Alex's first home build: Keys!!!!

Things are really flying now. Ceilings were competed over the long weekend and half of the white plaster was in today. The current estimate is lockup by Friday, possibly early next week as things were delayed slightly last week with the rain.

I spoke with the SS today, and we should have lockup tomorrow!!! Considering we were expecting next Friday and that was before the rain delayed things, I am stoked that things have been brought forward.

I dropped by this arvo, the white plaster had been completed and the doors and materials for shelving have been delivered. The carpenter is scheduled to be in tomorrow to hang all the doors and the glazing should also be completed tomorrow.

Cabinets are scheduled for Monday and we have a site meeting scheduled in on Tuesday morning to see what the tiles are going to look like, so the SS must be pretty confident of his timeframes.

The race between us and next door is really starting to heat up (they have internal/external doors, but no windows or sliding doors). Looks like they will be at lockup by the end of the week too, so its neck and neck at this point (remember they had a 10 week headstart though).

AWESOME man - in no time you will be overtaking my build! haha

Sounds like a good pace now!

Quick update. Glazing, front render, bath and laundry sink are in, still waiting on doors for lockup.

... And we're at lockup!

Awesome - looking good! Wow I feel like you have come far in such a short space of time. awesome stuff Alex

Had a site meeting this morning. Cabinets are in, pantry is done, robes completed and tiles ready to go in.

Asked the ss whether the "10-12 week" estimate from the building company was accurate, his response was "12 weeks and I'd be out of a job. Expect PCI in about 6-7, keys in about 8." Ignoring the fact that there seems to be a lot of supervisors out there with jobs that do take that long, things are sounding scarily positive.

Awesome Alex - wow 8 weeks, so exciting!!!!!! I am only about 4 weeks in front now! You have done really well.

As much as I would like to win the race with you for my own good, it kinda sucks that yours has blown out and I certainly wouldn't wish that it takes any longer! Now to see if they can actually stick to the time frame.

Dropped by to look through the window and the painter was two houses down the road working on another house by the same builder so he was able to let us in.

Couple of photos. ..

En suite


Bathroom


Pantry


Pot drawer


Island bench, ready for top (me for scale)


Cooking station


Tiler has been in and removed some plaster ready for water proofing

Alex, this is looking great - coming together really well. You must be very very happy!

All looking great!!

I'm really happy with the progress so far, I haven't had to deal with any of the issues a lot of people in here seem to have to deal with.

I'm glad I spoke with the painter too, gave me some really good tips on paint selection etc, and gave me a number to get trade price paint from him.

I may have spoken too early. Went and had another look at the brickwork and noticed quite a few holes in the mortar. Apparently this is common when the bricks are pressure cleaned and will be fixed up towards the end of the build. My other concern is shown below:



I am assuming the weight of the roof has caused the brick to come loose, but I don't know what this means in terms of the quality of the mortar.

Someone also stole my tap off the wall! Luckily the builder has to bear the cost of the replacement, but it still bugs me.

Hi Alex, that doesn't look great.

Hopefully it gets sorted out pretty fast.

I received an email today saying that the tiles were finished, so will have to take a look on the weekend.

My list of things to complete is below, but it feels a bit light on - any suggestions of what I may have missed?

Mirrors and shower screens
Plumber - Taps, showers
Electrician - Power, data and TV points
Garage Hardstand
Paving - Alfresco and Driveway
Insulation
Painter - Gutters, downpipes, doorframes (second coat)
Internal door handles
Flyscreens
Floor Coverings
Window Treatments
Site Clean

Garage door?
All internal doors/front door/render paint?

Thats all I can think of although not sure what they have or have not done.

The island bench top has arrived, and it's huge, exactly what I wanted.



The tiling for the splashback is done. We plan on putting utensil and spice racks on either side.



The Tiler missed some of the tiles on the plan, so he is sorting that out this weekend, should be finished by Monday.

The Grano on the garage has also been poured which was nice to see.

I'll have to add garage door to my list, thanks for that.

All looking good. What length is your island bench Alex - looks great!

Total size is 3370 X 900.