal with. Oh well plenty of time to think about it all!!
I guess next up we will have the garage doors installed and then we won`t be able to get inside anymore to see what they are up to!! We will have to visit during the day while the workers are there.

just for you Carol!!!

Went by the house today (just for you Carol) and lo and behold the gas pipes were in and we have air conditioning ducts. They are huge. Derek was a little concerned by the piping for the water (from the air conditioning) so we have to talk to the builder as it appears that they go up so the water will have trouble finding its way out if it has to go uphill!! We will see what they say.

jack

Just an extra for anyone wanting to see Jacks progress!!

the speed of light!!

Well, I have to say these builders are working at the speed of light. Sometimes we almost think they must be there 24 hours a day!!! After only a week (since the roof went on) we now have insulation on the walls (that is the green stuff that you can see), windows, doors, the electrical wiring is done and the plumbing is done. Next (I think ) comes the brickwork, which I hope will be this week. So far there have only been 2 minor problems. The first was a powerpoint that wasn`t there. Greg the supervisor said no problem will ring the electrician and get him back asap, we will check on this of course as it was one we paid extra for as it wasn`t on the original plan. The second problem was the front door, which they discovered themselves- it didn`t fit into the space they had allocated for it, so it has been taken away to be redone. I guess it should reappear this week. I am trying not to get too excited about how quickly it is now progressing as it will only lead to disappointment and I know that the outside is the quickest part of the progress. The inside will seem to take forever!!

This is the alfresco area, as you can see we have plenty of doors. The door on my left is our bedroom and the others are the living and dining room areas.

This is the front of the house. The window on the left is Waynes bedroom, the next window along is the office ( 4th bedroom), then the portico and the garage. Where the roof slants at the front we are having wood slats.

This is the side of the house, the lounge and dining areas. The back of the garage is going to have a roller door for easy access to the backyard.

This is inside ( of course) the lounge dining area and looking into the back of the garage. Hope this gives you a good idea of our progress this week.

The roof is on so let it rain!!

The roof is now on so that makes everything a bit easier as the inside will be able to be worked on. We have been told the electrician should be there this week, and as it is supposed to rain tomorrow we have been lucky!! We were a bit worried about the severe storms we have had this week but so far so good. I just hope it doesn`t hail on our new roof, that would make us cry!!!

roof frame!!

Well, the roof frame is now up, next the roof!!

how surprised were we...........

After being told the frame would go up next week, we were certainly surprised on Saturday afternoon when we went down to the block to show some friends and found, hey presto, almost like magic, we had the beginnings of our frame!! No roof frame yet, but hey, this is a great start. The builders must have been in that morning and I have to give them credit, they worked through the mud, and boy was it muddy!! Some of their footprints looked like they had sunk up to their knees!!

Next visit to the site is Friday, when we go down to meet Greg the site supervisor. I can`t wait to see what they will be up to then. So far, once the building process has begun, I have to say that we have been very happy with Adenbrook, if they say it is going to be done by a date, it is either done by then or earlier.

As you can see in the first picture we are still going to have a rather nice view (you can`t see it from this picture but that is Stradbroke island in the background). Those big gaps you see in the frame are all windows!!

where is the frame?

We had high hopes that we would have a frame by this weekend, but due to some very wet weather it has been delayed. Our building supervisor rang today and said the frame should have gome up yesterday but it was way too wet. It should be be Monday or Tuesday now. Can`t wait.

yahoo!!! We have a slab!!

Well, true to their word we have a concrete slab!! We went for a drive past on Thursday just to see if there had bee any progress and the site was full of workers, very busy finishing up our concrete slab. They must have been there since the crack of dawn as we went past about 10.30 and they were on the final stages of smoothing out the concrete. Needless to say, we were amazed. Derk didn`t think there was any way it would happen so soon and even a day earlier than they has advied us. Next stage is the frame, hopefully real soon.

We went past again on Sunday to have a looksee without the workers and we were really pleased with how big it all appears, especially the al fresco area.

retaining walls and footings

We certainly had a surprise when we went to visit and found not only had the footings been done but we also had retaining walls. Yah!! Next milestone a concrete slab, which they promised within the week! Derek is very sceptical and wonders how it can be achieved in this time limit.