Wednesday, October 30, 2013

30th October 2013

We finally have turf! Looks so much nicer now and hopefully the dust that keeps making its way inside eases up. We are really happy with the outcome. It took a few hours to lay and am definitely now feeling the after effects. Feeling tired, sore and sunburn't. Can't wait to put the gardens and retaining wall in. Two of our boys were so excited they decided to have some fun under the sprinkler.

Our front windows were also tinted today. They look really good and will apparently block out 60% heat and 99% UV, which is great. If anyone is interested in knowing which tint we got, we went with Ultravision 40 from Premier Tint. It cost $375.

Thinking about painting the facade tomorrow. Hopefully I won't be too sore from todays efforts.

Some pics:










Tuesday, October 29, 2013

29th Oct 2013

Big day today! We got a bobcat in to level our land, spread a bit of fill and finish with some turf underlay in preparation for delivery of our turf tomorrow. It took about 8 hours. It was a nightmare of a job as our soil is basically clay, so in some areas it was like cutting through concrete and in other areas it was soft and boggy. So glad its over. We cant wait to get turf!

I ordered Sapphire turf, which will arrive tomorrow morning. I had Sapphire at my last house and I loved how soft, thick and lush it looked. We are hoping we win lotto soon so we can get our front and rear deck done, get the retaining walls up and put in some garden beds. There is still so much to buy, but with both of us being out of work things are becoming extremely difficult.

Our lounge ended up coming back from Nick Scali's upholsterer's, only to arrive in the same condition with dirty marks all over it. It actually looked worse because whatever they used to clean the upholstery has scuffed it and now it feels rough and you can see the scuff marks. Unfortunately, we have asked for a refund. We loved the design of this lounge, but unfortunately it just isn't what we saw in the showroom. It has been a really disappointing experience. I guess we were one of the unlucky ones. Now we are just waiting to hear back as to whether we can get a refund or not.

We aren't having much luck with Milan Direct either. I ordered some bar stools last week, but two of the stools were missing rubber feet when delivered so can't be sat on. I also order two office chairs and one of the boxes was missing a whole set of screws so I can't put one of the chairs together. I have been told that they just ran out of screws and that it will take a whole 10-12 weeks to get some new ones in. What a joke! Not impressed at all. Waiting to hear back from them too.

Needing some luck and money :(

Some pics from today:






















Monday, October 21, 2013

21st October 2013

We are making some progress!

We finally had our flyscreens installed today, so we are now bug free and am able to enjoy the evening breezes we get. It also means we can let the kitten out of the laundry and stop having to dive for our 1 year old and save him from falling out the sliding doors. He was unlucky a few days ago though as we missed him by about a second, meaning he face planted the ground in the alfresco area. He was lucky to only have received a few scratches. It could have been a lot worse.

We also had our Basswood plantation shutters installed. They have totally transformed the house. They look amazing. So glad I chose Basswood and not white. We love them so much. They are worth every cent. A shout out to Ritchie and the boys at Shade Elegance for the great job they did and their fantastic customer service. If anyone is interested in shutters, make sure you call Ritchie.

His details are:

Ritchie Jayasekera
Shade Elegance NSW
Sydney NSW 2768
( 02 8824 9951 / 0431 928 109

Gemma, our Electrician also popped in for a visit today to check out what lights need to be installed. Hopefully this will happen early in the next few weeks.

Pete has spent the last 2 days outside in the heat digging 14 x holes for our retaining wall out the back. We need a wall about 800mm high to retain the soil. We ended up hiring an auger, but the soil is so ridiculously hard (like concrete) that even the auger couldn't cut through the soil. He had to use a crow bar and whatever else he could. Tomorrow we will start putting in the posts. It is supposed to be a scorcher though, so we will play it by ear. Can't wait till the backyard is done. It still feels like we are living on a construction site.

The colour of our facade is still bothering us. Its too white looking, so we bought some paint from Bunnings a few days ago. I am going to try and brave the heat tomorrow and repaint it. We picked the Colourbond colour Dune. Hopefully it looks good. If it doesn't I guess I'll be painting it again.

We also have Premier Tint coming out in the morning to give us a quote for tinting to the front windows and rear sliding doors.

Some pics of our shutters, screens and backyard:

 
Laundry Door Flyscreen

 
Dining Room Sliding Door Flyscreen

 
Dining Room Sliding Door Flyscreen (outside looking in)

 
Master Ensuite Shutter

 
Bedroom 4 Shutters

 
W.C Shutter

 
Media Room Shutters

 
Activity Room Shutter (looking in from the kitchen area)

 
Master Bedroom Shutter

 
Hall / Activity Room Shutters

 
Activity Room Shutters
 
 
Activity Room Shutters

 
Hall / Activity Room Shutters

 
Main Bathroom Shutter

 
Bedroom 2 Shutter

 
Activity Room Shutter (over study nook)

 
Hall / Activity Room Shutters

 
House Front

 
House Front

 
House Front
 

 
Retaining Wall Holes