DGs Cremorne41.

Sunday 22/2/09. Handover plus 10 weeks

2009-02-22T17:40:00.007+11:00

Sun 22/1/09. Hi all. Apologies for being sooo missing in action of late. To cut a long story short, the demands of work has been unbelievable since Christmas, and then there is the never ending amount of tasks to be done on any new home.

Add to this, I have had minimal internet access, (let alone time to use it when I have had it) and then lost my PC to a very nasty virus......!!! Other than that, all has been great....

I have been following most of your blogs on my Blackberry, but those of you who have a blackberry will support me in saying that they have a specific use, and reading and responding to blogs is NOT one of them..! Great to see that so many of you (with the exception of perhaps one) have progressed in your builds, and some of you are very close to completion.

My priority very shortly after taking delivery of our house was to address the horrific amount of dust and general grime that was coming into the house every time someone went outside and came in again..!! Our new flooring and carpet copped a battering for weeks, and our trusty $120 vacuum cleaner just didn't cut it. (error no. 352 - Why did we not find more $$ for ducted vacuuming?) An expensive trip to the Good Guys has now resolved this (below).

We now have paths around at least 2/3 of the house, including to the clothes line, and let me tell you that while concrete can be rather bland and boring, we now have a fresh new admiration for it. Those of you about to take delivery of your lovely new homes, do yourself a favour and bump your paths up the priority list of things to do....

Thanks to some terrific help from brother Brian and good mate Tony, our decking to the alfresco was completed last week, and I have to say that this has come up a real treat. With the bi-folds open, this area is every bit as cosy as we anticipated.

Next important project is side gates to each side of house for privacy, then front and rear landscaping.

Alfresco. Merbau is not yet stained

Theatre room. Posters $10ea, delivery $18ea and frames $40ea

New dust control system. Nice little beast.

Still here - Sunday 11/1/09

2009-01-11T21:55:00.019+11:00

Hi all, and a very happy 09 to all of you.

We have been missing in action for a few weeks, as we have had to come to grips with taking delivery of a new home, and the stress and demands that come with it. Moving home is a massive task that simply cant be taken lightly, particularly when you have collected 22 years worth from the previous house...!! (Touchy subject....!!)

We officially moved into our house on Saturday 27th Dec. The move took 3 days. The first 2 days of deliveries saw the mighty Cremorne swallow up all before it, with everything finding a place. The 3rd day however was "junk day", and this is where the Cremorne burst at the seams............followed by the editor of this blog....!!

Anyway, 2 weeks on and we have become soooo happy with our house. Most items have now found homes, which has resulted in most rooms looking neat and uncluttered. There are still some rooms that are home to minor temporary storage, but this is short term.

We had our first "formal" dinner guests tonight, and the house passed the test with flying colours. Entertaining, cooking, layout, ambience etc.

We have found a few minor issues to raise with PD at 3 month inspection, but most are small quick fixes. The exception to this being our ceiling, which at night under lights looks totally crap...!! The kitchen and family room resemble the surface of the moon. We will be swapping out our current chinaman light fittings for downlights within the next 2 weeks, so I will be interested to see what these do to the appearance.

Anyway, some pics of a real-life Cremorne. .

This is where I sit.
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Formal lounge.
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Home Theatre. Love this room. Still housing our outside Alfresco suite, but will soon be transformed into our very own Gold Class.

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Coffee stop
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Food stop. Our fear during our build was that the pantry (while being big) wouldn't have enough shelf space. This fear dispelled.
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Dining
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Ok, for those thinking that we were never going to cook on our BBBB, here is the big boy in action. Beef stir-fry. Mrs G at the controls.

gggrrrr... Not happy Jan.....!! Not happy with PD allowing a cupboard door to spring open directly under a halogen downlight, and not happy with me falling for it. 1st night, and nearly had our first fire.

Upstairs Games room

Master suite.

My other fear during our build,. Would the two cars fit with room to move? Very happy and relieved with result.
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Side fence up. Rapt with the space we have here. Certainly not an acreage, but enough room for ...... something. Still getting our ideas together.

Ready for living - Tue 23/12/08

2008-12-23T21:55:00.010+11:00

Tue 23/12/08. Quick update.
I am now living at our house. The rest of the family will join me this weekend, which is our big move (may the force be with us).

Our carpet was completed today, and despite the boys bolting without doing an expected vacuum, it looks terrific.
Since taking over the keys 11 days ago, the house has looked pretty average from laying and cutting laminate (dust and grime), tools everywhere, and new furniture stacked up on each other awaiting carpet laying.

Tonight, the house got a full vacuum and furniture was deployed. The entire house has now taken on a warmly feel and is now ready for the family to join me.
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Downstairs Living Room. New lounge suite and panel slides to sliding doors ....not so new TV..!!
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HT Room. Really happy with this room. It's just screaming for those red theatre chairs to be brought around. (furniture in above shot will be for alfresco)
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Dining. Panel slides to bifolds and roller blinds to dining window.
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Editors room
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Master suite. More panel glides to balcony sliding door, as well as white shutter blinds.

So, our big weekend approaches. Will surely be one of stress, sweat and emotion, and I just know that come Monday, our house may not look as neat and clean as above.......!!. I'm going to keep focused on the end result. Next blog update next week.

So, to all my blogger friends, a warm and happy Christmas to you all.

Christmas has arrived early - Fri 19/12/08

2008-12-18T23:26:00.021+11:00

Fri 19/12/08.

ok ................. It's definitely time to expand my cooking expertise beyond an omelet and 4 min Tortellini....!! This is my "Big Bad Bastard Blanco". (BBBB). I reckon it's got a touch of attitude about it.

Driveway yesterday

Driveway today ...sealed. Interesting opinions between concreters as to how quick a driveway should be sealed after it is poured and stenciled. I've heard some concreters like to wait for a number of weeks before sealing (due to salt rise). My guy however likes to seal his driveways straight away. Will watch result with interest.
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Flooring edge to Home Theatre Room. HT will be carpeted. Note the aluminium edge that boarders the timber from the carpet.

For the guys. This is the tool used for undercutting the door jams so that the laminate flooring can be laid underneath.

Why do Porter Davis do this??? Of all the materials to load up at the entries, sand is by far the worst...!! Turns the entries into no-go zones.

Another appliance with attitude. I like it.

And finally, a special congrats to the Neil's who now have the jingle of new keys. Well done guys. The next phase now begins. Looking forward to hearing your progress.

Busy busy days....Tue 16/12/108

2008-12-16T22:23:00.006+11:00

Tue 16/12/08. You know, I think I was more relaxed and care free PRIOR to taking delivery of our house. Life has been a bit of a blurr since Friday. Predominantly taken up with laying 99 square meters of laminate, which has meant me going straight from work to site, and then getting home around 11pm..! We are 95% complete, with just the under stairwell area, and one or two intricate cuts still to do. Will then need to apply 19mm stained quad around all edges.

Today our driveway has started, with excavation and boarders completed. Tomorrow they will pour the concrete, Thursday complete the stencil pattern and Friday apply the sealant.
No driving on it for approx 5 days after that. In the meantime, I will be painting the garage floor.

Security was also installed today. A Bosch System16. Pretty impressive features, and will be wired back to Sanctuary Lakes security centre when our phone lines are in. If it goes off while we are out, security come around, open the house, inspect it for illegal entry, reset it, and call us advising of such. The system also includes 3 smoke detectors (in addition to normal legal ones), also wired back to the security centre. Not a bad service (well sounds good anyway).
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Ok. stencil will be large squares at 45deg. (perhaps called diamonds....?)

Laminate. I cleaned a small section for this photo, but needless to say, there is quite a bit of dust about the house at the moment.

Bosch control panel. This thing even sends/receives emails from the control centre.
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Ok, this for "Team Windsor". Our neighbours had their PCI last Friday. Not sure when their handover is. Despite my crappy night photo, this is a smart looking Windsor. Liana, I will try to get some day snaps and also the staircase. It looks terrific. I think owned by Chinese.

Next update will show completed driveway, appliances and completed (and cleaned) floor.

Perry. Forgot to take photos of the undercut door jams. Sorry.....next time.

Toni. 3 more sleeps. Can you hear the jingle of those keys in your sleep..?

Petal. No more blog....?

House owners at last - Sun 14/12/008

2008-12-14T23:06:00.012+11:00

Sun 14/12/08

New addition to the key ring.

A short story...........

Around 15 months ago, we made the decision to upgrade our home. This decision was with some apprehension and emotion, as we had built our current 18sq home 23 years prior.
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Current house

For weeks, we battled with the decision between building a Henley Riviera 33 or Porta Davis Cremorne41. Despite it never being our original intention to go to 41sq, the Cremorne won out in the end, for reasons stated on my blog home page.

Just prior to our build start back in June, I stumbled across Perry and Bernadette's blog one night when I was googling Cremornes. I contacted Perry the next day to discuss his experience, and he suggested I create my own blog. I hadn't contemplated this for a minute.

Perry, for this suggestion, I owe you a mighty thanks. You provided me not only the means of adding an interest to our pending build, but also a gateway to a group of people who have made our build so much more enjoyable and knowledgeable than I could ever have anticipated.

To all you bloggers who have contributed to our build, to those that have passed on such valuable knowledge, and to those who have had me in fits of laughter, I thank you all so much.

Not only do we now have a beautiful new home, but we have also gained some terrific new friends. Particular mention to Toni and Andy. The frequent support from you guys during what is normally a stressful process, has been so welcoming. And Liana........ well....who can EVER be stressed when you have Liana's updates just a click away.
Thanks also to G&V, Petal, R&C and Bellebeau. Been great fun bantering with you guys.

Our time line
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Friday was such a massive day for us. Our handover went exceptionally smooth. A quick check of PCI issues with Scott (ALL completed) and a dash to Deer Park to hand over cheque and pick up keys.

Then, in the blink of an eye, I went from "building a house" to "owning a house", and my world went mad...!! Now I know why bloggers go quite on their blogs after receiving their keys. Quite suddenly, you realise the work ahead of you, and the keys in your hand scream at you to get started..!!

Laminate first. Started Friday night. Got a little bit done, then returned on Saturday on my own and plugged on. Progress was slow due to my "Click and Lock" flooring doing everything BUT "Click and Lock"..! There is a real knack to this stuff, which took me til late Saturday to master.

Today, I was inundated with brothers and friends who weren't going to take "no" for an answer in helping me. I couldn't believe the progress with the extra hands. What was I thinking in wanting to do this alone?
So... a mighty thanks to mate Brian, brothers John and Brian, and son Jeff. You guys have been fantastic today. BBQ and beers soon.

Our new, but dusty floor. Cabin Oak from Fowles

Brother Brian and Son Jeff. This photo at 10pm...!! Still going. Laminate about 80% complete
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This week - Security system, Appliances, Driveway and Fence.

Next week - New furniture

Official move in - By 31st Dec.

A wee small update - Wed 10/12/08

2008-12-10T15:08:00.003+11:00

Wed 10/12/08.

42hrs...23min...22sec to handover.

I've just returned from a lunchtime dash to site. No tradies present and all locked up. A dreaded feeling came over me that nothing had been done and that handover was threatened.

Looking through the windows however revealed the following
- we now have a rangehood.
- the HT ceiling has been repainted
- weather strips have been added to the bi-folds and laundry door, and
- yes....the bow in the HT bulkhead has been corrected

42hrs...16min...17sec to handover.

Smaller outside tasks completed included the frame around the front doors now painted gloss, and some rough edging around the top of the garage door opening corrected.

Given the painter has come and gone, I can only assume that all the paint issues ID'd during the PCI have been corrected. This backed up by the noticeable absence of all those stickers that were present only 2 days ago.

Would have been nice to get in and look, but will have to make the (positive) assumption that all is now in readiness.

No pics for this entry, but definitely a detailed update in a few days.

And to Toni, Steve and family, all the best for your PCI on Fri.

It's an exciting time.

42hrs...2min...51sec to handover.

Bit of a snails pace at DeGauls - Mon 8/12/08

2008-12-08T09:34:00.006+11:00

Mon 8/12/08. My little mate below represents the pace of proceedings at our house over the last week.

No plastering or paint repairs, and the main bow in the HT room (which requires a section being replaced and repainted) yet to be started. A few of the minor PCI issues look to have been corrected, but clearly a lot of work to do between now and Friday's planned handover. Scott is still confident we'll get there.

So given the lack of activity at my house, I have instead been reading with interest the progress of the other blogs.

"H2B" as they prepare for their upcoming PCI. I'm sure it will go well guys.
"Petal" taking delivery of her keys and around 55sq to play with...!
"OurHouse Take 2". Another Cremorne underway. Welcome to the club guys.
"G&Vs Roland", who's progress just at the moment is represented by my mate above. Hang in there guys.
"R&Cs Brookvale". Progressing well. Have I mentioned how big that alfresco is..?
"Building our Windsor47". Hope you get those build issues resolved soon L. Starting to miss your updates..!
"BelleBeau". Ahh yes.. the thrill and milestone of getting that tap installed to site. Stand-by for porta loo and fence..!
"K&Ts Illoura 36". I'm guessing you guys would give anything to see a tap.......!!

So.... below is my only worthwhile (if not pathetic) contribution to my blog this week. My lead-in trench. Approx 6mtrs long X 300mm deep, dug by hand, and yep....forgot the gloves...!!Nursing 4 painful blisters this morning.

The $400 saved by me doing this sounded good in theory, but.....................

PCI ticked off.....Mon 1/12/108

2008-12-01T15:51:00.013+11:00

Mon 1/12/08. Ok......PCI completed today, with no real surprises. Most issues identified were more around minor paint dings and runs (approx 50 of these). Sue was in her element finding these, and Scott had no objections with placing a sticker on each. He identified quite a few himself.

Other issues identified included
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- a few doors that don't close up nicely
- a few door handles either missing or faulty
- lots of paint splatter on internal window frames
- false bottom in kitchen cabinets to cover 12v downlight transformers yet to be built.
- a few weather seals to certain doors still to be applied (laundry door and bifiolds)
- noisy fan in powder room
- and our two wall bows that Scott is not yet sure how to correct, but says he will correct....

The good thing to come out of the PCI is that handover has now been confirmed and set for 10am Fri 12th Dec.

So, the next 11 days will basically be about repairs, and no doubt a real sloooooowwww drag to the 12th.
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Quite a few tasks to be done immediately (very immediately) following handover, so all going to plan, moving in will commence from boxing day, with the family officially in by New Years Eve.

Supervisor (on left) and owner.
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How slow is this week going?....Sat 29/11/08.

2008-11-29T21:02:00.014+11:00

Sat 29/11/08.

I visited the site today for the usual look through the windows, only to find the laundry door unlocked. (hit me if I look surprised). I'm thinking that PD may as well give me a set of keys, given I am finding the house unlocked too often, and then having to lock it up for them...!!

Being so close to completeion, I am more than ever wanting the house to be LOCKED. Would rather be frustrated at not being able to get in, than getting a call telling me the place has been trashed.

Anyway, some further works completed during the week in readiness for this Mondays PCI. As can be seen above (and a few snaps below), I now have shiny red front doors. The painter has returned and glossed these, as well as the rear bifolds. (The bugger left the frame around the front doors in satin though....!!). The finish on the doors isn't quite to the standard of Da Vinci, but they look striking nonetheless.

With the exception of just a few, all the stickers and dots that were applied last week have been removed. From memory, most issues have been actioned, but yes, there are a few noticeable areas that have not been corrected.

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This time, I remembered to fire up those downlights against the splash, and was quite pleased with the result.

Sunset over the DeGauls.
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Liana. Note the distribution of brick pattern on the side wall......!! Suzi only noticed this today from this photo. We're not stressing, but clearly..............you are not alone...!

A story here, and some advice. I rang to arrange the lead-in cable for the phone connection to the house. This requires a trench to be run 300mm deep from the electrical pit (bottom center of pic) to my meter box, around 6mtrs. I was quoted $400 for the trench, or I could do it myself - no charge. Needless to say that as busy as I am over the next few weeks, I will be digging the trench. .

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Long awaited garage door
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Bifolds looking good

35hrs and 7min to PCI...........

Dots, splash, mirrors & render - Mon 24/11/08

2008-11-24T13:47:00.011+11:00

Mon 24/11/08. Lunchtime dash to site, at the hope of seeing the house open (smashing that window was becoming too much of a temptation...).

Renderers were on site applying our Woodland Grey.
Given the cost of render, I had anticipated seeing a fleet of Mercedes Benz's and BMWs parked out front..!

There was also someone inside doing a VERY thorough inspection of all walls, ceilings and frames, and in the process deploying what looked like over a hundred little coloured stickers. What impressed me with this was that I'll be dammed if I could identify the faults around many of the stickers...!!
Can't say he was happy for me to be on site (they just don't appreciate the mental punishment we go through to build a new house), so my stay was brief. Glad I dropped by nonetheless.
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Rendering completed. Also confirmed this morning that our "Scorpion" red 104 front doors will have their gloss coat applied AFTER PCI.
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New splash. Now awaiting the arrival of my free standing BBB.
("Big Bastard Blanco")
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Under cupboard downlights in. (damm.... forgot to turn them on for a look..)
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Transformers for the above downlights. A false bottom will be built above these (did that make sense..?). Along with the 2 downlights under the garage door eaves, these are the only low voltage halogens I have gone for. The remaining downlights throughout the house will be 240v Compact Fluorescent.
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Not so clean mirrors
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Lots of these....

The mail man has delivered...Sat 23/11/08

2008-11-22T14:22:00.008+11:00

Saturday 22/11/08. I have dates.......!! I have glorious, magnificent dates.
Our new best friend Krystal from PD has sent me a letter I have been waiting for.
PCI - Mon 1st Dec 10am (nice birthday present).
Handover - Fri 12th Dec (pending PCI items can be corrected).

Thus far, and with the exception of our ugly Home Theater room bow on the bulkhead wall, we have only identified smaller issues likely to come up. ie quite a few wall and paint "dings", HT ceiling may need another roll of paint, some doors may need re-aligning, a few AC ducts not fitting well etc. Most quick fixes.

I rushed around to the site this morning very eager to see both internal and external progress.
aaaahhhhhhh....... All windows and doors securely locked......!!! NO ENTRY.....!
I contemplated smashing a window to get in but thought better of it..!

The garage still has a big hole in the front (which is yet to be filled by a nice new garage door), but the construction fence has gone.

Suzi visited the site late yesterday and found a cleaner at the house cleaning (and locking) all the windows. She rang me to say that all our mirrors were now in and looked fantastic.
She also reported no splashback as yet, but cabinet downlights were in, and looked excellent. (refer my comment above re smashing a window to get in...!)

Our Cremorne from a distance.
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mmmm... Note sure here. Obviously looks like initial preparation for steps, but I don't recall these being discussed at tender or in contract. Anyone....?

Ok, given I couldn't capture some snaps from inside, here is one for you Windsor lovers (L&R, Petal). This is our neighbours across the road. Apart from the fact that this has been a painstakingly slow build, this house is starting to look very very nice.

Liana and Rob, I think the render looks great on this one....!!

We have light.... Tue 18/11/08

2008-11-18T20:47:00.015+11:00

Tue 18/11/08

Firstly, I have to say it was good to see many of the blogs come alive again this week. Most have been a little dormant for a while (holidays, construction issues etc), so to get some updates was very good.

We have progressed further this week. Not only do we now have switches and plugs, but we now have some current behind them....! Visiting the site at lunchtime today, there were sparkies everywhere, as well as a guy filling the expansion spaces in the bricks with a silicon (which I am happy about, as most of the original filling rubber was looking a little sick).

I now have a house full of Chinamans hats that come alive at the flick of a switch. Yes they look rather amusing, perhaps ugly even, but they will transform into downlights very soon..!

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Per my previous entry, the downlights in the other kitchen cabinets will be the correct type, mounted under the cabinets. The 12v transformers are already wired in and sitting in the bottom of each cabinet awaiting a false bottom to be installed. Sorry no photo.
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Now we do have a rather ugly bow in the bulkhead in our HT room...! Doesn't look much in this photo, but anyone with a good eye who visits the house has noticed it, including a good mate of mine who is a plasterer.

(Note to self. Avoid taking mates who are tradies through your new PD home.....)
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Gas meter now in, as well as external lights.

Splashback is due tomorrow (yip') and hopefully garage door shortly after. Beyond that, there ain't a great deal left to do. Cookware, dishwasher, render finish, fly screen, repairs & patches.

Still no official dates yet.

I am interstate with work the next few days, and wont be back till midnight Friday. Will probably pick up a speeding ticket on the drive to the site on Saturday morning....!!

Electrical fitout - Sun 16/11/08

2008-11-16T20:57:00.017+11:00

Sunday 16/11/08.
(This update for brother-in-law James currently working in Dubai, and keenly following our build. Look forward to catching up at Christmas mate.)

Electrical fit-out has began at DeGauls. A visit this afternoon showed around 80% of the fit-out complete. All internal light fittings have been run with most terminated into chinamans hats.
(I will be replacing all these post handover with Compact Fluorescent downlights. I did ask PD to do these during contract signing, but they were reluctant, instead stating they prefer to do halogens only..!! Long story...).

Light switches are yet to be applied, but wiring is pulled through waiting. Bathroom fans and smoke detectors have been added. Around half of the GPOs have been installed, the rest are just wires through the wall.
I did note that not all GPO wiring has been pulled through yet..!! Approx 6 still somewhere behind the walls. Perhaps tomorrow..............?
All internal door fittings are now added, including all door handles, door stops and privacy locks (to powder room, upstairs toilet and kids bathroom).

Robe hanging rails have been added, front portico has been decked underneath, garage ceiling has been installed and prepared for painting, as to alfresco ceiling. And those last few eaves around alfresco have now been added and ready for painting.

Someone has been in across the weekend and given the inside a long awaited clean. Benchtops, sinks and general rubbish on the floor. Not perfect (wife would call it a "boy clean"), but a vast improvement nonetheless.
Oh... and how did I get in the house to see all this....? Because someone had left 3 doors unlocked, including the back bi-fold which was WIDE open..........!!

Ceiling plug for projector

This is one of 3 downlights I had requested in the kitchen to be installed UNDER the over head cabinets (the other 2 under each cabinet above splashback). Instead it has gone under the bulkhead. After getting over the initial shock of it being in the wrong spot, we came to actually like it better where it is...! Will need to insist on the other 2 going in their correct spot.

Powder room looking a little cleaner.

This is the laminate floor we have decided to install to downstairs. "Cabin Oak" from Fowles Carpets in South Melb ($19 sq/m). We liked it because it is a similar colour to the floor in our existing house, and because it is a wide plank.

Excitement building... Tue 11/11/08

2008-11-11T19:05:00.021+11:00

Hi everyone. I have just returned from an annual getaway with 8 mates that I have known for 20 years. 4 days at Wilsons Prom. Hiking, fishing, eating fantastic food, lots of laughter, and a few drinks to wash it all down. We do this every year the week after cup weekend and go to a different location each time. Really look forward to it.

While away, I kept in touch with most of the blogs via my Blackberry. Not so easy given the small screen, but still good enough to read the progress of the blogs I follow. Clearly some great progress with some, and a few headaches for others.

I noted H2Bs entry stating how they now had garage doors as well as internal door fittings..!! As we are tracking roughly the same in our builds (as well as same house), I couldn't wait to get home today and rush around to our house, hoping to see similar progress.

No garage door/s or internal door fittings, but lots of other goodies nonetheless. And some good news from SS who happened to be at the house. More below...
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Garage ceiling is now in

Downpipes plumbed into storm water

All taps now fitted ...and working. Pantry above
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Ensuite. Tiles and taps
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All toilets now in....and flushing. (Yes I tested...)
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mmmm....the red will need to grow on me...

Powder room.

All aircon and heating ducts installed.
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Aircon and heating control. No upgrade here....just standard.
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So....all good progress.

SS claims that Electrician is due tomorrow to pull through all power points and lights. Shower screens are due next week and splashback around the 19th. Carpenter will return next week to finish eaves, then painter to paint these, as well as new garage ceiling and alfresco. All good news.

SS then hinted at possible handover. I wont quote him here, and we wont get over confident just yet, but needless to say that Sue and I drive home quite happy...!!

Tiles - Wed 5/11/08

2008-11-05T15:30:00.006+11:00

Wed 5/11/08. Tiling commenced this morning.
Visiting the house at lunchtime, the tilers had completed the splash areas downstairs, but were begrudgingly loading the floor tiles back into their car. Reason? We had ordered 450X450mm tiles, but 300X300mm had been delivered. ggrrrrrr......

Some initial snaps
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Kitchen niche. Note Quartz benchtops (Starlight Black) have been delivered and installed. The main QQ sections over the remaining benchtops have protective cardboard taped over them, so at this stage, the above is our only sneak preview.

QQ benchtops and tiles to pantry splash. Note kitchen already has a lived in look about it...!

A not too complimentary snap of our powder room splash (only just finished prior to photo). Camera has failed to do these justice. These against the "Stripple Seal" benchtop was one of those "wait and see" colour combinations. Looks ok.

Laundry. Another "wait and see" colour selection, which also looks ok. These are the tiles we have additionally selected for our shower walls.

Inside beating the Outside..! - Mon 3/11/08

2008-11-03T19:55:00.012+11:00

Monday 3/11/08. We visited the house at lunchtime today. It now seems that daytime visits will become the norm if we are to gain access to the inside and check progress. Thankfully, the house is now being locked up at night.

Painters were there adding some finishing touches to skirts, frames and stair well. Apart from one or two fairly small(ish) issues to raise with SS, we are happy thus far.

Tiles have now been delivered, bifolds have been stained, and shower bases formed and coated.
All up, good progress to inside.
Having said this, not a great deal of progress the last week on the outside. Alfresco ceiling not yet edged, and garage plaster ceiling nowhere to be found. Areas above bifolds and windows to home theatre still awaiting completion.

We are now just starting to move into the home straight. (nose-to-nose with H2B to the finish line)
- Flooring has now been ordered from Fowles Carpets in Sth Melb, with anticipated delivery 1st week Jan. Upstairs all carpet, while downstairs all laminate, exception being carpet to lounge and H/T,
- Quote from Home Outlet in Hoppers Crossing for window coverings received. Timber Venetians to front windows, Panel Glides to sliding doors and bifolds, and Roller Blinds to all else. (Happy to share costs to anyone interested)
- New furniture has been ordered. New dining table, outdoor Wicker suite for alfresco, and still looking for new sofas for Family and Living rooms.
- Quote about to be received for driveway. Exposed aggregate, with just enough colour mixed through to satisfy the pesty estate authorities.
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Paint splatter protection now removed from cabinetry.

Upstairs family room.

Shower bases now formed and prepped. Above is En-Suite, below is Bathroom.

Home Theatre. Very happy with the colour here.
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Bifolds now stained.

Looking through Bifolds at wife asking painter "when are you guys going to return to paint the alfresco ceiling?"

Tiles.

- The big greyish ones (Villamanta Smoke) are for all wet areas, including Powder, Laundry & Bathroom floors, as well as Shower bases and bath tiling.

- The small white ones (Entiva White Gloss) are for the splash areas to the Pantry and kitchen niche (next to fridge).

- The small red ones (Entive Red) are for the splash in the Powder Room, and Shower niche in bathroom, and

- The lighter grey tiles (Loretta Bark Grey) are for the splash to Bathroom and Laundry, as well as Shower walls.

I'm thinking most of these will look good, while some......well...........we'll just have to wait and see...!

Progress and other stuff - Thur 30/10/08.

2008-10-30T21:32:00.016+11:00

Thur 30/10/08. Not a huge week at the DeGauls, but then again, I'm comparing each week now with my massive week 15 when so much happened (refer time-line).

In summary
- Piers to front pergola and rear alfresco finally bricked
- Garage roof tiles completed
- Front door painted
- More minor repairs to internal walls following first splash of paint
- Framework, internal doors and shelving painted
- oh...and an un-invited guest sometime during Monday night....!!! (more below)

PD got wise to my "unlocked window" trick and now ensure all windows are firmly locked each night.......... only to leave half the doors unlocked...!!
Tonight was the first night since we were only a piece of mud that the house has been fully inaccessible. All windows and doors firmly locked, and the owner left out. Given the stage the house is now at, I wasn't fussed.
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Front 104s with their coat of "Scorpion".

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Garage now has a top.

Wooden posts to front pergola and rear alfresco now bricked...!!

These`photos from yesterday
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Internal access to garage (I've been wanting one of these for 23 years..!!)
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The front 104s from the inside, painted up and looking smart. (Wife had assumed these would be Scorpion on the inside as well, yet they look to be finish coated white...! Must check the documents. Think I prefer the way they are now)
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Internal walls have had a coat applied, but now have dots.
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Downpipes are paperbark, which wife likes. I'm thinking perhaps Pearl Grey may have been a better call, per the guttering. Opinions welcome.
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This is what confronted the tradies on Tuesday morning. Pantry window smashed, and doors left wide open. Perhaps someone looking for a Blanco..? Nothing to steal at this stage, and fortunately no damage to walls. If this is my only break-in til handover, I'll be happy. Where are those security guards when you need them?
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Ok, a few have asked me what was the furniture I had planned to put into the HT room against the "gray mood" walls. This photo shows my current setup at our existing home. 3 theatre recliners purchased from Roth Newton (yes there are 4 of us, but we could only fit 3 in our room....which was once our formal lounge). I will be trying to find a fourth matching chair shortly.

Above these is a Mitsubishi DLP projector purchased from Big Picture People.

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Now this needs some explanation (for anyone interested). We couldn't mount the 240cm screen on the wall to the right because we didn't have sufficient distance from projector to screen, So we had to turn our room sideways, and then create a solution to mount the screen. The answer...2 aluminium tubes running from floor to ceiling. All this (minus the tubes) will be packed up and moved to the new Cremorne.

More paint - Sat 25/10/08

2008-10-25T21:12:00.012+11:00

Sat 25/10/08. Visit today showed render started. This will eventually be Woodland Grey.

I had initially assumed that the the front pergola post (when eventually bricked) would be rendered as well. On looking at the drawings tonight, this is not the case. So hoping it will look ok against the render.

Internal ceilings now have a top coat of paint throughout the entire house, and we now have a glimpse of what our Home Theatre room walls will look like, as they also have a top coat ("Gray Mood"). No complaints with our selections thus far, but early days, and tiles yet to come..!

Speaking of tiles, the garage roof has been left incomplete for a very good reason. The remaining 60 odd tiles sitting at the front of the house are ALL damaged (refer below), and therefore couldn't be used. Suspect these were damaged during installation/removal of scaffolding..!!

Per request from someone who asked, I have now added our colour selection to our blog (further down on the right)..
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Home Theatre room. I really wanted this room to have a feel specific for its purpose, including a noticeably darker decor. I'm planning to run a slightly darker carpet in here (instead of laminate, or the lighter carpet we are using elsewhere) and fit the room out with our existing red recliner theatre chairs. The chairs should look great.

Some internal PD correspondence...!! Love it.
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In-laws and wife on upstairs balcony from master suite. Render has now hidden those suspect bricks that had been used on the top four rows. (........wife is on the right..........!!)
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This is one of 3 stacks of tiles, all of which are damaged.

A little paint here & there - Thur 23/10/08

2008-10-23T21:15:00.008+11:00

Thur 23/10/08. True to SS's word, painting commenced today. Undercoat sprayed throughout.
Tiles are now on the garage roof (although tilers looked to have called it a day just short of finishing the job...!!).
Brickies still haven't returned to brick the peirs on the pergola and alfresco, but I'm not surprised at this.
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The 104s taped up and sprayed.he

mmmm... someone has had a crack at straightening the pole (wasn't me). Not perfect, but a definite improvement.
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A solid week - Fri 17/10/08.

2008-10-17T20:07:00.014+11:00

Fri 17/10/08. This week has seen some good progress.

Garage trusses applied, fixing completed, portico decked, cabinets installed, front pergola built and a few repairs and lots of areas identified for repairs and touch-ups.

SS has advised that next week should see
- the return of the brickies to complete the 2 remaining timber posts (alfresco & front pergola)
- the roofers return to tile the garage roof, and
- painters making a start.

The below 3 snaps show the pergola that Sanctuary Lakes insist be added to all Cremornes as part of estate requirements. 3 other Cremornes close by also have this added..!!

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Guttering to front of garage.
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Pantry. Love the extended top shelf....hate the brace on the end...!!
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Light switch cut out in stair well. Happy with the new positioning.
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Balcony now has a floor..

Upstairs bathroom basin now has a pipe.
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Lots of scribbles on the walls for plastering touch-ups

Very happy....well mostly - Tue 14/10/08

2008-10-14T21:10:00.021+11:00

Tue 14/10/08. I'm guessing the fixing carpenters rolled up this morning but were unable to find a spare car park so went home...!! No further fixing completed upstairs, but garage roof completed, cabinets installed & balcony framed.

Lots of photos, so little text tonight..

At last, starting to take shape.

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Quartz bench tops yet to be delivered. Perhaps held off due to risk of damage. These will be starlight black. Splashback will be red.

Oh yes.... it now makes sense what that yellow painted square was a month ago...!! A hole in the wrong spot. Not overly fussed with this.
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Benchtop for pantry
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Pantry sink
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Laundry
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Ensuite

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gggrrrrr..... Bathroom basin. The water...she has nowhere to go.... !!.

Powder Room

Linen shelves (these for T)
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1st occupant
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New bricks delivered. Perhaps for post in Alfresco..?
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Decking for front balcony
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Balcony framed
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A good day.. with a good finish - Mon 13/10/08

2008-10-13T21:52:00.015+11:00

Monday 13/10/08. Visited the site late around 5pm this afternoon just as 2 young blokes were finishing off a very solid days work. All skirtings, window frames, shelves and internal doors & frames have been installed to downstairs. Most doors have additionally been installed to upstairs.

The boys let slip that SS had allocated an entire week to them to complete fixing, yet they are confident they will be 99% complete by tomorrow night. Will be concentrating on upstairs tomorrow.

Wasn't compelled to over-do it on the photos while they were working, so just a few for now.

Master bedroom..

Pantry. This look a little "lacking" at the moment. Still the main bench top to be installed against the external wall (to the right), which will wrap 90 deg' around the corner and fill the noticeable gap between current bottom and 2nd bottom shelves.

Additionally, Sue and I requested during contract that the 2nd shelf down be also extended 90 deg' around to the external wall (cost $50). Interesting that this is yet to be done from the photo, so a quick check with SS in morning..!!
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And then, just as I was about to leave the site, Santa Claus arrived in a Kitchen delivery truck, fall to the roof with cabinets, boxes, draws, bench tops, cupboards etc etc. Other duties restricted me from sticking around and stocktaking my new assets, but needless to say that I was happy to see this.

Question to those who have progressed beyond this phase. Who installs the cabinets? Is it the fixing carpenters, or does someone else come in specifically for this task?

Bring on thou Fixing Carpenter - Sun 12/10/08.

2008-10-12T21:14:00.012+11:00

Sun 12/10/08. Another week slips by, and while progress has been "steady", Christmas (and our once hoped for completion), is just 11 weeks away...!! The question now is how many weeks will we miss by, and what bribery will be required to extend the rental on our current house beyond the agreed 15th Jan..?

A few people have commented that our recently installed stair handrail has been placed in its "normal" location, which unfortunately (for Cremorne owners) means it is often positioned directly over the "normal" position of the the stairwell light switch...!! (Given the frequency of this issue, is it perhaps time for PD to resolve this once and for all on their default Cremorne plan, or am I having a common sense overload?)

Having seen this problem reported on numerous blogs (thanks all), I did report this to SS the day after the electricals had been run, and requested that the particular light switch batten be wedged out and re-positioned 300mm higher. SS claimed he was going to do this himself (ex sparky), although I never did hear if he completed it, or for that matter advised the electrician that he had moved it..! Perhaps a call is in order.

Internal doors, frames, skirtings & shelves were all delivered Friday and stacked in the living room. Sometime on Sat morning, they were all distributed to their specific part of the house. Unless mistaken, I think this is the very first bit of weekend work done on our house to date. Looks promising for a start on these tomorrow.
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House exterior now pressure cleaned, exception being the planned rendered areas, which will be Woodland Grey. (Not totally sure why they leave this...!!). We have come to be very happy with our selection of brick.

Internal fixtures positioned to their specific locations.
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Repair job on the upstairs shower plumbing (refer blog entry 5/10), via a freshly cut hole in the downstairs family room ceiling. gggrrrr.
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Garage roof delivered.

Small steps - Thur 9/10/08.

2008-10-09T20:54:00.006+11:00

Thur 9/10/08. How good is it to see stairs in your house for the first time???? I have rated this a milestone in our construction (hence big red font on my blog timeline). Yes I had kind of grown fond of our aluminium ladder (think I've clocked up around 3klms climbing on this), but oh the feeling of walking up stairs for the first time....!! Savoured every step. I'm sure most of you will know the feeling. (I am told by those who claim to know that I will be sick of them within 3 months...!!)

Pressure cleaning of outside of house has now been completed. (exception being the planned rendered areas at the front, incl' neighbours bricks! Ref previous entry). Cleaned bricks have come up well.

The plumber has returned and repaired the damaged bathroom shower drain (reported in my previous entry) but this is at the cost of a nice big and unplanned hole in my family room ceiling, which now needs to be plugged.

A visit tonight shows lots of new material having arrived today. Internal doors, frames, skirtings, shelves, oven, fridge, bed (ok ok.....wishful thinking on the last 3...!!). All stored in the family room and awaiting what I hope will be an efficient and friendly fixing carpenter. Perhaps a start tomorrow. Petal. Will let you know how my welcome is should I visit the site..!

Still no sign of a garage roof as yet. Looking at H2Bs Cremorne with their garage bolted on, it certainly makes their house look more complete and in proportion. Mine still has that "missing bits" look about it.
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The scaffolding still clamped to the rear roof has meant my eaves have copped a battering from the rain earlier this week.

Day-shots, with a few grumbles - Sun 5/10/08.

2008-10-05T21:11:00.014+11:00

Sun 5/10/08. Not a great deal of changes since last post. Walls and ceilings look to have been sanded back smooth, and stairs have been delivered (not yet installed).
As mentioned numerous times before, daytime visits tend to find "little things" that raise the eyebrows.

Top part of house has been pressure cleaned, as can be clearly seen.

Grumble 1. Note the top 3 layers of bricks on the balcony. These clearly aren't La Mesa's.....!! They suspiciously look more like the bricks from the construction site across the road....(which coincidentally has some spare bricks left over)!!! Now my balcony will be rendered, so this will not be seen from the outside, although I will need to check if the inside of the balcony is also rendered. Perry, Andy & Mike. Did you get render on the inside here?

Side braces for stairs

Steps
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Grumble 2. More stair parts. Just love how they have delivered and placed these. The big piece on top took a nice chunk out of the plaster wall...!
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Grumble 3. This is frustrating..! Above is a photo of the plug in our upstairs bathroom shower. Up until last weekend, if you looked down into it, you would see a bit of water and the normal PVC plumbing. Today, that bit you can see in the middle of the plug (in the photo) is the downstairs family room floor...!! Why? Because something has fallen down into the plug, smashed the plumbing and gone straight through the plaster to downstairs..!! (refer below pic). Lovely.....!!

Scaffolding gone - Thur 2/10/08.

2008-10-02T23:03:00.007+10:00

Thur 2/10/08. Been in Adelaide for the week. Detoured to site on the way home from airport tonight, and was pleased to see Scaffolding has gone. External of house looks huge without the scaffolding (well in the dark anyway....).

Email from Porter Davis today-
"Hi David,
Hope you are well.
Just emailing to advise that plastering of your home should now have commence and is due for completion on Monday, with cabinets due to be installed sometime next week.
I will email you next week with further updates.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries.
Thanks and kindest regards,
Krystal."

I admit I am hanging out for stairs and cabinets. Will really start to get a feel for general livability of the house when these are in.

Has anyone else noted that many of the houses on the PD website have "put on a little size"...!! ie The Cremorne and Roland have now grown to 42sq...!! What gives..?

Some night shots. (Will replace these with day shots over weekend)

Plastering done - Sun 28/9/08.

2008-09-28T20:32:00.013+10:00

Sun 28/9/08. Plastering now looks to be complete. The only area still needing some filling is around the temporary stairwell platform, which will be finished when the platform is removed.

Plastering job looks generally ok, with the only concerns being around some window frames that don't yet seem even with the plaster wall from one side to another, and a few gaps that seem a little "roughly finished". At this stage, surfaces look straight and square.

As indicated by my SS early last week, plasterers were all Chinese. ("....Boral use Chinese for their plastering..."). A lunchtime visit to the site confirmed approx 6 Chinese plasterers (incl 2 women) and zero English spoken between them...! My obligatory question "mind if I come inside for a look" (I'm always compelled to ask this when visiting the site during the day) was met with cocked heads and a shrug of the shoulders...!!
More amusing was the fact that I had to tiptoe quietly through the kitchen, as one of them was sound asleep on the floor..! True story.

SS hinted last week that stairs may arrive this week and cabinets shortly after. Like most others, I have come to like my steel ladder to upstairs (has developed its own special character), but stairs and cabinets will be an exciting milestone.

Noticed most blogs have been quite over the last few weeks. Assume all you lucky people have been on holidays....? Look forward to reading/seeing your progress.

Looking to front door
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Family room to kitchen.
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Study
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What would a blog entry be without conceding some dodgy tradesmanship. This at one of the master suite windows.
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Alfresco

Rear cladding commenced.
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Wiring into garage. Light, roller door, under eaves downlights.........
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Eaves added.
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Plaster start - Wed 24/9/08

2008-09-24T22:37:00.009+10:00

Wed 24/9/08. Plastering has commenced today, with most walls and ceilings covered. (Funny how the rooms look a little smaller when plastered...!!).

As expected, all electricals, speaker wires and ac/htr ducts have been plastered over, so I hope that all location measurements for these (including mine) are accurate..!.

H2B. I'm starting to miss your updates, as your house has been a good guide in measuring our progress and what's in store for us next..!! Based on our progress, and you being around 3 weeks ahead, I can only assume that you must surely have stairs and perhaps cabinets in by now...? Look forward to hearing from you..

Cherubs. After reading your recent entry, I couldn't help but try to look for general squareness and straightness in my walls and ceilings tonight. Far too early to detect any probs (as well as looking under torch light), but will be oh so watchful.
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From front entry to rear of house.

Upstairs family room. Yet to work out what the roof pieces are. Some form of bracing? If so, then why no-where else? .
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From front master suite to rear of house.
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Downstairs family room.
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Teenager in downstairs family room looking to front entry.

Day snaps - Sat 20/9/08

2008-09-20T23:26:00.011+10:00

Sat 20/9/08. Spent most of today at site running speaker wires. (Home theatre as well as 4 X ceiling speakers throughout).
Some general day snaps for display.
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Bricks complete to above eaves line, but oh that pole....!!

Brickies have packed up and gone (again) but have forgotton to brick alfresco pole...!!! gggrrrr

All batted up and ready for plaster.......

We now have cooling and heating......

Just had to give those bifolds a try.....
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This is our house (centre) from the walkway between the 15th and 16th hole.

..the sweet smell of mortar - Thur 18/9/08

2008-09-18T22:47:00.015+10:00

Thur 18/8/08. The boys are back in town...!! Late night stealth to the site tonight revealed new rows of bricks. In fact, the day has been rather constructive. Almost to the top on the entire laundry side, and most of the kitchen side. Front of house bricked around the upper windows..

Tomorrow I have alarm wiring booked, and SS has informed me that plastering should commence mid next week. yip'.

Toni & Steve. Not sure you will want to read this, given your hassle last week. I actually got confronted by estate security during my visit to the site tonight. Apparently saw my camera flash going off, so decided to discretely observe my movements for 10 min, before investigating (pulling up to site with high beams on). Note sure he initially believed I was the owner, but we ended up chatting in the dark for a good hour. Great bloke, very informative and lots of good advice. Learnt a lot about what goes on after dark in new areas, which I know some of you can relate to....!! Body corp fees normally feel a real slog, but tonight I felt my first sense of value.

I see Toni (@The Neils) has suggested a possible blog-get-together in the future. Great idea, the DeGauls definitely in.

Some night shots below (excuse my lack of a good flash..)

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AC/Heater tubes. NOTE. Still no AC tubes into both bedroom 4 and Home theatre, and only one outlet remaining in a junction box above bedroom 4 (below)...! I am assuming that this single last outlet will run a split tube, servicing these two rooms. Can you other Cremornees confirm..?

Front Corinthian 104s. Surprised to see my actual doors in, rather than the temporarys used during building stage at other sites. Would rather temps at this stage. As with my bi-folds, am watching closely for any damage....! These will be painted "scorpion" red.
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The notorious stairwell light switch that has come up for discussion on a few Cremorne blogs, in that it is positioned right where the stair hand rail is installed. Tempted to re-position it over the weekend, perhaps a little higher. Any advice?
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The Windy City. Tue 16/9/08

2008-09-16T09:23:00.003+10:00

Tue 16/9/08. Take a fresh bleeding wound and rub a teaspoon of salt in. It stings......!!

That's what I felt during my visit to the site last night. As if it's been hard enough not having a brickie for 2 weeks now, the wind has torn away much of my exposed insulation wrapping and blown it to the next suburb...!! gggrrrrr.
Some quick repairs will be in order. (Maybe I should have checked my tiles..!). Anyone else suffer any damage?

I also noted my nice new front doors (Corinthian104s) had been left open and flapping in the wind...!! Relieved at no damage, but how hard is it to close a door...?

Wrapped to see air-con and heating tubes now in, as well as heater unit in roof. (No AC on roof yet).
No photos at this stage, perhaps in a few days with hopefully a fresh row of bricks.

Steel and foil. Wed 10/9/08.

2008-09-10T20:20:00.007+10:00

Wed 10/9/08. Little bits since last update.
- Scaffolding up.
- Upper house wrapped.
- External doors delivered.
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.....???
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Doors - Laundry, double fronts and garage.

Holding pattern - Mon 9/9/08

2008-09-08T20:27:00.006+10:00

Mon 9/9/08. My brother in-law (James) is currently working out of Dubai, and is keenly following the progress of our house. He emailed me last night complaining that my updates of late have been few and far between...!!

Fact is....... not a great deal has happened over the last week or so. Apart from a handy site clean, the house hasn't been touched since last Tuesday. Makes for a bit of an anti-climax when one visits the site each night full of hope and anticipation...!!! I have no doubt many of you know the feeling.

Today scaffolding was delivered (hopefully erected tomorrow). Surprised that plaster had also been delivered and stored in both downstairs family and upstairs living room (how do they get it in....?)

We also now have some timber fences between us and neighbours. You will note that putting a Cremorne41 on a 565sqm block doesn't leave a lot of space remaining. We have approx 2mtrs on the back, 3mtrs on the kitchen side, and 5.5mtrs on the laundry side. Given we have battled to landscape and maintain a large yard area for the last 23 years, we are very much looking forward to working with a smaller area.

While my house is momentarily in Pause mode, I was happy to pay a visit to the Neils on Saturday. Now that is a Cremorne that is going places fast....!! No surprise to see tradies working AGAIN on Saturday. And as if they weren't already well ahead of me, I helped them fit some of their sound batts. Their house is going to be soooo quite. Great meeting you at last T&S.
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Scaffolding stacked and ready to be erected.
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Plaster in downstairs family room.

And upstairs in living room.

Back fence.

Alfresco to back corner. (post yet to be bricked).

Quick update - Thur 4/9/08.

2008-09-04T19:11:00.009+10:00

Thur 4/9/08. Not a huge amount of progress since my previous post 6 days ago. It was nice to get a portico added and a start to the garage wall/s, but apart from that, each days progress this week has been only minimal. (I think my brickies tend to call it quits each day around lunchtime...!!).

Today the site was cleaned. Scrap building materials removed and broken bricks tidied.

SS has informed me perhaps scaffolding tomorrow for completion of bricking next week. Electricians, air con/heating and plaster the week after. (Would like a "Fast Forward" button)

Bricks - End day 5 - Fri 29/8.

2008-08-29T18:59:00.006+10:00

Fri 29/8/08. Quick trip to site after work. Most of todays bricking looks to have been done around the rear and sth side of house. No start on portico or outside garage wall as yet, although very pleased that roof tiles have now been laid over rumpus and alfresco. (a little less stress during heavy rain).
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That pole ............

Alfresco. (Some relaxing hours will be spent here.....)
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Looking over/under new roof tiles over rumpus.
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Bricks - End day 3 - Wed 27/8.

2008-08-27T20:21:00.008+10:00

Wed 27/8. Some snaps at the end of day 3 bricking.
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Nth side.

Rear Alfresco & Rumpus walls now 3/4 done.

Note, Tiles still not laid over Rumpus & Alfresco. I'm really hoping these are done in time for next rain...!!!

Bricking just starting to creep around onto the Sth side.

My not-so-straight garage pillar..! Report it to PD..?
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Pipe works. Gas (yellow) coming from gas meter on other side of house to new location for hot water service (against pantry wall). Other thicker pipe is (i think) for solar hot water.

Bricks-n-Mortar - Day1 - Tue 26/8.

2008-08-26T09:11:00.004+10:00

Tue 26/8. How nice it is to see some bricks laid. Seems like an eternity that we have been waiting for a brickie and some rare blue sky. The fact that I have 4 brickies on the site may make up for some lost time (although I think they will still be challenged in matching the pace of the Neils lone brickie..!).

I am relieved to be happy with the colour of the brick. You can look at these things for hours on a demo board, website or brochure, and still not get any feel for how they will look in the flesh once laid. In fact, it can be daunting knowing if you have selected the correct colour and type.
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Brick layer found - Thur 21/8.

2008-08-21T12:40:00.003+10:00

Thur 21/8/08. Visited the "mud" this morning and met Site Supervisor (Scott). It was a nice surprise to roll up and see a team of Brickies moving bricks around the site and unloading new scaffolding. Not sure the weather will allow any real progress today.

SS is a good bloke. Spent a good hour with me discussing various parts of the process to date, as well as the next few stages, and then giving me some handy advice on the best finish for my particular brick (he recommended "rolled" rather than my contracted "raked"). He introduced me to head Bricky Steve (who has coincidentally just recently finished bricking a Cremorne in Geelong... (B&P...?). Ended up agreeing to the rolled finish, at which Scott rang PD to request the change in the documents. Good service

He showed my his time-line on my house, which has a projected handover on the 12th Dec, although he did state some doubt in achieving this, mainly due to tasks around the completion of eaves, extended facade & rendering.

A good visit nonetheless. Will update some pics over the weekend, hopefully with some bricks in place.

Brickies wanted...good pay....!! Tue 19/8.

2008-08-19T14:40:00.012+10:00

Tue 19/8/08. I went to the site this morning, full of anticipation of seeing the mud now mixed with wonderful bricking mortar. Nothing new.... !! Just mud... no mortar!! The La Mesa's are still bundled together, packaged and un-opened...!!

In speaking to my SS (whom I am meeting for the first time on Thursday) he conceded that he is having a tough time getting a brickie. (I think he has allocated all his top resources to "The Neils", hence their good progress over the last week...hehe).
He has "teased " me by claiming he may have a brickie ready to start on Monday (he's just finishing his apprenticeship..!!), but given this is a full 2 weeks later than what PD Admin told me 3 weeks ago, I fear my Christmas handover is looking more and more distant.

Anyway, Bi-fold door has been added to dining/alfresco, which I guess is something.

Note - I am still awaiting engineers report as to whether the pole or house is on the lean...!!

New bi-folds. I know these are going to look terrific finished and stained, but looking at them now, I ask myself "... how much were these..."?
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Sliding door to master bedroom balcony.

Rear bedroom. Glazed window for neighbor privacy, yet his window is not....!!!
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Upstairs living room window. (House two doors down being marked out).
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Stairwell
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Kitchen side of house. Note, we relocated the hot-water service from the other side of the house to here. I guess we just wanted the hot water to be as close as possible to the kitchen. This logical....?
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Other side of house, now with rear framing completed.
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This is a potential storm water blockage if ever I have seen one.....!

Almost bricking - Thur 14/8.

2008-08-14T14:20:00.010+10:00

Thur 14/8/08. Just returned from a quick lunchtime dash to site. Wall insulation & plumbing have been applied over the last day or so, and bricks have been delivered.
While I was there, the heating/cooling people had just arrived and were doing some some measuring up, although they did state they were not planning on installing anything just yet.
Nice to know that bricking will commence shortly, although I was told last Friday that it would commence Tuesday just gone....!! I think they love to tease...!!

Note. There is a theory circulating that the light pole is actually straight, and it's the house that's leaning...!! Think I may hold back my Frame milestone payment until advised.

Laundry.

Kitchen.

This photo is dedicated to "House to Be" who commented recently on how clean our slab was compared to theirs. Well, in the space of a few days, we are now battling the grime with you guys..!! Great for shoes..!!

Bricks. Note. Looking through our contract, we actually decided on Cat6 bricks, instead of the previously stated Cat5. Colour is La Mesa.

Roof n Tiles. Updated Sat 9/8/08.

2008-08-09T22:46:00.012+10:00

Sat 9/8/08. Hi all. Firstly, congrats to Perry and Bernadette on taking delivery of the keys to their new Cremorne. Their house looks to have come up a real treat. Look forward to hearing how they settle in.

Also to the Neils who are having a tough time "retaining" their building materials and as a result are experiencing delays. I'm feeling your hurt guys. Chin up, and hope they catch the little %#*&*%! soon.

Have just returned from site with a few update snaps. Very happy with progress thus far. One question I will need to ask PD is around any double glazing requirements on our Nth facing windows....because we don't look to have it...!! (I thought this was a requirement for energy ratings...!!).

PD informed me yesterday that bricking is due to commence on Tuesday. Security company will be visiting the site Monday to run wiring for compulsory alarm system (per estate requirements).

Sat 9/8. Roof tiles laid, scaffolding removed

Roof works

Note that the roof framing over the rear of the house (AlFresco & Rumpus) is yet to be completed. This is apparently due to our changed roof pitch (more estate requirements) impacting the scaffolding positioning, and thus preventing framing over these areas to be complete until scaffolding is removed..!!

View from master bedroom, overlooking some of the golf course.

Future timber Bi-fold doors to Alfresco

Tiles-n-Roof. Wed 6/8/08

2008-08-06T22:08:00.009+10:00

Wed 6/8/08. Quick update (no photos at this stage).
Our roof tiles arrived yesterday, and coincided with our gutters being installed.

I've just returned from a quick stealth mission under the cover of darkness to the site (funny how the tradesmanship always looks better in the dark....!!!) and the roof tiles have been laid. Yes, we have a roof....

My camera wasn't up to the challenge of a night shot, so I will need to wait til weekend to post a pic or two.
Progress has been very good to date.
How I long for that handover........

Framing stage. Updated Fri 1/8/08

2008-07-27T22:38:00.012+10:00

Fri 1/8/08. Frame and roof are complete. All external door & window frames are installed with all Windows added to ground level
(Note. Slab was poured only 13 days prior...!! They don't muck around ......... Speaking of "muck", if you think there is a lot of mud on the road in this photo, you should see the state of my car from visiting the site every day....!!)

Tue 29/7/08. Upstairs framing commenced.

Update Sunday 27/7. It was great to see framing commenced last Monday, although progress earlier in the week was slow due weather (yeah I know we need the rain....). Having said this, PD continued working during those showery days, only calling it quits when it got too wet and steady.
All windows and external sliding doors arrived during the week and are currently stacked in the mud next to the house...!!
I spent a few hours last Saturday scrambling over the site with tape measure and plan. All measured up fine.
Anticipating upstairs framing commencing tomorrow (weather permitting).

Thur 24/7. Lunch break. Ground Floor framing almost complete.

Up to completion of slab

2008-07-15T21:54:00.023+10:00

Sat 19/7/08. Note the slab has been extended to the Alfresco. Also note the state-of-the-art security system installed....!!
..

Sat 19/7/08. Slab down.
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Thu 17/7/08. Slab form, waffle & reinforcement completed.
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Thu 10/7/08. Pipe Works.
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Thu 10/7/08. Fence up. Starting to look like a construction site.
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Sun 6/7/08. Porta Loo & Crossover protection arrive
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Thu 3/7/08. This qualify as a start....?
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Thur 3/7/08. Empty block. File passed from Admin to Construction 2 weeks prior.
Waiting.......waiting......
(.....and it wasn't I who bent the post.....)