KDR Henley Reserve (MainVue)- Aegean 38

It feels like the build has been going on forever but it's been 31 weeks when I calculate it out.

I think that it feels a lot longer due to starting the rebuild process back in Jan 2016, and now being in the rental for now 14 months. I just want to go home and stop looking for things, only to remember that they are packed up and we brought only the essentials. I miss my food processor and large oven, I feel like I haven't cooked properly in the time that we have been here. I miss decent ice cream as I normally make my own and my ice cream maker is ------ packed away.

I miss the dogs having free range in the living areas, we allow them inside but restricted to the back room and laundry only due to the wooden floors through out the rental.

Enough moaning - gotta shake this off.

When we moved, we had some many electrical devices die in the first few weeks, sandwich press, upright freezer, toaster, slow cooker, there were a few other things as well. Did this happen to you?

It does feel like forever even though we've only been in the rental since July. If signing off on PCI goes to plan on Monday I'm going to give the real estate notice.

Oh I'm hearing you. Most of our stuff is in boxes in the garage rental. I keep thinking I'd like to do something only to remember it's still packed. The girls were not happy because I didn't make them special cakes for their birthdays this year, my stuff was all in boxes.
It's going to be like Christmas when we finally unpack.

LOL, that happened before we moved. Seriously the oven door literally fell off, no joke. The gas heater in the lounge room stopped working, in June/July in Melbourne, brrrrrr. And my favourite sandwich press, the cord sparked and caught fire. Thankfully I was standing right there. Luckily my clever husband was able to replace the cord for me.

Bri - I'm almost scared to move as I'm concerned at what else will die going back to the house. Relieved at the same time to know that it wasn't just us......

Thank goodness that you were in the kitchen at the time with the sandwich press catching on fire. Mine died within the first week of being in the rental, and I haven't replaced it yet. Another thing to add to the list of what we need once we are home.

Cakes - we were in the same position - each birthday has been met with the comment - oh at least you made one.... ungrateful little so and so's. Guess I'm gonna have to bring my A game, with the next round of birthdays.

Ahhh the things that we do as Mum's to make life that little bit more special.

Normal Monday - knock off early - fly by house.


Garage door is down and the front door has been painted.

Grading around the house has been completed, most of the building rubble removed, and builders bin emptied. - wondering how long it will take the neighbours to fill that up again......

I'm not sure that the render colour matches above the garage door???? Will have to check with SS on that as they are both meant to be White Duck.



Meter box painted



Laundry door painted




Alfresco ceiling painted as well as the wood on the edge




Rear door to the garage painted.



And bottom stained..... and no the internal garage door was not opened to the house........ bugger!



Went back to the laundry to check if the stairs had been stained but the internal door was closed, so couldn't see the staircase from outside.

Best pic I could get was from the study....

Loving how dark they are in their rich chocolate. The contrast will be great with the spotted gum flooring.



We have signed on a concreting quote over the weekend, which will incorporate the moving of the crossover and putting back the curb and channel to removed the existing one. Full driveway down the side of the house to the old garage as well as concreting at the front around the house to protect the slab. Some days I just feel like I'm hemorrhaging money but at least we are still in budget.

Had a great conversation with hubby on the weekend and he doesn't like the window coverings I have chosen, even though he said that he didn't want to be a part of it.

For F's sake! So I was going to pay the deposit on the weekend with one of the vendors, instead we are headed to the showroom on Saturday. The discounts that they applied to the quote ends at the end of the month. I'm hoping they can do the quote on the spot on Saturday and I can pay the deposit. otherwise the price increase by $5k.

Sigh - moral to the story - never believe hubby when he says "chose what you want, I don't care" - BS mate, buy in or bugger off. Or I should have just paid the deposit and not said anything..... hmmm, could you imagine the argument with that being done.


I love domestic bliss - it does keep me entertained.......

Funny how similar things are with our family's, experiences etc, lol

Think of the new appliances you can buy to put in that fantastic new kitchen.

I didn't realise my cakes were such a big deal to them until I couldn't do them this year. Their birthdays are a week apart early in the year so I'll have to make up for it next year.

It's all looking fantastic. All the little touches, doors painted etc look great and show so much progress.
The stairs look great. Can't wait for a close up pic of them.

Wow that's a lot of concreting to be done. We're just doing the driveway, porch etc and a small path to the side gate for the moment. That's already taking us over budget. Thankfully a couple of other things have come in under budget.

Oh no. I'm feeling your pain. I made hubby come with me, lol. Hopefully you can find something you both like and get them ordered.
I'm surprised hubby and I haven't killed each other of this build, lol

Yeah is a huge amount of concrete that needs to go in. I'm just glad that Henley are doing the driveway to the new garage and the front porch.

It's looking more pulled together with the little things being completed.

Hubby was with me, he was in the house when they did the measure and materials were selected, this is what annoyed me the most, and he was there for all quotes grrrrrrrrrr.

As for killing each other, we have had some rip roaring arguments but we know that it's just frustration taking its toll on us and we can at least laugh about it later - thank goodness. He does however blame me for all of this as I was the one to push to rebuild but hey - what can I say, I want a house without an indoor water fall....

Good luck Bri - KEYS TODAY for you - YAY!!!!!

Oh he was with you. Yes that would be frustrating then.
Hubby and I went to the showroom 3 times and also had the at home quote before deciding, lol. Big decision.

LOL same here. The stress and frustration of it all. We still have to get through the moving process yet so fingers crossed.

It's amazing how the little touches, meter box painted, doors painted etc make such a big difference.

Yep key day today. Nervous and excited here.
I'm trying to find that form to advise our real estate. The link you sent me ages ago has expired so I'm googling now. Planning to pop in to the real estate on the way back from Simonds this morning.

Edit - Found a form online

Busy day today - started with an email from our admin - NHP booked for 7 May @ 9am Rang hubby to let him know but he can't get the time off work. Rang Admin to see if hubby had to be there, confirmation that he doesn't phew!

Rang boss asking for 7 May as a leave day. Reminding him that I also have 9 May off for daughters bday.

Call Darbecca to book in final inspection - hmm just remembered that they didn't email me - will follow up on this tonight to book via email.

Call from furniture place that is holding our lounge, chairs and ottoman to be advised that they are going to deliver these to us. Arrgggg - they can't hold these any more - they are being delivered 5 May to the rental - god only knows where I'm going to put these........

Information received from concreter for the plans of the concreting that we want done but there is no plan as per council regs for the cross requirements that we are going to need to apply for a permit.

Now I'm feeling really really stressed - I think this is the first time during this whole process...................................aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

ohhhh that isn't far away. Exciting.

Bummer they can't hold the furniture any longer. Ours was starting to get a bit touchy too. We nearly had to have it delivered to the rental too. That would have been a big pain.

Our council didn't take too long with the crossover permit, fingers crossed yours isn't too bad.

I swear each stage gets more and more stressful.

Congrats on the NHP!! Such an exciting milestone.
Whenever we think the build is getting to stressful we remember it’s all for our new home, it’s how we want it and not someone else, it’s closer we get to our own personal space.
Being at the in laws for over a year now, so every time we organise something for the house it’s a day closer to our freedom.

Rachael13 love how it all looks very nice, can't wait until you finish all the flooring too.

Thanks Firstime, it is an exciting milestone and there is always a silver lining to every cloud, sometimes you just need to search for it on the darker days. Between work and the house, yesterday was just to much for me. Tonight I'm just popping in to reply to a few comments and then leaving H1 for the weekend. I do need a break as we have been at this rebuild process for just over two years now since we made the decision to rebuild our home.

I could not imagine living with parents again and being there for over a year for you - I take my hat off to you. At least with the rental if I don't want to do dishes, there is no mother to nag, or give that disapproving look at they clean up - oh yeah, hahaha, that's me - oops - with my teenages.

Nah in all seriousness, all is good but I still don't know where I'm going to put 2 x 3.5 seater couches, 2 x chairs and a large ottoman. Got a week to figure it out, they will be delivered next Saturday.


Will have to go and have a snoop at your build.

Thanks Ellen - I'm hoping that the flooring adds a lot of warmth, as it is a little cold looking for my liking but all will be good once everything is in and it grows from a house to a home.

Bri - yeah totally gutted about the furniture - I almost begged but tried to hold my dignity and offered money instead but to no avail.

Council says 14 days for re-approval and once I have this re-established, I can then apply for the permit - so is a two step process, I'll ring them on Monday to check-in.

Rang gas company again today as my driveway can't be poured until the gas line is in, again it is being escalated - god only knows who to this time - request was submitted 15 March so it's now 29 days not including the public holidays. I thinking of calling the ombudsman next week to get this moving.

Have sent all my paperwork to the bank today to draw up the cheque for the final payment and also insured the property starting from NHP date.

Rang to book final inspection with private inspectors and they advised me that they can be there an hr earlier than Henley's appointed time - have gone back and re-advised of the timing Henley provided, and suggest that they try and book for a hr later as no-one is going to be onsite at 8am - not sure what to make of this but I think that I'm just reading to much into it as my brain has finally stopped functioning tonight. I'll call them on Monday to sort this out.

Now big question is what the hell do I get my soon to be 14yo daughter for her birthday which is two days after NHP. Got to brave the shops tomorrow for inspiration for the geeky, crafty, sciency little one. I know technic lego will go down a treat but she already has 3 sets to put together "when we get to the new house".


Ok tired - brain dead, need to chill away from house stuff.

lol, the things we do.
Did you end up getting the furniture delivered?

Any news on your gas meter? Only advice, been really really nice to them. Tell them you have kids and the date your house will be ready.

Oh why can't your SS let them in at 8am?

How'd you go finding something for your daughters birthday? Our girls are both geeks who love books and science, lol. I'll have to post a photo of our new lounge room rug that both the girls and hubby wanted and I got out voted, lol. Looks like a galaxy, lol. But it does go well with the greys of the house.

Oh Bri, it's been crazy - Saturday we went to the curtain vendor and when through all of my choices, surprise surprise, Hubby was in agreement to everything - so we paid the big fat deposit of 50% and our window coverings will be ordered. We have plantation shutters, sheers, single and double roller blinds and curtains. These will be installed as they are ready - plantation shutters are going to take 10 weeks. Looks like it will be sheets for a while.

For the gas line - I have called 4 times now and have been very very nice. Yesterday I was informed that none of the escalations have been responded to by the supplier Downer and so they are going escalate higher - will make another call later today.

Furniture will be delivered on Saturday, so have to make room for this, sometime in the next couple of days - I'm in denial, so am procrastining on this, and also I have no idea where we are going to put it all.

Daughters Birthday - now that's a dilemma. I always spend the day with the kids for their Birthday - they get the day off school and I do what they want. This came about when the kids were little, and I was working to develop my career, working crazy hours and hubby was a stay at home Dad - god I was so jealous of him for 5.5 years. But the bond the kids have with their Dad is amazing. He also has worked part-time until last week so that he could do all the after hours activities with the kids. We are lucky that he is home by the time the kids get off the bus, even going full-time. Anyway I digressed, so with the kids Birthday, anything with in reason on the day, I answered "yeah, sure" for the first couple of years. It very quickly become their "yeah, Sure" day. The requests are becoming more expensive for the day, as we will go somewhere for breakfast, bit of shopping for something that they really really want, take in a movie with full munchies, and then whatever they want for diner and of course cake. So this year - I've going to make vouchers - one for entertainment, one for a gift and one for anything else. This way it can stay under control - oh and of course a gift from Mum, Dad and their sibling in the morning.

I hunted the shops Saturday and didn't like anything, had scoured the internet a few weeks back and decided to buy her Zen Magnets - Triumph set, at 14 she is responsible enough to have these. They are due to arrive tomorrow so in time for her Birthday next week. She had asked for these a few years back and we had said no way, she has asked on and off since, so will be a nice surprise as we have kept saying no.





Long night last night - our son had footy practise and got an elbow to the mouth. So a trip to the hospital, 10 stitches later and back home. He put his bottom teeth all the way through to the outside of his mouth between his bottom lip and the indentation above his chin, if this makes sense. Had to consult with a plastic surgeon and stitches only. Son is ok if he has a scar - at 15, 16 in July, we left this decision to him, so ER Dr did the stitches. Looking at the stitches this morning and the outside is not looking to bad considering what it is. Stitches are inside his mouth, an internal stitch and outside stitches. Going to be a good day, I'm home today with him as he wants his Mum - Bless him. He'll hate me later after he eats, as he has to rinse with salt water to ensure that he doesn't get an infection and is on anti-biotic and pain killers if needed.

So the house - isn't this what this forum is all about - LOL.

There have been heaps of repairs done, vents outside that were all dinged up have been replaced. Tap that was not going to be operable next to a downpipe has been fixed.

Before tap being moved



After tap moved.



Down pipe that now needs to be repaired after tap has been fixed.



Finally got a decent pic - from outside, of the stained stairs.



Here's the front door in all it's painted glory I do love the Wallaby colour.


And the garage front pillar has been engineered repaired. More bolts etc for the bricks overhanging the slab, we have the before pics to show us how this was rectified as well as the full engineer report.



So now we wait for the gas line and meter to be installed, for the driveway to then be done and then the final render colour to be completed on the façade.

House still has red dots inside, but on the outside is really good to see the repair list is getting smaller.

Sigh - finally have the time locked in with our private inspector, so we are good for Monday.

Have just gotten one off to school, time to check on my son again to see if he's still sleeping.

What a week... and it's only Wednesday.

Sounds like you've got a lot going on! Hope your son's lips heals up nicely.

It feels like tetras with all the stuff you’ve got at the moment.
Good that they changed the location of the tap. Was a bit weird having it next to the downpipe.
With the front pillar overhang, we’ve got the same issues. Did Henley provide the engineering report or did you push for them to have an engineer provide the solution?
So hard not being able to go inside and take photos. We’ve chosen the same stain for the stairs so again thanks for the progress photo.
Glad that your boy is ok and recovering from the stitches.

There is simple to much happen - house, work and family. I keep trying to put my foot out to stop the world spinning so that I can get off but nothing is happening.

Ahhh the joy of trying to do it all and failing dismally at everything.