SunshineT's Build: Garden pics

wisdom - good question. I think there are a few, maybe on the ZEN Homes thread? btw, did you read that there is a 2% increase in Nov?

Bel, pattcake, Dee, Barb, willcres, Loretta, carmel - THANK YOU! ps: Didn't realise you were all still watching my thread

springtime - thanks! And yes - the tender has a 25 week build guarantee, and thereafter they pay us $300 p/w (whereas the Westminster had no guarantee I think. Masterton had a 36 week or more time frame and no automatic payment thereafter).

I'm so glad you made sure of that Sunshine, & you're right, Westminster customers don't get anything, even if the contract end date was 4 weeks ago
I hope you have a stress & trouble free build

Yeah I would like to see one under construction and the owners opinion as how it is going.

Funny I thought they just had an increase of approx. 4% In July ?

Yeah I would like to see one under construction and the owners opinion as how it is going.

Funny I thought they just had an increase of approx. 4% In July ?

Hey Sunshine, many congratulations!! Plsd to hear all is progressing as planned! Nina

wisdom - yep, 4% increase was in July. Have you checked out the Zen Homes thread recently?

nina - hello! welcome back from UK. How r u going? Decided to go with H? Did you see the WMH news report on Channel 9?

Everything will go up in November, that's what Wisdom Homes told me.

By July next financial year, the price of building new homes will be sooo crazy due to the carbon tax...uurgghh...
Builders & their sales people might need to find new jobs since not many people can afford to build new houses...

Hey T,

Thanks! Yes, hubbie sent me the link whilst I was overseas. Quite a tame report all things considered.

Still waiting on final paperwork to sign - why do these things take forever? Going out there today to hopefully tie everything up. Would be so nice if we could actually start building soon......imagine!

Hi guys! (or rather, girls!!). Popped out to Glendenning again this morning (we should take a tent next time, it's like we almost live out there! ). Good just to clarify a few process things, although didn't achieve much concrete stuff (was hoping to get revised Inclusions List, payment schedule, pictures of balustrade etc. which didn't happen). But the best thing was meeting gogo in person! After that Watsons Bay lunch, and now meeting gogo, it gives a whole new dimension to this forum. And yep, gogo is every bit as crazy in person as she is on here!!

Ha..ha...really, T?!
Yes, I agree...she's like my guru...

Hey T,
What's this with telling everyone I'm crazy
How about blonde, six foot, blue eyes and I look like I'm 25

Was great to finally meet you and DH and your gorgeous very well behaved children.

Yes, I think next time we need to have a few hours for coffee


Oh Thanks Willcres

Does anyone have any views / tips on:

- carpet: wool vs nylon? We love our current carpet (100% wool twist pile), but Zen were saying Nylon is better (and their top of the range products were nylon), but just can't remember the pros and cons Wear n tear? Flammability? Washability?

- tiles: ceramic vs porcelain?

?????

Hey T,

Wool is a natural fibre, so it will keep you warm in winter . Nylon however is a synthetic fibre. Just to explain my view better, I have dusty pink 100% nylon carpet that was laid 20yrs ago, the colour has faded abit & stains are hard to get out of it. Mind you it was red book carpet when we got it. My mum however had 100% wool carpet for 20 years also, when she moved out of the house she was in, it still retained it's colour & has seen through 4 grand kids. Stains were never a problem to remove . When our house is finished ( god knows when after the events of last wednesday ), we're hoping to lay 100% wool, I hope this helps.

Hey T,
We had wool in our last house which was put in new by the previous woners prior to selling, It lasted about 7 years It pilled heaps and wore really badly, now I suspect that it wasnt a good quality carpet hence the fact it didn't last. We replaced the wool with nylon and loved it, however it was a good quality nylon.
I think the moral is put in good quality and either will last, it gets down to personal preference

As for tiles porcelain are much harder wearing than ceramic, less likely to chip. Most porcelain have a rectified edge (the very square edge compared to a normal tile with a slightly rounded edge), so gives a much smoother finish. For walls in bathrooms, ceramic is fine but if possible go for porcelain on floors.
Porcelain comes in polished or matt, the polished can be very slippery particulalry in bathrooms so may be a major concern for you with your younger children.

Oh and dont get polypropelene carpet, it is like walking on sandpaper

Hi Sunshine.. Can't help too much on the carpets as I don't have any, but on the tiles, I would go for porcelain.. As mentioned above, they are generally tougher, have rectified edges and given they have colouring all the way through, if they chip, it will not be as noticeable as a ceramic tile.. (i.e. your standard ceramic tile with a terracotta type backing only has the colour baked on the top. meaning chips can be seen more easily)..I have porcelain tiles in my kitchen, and whilst there are a couple of chips in them, they are not that noticeable given the colour comes through.. I understand that there are also types of porcelain tiles which are vitreous, meaning they obsorb less moisture than other tiles, making them tougher still.. On standard ceramic tiles, they should be fine on a wall though, given they will be less likely to be chipped and some of the other benefits of porcelain become less relevant..

loftus, gogo and springtime - THANK YOU - that is actually extremely useful. Already I feel like I am better armed to look into these things. As I am newbie to all this, it's all a bit overwhelmming But given my personality, I am bound to research these things till it drives me crazy

I also found a useful thread by Michelle.

loftus - thanks for your extremely useful post on Zen about HIA contracts. I totally understand what you were saying and Peter Merity's site was also useful. (I am actually a lawyer - but not a building lawyer - and contracts are part of my work, so I was planning to go through the HIA contract. Thing is though, it also comes down to the relationship with the builder... I don't want to be too picky, but obviously concerned if there are any major issues... ).

Hey T, I have Matt porcelain in my Lanai, they look fabulous and I have to agree porcelain all the way, however I think the gloss is what i would choose inside the home! We only went Matt because of the Lanai being an outdoor type area, and with people coming in and out needed something less slippery!

Well, we got an email from Zen saying we should get CC plans next week... We were hoping this week (as it has been 3 weeks since we signed tender / paid deposit...). I am sure there will be tweaks needed for our CC plans, and you just never know if any other hitches with PCA/Council for CC certificate. So we are getting a little nervous. In the next 6 weeks (ie. before 3 week Christmas shut down so we can start on 9 Jan) we need to do following with Zen:

- CC plans (and any revisions required, which I am expecting)
- Construction Certificate (PCA and Council - not sure how that all works)
- Payment Schedule
- Revised Inclusions List (which needs to be attached to tender)
- Photo of external balustrade (so we know exactly what is included)
- Receive, review and sign HIA contract
- Get demolition quotes (and book in demo for 9 Jan)

In addition, we need to do these things ourselves before Christmas:
- Choose carpet and tiles (so building contract price can be finalised, depending on which carpet we choose. NB: Zen are not pushing us on this at all, but I just feel better getting it sorted up front so we know exactly what our budget is)
- Second hand wreckers (may be impossible, but the environmental conscience in me wants to re-use as much as possible)
- Order front door - Spotted Gum (we found a guy in Toormina, but he wants to communicate via snail mail!! Really. Paper letters with stamps, can you believe it. We didn't think people still operated businesses like this!! )
- Get quotes for solid timber flooring
- Sort out (or at least start the process for): gas fireplace, ceiling fans, ethernet wiring, solar hot water system (most likely to use AGI, who Zen work with), utility connections (Mat warned that gas can take 6 - 8 weeks), stepping stones and antenna.

Plus of course all the product selections, colours etc. in tender. Phew! Exciting but also exhausting just thinking about it... C'mon CC plans!!!

Wow! Nearly, nearly, kinda there! Good luck with the paperwork before Christmas.