Driveway

Here are the pics of the driveway being laid:


It was kind of still dark when the boys from Mark Wood Paving Showed up!

The concrete truck from Cranbourne premix turned up at 7am..... yep still not much light!

Under the portico........ the concrete mix looks a lot like the stuff they use on roads at this stage except it looks as black as night.

The concrete came in 2 trucks...... the boys were a little worried as they had ordered one big truck but got 2 small ones. The problem with using 2 small trucks is if the second load of concrete comes a long time after the first lot, the first lot will set and if this happens would have to be ripped up and they would have to start all over again.... lucky Cranbourne premix is not that far away and the second load was there in about 40 minutes.

And here its is after the second truck The concrete is then smoothed all over to make sure the shape is uniform.

In fact, the guys were really fussy even though the top layer gets washed away. At this stage a retardant was sprayed on the concrete which prevents the top layer from setting.

Then a hose is used to wash the top layer away and "expose" the "aggregate".

With a little help from a broom.

All done...... in a little over 6 hours or so. Sorry not the best shot with the shadow. Anyway I am very happy with the colour of the mix.

The usual suspects! Joe (centre) and the guys from Mark Wood Paving have done a fantastic job and I highly recommend them for all you concreting needs. I will be getting Joe back to do our Alfresco/Courtyard and blindside of the house once I get some more dosh together!

Contact details for a great concreter:

MARK WOOD PAVING

JOE

0419332623

Well that all from me for now

Cheers

Cozmo

Post Handover Update

Oh the Joy of Settlement day!
Well it should have being all joy getting the keys to our new house but alas due to an administration error I got quite upset and muttered very bad words about PD under my breath (and a few out loud).


The problem:
Seems that they forgot about our Driveway & Fencing allowance. It was in the contract but they didn’t have a cheque for us. This was a bigger issue as I had my concreter booked in to lay the driveway the next day and was panicking about how I would pay him. Anyway it took them a full week to organise 2 managers to sign the cheque for us. I just feel they did not go out of their way at all to resolve this and that it was just a hassle for them.... really spoiled what was a wonderful building experience with PD overall. Lucky for me My concreter is a top notch bloke and completely understood the situation I was in and said "No worries, just pay me when the money come though". I will post about the driveway later once I upload the photos.


Anyway back to handover:
There was still a few issues outstanding from PCI that had not being fixed but our SS assured us they will all be done (and they now have) and also a new issue of the dishwasher that was installed had a huge dent in the front of it, this has also now being fixed by the good blokes at Blanco.


As handover was on a Thursday and we were not moving in 'till the Saturday I decided that I would sleep in the new house to guard our newly installed appliances (especially my oven... I love that oven). It was like staying in a ghost town.... so quite as there was NOONE else living in the street and probably only about 20 or so occupied houses in the entire Estate.




Move in day:
OMG what did I get myself into.... I completely underestimated the man power required. It was just my mate M and I........ anyway 3 truck loads and 11 hours later we were done, completely exhausted, in fact the next day I woke up and every muscle in my body was sore.... never never again! A big thanks to M for his help on the day... it was a huge effort (especially considering I’m a few years younger and struggled) Hats off to you my friend.

Other things done around the house after handover:

• Lots of Box's unpacked.... lots more to go!



• Driveway completed.



• Antenna installed in roof.



• Toilet roll holder/Towel rails installed.



• Pebble feature strip in showers sealed (May redo this with different product as it is not shinny).



• Letter box purchased and painted same colour as render (surf mist).



• Letter box was destroyed by the missus, reversing out of the driveway for the first time.



• Letter box moved to a safer location, patched up with bog a waiting sanding and repaint.



• Supports for an inbuilt desk installed and painted, awaiting laminated bench top to be made.

Things that still need to be done:

• Fencing

• Bobcat required to level/put crushed rock where we intend to concrete.



• Concreting for Alfresco/Court yard and blindside of house.



• Lots of gardening - that will never end.



• Blinds and curtains(Just redy shades ATM).



• Probably lots more involving more work than I want to think about right now.

Cheers for now

Cozmo

PCI

We had PCI last Thursday and I am delighted to say that we are very happy with the house and the Fact that we couldn’t even find 20 places to put red dots is a real testament to the great work done building our house. A special thanks to the General running the show, our SS "V" who has being a pleasure to deal with during the whole process. V can be hard to get a hold of sometimes but he did give regular updates and was always true to his word.

Of the red dots most were paint touch-ups which is a be expected and the painter was on site to fix them up straight away. Our painter "C" work is impeccable and you can tell he takes much pride in his work.

Other minor issues identified were:
* Broken storm water pipe out the front of the block
* A loose floorboard
* Section of kitchen where the dishwasher goes was not plumb
* Laundry Door to be replaced

AND THATS IT !!!!! :)

All I can say is that my build has being probably one of the smoothest you could ask for in this game and anyone who says negative comments about PD will only have it fall on deaf ears with me.


All set for handover this Thursday just waiting on the Bank and then the move on Sat.

Cheers for now

Cozmo


PS As we move who knows how long before we get internet back so if I don’t post for a while this will be the reason.

Flooring Photo Fest!

PCI is this week and the final touches on the house are being applied.
The remaining tap fittings have being installed.

WIR...... Surly the other half could let me have more than the 1/2 a meter of closet space I'm allowed in the rental with all this space.............. No I've just being informed that she needs all of it and I can have 1/4 of a meter.

Master

The Lounge

Bedroom 2.

Bedroom 3 soon to be home of the Master of the house.

Bedroom 4 which will be my little den when working from home.

Its a Hallway!



OK now we get to the bit that really excited me when I saw the house this week and that was the fact that our Trueloc Flooring had being laid( well 99.9% anyway). We choose spotted gum and I think its looks $h!t Hot!!!



Entry with the 0.1% that needs to be finished.

Looking at the living room.

Rumpus.

From Living Room to the kitchen.




Rumpus to front door.

And a better picture of the splash back with the correct pot draws.

PCI is this Thursday..................... I don't think there will be much to pick on.... just a few paint touch ups and maybe just some other minor things.... all I can say is that the work being done on our house has being of a very high quality.

I am glad I have seen the house with the floor now before PCI so I wont just walk around with my gob open drooling like I did when I took these photos so I can concentrate and find all those little faults.

Wish me Luck

Cheers

Cozmo

Carpet, Flyscreens, Spashback and a nice surprise!

Oh it was a muddy visit this weekend and I guess it was a good thing that I was locked out so I couldn't drag any mud through the house.... like I would!

I am trying to organise the fencing with the neighbours, I was successful in contacting the guys to the right of us who have just reached lockup (building with the big M). But on the left hand side is an empty block which belongs to Burbank. They currently have not sold this block and the person I spoke to was not sure of the procedure for Burbank themselves to pay for their half and redirected my phone call to another department but alas all I got was a voice message. I did leave a message but have not received a return call 1 week later..... fun times ahead chasing that one me thinks!

Anyway back to the house and the photos:

Flyscreens and Flyscreen door have been fitted.

Spashback in Dulux Sphathire Stone in and also for the keen eye the correct pot doors have been installed.

Carpet........ its pretty dark! But is a good match with the tiles.

And it was a nice surprise that our couch that we ordered 12 weeks ago is ready to be delivered and will be dropped off on the 28th of this month.

It is the Igloo from Nick Scali but ours will be in black.

PCI next week......cant wait!

Cheers for now

Cozmo

Just about all Done and Dusted!

Well the house is looking like its just about ready for us to move in... I cant believe it still nearly 4 weeks away.



Temporary Fence has been taken away and the site has been cleaned up..... they even put dirt steps at all the doors.



Close up of feature pebbles.


Shower screens in.


Mirrors in.



Kitchen sink in.



Main bathroom... just one tap missing from the bath, paint behind the bath and the basin that needs to be replaced and we are all done in here...... the replacement basin was sitting in the pantry ready to be installed.


Yep its a shower!!!



And here is the dunny!!


Could have taken allot more photos of completed work.... but I didn't so here is a wrap up of what else has being done around the place:

* Electrical- Down Lights, Chinamen Hats, switches, Flood lights all done.... alas a double flood light is in the wrong spot and will need to be moved.

* Shower screens, Shower roses, taps all done.

* Range Hood installed.

* Shelving in all WIR and pantry complete.

There was also lots of markings on the ground where they are going to level the slab in preparation on installing flooring.

Oh and a cleaner has been though the house and done her thing.... the windows have come up a treat..... will be handy if I'm locked out next time I go down.

Cheers for now

Cozmo

Tiles Done! PCI and Handover dates given!!!!!!

On my normal Sat morning visit I was a little sad that I was locked out :( But I soon became Happy to see that the tiles had been finished :)

Ensuite..... was hard to get a photo because of the reflection.

Laundry... tiler did the right wall from the bench which is not the norm... but I wont say anything :)

Main Bathroom.... oh sexy in black.... the tiles are allot darker than the sample we had from NT, was meant to be more grey.... but I like the way they have turned out.

We were also given our PCI and handover dates.

PCI: 16/07

Handover: 23/07

Cant wait till I'm never locked out of my house again....(unless I really upset the other half.) :)

Cheers Cozmo

Tiles started and colour selection disaster averted!

Our tiling has finally started!! YIPPEE!

Went down down on site on Sat and meet with P our Tiler. This was so P could take me though the way he was going to lay the tiles and to show him exactly where are feature pebble strip will go.

Laundry all laid and ready to be grouted.

Throne room!

Ensuite was started while I was there with feature pebble strip.

The Colour selection disaster was the tile trimming that was selected was white in colour (I wont say who selected this colour except to say it was not ME!). P even said when he opened the tube of it from NT "What where you thinking when you chose that!". After talking with P about our options, P made a phone call and got the price of some nice silver trimming and I gave him the money to cover the cost..... so now we will have silver trim which will match the shower screen, taps, towel rail and door handles........ much happier with this and thanks to P for being flexible.

Front of the house and the moldings and garage infill have been painted.

P said he will finish by Wednesday or has to be as V(SS) has got the sparkies and plumbers booked to start on Thursday for their fitoffs.

Cheers

Cozmo

Just a quick note to say not much is happening at the house. The tiler still has not started (being waiting for 2 weeks) Internal door handles have been hung, garage door installed and the bench top in on(although it will have to come off when they replace the incorrect pot draws).

And on with the photos:
Internal door handles with privacy locks.

Another view of the same.

Pantry now with handles (same of kitchen cupboards).

Bench top is on.

Its called New Diamond White.

Extreme close up.

Garage Door in ironstone.

Also got a quote for the driveway, choose this mix from Cranbourne premix called the Maguire.

Hopefully the tiler will start this week, was hoping the House would be finished for the school holidays but that is looking very unlikely now.

Cheers for now

Cozmo