I can't believe its been a few weeks since handover. Time is flying by. We have almost managed to unpack everything, however, there is a corner in our garage dedicated to "stuff" that we just don't have any room for. One thing that our house does lack is storage space. We are thinking that some time in the future we might have to add one of those drop down ladders where our man hole is and put a floor in our roof, that way we can store more "stuff".
All we have seem to have done over the past few weeks is unpack, clean, clean and clean. It takes such a long time to get rid of all the dust from the build and because we are in a new estate, there is still so much construction going on from other homes and new blocks of land being created that the dust never seems to leave. It doesn't help when we don't have grass yet either.
It has been really tiring these past few weeks, but we are getting there and finally starting to settle in.
Our media room modular lounge was delivered this week and we were so disappointed with what we recieved. The lounge arrived with dirty marks all over it, some of which were from the delivery drivers unpacking it and some which looked like dust and dirty marks from sitting in the factory. We had been waiting 10 weeks for this lounge and it was my favourite of all 3 x lounges we bought. We almost didn't accept the delivery because of its condition. I was straight on the phone to Nick Scali whilst the delivery drivers were still unpacking it and told them about the state it was in and they said they will organise for a local upholsterer to come out and have a look and try to clean it. I don't think cleaning is going to be enough though. The cushions are deformed and different heights. We really don't want to keep it. We will see how we go with the upholsterer and make a decision after that.
There is still so much to do, but money is slowly dwindling away. Its amazing how quickly it goes. You forget about the little things like paint brushes, turps, tape, baskets, cleaning products, garbage bags, hooks, drawers for the boys rooms built in wardrobes etc that you have to buy. I've been spending hundreds left, right and centre without having factored these things in.
The next big thing on our list is the rear fence retaining wall as our neighbours never put one in. We are hoping we won't have any issues and they play nice. Because our rear fence is the rear boundary fence for their pool, once our backyard is levelled, the fence height is only going to be about 950mm high. For it to be compliant with council, it needs to be a minimum 1200 high, so its either going to have to be removed completely and rebuilt which is a big expense or they have to put a retaining wall in. Either way the fence has to be lifted and because its part of theor pool boundary they are liable for the cost of everything, which they won't like.
If and when the rear fence gets sorted, we will then organise the side fences to be put in.
Fun and games ...
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
12th September 2013
Still unpacking and cleaning and so much to do :( Feeling absolutely exhausted!
On a good note, our living room sofa was delivered yesterday. I was dreading how it was going to look in the space and the colour I chose, but I love it. With a few cushions and perhaps a throw it should come up a treat. All I need now is a coffee table, floor rug and 2 x single chairs to go with it. Oh and a nice piece of art on the wall above it.
I got good news from Harvey Norman yesterday that all our home theatre stuff had arrived. We had a quote from their AV mob on Friday which was just over $800. The quote cost $99 which comes off the price if you go ahead, which we are going to do as Harvey Norman were able to get the price lower down to $676 which includes the $99. So our home theatre is being installed tomorrow. Can't wait for it to be set up.
I have organised for our phone as Internet to be set up. I am annoyed with Telstra though as I was told it would take 7-10 working days, but they have given me dates of 23rd Sep for home and 30 Sep for internet. I placed the order on 2nd Sep. Make sure you organise this ASAP. I wish I had organised it 2 weeks ago.
I also had Foxtel set up last week but because we don't have a phone line yet, we can't use it.
Our lights also arrived which we will pick up today. But our massive dining room pendant apparently is no longer being made and all that is available is the one in the showroom. It has been offered to us but I don't want to have to pay full price for it as it has been sitting in the showroom for a while. Will see what price were offered today as to whether we end up getting it or not.
We will also toddle off to Ikea today as we need some storage / drawers for the boys rooms. I hate how you only get given hanging space.
Friday, September 6, 2013
6th September 2013
Today our bed, activity room sofa, fridge, dishwasher, dryer and microwave was delivered. Loving everything I have ordered so far. The fridge was a hit with the boys with the LED lights and ice maker.
The carpet was also installed today, however it didn't get finished. The installer will be back tomorrow to finish off the master bedroom.
The shower screen will be replaced tomorrow.
We used the kitchen taps for the first time today only to find that water started gushing out everywhere under the sink. The idiots who installed it had put the white u-bend pipe directly over the grey pipe that leads into the ground. There is no thread on the pipe to seal it, so any water that comes through just gushes out everywhere. Our SS will pop out in the morning to check it out. We also noticed a pool of water forming at the front right hand corner of the house. We have no idea where this is coming from.
We are noticing more and more little things that were missed as each day passes by. Its mainly the paintwork. The painting would have to be the worst thing overall. After having the skirting boards installed yesterday, there is now painting missing above the skirting boards because the painters didn't paint far enough down the wall. There is also still some paint missing on some walls. Apart from the painting everything else is pretty good.
Tomorrow is the big move into our new home. We can't wait. Not look forward to having to move it all in and unpack though.
The carpet was also installed today, however it didn't get finished. The installer will be back tomorrow to finish off the master bedroom.
The shower screen will be replaced tomorrow.
We used the kitchen taps for the first time today only to find that water started gushing out everywhere under the sink. The idiots who installed it had put the white u-bend pipe directly over the grey pipe that leads into the ground. There is no thread on the pipe to seal it, so any water that comes through just gushes out everywhere. Our SS will pop out in the morning to check it out. We also noticed a pool of water forming at the front right hand corner of the house. We have no idea where this is coming from.
We are noticing more and more little things that were missed as each day passes by. Its mainly the paintwork. The painting would have to be the worst thing overall. After having the skirting boards installed yesterday, there is now painting missing above the skirting boards because the painters didn't paint far enough down the wall. There is also still some paint missing on some walls. Apart from the painting everything else is pretty good.
Tomorrow is the big move into our new home. We can't wait. Not look forward to having to move it all in and unpack though.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
5th September 2013
Well its been a long two days. We are absolutely exhausted and its all only just begun.
We spent the whole day yesterday from 7:30am to 11:30pm sanding, prepping and painting the skirting boards. I could not believe how long they took. We didn't even get to finish. Our backs were killing us and we could hardly move. We got back to mums house at 12:15am and went straight to bed. We had to try and get as many done as possible for installation today.
We also had our floorboards were laid, Electricians installed our rangehood and oven and fixed some of the light switches that they had got wrong and Plumbers installed our hot water system and gas gooktop.
The floorboards look really nice. There is a crap load of dust on them so its a little hard to see exactly how they'll look, but we have a fair idea. Out of everything I've been dreading the flooring the most, as its so important to get it right, because its so bloody expensive to change it if you don't like it.
The skirting boards were installed today by MJH Carpenter, Nathan and his labourer. They look really good. I spent tonight puttying all the nail holes, whilst Pete sanded them back. I reckon there must have been a gew thousand holes...lol. I only have two closets left to putty up. Poor Pete has a heap of sanding left to do. He has sanded all the areas that are to be carpeted and the rest he will do tomorrow hopefully. We were really hoping to do the second coat of paint on the skirting boards tonight before the carpet is installed, but because the paint is enamel, it takes forever to dry. We found that all the skirting boards we painted yesterday were still wet at lunch time today. So unfortunately we will have to do the second coat of paint after the carpet goes down. I figure if we use a drop sheet and take we shouldn't get any spills. Such a pain in the butt though!
Tomorrow is going to be another tiring, long day. We have a lounge, bed, dishwasher, fridge, microwave and dryer getting delivered. We also have someone coming over to give us a quote to have the home theatre set up and the carpet is being laid.
Our SS popped in for a visit today to see what had been fixed from our PCI. There were still a few things that hadn't been fixed. Peter fixed a few things today, but we realised that the Electricians stuffed up yet again and instead of putting in the right light switches, they put in different ones with dimmers and they are now all over the place. I don't understand how they got these so wrong as they have the plan to go off. So the Electricians will now be back tomorrow.
So whilst all these things are happening, I will try and clean some more to see if I can get rid of some of the dust. We really need some rain so it settles. And Pete will try and get as much sanding done as possible. If time permits, I will do the second coat on the skirting boards.
We are really looking forward to moving everything in on the weekend. All we want to do is lie on the sofa and put our feet up.
A few pics of the appliances, the floorboards, the skirting boards and the dust!
We spent the whole day yesterday from 7:30am to 11:30pm sanding, prepping and painting the skirting boards. I could not believe how long they took. We didn't even get to finish. Our backs were killing us and we could hardly move. We got back to mums house at 12:15am and went straight to bed. We had to try and get as many done as possible for installation today.
We also had our floorboards were laid, Electricians installed our rangehood and oven and fixed some of the light switches that they had got wrong and Plumbers installed our hot water system and gas gooktop.
The floorboards look really nice. There is a crap load of dust on them so its a little hard to see exactly how they'll look, but we have a fair idea. Out of everything I've been dreading the flooring the most, as its so important to get it right, because its so bloody expensive to change it if you don't like it.
The skirting boards were installed today by MJH Carpenter, Nathan and his labourer. They look really good. I spent tonight puttying all the nail holes, whilst Pete sanded them back. I reckon there must have been a gew thousand holes...lol. I only have two closets left to putty up. Poor Pete has a heap of sanding left to do. He has sanded all the areas that are to be carpeted and the rest he will do tomorrow hopefully. We were really hoping to do the second coat of paint on the skirting boards tonight before the carpet is installed, but because the paint is enamel, it takes forever to dry. We found that all the skirting boards we painted yesterday were still wet at lunch time today. So unfortunately we will have to do the second coat of paint after the carpet goes down. I figure if we use a drop sheet and take we shouldn't get any spills. Such a pain in the butt though!
Tomorrow is going to be another tiring, long day. We have a lounge, bed, dishwasher, fridge, microwave and dryer getting delivered. We also have someone coming over to give us a quote to have the home theatre set up and the carpet is being laid.
Our SS popped in for a visit today to see what had been fixed from our PCI. There were still a few things that hadn't been fixed. Peter fixed a few things today, but we realised that the Electricians stuffed up yet again and instead of putting in the right light switches, they put in different ones with dimmers and they are now all over the place. I don't understand how they got these so wrong as they have the plan to go off. So the Electricians will now be back tomorrow.
So whilst all these things are happening, I will try and clean some more to see if I can get rid of some of the dust. We really need some rain so it settles. And Pete will try and get as much sanding done as possible. If time permits, I will do the second coat on the skirting boards.
We are really looking forward to moving everything in on the weekend. All we want to do is lie on the sofa and put our feet up.
A few pics of the appliances, the floorboards, the skirting boards and the dust!
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
3rd September 2013
We got our keys today, which was so exciting. It has been exactly 4 months since our site was cut. It was the perfect birthday present for our 1 year old.
We met one of the new Site Supervisors at 1pm. He went through the list of things that had or hadn't been fixed from PCI. He showed us how to use our garage remotes, showed us our alarm, gave us our keys and a lovely hamper.
There are still a few things that need to be fixed. Our hot water system was delivered today along with the kitchen appliances. They will all be installed tomorrow. Our shower screen that needs replacing will probably be done at the end of the week.
Our floorboards are being laid tomorrow. I'm a little nervous as to how they will look. I'm sure they will look great.
Tomorrow will be spent painting our skirting boards, which we are not look forward to but it has to be done, as they are getting installed on Thursday. There is so much dust in the house too, so tomorrow will also be spent cleaning everything and trying to get rid of the dust. We could really use some rain to wash it all away. The carpet will be laid on Friday.
So much is happening this week. We have a heap of deliveries happening on Friday. We are also getting an AV quote on Friday. Saturday we will be moving in and Sunday will no doubt be spent unpacking everything.
There is also so much to organise. I have already contacted Telstra. I wish I had done it last week as it takes approximately 7-10 working days. I organised for bins to be delivered from Council yesterday and they were already delivered by the time we got to the house. I have lots of phone calls to make to organise change of address. I organised for mail redirection today too. I bought a temporary letterbox today so our mail can start being delievered ASAP.
A pic of our hamper and sign:
We couldn't decide on a name for our house so I ended up just going with our house number...lol
We met one of the new Site Supervisors at 1pm. He went through the list of things that had or hadn't been fixed from PCI. He showed us how to use our garage remotes, showed us our alarm, gave us our keys and a lovely hamper.
There are still a few things that need to be fixed. Our hot water system was delivered today along with the kitchen appliances. They will all be installed tomorrow. Our shower screen that needs replacing will probably be done at the end of the week.
Our floorboards are being laid tomorrow. I'm a little nervous as to how they will look. I'm sure they will look great.
Tomorrow will be spent painting our skirting boards, which we are not look forward to but it has to be done, as they are getting installed on Thursday. There is so much dust in the house too, so tomorrow will also be spent cleaning everything and trying to get rid of the dust. We could really use some rain to wash it all away. The carpet will be laid on Friday.
So much is happening this week. We have a heap of deliveries happening on Friday. We are also getting an AV quote on Friday. Saturday we will be moving in and Sunday will no doubt be spent unpacking everything.
There is also so much to organise. I have already contacted Telstra. I wish I had done it last week as it takes approximately 7-10 working days. I organised for bins to be delivered from Council yesterday and they were already delivered by the time we got to the house. I have lots of phone calls to make to organise change of address. I organised for mail redirection today too. I bought a temporary letterbox today so our mail can start being delievered ASAP.
A pic of our hamper and sign:
We couldn't decide on a name for our house so I ended up just going with our house number...lol
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