Friday, July 27, 2012

Don't fence me in!

QA was supposed to take place on the house today and we haven't heard otherwise so... no news is good news??? The renderers were there yesterday redoing some of the damaged bits so we are assuming that it was the last thing to tick off before QA today.


Anyway, my new motto is "less hurry, less worry" not just pertaining to the house but to our rather hectic life. I'm not going to stress over the house, its just not worth losing my sanity!


Progress was made elsewhere this week with our two new side fences and rear retaining wall being completed. We rang numerous fencing companies and it seriously took about 4 weeks to get a quote out of most of them, many simply didn't bother to turn up or send through the quotes. It must have been a sign as in the end Cam rang Shane from S & M Fencing (ha ha ha for those of you with a dirty mind/reading 50 shades of grey) and he sent us through the quote in good time. Work was completed promptly and to a fantastic level


The quality of the work completed by Shane and his guys was impeccable and we can't recommend them highly enough. They are in the process of launching a new website which will go live in the next few weeks www.smfencing.com.au  In the meantime, you can like them on Facebook SMFencing or call Shane and his team on (03) 8719 0668. They complete all types of paling fences, retaining walls, picket fences and gates. If you are in Melbourne and looking for a fencer, you cant go past them!


The proof of their quality work is show below!








Hopefully by Monday we will have some more exciting news of an impending PCI...

Kirst

Monday, July 23, 2012

301 days and counting...

After venting last week about the lack of progress and a rather terse 45 minute conversation with our SS taking him to task over the hold-ups, we are pleased to report that on the 301st day of our build quite a lot has been accomplished.


On Friday the stove and hot water service were installed (but not mentioned by the SS that morning... did he even know???). They are lookin' good.




Today the carpet people came back to redo the joins alongside the timber floors and the painters were back to touch up a bit more.


The block has also been cleaned up mostly at the front and the bin cage is gone!!! 


Hooray for progress :)


Kirst

Thursday, July 19, 2012

The 'C' word

Yes, it's well overdue that we talk about the 'C' word - COMMUNICATION!


Quite a long word really, so it's possible not everyone can comprehend (another classic 'C' word) exactly what it means.


Just to help out, the Oxford Dictionary online meaning of communication is as follows "the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or some other medium"


Doesn't sound that hard now does it?


Oh and for those interested in what's happening on our build, the update is not quite that straight forward. With next to no communication with our SS (one phone call that was returning my call) it's hard to say. We did drop by ourselves last weekend and as the house was not locked (again), we did inspect and it appeared to be exactly the same as it was 3 weeks ago. QA scheduled nearly two weeks ago was even cancelled. Why? I hear you ask...
We are just the owners and more importantly the CLIENTS (another important 'C' word) so why would that be communicated to us. One exception to none existing work is the 'new' floor boards were installed a few weeks back but are yet to be finished off.


Hopefully I can communicate more to you next time.


Cam

Monday, July 16, 2012

Hitting the Shops

Last week was my final week of school holidays and during the past few weeks I have made a lot of purchases for the new house. I purchased the following



Beacon Lighting -" Yvette" 500mm Drum Pendant with gold diffuser and chrome ceiling plate. There will be two of these above the dining table

We are having a custom made recycled timber table, 2.4m x 1.2m with flush edges in English Oak Stain. The wood is salvaged from homes over 100 years old in Melbourne that are being demolished. The tables are absolutely stunning and come directly from the manufacturer - Glory Days Furniture in Epping. Because they are not retail, the prices are about 1/3 of what they are in the shops and the finish is comparable to the beautiful tables I looked at in Mark Tuckey and other designer furniture joints.

These glossy beauties will accompany the table. We are getting these from Milan Direct as per the deal I told you about last post. There is only ONE day to go on this amazing deal. Make sure you follow our specific link below to find out more.

http://www.livingsocial.com/deals/401712?rpi=69636212&ref=personalized-link-box-69636212&rui=27087097

These are replica Xavier Pauchard Tolix Stools are going to sit at the island bench. The colours looks sensational together and are perfect for our young, fun family.


I think it is safe to say with the curtain quote and landscaping quote both arriving last Thursday, Cam has put a moratorium on all spending for the time being...so there wont be anything until closer to handover.

Speaking of handover. Nothing was really done over the past few weeks and QA may happen next Monday if our SS gets his lazy butt into gear...we shall see. So much to do still and it appears that Metricon aren't that fussed about finishing our house and getting us the keys...

Hopefully, when Cam sees our SS on site on Wed morning, we will have more positive news to share, but I'm not holding my breath!


Kirst




Friday, July 13, 2012

New furniture, great deal!!!

I could help but share this excellent deal Cam and I purchased last night through group purchasing mob Living Social.

It is a voucher for home wares/furniture at one of Australia's biggest online furniture stores, Milan Direct. We were looking at purchasing some replica chairs from here anyway so this was a deal too good to pass up.

Essentially it is purchasing anything from Milan Direct at 50% off.

Our voucher was $499 to buy $1050 worth of goods. For that money, we can get 12 dining chairs and a lamp.

Delivery is extra and for these 13 items is roughly $100 from NSW to Melbourne.

They have vouchers in lots of smaller amounts and you can buy as many as you want but only use one at a time.

Follow the link below to find out more! But hurry as the deal finishes in a few days.

http://t.livingsocial.com/deals/401712?ref=email-jp&rpi=69636212

Have a great weekend!
Kirst

Monday, July 9, 2012

Curtain call.

This afternoon I met the curtain lady on site to discuss and measure the blinds and curtains for the house.


I am really happy with the decisions made but now we have to wait and see what the price of all of it is!


Here are a few photos of the fabrics chosen.


The gorgeous stripy fabric for the little boy's 'big boy room in the future' This was a special swatch ordered in by the great ladies at Victory Blinds who searched high and low for it to meet my specific request. This room with be a roman blind with navy blue pelmet to match.

The big boys room is going to be a plain green (his favourite colour) with matching pelmet. This is going to match the dinosaur themed room he has his heart set on.

Most of the house will be roller blinds which are translucent (downstairs) and opague (upstairs) in the colour above which is charcoal (it looks a little brown in the picture). These will be set inside the window frames so the architraves are still shown. These are also a great ecofriendly sustainable product, lighter and have excellent thermal properties.



Finally here is the fabric choice for the sheer curtains in the sitting room and master bedroom. I decided on white translucent blind for the sitting room windows and ripple fold on a silver rod. Upstairs in the master bedroom we have having a light grey block out with the sheers in a triple pinch pleat on a double track as it looks better.


I decided not to have the ripple fold upstairs as it wasn't able to be ceiling mounted because of the cornices and the consultant thought it would look a bit of a dogs breakfast (lol...her words!). The fabric is Maurice Kain Aston in Metallic


Hopefully the price of all of this isn't too much... I love it all so much.


In other news all the scheduled work last week didn't take place so there still hasn't been QA. Disappointing! The floorboards are down at least and today whilst I was there the sparkies were doing a final check so we cant be too far away... I HOPE!


Kirst
xxx



Monday, July 2, 2012

Inching closer...


Last week painting was touched up for the 4th or 5th time. The plumbing was also completed. Our SS is on annual leave this week but he has still scheduled the following to occur in preparation for QA.

·         Cook Top in,
·         Drains all connected,
·         Fire surround installed
·         Bamboo Floorboards to be installed again.
·         New front door handle installed,
·         Renderers back to fix up the façade.

QA booked for Friday 6th if all above done, if not then it will be pushed til Mon 9th/Tues 10th.

Depending on what they find we could have PCI the following week and Handover not long after, perhaps before the end of July. WOOT WOOT!

In the meantime, I'm trying to organise the lovely ladies at Victory Curtains and Blinds to come and measure and quote for blinds. I'm thinking of the following in the main bedroom and sitting room surrounding the Jetmaster.



Source: Houzz - http://www.bandgdesign.com/


Source: Houzz -  http://www.rs3designs.com/residential/index.html 



I also purchased the following digital photo print from an art auction Breast Cancer Fundraiser last friday night. Not sure where I am going to put it, but I really loved it.


Kirst
xx