Swept the walls? The internal walls? Don't they give you a clean house? Is it all full of dust? More and more things to add to the list of things to do. Well done that you got it all done even though you had work AND netball!?

Thank you dazer! I am watching your thread, hope it goes fast for you!

Turtleschell, our HWU was stolen about three weeks ago but luckily it was still covered by their insurance. It is being replaced next week Tuesday and I'm for tradies doing what they do; my OH is a tradie but I also know that he is clean, tidy and does the right thing!
And yes, the house is clean, but the white set on the walls does have a thin sheen of plaster left on it. Before you can apply the sealer, you need to wipe off the plaster/dirt, otherwise the sealer won't stick to the wall properly. Or something like that.
Awh thank you I'm a very restless person so I never sit down, I'm always on the go! Never leave until tomorrow what you can do today! *yawns*

I'm ashamed to say, that's my builder stealing your water Ally! Very naughty brickies!! Hope they offer you some sort of compensation!

Urgh, I think the sweeping down of the plaster sounds like a very important job to do BEFORE moving in, even if you're not gonna paint straight away..... Don't like this idea of having to clean a brand new house!! But, guess I'll just have to do it! Don't want to end up with a film of white dust all over my things AFTER I move in!

Don't forget to get some rest

Haha Caz, your builder is very naughty! Tsk tsk! I don't care about compensation really. It would only have been a few dollars worth of water. But I will let them know that if it happens again, I will be calling back!

Oh yes, the last thing you'd like is plaster dust on your furniture! It's only cos we are painting before officially moving in, so it's a step by step process. bleeeeh. My hands and back still hurt. Painting is going to kill me!

Sealer on the walls, sealer on the garage floor.. where else do you need sealer? What is sealer exactly.. do you like.. paint it on?

The tiling and paving was done by your builder right? Did they already do the sealing on tiles and pavers? Or do you also have to do that?

Sealer provides a solid layer between your paint and the wall. The plaster walls (white set) are very absorbant, so the sealer does exactly that - it 'seals' them and so the undercoat stops your paint from just soaking into the wall.
Putting it on the garage floor is the same; it means that grease/oil/stains won't happen. The sealer stops them from soaking into the concrete, so if you get oil drips, you can hose them off.
Sealer just gets painted on, like a normal paint. You only need one coat though, and you don't have to be fancy - as the guy from Solver said, 'just slap it on'.

Tiling and paving were done by the builder, yes. But no, sealing grout/walls/pavers isn't a common practice. It's something you'd pay extra for them to do. We probably wont seal the pavers, mainly because they're relatively cheap and there's no point. If I had a poured concrete driveway and paths, I would, because if you get an oil stain (or the like) on that, it's not as easy as pulling up the dirty pavers and just replacing them!
I will probably at some point seal the grout for the bathroom tiling as well. Dirty grout annoys me!

I've spent all evening sanding and brushing walls (again). Realised I should have done that to start with because I need to brush after sanding anyway. Gggrrr. stupid Ally. Luckily I don't think every part of every wall needs sanding, just the really rough parts I come across.

Bins delivered today!!
[ img ]

Aaaand I called SPH. Our SS will be calling me Monday to organise to get the door handle replaced. not sure what happened there! Luckily it's not a major room!

I called Aussie Living Homes re: the guys next door. I didn't want to make a fuss, I just spoke to the receptionist and let her know what happened and that I didn't really want it to happen again. She was horrified - she apologised and said it was good I called, as this kind of thing is embarrassing for any company and they don't want it happening, so thanked me for calling. And when I went to the house at lunchtime, they were using their own tap yay! Resolution!

Bedtime now. Pretty sure I still have plaster dust in my hair but I'm tired and couldn't care less. sealing walls tomorrow!

Floors were all ordered today. Paid my deposit and booked them in for 3rd September.

2/3 of the walls are now sealed. Just me and my SIL today, so between us we cut and rollered and I am now exhausted. I was at it from 10am until 9.30pm, with breaks for lunch and dinner. The rest will be finished tomorrow, then on to buying paint!

Congrats on handover ally! It all looks amazing

And well done for sealing yourself, we had our painter do ours, the stink is so god awful.

Thanks tinkster! And omg yes, it smells to high heaven! After a while you didn't notice the smell but when I felt a bit woozy at one point, it was time for a break! Horrible stuff

Gargantuan effort!!! Soon you will have fresh paint smell instead!!!

Woo for floors!!! Are you painting before they go in?

Yep. Dave will start painting on Wed, with the help of his sister (the SIL) and then my help over the weekend. Then after he goes back to work, I'll have a week of evenings and a weekend to finish it all off before floors and carpets go in.

Wow, you've been a busy girl!!!!! Glad you got a resolution re the tap usage
Can't wait to see the photos once you've finished painting and floors go in.

SEALING IS DONE!

Omg I am so tired. I was at it from 10.30am until 9.30pm yesterday, and 10am until 5.30pm today. I had my SIL's partner there today, as well as my parents. My stepdad left at midday, and my Mum left at 2pm. Mark stayed until 2.30pm and then I continued on my own.

Had to wash out pots and trays and brushes, UGH. Oil bases paint is gross! Only turps gets it off, and I need a whole bathful of it. I still have it over my hands (and a patch on my elbow) so will have to scrub myself later.

But I am so glad it's all done.
P.S. It says 'white' on the tin, but it looks cream/yellowish. Doesn't matter cos it's just the undercoat, but at least you can see where you've put it.

[ img ]
[ img ]
[ img ]
[ img ]
[ img ]

All ready for proper paint! *yawns* bedtime now.

Good work! You'll sleep well tonight, no doubt. Great that you had a crew of rellies to help you out, I think we will be doing the same...DP and most of our male friends are all over 6ft tall, so they'll be useful when it comes to tackling the areas with high ceilings.

Looking forward to seeing the pelt on those walls - lovely colour!

Wow! Wish I had 6ft friends! My family and Dave's family are relatively average and I'm a shortie, so it was ladders for everyone!

I can't wait to see it too...

Ggrrr. Am a tiny bit irritated. SPH said that the HWU will be delivered today, and the plumber will contact me to arrange to install it tomorrow. I was there this morning, lunchtime and after work, but there was no HWU. Plumber called me at midday and I had to say that it wasn't there yet! Checked after work and yep, nothing. So now it looks like it will be installed Wednesday IF it is delivered tomorrow. Which sucks a bit, cos I pick Dave up from the airport after work and I wanted it done and installed so we can use the house, e.g. shower, toilet, cooking, etc.

And even then, I don't know how they are delivering it, if we have already dropped the locks from construction to owner? I obviously can't have it left on the front doorstep, etc. Sigh. I sent Ann an email tonight, hopefully all works out. It's not a big issue, honestly, it's just I made plans and now have to change them slightly.

Ordered our house paints today and picking them up tomorrow YAY!

Just had a thought....Is your SPH welcome plant still alive?

Well done on the massive paint job ....

Oh wow congratulations on handover! I didn't realise you had keys already!