Fix-ups

Whilst Brian (SS) had last day on the house yesterday, all went fairly well with both him and his supervisor not picking anything different up so that's pretty reassuring.

Today the plasterers came and did their thing with the (fix-ups), and we had the bathroom fixtures finally installed...hooray. All the internal door handles were put on bar the LIN 1 doors. Apparently they haven't arrived as yet so hopefully they'll come on Monday.

Monday looks to be like its going to be a pretty big day with the shower screens and mirrors getting installed...now I'll finally get to see the bathrooms finished completely. The painters are also expected on Monday to repaint the fix-ups and apart from that, all there'll be left to do is install the fly screens,  install the hot water and the appliances.

I've spent most of today happily packing, (mostly kitchen stuff) and counted all the boxes so far...12 large, crikey I've got some sh1t!

And, I've just started on the office stuff, I'm already on my 5th box!
I think I'm gunna need these last 2 weeks just to get through all the packing lol. Thank god it's school holidays as of next Thursday...I'm going to put the boys to good use.

I'm still unsure of how I feel about the timber battens on the facade and whether they're too dark. To me it makes it look as though they're not timber and have been painted with normal dark coloured paint instead of stained with a Merbau stain gosh, we paid enough money for them!

I guess in time they'll grow on me, I just have to imagine how it'll look once we have the driveway, turf and gardens in, and think positive!

The pool you have when you have no pool...

It's been a while since my last post oops, but since the electricians finished off what they had to do last thursday, nothing's been happening :(

We had the roof insulation being done while the sparkie's were installing the alarm and intercom and that was it....nothing Friday and nothing today.

Check this out...

We've made headlines again, well MJH fb headlines at least!

They seem to be really impressed by the way the house is taking shape...woohoo!

Taken from my post on the 19th

I can see clearly now...

the rain has gone...hahahahahaha.

Well I've just come back from visiting my beautiful home and thought I'd share some pics with you. I went to bunnings to get some 'butchers' packing paper and some tape for the boxes (I'm soooooo eager to start packing) when I thought I'd do my usual  drive-by to see what would (if anything) be happening today. 

Thanks Giving...

No I don't mean the kind with the turkey and all the trimmings, I mean the kind of thing you say when you appreciate something or someone.

I started this blog a month ago (late bloomer), in hopes to help others going through the building process and share some of our trials and tribulations.

After reading the many blogs that both helped and interested me during our build, I have wanted to do the same for someone else out there in cyber world.
Not knowing how to start a blog myself, I kept a diary as a reference to look back on in many years to come and took note of all the shoulda, woulda, coulda's.

Then one day I decided to give blogging a go and (after I don't know how many attempts), low and behold...I now have a blog.

Having that diary is why I was able to reference right back to the start especially with dates. With family a long way away it also keeps them updated with our build which is extremely important to me, there's only so many photos one can send in an email!

There were some days during the beginning (paperwork) where I had been frustrated to no end, but it's not until you get to the stage we're up to now, that you can understand why it takes sooooooo long and it eventually becomes a distant memory. 

There is so much to consider when building and sometimes you get it right the first time and sometimes you don't.
There is no point in rushing it because that's where the big mistakes lie, you have to trust that your builder knows what they're doing all the time, how many homes have they built after all!

Mind you, I never took this approach at the start, I was constantly on the phone wanting answers to my many questions, why,why,why,why,why?
The answer is simple...sometimes it's out of their control.

So far we've only made 1 boo boo (that's pretty damn good), the linen cupboard does not have anywhere to store my ironing board! Because we changed the configuration of the laundry which in turn made the linen cupboard smaller, instead of having straight shelves, we now have a u-shape shelf system. Not to worry, I just have to hang it up on the back of the linen door - see problem solved!  It was either that or cut some of the shelves to make room and I didn't want to do that besides, part of the cupboard will house the AV system for the home theatre behind..clever. 

I thank my followers and all of my viewers (almost 3000) from all over the world including the US, Canada, Ukraine, South Korea, Germany and the UK for watching our build with interest. 
I thank you all for posting your lovely comments and well wishes.

And without further ado...
I'd like to thank you Brian our site supervisor for all that you have done for us...you have been nothing short of a 'BLOODY LEGEND'
I thank the team behind the scene that deserve a mention whom ever you are
I thank our CLO Jenni, who no doubt has had a well earned break from all of my whining
I thank our colour consultant Erin...your a star!
I thank all of the wonder tradesman who have done a fantastic job...we couldn't be happier
I thank the draftsman who managed to draft the beautiful home we will have the very pleasure of living in in 3 weeks time
I thank Stewart Everit whoever you are for the beautiful home design (sorry for making so many changes)
I thank Bill McDonald for his patience with my impatience (I know it wasn't easy)
And most of all, I thank my wonderful husband for not only giving me full rein (with at least the inside of the house) but trusting in me to create our dream home for without you, this would not be possible. Love you babe to the moon and back. 

The Christmas Tree...

We drove up to the house tonight and purposely walked in front of the garage (sensor) to see if the lights would turn on....and they did! The whole house lit up like a christmas tree...I loved it

Comments:

Renai. Roberts - Looks awesome! You must be so happy and so anxious to move in.

Renai. Roberts - Did you see this on Facebook? here

You light up my life!

Oh my god I had the best afternoon looking at my awesome lights just before the wonderful Sam left for the day.

I have to give praise where praise is due, and boy has he worked his magic on our house!

Great job Sam and team, and great job to you MJH

Take a look at my Saturn Horizon Range here....I just love them!

I've been looking forward to seeing these...I just looooooove them

The long awaited message...

I can't begin to tell you how long I've waited to get these messages....now it really does feel like we're nearing the end woo hoo. Now to start packing! 

Why thank you McDona lol 

Comments:

M. Azim - Congrats Michelle, Not Long now. Hopefully we get the same message soon.Good Luck

Me - Thanks Muhammad I'm sure you'll be in by xmas, you are only about a week behind us.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Nearing the end!

The painters have finished with the last of the painting jobs done, all the doors have been painted and are now ready to have the handles put on.

The LIN 1 doors have had a 2nd coat of stain and look a real treat. The skirting's and architraves have had their final coats as well. The only thing left for them to do (whenever they can) is the battens on the pavilion, which may need to be replaced due to the dam rain.

Once the guttering's have some end caps put on them, that'll stop any water running from the guttering onto the battens. I guess when they cut them to make way for the battens to go on, they didn't expect any rain let alone last as long as it did.

I'm sure they'll have it all fixed by the time we have hand over. I just can't wait to see them stained and hopefully they tie in with the colour of the entry door! I'm not sure they'll use the same stain on the Merbau so it maybe a slightly different colour, or maybe they just use a clear lacquer.

I'll just have to wait and see.

The electricians will do the final fix-out today, hopefully the rain stays away so they can put the external lights up.


The only things left to do now are the bathroom finishes and a clean up....soooooo can't wait to see my tiles all cleaned and the mirrors on, the shower screens are just the semi frameless so I'm not so excited to see them.

Light me up!

Well it was an exciting day on Saturday. 

We had Sam and his team at the house nice and early to do the electrical fix-out. 

We went to have a look just before they finished, when they said that they will be back on Tuesday to finish off. 

They did a great job with everything, including the 89 down lights, and most of the Clipsal Saturn Horizon power points and switches. 

They even had time to put in a few data points which also looked magic.

The pp's on the splash back look good as they pretty much blend into it (a perfect colour choice I thought), which is exactly what I wanted them to do . 

I can't wait to see it all finished and get to turn my lights on for the first time...I reckon they'll see our house from outa space!

 

I'm so excited...

What a productive day. We had the plumbers on board nice and early installing the baths, tapware, WC's and shower heads, I was expecting the painters to be back to finish off but they must have decided to have a day off (and they deserve it) but I'm sure they'll be back on Monday.

The carpenters were still working away when we decided to have a little sticky this afternoon...woo hoo my shelving is done in the pantry, linen and all the robes including our walk-in.

As soon as we walked into the kitchen I nearly fell over...there it was shining like the star that it is, my beautiful splashback.

I've been counting down the days until I saw what I believe is the ultimate in glass splash-backs and I couldn't be happier. I know I've said it before of how happy I am with everything, but it's not until you see everything come together and when you can finally breathe a sigh of relief...then you know you've put together a truly beautiful home.

We've been extremely impressed with our SS in making sure we are on track for hand over and not forgetting how impressed we are of the outcome of the house so far. Thank you MJH for building us a home we can be very proud of.

WARNING...PHOTO BOMB!

I'm in love again...

Just one look...that's all it took, and I was swooning over my newly stained doors. I fell in love all over again this afternoon and what an amazing team we have in these painters...bloody brilliant!

Although the timber battens weren't done, I was too impressed with my front door to care. They may come back tomorrow to finish the front off, then I'll probably fall in love all over again.

As I mentioned before with the rain dripping from the gutters, you can see the water mark it left on the wall just to the right of the door. It's the same on the other side of the pavilion but the SS assures us that it will be fixed.

All the walls are complete with the 2 coats of 'Phantom Dream' as well as the skirting's having their 2nd coat of paint applied. I was almost in tears when I saw the LIN 1 doors and how they've come up, now they really do tie in quite nicely with our 'Balinese Theme', and that entry door...don't get me started lol.

It maybe just me, but I think our theatre doors look like your in a Japanese tea house or something...awesome!

I took some pics of the bathrooms as I wasn't sure if the wall colour would wash the vanities out but it looks amazing with that subtle hint of grey. I think once the mirrors and baths go in and the rest of the plumbing is done, then it should look awesome.


Can't wait 'till Saturday when the electricians come and do the fix-out and see all the lights in...and the saturn switches and power points of course.

see the water mark on the paintwork just to the right of the door

4 weeks to go!

We're almost finished with the painting now, the only thing they have to do today is the staining to the LIN 1 doors, the front door and the timber on the pavilion.

After seeing the walls with their 2nd coat on, you can see the subtle hint of grey which is perfect for when I do the feature walls in the 'Dulux Ruku', it should tie in quite nicely.

With only 4 weeks until hand over and 2 weeks for the house to be completed, it's looking like we are on track.

The electricians are due to come back for the fix-out tomorrow and will be there on saturday as well, can not wait to see what the saturn switches and pp's will look like and I'm hoping that the splashback will go in before then because we have 2 pp's in it so that will have to be installed today!!

I forgot to take some photos of the bathrooms to see the colour of the walls against the vanities so I'll just have to go back this avo and take them then...who knows, maybe i'll be surprised with what they do today!!!

Entry

Laundry: would've loved to have had the door stained but now that I've seen it painted, the more I'd rather it not stand out like it would've done if stained!

The more we see the colour, the more we like it. It seems to change with the light though, sometimes it looks grey and other times it looks like it has a brownish tinge...best of both worlds!

Comments:

merrynamy - house is looking wonderful. cant wait for some splashback pictures :D 

Me -Thanks merryn, you and me both lol. I'm using all my will power not to go to see the house right now...it's killing me hehe. I sooooo hope it goes in today, I'm also wondering if the plumbing fit-out will be done as well or maybe that'll be done next week.....that's when the photo bombs will really start :) 

Painting..painting..painting

Well yesterday saw a very productive day for our house. Not only did we have the painters doing their stuff..2nd coat to ceiling, but the air-con was put in as well!

Monday saw the painters patching the walls (we noticed all the pink patches of plaster where the marks were over the weekend) and every wall was patched perfectly. They even had time to fill the holes on the architrave's and skirting's ready to be painted.

I soooooo can't wait to see it all finished, I'm hoping the paint colour isn't too light and make the bathroom colours wash out.

I was hoping my splashback would be in by now but they must be waiting for the painting to be finished before they put it in. Can't wait to see what it looks like against the doors and benchtops.

After having all the rain over the last couple of days, the timber on the pavilion (not stained and sealed yet) has been getting extremely wet on the return walls from the guttering not being capped off on the ends, so the water run off has marked the walls with a brownish (timber) stain and looks horrible.
Our SS is aware of it and is having it fixed pronto, just hope it hasn't damaged the wood and they have to replace it.

Apart from that, everything is going great guns and we couldn't be happier.

4 weeks to go from tomorrow...yippee!

Comments:

J. Chadwick - That's such bad luck, there's nothing worse than seeing pain work ruined from water run off, I hope they can fix it before it gets worse Michelle 

Me - I know Jenny, but the SS is aware of it and said that the guy that installed the guttering hadn't capped it on the end of the Pavilion return because he had to leave it short for the Merbau slats to go on later. Now that they're on, it jut means that they have to come back to cap the guttering which is no big deal but unfortunate that it leaked with the heavy rain that we had. I'm not too worried because it looks like an easy enough fix. 

Moroka #2

After not being able to see the house for a couple of days, we took a look late this afternoon, Our first reaction was "Oh...ok". Still trying to workout wether it was shock, disappointment, relief or happiness.

I kind of expected the colour to be what it is... greyish, but when I saw the first little bit go on under the eaves, it looked to be a brownish tone, so I guess that threw me a bit.

Geoff on the other hand had a totally different idea of the colour he thought it would be....more brown than grey.

It's definitely something that'll grow on us, once we put the gardens, lawn and driveway in it'll look so much better, and when the house is all cleaned and the rubbish removed, well we know what a difference that'll make.

The timber battens were finished off around the left side of the pavilion too and looks so much better. I'm still at a loss as to why it was left unfinished for sooooo long but at least it's done now and we don't have to look at the 'Ugly Spot' ever again.
The photos don't do it anywhere near the justice that it deserves but I did use my iPhone and not my DSLR!

Moroka

We had the start of the moroka painting on the house yesterday morning. The painters said they'll have it done by Saturday...woo hoo then they'll continue the rest of the painting inside.

I was ecstatic to see what they achieved by yesterday afternoon. The front had green goop painted over the render, and the top 2 bricks down under the eaves around the sides and back, were done in 'Dune' and looked fabulous.

It changed from a greyish colour to a brownish colour depending on the light from the setting sun.

When I went around to the alfresco, it was almost finished (not that there's much to do), and once again, I found myself swooning.


Here's a few of the pics I took

see the left hand side of the pavilion - the brickies have to come back (hopefully today) to put some bricks where the pink board is, they assumed it would have the board on it to hold the battens (see pic below) but they only go to the edge of where the bricks are now, that way the renderers can come and finish and then the front can be painted and the eaves finished off as well....phew!

Benchtops and Basins

Geoff sent me a message that he had gotten from MJH saying that the painting has now commenced at the house today. I was so happy because the painters told us last week, that they wouldn't be starting on ours for another couple of weeks.

Just before noon, I got a call from Brian (now think confused), who said that the painters will be there just after lunch to do the first coat then he will inspect it for faults and have them fixed before they continue....woo hoo, finally something's getting done.

We went to take a look at what they done later in the afternoon and found that they done more than just paint, they had installed the benchtops and basins woohoo!