Driveway

Today the driveway concrete was poured. We decided on black which looks great against the house. The garage roller shutter door was also fitted last week so the front is almost finished now. They also lay concrete down the two sides of the house (paths) and the screening louvers were fitted at the side of the house too. This series of photos shows the stages to completion and the final one of the concrete pump, explains why the guys refused to do the work last week when they turned up and we said they could use a barrow to move the cement round the sides. They had bigger ideas!

We lost a lot of time this week because of the public holiday on Monday. No-one was back to work till wed. and then the wood for the carpenter was delayed so he couldn't begin. Still waiting for it.

Ensuite

The bathrooms were (supposedly) finished today because the grout was done. But when we went to look, the tiling isn't actually complete. There is lots of fiddley cutting in that still needs to be done. So still messy stuff plus more plumbing too. This pic is the feature wall tile and shower in our ensuite. (This is the shower I wanted for our downstairs bathroom and I couldn't have...Everything comes to she who waits :)

Picture of our spa bath. It's a double, and still needs the panel and step fitting to the side. As you can see, it doesn't quite fit (bit short)...but still, at least it made it into the bathroom in one piece. The bath taps/spout is also the one that took an extra month (on top of the 4 months) to source and deliver.

Bathroom tiles

A sneak peek at the floor and wall tiles for our bathrooms. Still need grouting and then bathroom furniture fitting. Hopefully finished by end of the week.

Once this is done then the 'messy' trades are over and we can think about putting the carpets in upstairs and the floorboards in downstairs.

Had a quote for curtains for our bedroom today, with a matching fabric bedhead for our bed. At $4,000, will be looking around!

Render

The first stage of the render was applied on the 29th Sept. This had to be hosed down daily ready for the finish coat. One week later and the boundry walls were finished. Now just needs painting.

The next major milestone outside is to concrete the drivelway and the side paths. This was supposed to happen this week but there was a delay because they didn't have the right pump and now it will be end of next week before they can come back. This obviously puts us back because no one can walk on the driveway till it's dry. Other set backs this weeks include the national holiday, so no one coming until at least Wed. But on the bright side, we finally found a carpenter who starts on Tuesday and needs 6 days to finish all the skirting, door jams and stairs.

New Fence

Finally got the go ahead form the landlord of the property next door to erect a new boundry fence. That means we can now think about getting the pool guys back to finish off because previously they had refused quoting OH&S reasons. We have pumped the rainwater from the pool too.

Front

The front entrance has been modified slightly to make the stairway wider. We have built the wall a little higher and raised the front wall too. These will all be rendered and painted the same colour, contrasting slightly to the house facia. There will be glass balustrade to complete the entrance. We also plan to have an awning and possible porch but that will have to be in stage two as the budget for this part has run dry.

The stairs are still not finished and we have a huge mound of bricks in the driveway. Why is it that tradesmaen can't come and do a job in one hit? It's a bit like pulling pints here. There is some stupid rule that you have to turn the tap off half way through then turn it on again and finish pouring? Note a hint of frustration creeping in here? :)

The front door is still on for security, but the doorway has been made larger to allow a larger, more impressive door.

Bathrooms

We have had major headaches with the bathrooms. Firstly, after the plumbing and waterproofing was finished, the plumber checked the tech specs of the bath that arrived from Germany and found the floor waste is not quite right and the drain needed recutting and therefore the waterproofing guy needed to come back.

Then the bath in the kids room needed a special frame which wasn't delivered so this put us further back because the tiler won't start until everything is ready as he wants to hit both bathrooms at once. The recess for shampoo etc has been cut and will be tiled with the mosaics.

The business end

Haven't posted for a while, as I didn't feel like there was much happening. However looking at where we are today we really are getting to the pointy end of the project and the following are all finished:

*All gyprock walls have been completed including dividing wall up the staircase and fireplace with shelving surrounds;
*the bathrooms have been waterproofed ready for tiling.
*Bathroom furniture has been delivered;
*Internal painting has started;
*external painting of side wall and back beams complete (although we are not happy with the colour at the back - it's decidedly different to what we expected);
*bubble-gum to all joints and gaps around windows etc has been completed (although they forgot to do one place along the roof beam and we got water in the bedroom last weekend after heavy rain).
*Roof capping finished (although roofer needs to return and replace 2 missing tiles);
*garage concrete slab has been laid but the dimensions are larger than planned so the roller shutter garage door has to be refabricated to fit;
*front garden flattened ready for landscaping

Today the electricians were back to finish all internal wiring. The new powerpole in the garden is all wired up and a new electrical panel installed on the opposite side of the house.

The rain last weekend has filled the pool and waterlogged the garden area, underneath the house and the side courtyard. So tomorrow we have hired a pump to clean up.

Hiccups and fixups

Somehow, we had overlooked the need for pipework for the sinks under the kitchen window. Had to pull flooring up to get pipework in. Small hiccup.

Another fix up pictured here is in the front kids bedroom. Brace has been removed so we can construct a built-in bookcase. Glass yet to be replaced with alucobond externally but framing complete internally ready to receive gyprock.

inside and out

This is the internal courtyard area - the holes in the bricks are for a water feature. Downpipes and cladding of open gable of 'old' roof is now complete. Still need to do soft linings and eaves. The whole areaalso needs waterproofing and the rain-water tank needs to be installed and concreted over. This window looks into hallway and 'open-sided' family-room.

Another area that is now ready for waterproofing is our ensuite. Pictured here the louvered windows and main window with walls ready for tiling.

bits and bobs

This is a bit of a silly photo really as it just looks like a load of jumbled up wires....which is exactly what it is. But just to report that the power, light, AV, data, phone, and security rough-in to all rooms is almost complete.

And this too - the AC fan coil indoor unit. Installed in ceiling space of walk in robe in our room to service upstairs rooms. I hope it's not too noisy?

This is the view from the doorway of one of the kids bedrooms. It looks tiny from this angle...hope we can fit a bed in there. The bulkhead is rather large but covers the aircon and other pipes.


And finally the ceilings over the kitchen and dining room are in now. Can't do ceiling in back 3rd ofopen plan room until we build fireplace etc. Setting and sanding of all walls will hopefully begin next week.

ensuite and fireplace

no, we won't be having a log fire in the bathroom (although it would be nice). First shot is the rough-in of the cistern in our ensuite. It will be hidden in the joinery that will house the basin, but right now does look a little odd. The bath will go along the back wall.

Next picture is an idea we really like for the setting around the fireplace in the living room.

Internal walls

Walls upstairs sheeted. Hopefully start bathroom wall linings today and ceilings by end of week. Need to do big cleanup on weekend.

This is the corner of the kitchen where the walk-in pantry is. In that corner we are thinking of putting the fish tank and making a photo gallery...or something similar.

The next steps for the pool are: coping tiles, mosaic tiles, pool plant, lining, fence. The glass fence needs to go down first however so that the tiling canmarry in with that, so we actually need to lock in a tiler, and buy the extra tiles for the back area before we can move ahead with the pool. Still hoping that there will be water in it before summer begins.

The courtyard rainwater tank also needs to be completed.

Looking in

not much to say except...wow....and...'how much glass?'

Still a long way to go but feeling like home already.

a lot of glass

This is the view out from the back kids bedroom. The glaziers have mistakenly put glass to floor level rather than Alucabond panelling in. Although it looks lovely, I don't think it's practical (or safe) from a childrens bedroom perspective. Not to mention the nightmare (and cost) of curtains.

Living room wall

Electrical rough in complete. Have opted for C-Bus (a microprocessor-based control and management system for the whole house) rather than the more conventional light switches etc.

Plasma will go to right side of wall. Thinking whether finances can stretch to a fireplace now, or whether to at least put all provisions in place for fireplace to be put in later. We can install to left side of wall.

The window to the left of the picture is the door leading onto the internal courtyard.

pool and internal walls

Need to think about next steps for pool; finalise coping tiles, mosaic tiles, pool plant, lining, fence (etc)

Gyprocker to start ceilings tomorrow and it is estimated to take 10 days to complete.

This is the upstairs hallway wall looking form the kids bedrooms.

kitchen

Joinery contractors are stopping in for a final site measure tommorow then locking into workshop. Aiming for 1st wk September to install. Timing should work well with other trades, finishes (etc). The only finish that hasn't been finalised is the bench tops. We are going with a caesar stone but want to see a bigger sample of Latte, Cashmere and Ginger in order to finalise. He will have these available by end of week. This will not hold things up as he can start with carcass etc.

Summarising finishes, we have woody grain looking veneer for overhead cupboard, white poly below bench drawers, benchtops as mentioned above. Mentioned routing in draining board and bin drawer. Decided to keep wine rack as is and making cross pieces / rack etc a feature with the same veneer as overhead cupboards. We have plenty of room in cupboards for spirits so no need for a separate spirits cabinet.

Behind the red wallon the right is the walk in pantry. To the left of kitchen are the windows overlooking the pool.

looking out

some of the windows are now in - that's been delayed due to MORE rain. The ceiling and wall frames are continuing ready for gyprock, air conditioning ductwork rough in and electrical wiring.

Ist pic is from our bedroom looking through the walk in 'robe, through the ensuite, through the stairwell and out over the top of the single story at the front of the house.

This one is the view from the open plan back room to the garden. At this angle, it looks like we will step out of the back door and straight into the pool. The remaining garden also looks miniscule. Let's hope the camera isplaying tricks on us!

Progress

These latest photos show how far we have come. The back view looks a whole lot cleaner as the concreting has been finished to level the back yard and marry in with the pool. Window frames are all in and glass is being fitted next week.




Roof tiles have been changed on front of house (to match slate grey tin roof at back). Garage is complete and all brickwork finished. So once we render and paint the facade there will be some evidence of uniformity.


Next job to start is airconditioning and electric rough in. We also need to square away the kitchen design and colours. At this stage we will have top cupboards in a dark wood-like polyeurathane and bottom cupboards in white poly. The splashback will be white glass and the benchtop in a chocolate stone.

Have purchased new bedroom furniture for Ela's room. The Georgie Range from Treehouse.