Final Contract Meeting - to be continued....

Well, we had our 'final contract meeting' the other day.  The meeting had been scheduled in for sometime and we were very much looking forward to it - seeing how all our ideas and plans had come together.

We requested a copy of the 'final' site plans and variation list prior to the meeting so we could review it in detail, in the comfort of our own home and at our own pace to ensure all was in order.  The copy came through via email 2 days ahead of the meeting - not a great deal of time to review it all but we had catered for it so not such a big deal. 

The problem was our CSC (who to date has been very helpful and a pleasure to deal with) didn't receive all the information from the respective departments of M in a timely fashion and was under pressure to collate it all within one document.  So there were omissions, inaccuracies and straight forward errors.  Its unfortunate for our CSC as she is the one holding the bag so to speak, sitting across from us trying to explain others logic or lack of and now she has to correct the errors.


I can understand why some problems had crept into the contract but there are others that are simply unacceptable.   Like changing the location of light switches.  If its required for legitimate regulatory reasons - tell us and we will revise our plan.  Don't redesign our home for us...  For example, if the light switch cant go at the entry of our ensuite, dont assume our alternate location is the furthest back wall! What, you want us to walk through the ensuite in the dark to then turn the light on.... Unusual design M, definitely not what we want.

We were also awaiting the results of probe testing - to assess the level of underpinning required to support our neighbours garage.  Those results weren't available, resulting in significant provisional amounts within the contract.  Not a fan of provisional amounts... 


Needless to say, we didn't sign the 'final' contract.  We will be waiting for the required changes have been made first.  Now we wait...It has been over a week since this meeting and still nothing???!!!?

On a related note - we are keen to hear the build times inserted into others final contracts.  We had been told (admittedly by their sales team - who kindly wrote it down for me, 'handy in hindsight') the build time was around 9 months.  I had checked this with a builder mate and that period is about right for a double storey mid 40 sq house.  So, I was a little surprised to see in the contract the build time was just over 400 days - over 13 months, not including breaks for Christmas etc.

We have had approval from the local council to demolish the old house, gas and electricity are disconnected and we have organised a new underground electricity pit to be installed by United Energy (for about $2500, a great deal less than the $6000 M wanted to charge us for the same??!!). I am meeting with the demolisher on site next wednesday to discuss the next steps and we also have a renovations warehouse/reseller coming out to have a look at what fittings and items from the old home can be salvaged and they will pay us for them and then sell them on.

Things are moving on our end but now so much on Metricon's end...

Cam

Electrical Appointment done and dusted - PART 2

Continuing on from our last blog, we had our electric appoint last Thursday and over the weekend I noticed a few small items within the electrical paperwork that need either changing or confirming to be consistent with our understanding of what we requested/require.

Small things (5 in total) such as a power point at 750mm not at around 100-200mm as we requested and discussed with the sales consultant.  It appears they overcharged us for one point but as you know any little overcharges all add up and are worth following up. Yep, they say you need to notify them within 24 hours but lets get real, its an unrealistic time frame.  Their '24 hours' ended Friday afternoon, so no one was going to get started on anything at that time, especially on a Friday.  The first really opportunity is Monday morning - to which they would have received my email over the weekend.

We also had some issues regarding our discussions with the Sales Consultant about the ducted heating controllers. So what does 'in lieu of standard' actually mean?  In my world, it means to replace the original wall mounted controller with a remote controller, not in addition too but even after seeking clarification twice, the consultant assured us it means 'in addition' ie we would have both a wall mounted and remote heating controller.  Still unsure about whether or not this is the case, I emailed the electrical contractor this morning only to be told that 'in lieu of standard" does infact mean only one controller...Disappointed that their so called 'electrical consultants' dont know the products that they are selling you!


There were very limited options on offer at the electrical appointment.  Even the downlights within the display houses are not available.  I understand display homes are full of 'non standard items' but my money is on 90% of lights are not available.  Now that's just taking the piss - in my opinion.

Interesting enough, our sales consultant at StudioM has given us around 3 weeks to get back to her.  A number of items need to be changed or confirmed there as well, but again nothing too significant. I wonder why the electricals cant offer the same flexibility??

Cam

Electrical Appointment done and dusted !!

It is nearly 9pm on a Friday night, Cam is out on the town with his mates for the night, the boys are in bed, one glass of wine has been consumed and I have been staring at this computer screen now for 1 hour (well, that’s not entirely true, I have been watching the box too and trying not to laugh at Gary Mehigan every time he says “spotted dick”, juvenile, I know)

So here goes… the dreaded electrical appointment. The time when you go and spend exorbitant amounts on tiny little lights and powerpoints.

“Yes, add 6 more lights to that room please, another double powerpoint there and there, and here's my right arm and left leg to pay for it all” LOL.

Cam and I spent a lot of time thinking about the electricals, we had grand plans to put in the minimum amount of lights (battens) then get Cam’s Dad who is a sparky to help make them into downlights later one. We went along to Habitat Consultants with our house plans with powerpoints, internal and external light points and switches all nicely colourcoded…Hmmmmm

So in the end here’s the damage…

• 4 Junction boxes for future lights to the front of the house
• Extra exhaust fan for the boys toilet upstairs (LOL)
• Prewire for ceiling fan in grand outdoor room
• 64 additional downlights spread throughout the home ($101 each)
• Most existing battens moved and converted to downlights
• Provision for 2 pendant lights to be hung above the dining table
• A few dimmer, 2-way switches
• Provision for future evaporative cooling
• Provision for future downstairs split system
• Spotlights for outside x 4
• Extra light circuits
• Bigger meter box
• Upgrade all powerpoints and switches to Slimline (remain white in colour)
• Stair lights in the wall and provision on ceiling above stairs for feature light
• Waterproof powerpoints at back
• Surge protection
• One additional TV point upstairs

All up these cost in excess of @10,000 which is mindblowing…

On top of this we upgraded the ducted heating to a 4 star Bonaire system, with a remote control to use upstairs and added 2 additional ducts to the Ensuite and bathroom (the cost of this upgrade for the Nelson design was about $1800 but well worth it in my opinion).

The one thing that I was disappointed about was that we weren’t able to use the new technology LED downlights as they were an additional $100 a light than regular halogen downlights. Hopefully over time we will be able to replace these lights with LED, they are so much more energy efficient and I feel a sense of guilt at installing such energy hungry downlights, especially cause I am an environmental science teacher by trade!!!

However, as we paid our deposit prior to 1st May 2011, the new regulations regarding only being allowed to have an average of 5 watts per square metre doesn't apply to our build. Whilst I totally understand why such stringent regulations have been implemented, I am a bit relieved that we didn’t have to consider this on top of everything else.

I guess in time we will have to post photos of what lights we are thinking for the dining table and stairwell.

LET THE SHOPPING BEGIN  ;)

Kirsten