That moment when you close the front door of your house and instantly realise you locked your car keys inside. That moment is extremely embarrassing. Especially when you have no way of getting back inside to your nearly complete new house that you shouldn't have been in anyway.
Yesterday, mrskidsbuggingme and I went to check out our house after the plumbers had been there during the day. We always do this to make sure that the house is secure. I noticed a window had been left open so climbed in to close it and make sure the rest of the house was also secure. All other doors/windows were good. Great, job done.
As I closed the front door I remembered my keys were on the kitchen bench.... doh! I haven't sworn that much in a long time. I'm pretty sure my kids picked up a few new words over the following few minutes.
mrskidsbuggingme called our site supervisor to see if he could help, and amazingly, he drove around at 6:30pm to get my keys out. I felt sooooooo tiny at that point. Over the past few weeks I've worked out he's a genuinely nice guy - I'm very grateful that he went quite a long way out of his way to help us.
I'm not sure there's a moral to the story other than, be nice to people.... and always, always make sure you have your stuff before you lock the door.
We're definitely getting our keys on the 21st. Pics to come. Can't wait!
Friday 16 January 2015
Friday 9 January 2015
Driveway
The driveway was completed today. The guys had to sweat it out in 35 degree heat and now we have the threat of a storm. Please, no heavy rain today!
Wednesday morning when the concreters turned up I had W***** Landscapes try and swindle me out of more money for a concrete pump. I gave a swift, stern "no effing way" reply so they knew I wasn't going to be screwed over. I informed them that if they misquoted me, that's their problem and they can wear the additional cost (by inform, I mean I yelled down the phone). We signed the landscape paperwork three times over the past year so they had every opportunity to have that in the cost of works if it was necessary. Actually, the initial quote was more than twelve months ago! In the end, they managed to do it the old fashioned way with wheelbarrows. The cost of the driveway was pretty expensive compared to organising it privately, so as far as I'm concerned they can sweat a little for my money. FYI, I'm actually considering complaining to the ACCC or the Dept of Fair Trading because that kind of last minute hidden cost deal is considered extortionate behaviour and is against the law.
Pics:
Wednesday morning when the concreters turned up I had W***** Landscapes try and swindle me out of more money for a concrete pump. I gave a swift, stern "no effing way" reply so they knew I wasn't going to be screwed over. I informed them that if they misquoted me, that's their problem and they can wear the additional cost (by inform, I mean I yelled down the phone). We signed the landscape paperwork three times over the past year so they had every opportunity to have that in the cost of works if it was necessary. Actually, the initial quote was more than twelve months ago! In the end, they managed to do it the old fashioned way with wheelbarrows. The cost of the driveway was pretty expensive compared to organising it privately, so as far as I'm concerned they can sweat a little for my money. FYI, I'm actually considering complaining to the ACCC or the Dept of Fair Trading because that kind of last minute hidden cost deal is considered extortionate behaviour and is against the law.
Pics:
Thursday 8 January 2015
PCI
We had our PCI appointment today. Yay! Woohoo!
For those that don't know, PCI is a "Practical Completion Inspection" where you perform a walk-through of the house and point out any issues to be rectified. If you're lucky, it's mostly just few paint and gyprock fix-ups. During the inspection you stick blue tape around the house and the building supervisor records things to be fixed. Our paint and gyprock wasn't too bad, there were a lot of little blue bits of tape around by the end of the appointment but the fixes are mostly minor. Some areas need to be skim coated and repainted again - not a big deal. Paint is easy to fix, but we had a few other bigger items that concern me:
We've been told these items will be looked at but may not be replaced before we move in. If they can't be fixed in the next week and a half then they'll need to be done during the 90 day maintenance window. The glazier will assess the windows next week, apparently it's easy/quick to get replacements. The kitchen cabinets will be a battle.
Our SS was really good today. He has taken everything on board and even found some small issues himself. I've pushed him to get us in the house and now he's pushing the other trades too. In a way, I feel bad for losing my shit with him before Christmas, but if I didn't, we would probably still be waiting another month for the house.
No pics today, but maybe more this weekend. The driveway is being poured tomorrow and showerscreens/mirrors probably being installed as well. Gas to be connected at some unknown point - we may find out on Monday. Besides the fixes, that's it until settlement.
The "big day" is tentatively scheduled for 21st Jan.
For those that don't know, PCI is a "Practical Completion Inspection" where you perform a walk-through of the house and point out any issues to be rectified. If you're lucky, it's mostly just few paint and gyprock fix-ups. During the inspection you stick blue tape around the house and the building supervisor records things to be fixed. Our paint and gyprock wasn't too bad, there were a lot of little blue bits of tape around by the end of the appointment but the fixes are mostly minor. Some areas need to be skim coated and repainted again - not a big deal. Paint is easy to fix, but we had a few other bigger items that concern me:
- Scratched alfresco sliding door glass
- Scratched windows in dining room and butler's pantry
- Paint specs/smudges on the kitchen and laundry cabinets
We've been told these items will be looked at but may not be replaced before we move in. If they can't be fixed in the next week and a half then they'll need to be done during the 90 day maintenance window. The glazier will assess the windows next week, apparently it's easy/quick to get replacements. The kitchen cabinets will be a battle.
Our SS was really good today. He has taken everything on board and even found some small issues himself. I've pushed him to get us in the house and now he's pushing the other trades too. In a way, I feel bad for losing my shit with him before Christmas, but if I didn't, we would probably still be waiting another month for the house.
No pics today, but maybe more this weekend. The driveway is being poured tomorrow and showerscreens/mirrors probably being installed as well. Gas to be connected at some unknown point - we may find out on Monday. Besides the fixes, that's it until settlement.
The "big day" is tentatively scheduled for 21st Jan.
Monday 5 January 2015
Progress pictures
Stupid house. This is taking way too long.
There's very little work to do left:
We might have PCI this week, but maybe not, who knows... certainly not the builder.
There are many small cosmetic things to fix which we'll have the opportunity to point out at PCI e.g., scratched windows, paint splatter/damage on kitchen cabinets, paint touch ups, spa bath not being straight... ugggghhhhh.
Just about every tradie has done 90% of the job and then either messed something up or left something not finished.
Anyway, we can see that when things are finally fixed up the house will look great. Here's some pics:
There's very little work to do left:
- Driveway (must have cracked stormwater pipe fixed first)
- Shower screens
- Air conditioning grills (and cut out of the two they missed in the master bedroom)
- Shelving
- Carpet on a few stairs
- Gas to be hooked up (apparently they're busy for a few weeks, WTF!!! We can't wait any longer, nor should we have to!)
We might have PCI this week, but maybe not, who knows... certainly not the builder.
There are many small cosmetic things to fix which we'll have the opportunity to point out at PCI e.g., scratched windows, paint splatter/damage on kitchen cabinets, paint touch ups, spa bath not being straight... ugggghhhhh.
Just about every tradie has done 90% of the job and then either messed something up or left something not finished.
Anyway, we can see that when things are finally fixed up the house will look great. Here's some pics:
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