24th July 2014

Got a nice email yesterday from the private certifier saying the driveway crossover had been approved. We also got our Final Occupation Certificate. I wasn't expecting to receive it so soon. They have such a quick turnaround time compared to council.

At this stage, I am waiting for quotes to come back for our lights to be installed and a retaining wall. I'm hanging to get stuck into the gardens. Some tradies are hopeless at getting back to you. Some don't even bother. Such a shame as its their loss.

23rd July 2014

Yesterday we received a surprise in our letterbox from Council saying our driveway had been approved, which was great news. So I got in contact with the private certifier yesterday to let them know, as this was the only thing outstanding for the issuing of our Final Occupation Certificate.

All I had to do was scan the Approval and email it to them. They emailed me back letting me know the fee for Final Occupation Certificate was $165, which was even better as the original letter said it was going to be $275, so that was nice. I paid straight away and got an email back saying they would email a copy of the certificate once finalised.

I wasn't expecting the process to that that easy. So hopefully in the next few days we will finally receive our certificate. Its only been 10 months...lol

All we need to do now is finish off the landscaping out the front, then we will be able to receive our Council bond back.

I had our bricklayer 'Marty' call in yesterday to give us a quote for a retaining wall out the front. Hopefully it will come back reasonable. He told us to dig the trench ourselves and try and get as many leftover bricks as we can from other builds in the estate to save some money. If any of you have any leftover bricks that you want to get rid of, please let me know, as I would be more than happy to take them off your hands. We need 1,200 bricks in total.

18th July 2014

Yeh, we finally have a driveway!

The driveway was sealed this afternoon and looks fantastic. The colour matches the roof, gutters and front windows, which is great. We are so happy with the job Fogolin & Sons did. We will finally be able to park our cars in the driveway from Sunday. Funny thing is that now that its finished, I don't really want to drive on it, because it will get dirty...lol

We also had Fred, the MJH maintenance guy back today to finish off some painting and brickwork repairs. There were a couple of things that seem to have gone missed, so I will let head office know next week. We may have to get him back one more time.

I am so excited about getting some gardens. I have started making enquiries online as to the cost of the types of plants I have in mind. There is a cheap place at Taren Point, which is a bit of a drive from here, but the savings will be worth the travel. If anyone can recommend somewhere close to the Hills District that would be great.

Some pics of the finished driveway!

14th July 2014

The driveway guys came back this morning to cut expansion joints. Its almost ready to be driven on. All we need to wait for is for it to be sealed, which is now going to be happening this Friday. Apparently its suppose to rain over the next few days.  

10th July 2014

Yesterday was very exciting. Our driveway and crossover were poured. We are really happy with it so far. The guys from Fogolin & Sons did such a neat job and they were such lovely guys. They will be back tomorrow afternoon to cut it and then back next Thursday to seal it. So by next weekend we will finally be able to use it.

It has made such a difference to the front of the house. It really sets it off. All we need to do now is all the landscaping and decking to the front porch.

We ended up having 1/3 of our lights put up. We were hoping to have everything done in the one day, but the electricians were slower than expected. The electricians aren't available again for another week or so, so that is now going to have to wait.

Some pics of yesterdays work (sorry went a bit crazy with photos, but I was so excited I couldn't help myself):

7th July 2014

Well that was quick! Walked out to check the mail and found a pink piece of paper under the door mat.

 

Council had already been to inspect the form work and have approved it, so we are good to go.

 

I wish they had told me they were coming today instead of tomorrow. We could have poured tomorrow. Oh well.

 

Spoke to MJH today also to chase up our post-build maintenance as we have had hardly any work completed. It was a good thing I called, because if I hadn't they probably wouldn't have even bothered to call us. Seems like they forgot about us. I wasn't surprised considering the amount of work they have on at the moment and because it has been 10 months since we moved in.

 

MJH advised they could send someone out tomorrow to do some work for 4 hours and then again on Friday for a few hours as they had a "cancellation". I did get an apology over the phone for the delay which was nice, but its a shame that it has taken so long.

7th July 2014

Our driveway form work was erected today and as you can imagine, we are beyond excited as its been 10 months since we moved in. It was especially exciting for our almost 2 year old seeing the digger and the big truck...lol

Council have been locked in to do an inspection of the form work tomorrow. If all goes well, the guys from Fogolin & Son Concreting will be back on Wednesday to do the pour. Can't wait till the pour is done. Feeling a little nervous though about how the colour will turn out. Hoping its just the right charcoal colour. We are going with a charcoal coving finish, nice and simple. I'm not a fan of stenciled driveways as I feel it takes the focus off the house and the stencil stands out like crazy.

Unfortunately because we fall under Blacktown Council, we have to go with a plain brushed concrete finish for the crossover.

Some pics of todays work: