31st July 2013

All tiles have now been laid in the master ensuite, main bathroom, W.C and laundry. They looked a little darker than what I thought they would be, but I think they will look good. I might end up changing the wall colour in these areas, but will wait to see the finished product. All that is left to do is grouting and a good clean. The tiler also put in the laundry tub this afternoon. Its very ugly though, but will do for now. After handover we are going to install our own laundry cupboards as the thought of spending $1,000 per metre for laundry cubpards with MJH was a bit of a joke really. We worked out we could do it much cheaper ourselves like most things.

The Electricians were also on site today. All powerpoints and light switches have now been cut out along with holes they have drilled in the ceiling for the baton fixes. It seemed like all the holes had been cut in the right places, but we didn't have the electrical plan on us at the time, so will take it back tomorrow to make sure. There were only 2 holes that didn't seem to be right.

The gyprockers had also been back to fix up gyprock joins or areas that needed to be redone after last weeks first coat of paint. I'd say they will be back tomorrow to sand these areas, so the painters can come back and do the second coat. Our SS left a message on my phone today to say that the painters should be finished by middle of next week.

We are still not happy with the facade colour. We think it still needs a bit more warmth, more like the colour of the brick mortar. It looks a lot lighter than the inside walls, which just isnt right considering its the same colour. We think the painter must have mixed the paint in with the concrete or something...anyway. We will fix that after handover.

 

Master Ensuite

 

Master Ensuite

 

Master Ensuite

 

Master Ensuite

 

Laundry

 

W.C

 

Main Bathroom

 

Main Bathroom

 

Main Bathroom

 

Laundry

 

Door Frames + Doors Painted

 

Powerpoint Cutouts - Activity Room (Desk)

 

Powerpoint Cutouts - Kitchen

 

Powerpoint Cutouts - Living Area

 

Light Switch Cutouts - Activity Area + Hall

 

Powerpoint Cutout + Gyprock Patching in Bedroom 2

 

Facade with no sun on it

 

Facade with no sun on it

 

Facade with no sun on it

30th July 2013

Yesterday morning we got the call from the Tilers to meet them on site to check that the tiles we had picked were the correct colours, size etc. So we met them yesterday afternoon. They had been laying the tiled base whilst we were there. They went through each room with us and explained what they were going to do, which we were happy with. They said the tiles would be finished tomorrow. We will head up to the house tomorrow afternoon to check out the finished product. Feeling very anxious. I hope they end up looking ok.

All our skirting boards were left in the garage too for us to install after handover.

26th July 2013

So disappointed today! We arrived at the house to find the facade had been bagged and painted (Moroccan finish) in the colour we chose, but we think it looks terrible. It almost looked white. It looked so bland. We chose the same colour as in the interior, which looks great on the inside, but looks terrible on the outside. There is just no warmth to it. It looks a lot lighter on the outside. I had a feeling this would happen. Now all we want to do is paint it, but we obviously can't do anything about it until after handover. It actually looks better in the picture below, but in real life it looks a lot worse. I feel embarrased putting a picture up. I'll take some more pics when the garage door is down and front door is closed. It will probably look better as there will be more contrast.

We are going to paint sample shopping tomorrow to see what colours are going to work with the silvery/grey bricks. We were actually going to have the whole front facade rendered in the one colour, but were restricted to only part of the house being done due to Stonecutters Ridge design guidelines. After handover we will have a play with it and see what looks better. We may even do the columns in stacked stone or something.

25th July 2013

More painting today with all the doors being painted, front door stained and facade timber stained. They will be back tomorrow to do the second coat on the walls. They may even start the cutting in around window frames and doors etc.

Some electrical cut outs were started but only in the garage. I am assuming the Electricians will be back tomorrow to do the rest and hopefully the lights.

Tiles for the wet areas have been delivered ready to be laid.

 

 

 

 

 

24th July 2013

Was shocked to walk through the front door today to find that the painters had started. They weren't supposed to start for another week. The tilers are probably going to start tomorrow as it looked like nothing had been done in the wet areas yet. Happy as larry today. It may mean we get in a week earlier...fingers crossed. In case anyone is wondering the paint colour is Taubman's 'Tombstone'.

23rd July 2013

Today we met Peter (our SS) on site to check out the kitchen cupboards. The kitchen cupboards were installed including handles, all bathroom cupboards were assembled including handles, tap cut outs done in all walls, shelves in Activity Area, frame for desk in Activity Area and floor joins put in for wet areas all ready for the tilers to start tomorrow.

So far we are really happy with the colours. Hoping things will stay that way after the painting has finished. Picking kitchen colours and bathroom colours I found to be a real nightmare as you only a very small sample to go off and you really have no idea how its going to look when finished. Lighting also makes a real difference.

Peter gave us an update today as to whats going to be happening over the next few weeks. Tilers will be tiling over the next few days. Apparently the tilers will call us to come out and inspect the tiles before they get laid to make sure they are the right colours we picked. Electricians will also be working over the next few days installing all the baton fixes. Peter originally had painters starting next Wednesday, but he is going to try and bring the painting forward, which is great. After that there is the plumbing, benchtops, shower screens, bath, kitchen splashback etc.

We also managed to get an idea as to when handover will be. We told Peter we had bets going as to when we will get the keys. The date I have picked is 23rd August and my Peter has picked 13th September. Peter (our SS) laughed and said it should be somewhere in between those dates. He didn't really want to give the date away, but ended up saying that it was likely that we would get the keys on 3rd September, which is awesome. He said everything should be finished by the end of August and once everything is finished he will come out and inspect everything along with his boss. They take notes of anything that needs fixing / adjusting etc, then we do our PCI walkthrough and its about a week after that, that we get the keys. So there is only about 5 weeks left baby...WOOHOO!!!

Some of the pics didn't turn out the best as there was a lot of light coming through the sliding doors and windows.

 

Bottom Kitchen Cupboards (Licorice Linea)

 

Top Kitchen Cupboards (Sarsen Grey)

 

Microwave + Dishwasher cutouts (where sink will go)

 

Bathroom / Ensuite Cupboards (Smoke Melange)

 

Bathroom / Ensuite Cupboards (Smoke Melange)

 

Master Ensuite

 

Master Ensuite Floor Join

 

Activity Area Shelving

 

Activity Area (where desk will go)

 

Main Bathroom

 

Main Bathroom Shower Recess

 

Main Bathroom Door Join