Pergatory ? ?

All of you in bloggyland are probably wondering what's going with us and our new home at the moment.

WE ARE IN PURGATORY/LIMBO/HALFWAY BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL!

4 days after PCI we were informed by our SS that there was no way we would have handover last Friday, despite the discussions we had with him at our inspection. Apparently a replacement door for the garage access was unavailable until Tuesday (tomorrow)! And in the last week not much has really happened as far as we can see.

We were told in no uncertain terms that we should not even expect to hear from our SS for another week and that his previous comments about definitely being given the keys by the end of the month no longer stood.  Unbelievable,  especially given we enquired about a realistic chance of handover within the month of August as we had to give notice on our rental - this was also made known to him.

At least SS has been true to one of his words and we have not heard hide nor hair from him for a whole week. This close to handover, to say we are devastated and frustrated is an understatement. 

It also appears our SS is dragging his feet purposely, having told Cam in a previous conversation that "he could make the process go as slow or as fast as he wants". We have flagged this unprofessional comment with our CSC who suggested that the best course of action was to speak with our CM. We have left him both email and voice messages and heard nothing. Another example of the poor communication that seems to be rife in this company (see previous post HERE). 

It has been 336 days since we first turned dirt. That's over 11 months and a far cry from the 8 months we were told by numerous SALES staff from Metricon.  

Tip to the new players: Don't believe the sales pitch or get the unrealistic build time written into your contract.

So we have given notice on our rental and need to be out by the first week of September. On top of this, Lachie (our 4 year old) is going to have his tonsils out in a weeks time. STRESSFUL... you betcha.

Watch this space. I hope to have some good news soon.

Kirsten
xxx

Give me a P, Give me a C, Give me an I....

That's right folks... this morning we finally had our PCI and things are looking promising!

We met SS and our Independent Inspector, Rob from Building Check, on site at 8am this morning. It was a huge relief to know that there only remain small touch-ups and minor fixes that can be completed quickly. It was also a novelty that our SS was on the phone arranging trades as each issue was picked up and most are booked in for next Monday through Wednesday.

Our Independent Inspector was overall impressed with the quality of the workmanship in our house, which is great to know. In essence the following need completing before handover... 

• The lines in the carpets that we mentioned HERE have not resolved themselves. The downstairs carpets are all being replaced on Tuesday, but the company still believes that the upstairs carpet will resolve and if not are writing us a letter to confirm that they will be responsible for replacing it if it still has lines in a few months time including moving the furniture if required.
• Our inspector discovered that the heating vent in the ceiling connecting the master bedroom heating to the rest of the house has been disconnected by a careless tradie. Luckily the heating guys are coming on Wednesday to commission the heating system and will fix it then.
• We discovered that the pop up bath wastes were not installed. After a quick call to the plumber, it was revealed that they were not able to be installed because of the order in which the bath was installed 3 months ago and no one bothered to say anything. Now the only way to have the pop up wastes is to access the bath plumbing from below ie cut the ceiling in the rumpus and the sitting room, connect the waste and patch it all up again... but the SS assured us that it wouldn't add much if any days.
• Flashing to go on top of the external brick firebox which was recommended when our Independent Inspector came in April still has not been completed. It is needed to stop moisture coming through the porous bricks on the top and getting into the Jetmaster... we couldn't have that could we? What is a mystery (even after directly asking our SS this question!) is why something picked up in April still needs to be done and more importantly how it can pass the QA process.
• Other bits and bobs include a new microwave which was on back order, the elusive colander and chopping board for sink, paint touch-ups, silicon fix ups, grout cleaning, dampers on exhaust fans (which were on 2/5), hot water service needs alteration so that the valve is safer, external garage door replacement and lock.

Exciting times ahead! We are expecting a call from SS on Tuesday afternoon to book in Handover for next FRIDAY!

Pray to the handover gods for us!

Kirst

xxx

fiddy tousand!

No, I haven't gone bonkers waiting for handover and started making gangsta moodboards to furnish the lounge room...

Instead dear readers, we've reached another milestone... 

50,000 clicks (50,776 actually)

In reality I'd be happy with a set of keys. Good things come to those who wait I'm told.

Kirst

Waiting waiting waiting......

Dropped by our soon to be new home and noticed a few of the QA items appeared to have been at least started. While there, the SS arrived so I asked about our list of items we (both the SS and us) know need to be rectified pre handover. Many of the items have been with the SS for sometime to action, so heaven only knows why they are only being addressed now and why the original QA didn't pick then up. Anyway, that's another topic.

Due to the weather Melbourne has had recently our second QA wont occur this Friday. Waiting on the renderers to redo some of the front facade. So we have had to push our PCI ( with our independent inspector ) til next Friday. Hoping handover will be a few days after then...

On matters within our control, we have engaged a concreter and landscaper to crack into work as soon as we have handover although likely to start prior to that given the delays we have had. More about them later on. We are wanting the hardscape work done prior to moving in.

Hopefully something more productive to talk about next time.

Cam

Being assured of the quality...

I'm happy to report that the house got a great report card last Friday when QA took place. There were mainly painting defects to be corrected, a new microwave as the old one had dents and a dodgy button and a few other bits and bobs. Its interesting how much stuff they don't pick up so don't rely on them only to be comprehensive!

A new front door is being installed early next week and then it will be painted. What happened to the old one? Wellllll... remember about 7-8 weeks ago I mentioned that the wrong door handle had been installed. A new door handle was ordered and was on site in the kitchen cupboard by June 20. It has taken our SS 7 weeks to check to see if it fits (it doesn't and we told him all along the screw holes wouldn't match up!) and now a new door needs to be used and repainted. Begs the question why they a). couldnt get it right the first time? and b). took so long to get it fixed?

Anyway enough about that.

Earlier today we sent our SS a list of things that we know need to be fixed. We did this so to negate the need to get tradies out again after QA and hopefully try to get to handover quicker.

Here is the list...

Items previously discussed over the past few months,

·      Rear garage door locks required incl flush bolt,

·        Garage expansion joints are messy and look poor. 

·        Gas meter needs to be lowered,

·        Flashing on top of brick work of fire box needs to be completed – inspection report dated 5 April.

·         Portico, LH and RH sides (cladding areas) needs to be painted,

·         Portico, a hole exists behind downpipe,

·         Front door and handles,

·         Dining room window has a drill hole through the aluminium?,

·         Both baths need pop-up wastes,

·         Upstairs bathroom door needs replacement,

·         Upstairs bathroom door frame paint needs to be redone,

·         Ensuite (LHS) basin leaks,

·         Carpet lines and joins to be explored,

A few items We’ve noticed recently that we have not discussed,

·       Exterior needs to be cleaned – especially down LHS, windows around fire box,

·         Laundry cabinets to be checked for damage, post plumbing issue leading to damage to flooring,

·         Plaster join in stairwell needs to be cleaned up.

I 

I am sure that we will see more things when we have PCI. But fingers crossed we wont! Here's the schedule going forward...

Our follow up QA to be next Thursday 9^th or Friday 10^th.

Our PCI is booked in for Monday 13^th. We have booked in our Independent Inspector to assist us.

He say he is confident we can have keys by month end. I bloody hope so!!!!

Kirst

xx