scr1155

Driveway & Patio

2011-05-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

Our driveway and patio were completed the week after we moved in as we were very lucky with the weather. Still need to get a block retaining wall with stairs done and then the fencing.

House Completed

2011-03-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

PCI

2011-03-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

PCI done on Monday 28 March. Only minor paint touchups needed. The brick cleaners did turn up on Sunday and did 2 hours spot cleaning only. The whole house needs to be done so they have to come back again. If the bricks are fixed to our satisfaction handover will happen next week.

No Brickcleaner

2011-03-25T19:19:00.001-07:00

What a surprise! No Brickcleaner - despite promises by SS and Area Manager no one has turned up to fix the brickwork. Obviously no one is prepared to touch it - too difficult!

Ongoing work

2011-03-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

Painters finished in a week. Paintwork was terrible and we had to ask Bill McDonald to make them do it properly. All the doors needed to be sanded back and repainted with a brush finish - they originally had the orange peel effect as the painters only used a roller.

The tilers laid the large floor tiles and did a beautiful job. Very happy we managed to get their best tilers as 3/4 of the house is tiled.

The house has been cleaned and the carpet was laid on 18 March.

Unfortunately we now have a bigger issue with the brickwork. Since the bricks were cleaned on 30/11/10 the bricks have slowly turned yellow. It turns out that the bricks have Acid Burn due to incorrect cleaning. This is a separate issue to the original problem when too much pressure was used which blasted dozens of holes in the mortar.

The acid burn can be fixed by the use of Phosphoric Acid but this chemical can damage powdercoated aluminium windows and doors. We have been assured MJH will fix the problem but we are devastated that it has happened and very worried at the mess we will end up with.

Our beautiful house has turned into our worst nightmare. We have spent such a large amount of money and we are so disappointed with what we have ended up with.

Our PCI is booked for Monday 28/3/11 but I cannot see a handover taking place any time soon.

Painting

2011-01-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

Lots of work completed - Fixout completed, tiling grouted, kitchen and bathroom benchtops installed. The electrician cut out the power points .

On Wednesday we discussed the painting colours and picked up they were wrong. It is important to check every tradesman has the correct instructions - we have picked up lots of mistakes. The gyprock had not been sanded so the painters could not start until this was done. They did all the filling & preparation.

Ensuite Tiling

2011-01-21T02:53:00.000-08:00

The tilers turned up on Thursday and did all the bathroom and laundry floors. On Friday we were asked to check the colour was correct and how we wanted them laid. The tiles started on Saturday but by Tuesday they had run out of tiles. Someone underestimated the amount needed and they left to go to another job until the extra tiles could be delivered. Just what we need - another stuff up and delay.

Garage doors

2010-12-25T00:23:00.000-08:00

The two garage doors were installed on Thursday so the house is truely locked up. Work will not start again until 10 January - we were unlucky to get caught in the Xmas break.

Kitchen

2010-12-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

Our kitchen arrived on Monday and was installed on Tuesday. The vanity in the main bathroom was also put in but not the ensuite. This will be installed after the tiling as we are tiling right to the ceiling in both bathrooms. Laundry cupboards also installed.

Gyprock Finished

2010-12-15T01:53:00.000-08:00

Gyprock and cornice completed. Carpenter has started fitting the doors and architraves. It now looks like a house and is coming together nicely.

Bricks Cleaned

2010-12-03T00:41:00.000-08:00

The eaves were started on Tuesday and the brick cleaner arrived late afternoon. He spent 3 hours cleaning and when he finished I had a look from inside. It is a complete disaster - there were holes in the walls everywhere - you could see spots of daylight where he had blasted out the mortar. His blasting was so hard the concrete porch is showing the black aggregate. The bricks look terrible with bits of mortar missing everywhere.

The wall insulation was put in on Wed morning and the carpenters only worked 3 hours and then walked off the job as the house is surrounded by a moat of water as the SS has not yet put on the downpipes, The gyprock was delivered on Thurs but no one has been back to work on the house.

Roof completed

2010-11-19T22:28:00.001-08:00

After a rain interrupted week, the roofers finally completed the roof. The colour is great and goes well with the brick colour. SS advised the alarm wiring and electricals will be started on Monday. Hopefully things will now start moving as the weather will not hold up things.

Bricks completed & gutter & fascia

2010-11-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

The bricklayer finished on Tuesday and the bricks look very nice. The gutter and fascia went on Wednesday and the roofers started on Friday.

Brickwork started

2010-10-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

Building is really moving - our bricks arrived on Friday and the plumbing was done on Saturday. The Chatswood sandstocks are really beautiful and we are happy we paid the extra cost - nearly $5000.
The brickies were rained out on Tuesday so only started laying yesterday. They are doing a very nice job and we are very happy. Now we just have to hope we get some fine weather for the next 2 weeks.

Windows and doors installed

2010-10-06T02:26:00.000-07:00

The frame is now almost complete with the roof trusses finished. The windows and sliding doors are all in and you can now see what kind of view we will have from the family/living area over the golf course. Our master bedroom and ensuite also have views down the fairways.

Frame started

2010-09-30T03:10:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the block on Tuesday and nearly all the frame was standing. We met Bob the builder who showed us around. It is great to have such an experienced team erecting the frame - true blue tradies. As we have already built 3 homes, it was great seeing the quick progress with the steel frame. The builder loves working with steel too.

Today they have started building the roof on the ground which will be then be lifted by crane. We hope it will arrive on Friday.

Frame Delivered

2010-09-24T02:59:00.000-07:00

We received a message at 1pm from Amanda. Our frame had arrived. Melissa had told us yesterday that the pest control was being done. We arrived after work and the frame was stacked on the slab and in the front - there is a lot of steel. The framers had already marked out the position of the walls so are ready to start.

Stormwater and sewer connected

2010-09-20T03:17:00.000-07:00

Our plumbers arrived at 7.30am to dig the trenches for the stormwater and sewer pipes. They also ran pipes for the water and recycled water from the boundary to the slab. Great weather for building!

Slab Poured

2010-09-13T01:33:00.000-07:00

I received an SMS from my great neighbour Amanda to say the concreters had started pouring the slab at 6.30am. I was on my way to golf so Garry went out to take photos for me. It was all completed by 2.00pm. It was a great relief to see the weather stay fine all day when they had predicted rain. It looks really great and a lot bigger than it did with the formwork.

Slab completed

Slab ready to pour

2010-09-11T00:08:00.000-07:00

Wow - progress is great. Our waffles and reinforcing was delivered on Friday as expected. We had been told by our concreter that he wanted to pour on Monday but we thought that was not possible. We were greatly surprised to find today at 2.00pm that the plumbing had been done and the slab prepared. We even met the Engineer on site who came in specially to approve it - they don't normally work on Saturdays.

Slab ready to pour

Piering completed

2010-09-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

It is all happening! We arrived at 11.00am as requested by our SS and met the team drilling the piers. The Water Board had already inspected the drilling in the zone of influence at the rear and the concreter then arrived. We measured the pier depth and it came in at 78 metres - this was 28 metres over our 50metre allowance. Pier holes ranged from 1.2m to 1.7m but we were more than happy to pay the extra as this gives a very solid base for the slab.

The Engineer then arrived to check the piers as well and then the piers were filled with concrete. It was all finished by 2.00pm and then it started to rain lightly.

Piering completed

Our SS also arrived to check on the progess and discuss the next steps which will be the plumbing and forming up for the slab. Hopefully the weather will clear to allow this all to happen tomorrow.

Getting Started

2010-09-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Since levelling the site on Wednesday things are progressing nicely. Water was connected on Friday and then the sediment mesh on Saturday. While visiting on Sunday to take photos, we met two more lovely neighbours and caught up with Amanda who is giving us daily updates via our community website.

The fencing went up on Tuesday and the port-a-loo arrived on Thursday.

On Thursday we received an update from Melissa at MJH advising the next step will be the slab pegout and piers and then the slab. Our frame is scheduled to arrive on 17 September. Hopefully the rain will stop today and the work will not be held up too much.

Saturday - Signage installed

View from back fence of 7th Green

Land Levelled

2010-08-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

It was a nice surprise to get message from Amanda that the builder had levelled the site after only 10 days!