Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 21Jan 14, 2016 11:22 am There has been a fair bit of progress since my last post. The bricks and roof have been finished, first fix electrical completed, the ducting for the aircon has been placed in the roof and the house has been insulated. Gyprock has been delivered on site, so I guess that they will start this soon.
We've been really happy so far with how quick the build seems to be progressing especially as we have a finish date of the end of June but at a guess I would say at this rate we should be in in May. I spoke to the SS for the first time this week and he thinks that we should be in well and truly by the finish date but won't give a definite time yet. I was also in contact with the office this week and they have said that the kitchen was tentatively booked before the christmas break to arrive the first week of February, so hopefully this stays about the same. The quality of the work so far seems to be pretty good. We were really happy with the brickwork and I met one of the brickies when they were finishing up and he was a lovely guy. The first fix electrical work was done really neat and tidy and the insulation seems to be packed in well with no gaps. The only issue I have had is with the isolation switch for the cooker. The electrician installed it on the splashback on the left side of the cooker, what I would have preferred was for it to be on one of the double powerpoints to the right of the cooker or if it had to be a switch on its own it should have been placed in the same area as the powerpoints. Its annoyed me a little as we are having subway tiles laid brickbond as a feature and now there's going to be a switch ruining this. I tried talking to the electrician about this but he was a little abrupt and the office wasn't any help either. Not a major issue but just something that's going to niggle me. So anyone out there installing a freestanding dual fuel cooker, make sure you talk to them about where you want the isolator switch on your splashback as they will just install it where they want. Also when they did the ductwork for the aircon I see that they have also run some cable which I assume is for the controller. This is also something we weren't asked about and I would have put the controller somewhere else. Again not a big issue but the same goes if anyone is having aircon done maybe let them know where you want the controllers. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 22Jan 14, 2016 11:43 am Great, looks like the break hasn't slowed you down much and you are about a month ahead of where ours was at that stage. You should be definitely finished by June, although we have found our SS to be overly optimistic about times so far. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 23Jan 14, 2016 12:10 pm Yeah Man1 I don't think the break slowed us down at all as the brickies actually worked through Christmas and new year. When I spoke to the brickie and I said that I was surprised they worked through the break and also through the hot weather he said that working through the heat was a killer but that his dad came in on his own during the break a couple of days just to keep the job moving. I have to say I was really impressed by the brickies, the quality of their work seemed really good to me and their commitment was fantastic. The SS seemed confident with finishing early but as I said nothing concrete so I'm not getting too excited just yet! I let him know I'll probably call him every couple of weeks to see how progress is going (when you said you did this I thought it was a great idea, so thanks for the tip) and hopefully this will keep things moving. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 24Jan 14, 2016 4:36 pm Looks fantastic! It was disgustingly hot through Christmas break. Good on your brickies and my floor tiler for putting in a mammoth effort. The isolation switch and a/c controller deets should have been on your electrical plan. Never mind, you'll get used to it Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 25Jan 22, 2016 9:43 am TomCat Looks fantastic! It was disgustingly hot through Christmas break. Good on your brickies and my floor tiler for putting in a mammoth effort. The isolation switch and a/c controller deets should have been on your electrical plan. Never mind, you'll get used to it Thanks Tomcat, we think it looks fantastic too! Saw in your thread the great work you did with your tiles, some great tips you've given there which I'm sure will come in handy when it comes time to do mine. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 26Jan 22, 2016 10:17 am Since my last update the gyprock has all been put up and the flushers are in now. The carpenter will probably be in next week and then we will be locked out! Supreme have confirmed that the kitchen is scheduled to be delivered 5th February and will probably be installed the 2nd week of February. Focus has now moved from the build to getting the house we're in now ready to sell or rent with tradies coming in this week to quote on doing a mini upgrade of our bathroom and hubby has started painting. I on the other hand have started the dreaded packing, cleaning out cupboards and packing away things not needed. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 27Jan 25, 2016 3:56 pm I can't wait for that stage. It looks great, and so spacious! Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 28Feb 03, 2016 1:27 pm Went to check on progress of the house on Monday afternoon and found that we have now been LOCKED out! There's not too much to report since my last update, the flusher is still going but I think he just has the nail holes to cover now, the eaves have been completed and the carpenter has been and hung all the internal doors and put the skirting on. Cornices are on site ready to be put up. We have a couple of small issues one being that when the eaves have been done there are a couple of large gaps left around the gable which has let a couple of pidgeons into the roof space. We'll let Fairmont know but we're just going to shove something in the holes for now to try and get rid of the pidgeons and not have them ruin the insulation and vents already in the roof. We also found that the window to the games room has a crack in it. The kitchen is meant to be delivered this Friday for installation next week. We're very happy with how the house is looking so far and now with the walls up its really starting to look like and house and we are getting a good idea of what we can do with the space. Overall the speed of the build has been very good with trades being on site most days recently. This door is meant to be painted Evening Haze to match the fascia and garage door, but I like how it looks now and am thinking about asking the builder not to paint it. Bedroom Games room looking through to Family room Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 29Feb 18, 2016 11:04 pm So cabinetry installation started Tuesday 9th and was completed Wednesday 10th February. Hubby was lucky enough to be able to walk through and have a look during installation on the Tuesday but we haven't been able to get back in since installation has been completed to have a good look. So far everything looks pretty good from what we can see through the windows, I especially love the butlers pantry but don't have any photo's of this yet. Since the cabinetry has gone in not much else has happened on site with the only thing completed since then is the installation of the downpipes, hopefully things pick up again soon. We received the invoice from Fairmont today for stage 4 and 5 of the build. I have to admit I was looking forward to getting this as the last letter we received said we would receive important information on PCI and handover with this invoice but was disappointed to receive a generic letter basically saying we are in the final stages and to expect completion to happen in the next 8 to 15 weeks! I was hoping for a PCI date but worse case scenario based on their broad timeframe completion would be about 3 weeks ahead of the original finish date of 29th June. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kitchen bench, waiting for stone bench top Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Kitchen overhead cupboards Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Laundry Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Walk in robe Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Main bathroom vanity, waiting for stone bench top Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Ensuite vanity, waiting for stone bench top Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 30Feb 22, 2016 3:03 pm It's all looking great Lewiston! Can't wait to see your tiling, particularly in the kitchen as we have the same colours - all white with subway tiles Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 31Feb 22, 2016 3:20 pm Bobbin It's all looking great Lewiston! Can't wait to see your tiling, particularly in the kitchen as we have the same colours - all white with subway tiles Thanks Bobbin, we're happy with how things have been going so far! As soon as the tiles in the kitchen are done I'll post pictures for you, I think the splashback tiles will still be a couple of weeks away though as I'm guessing the stone bench needs to go in before they can do the tiles. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 32Feb 22, 2016 4:26 pm Beautiful choices! I've also decided on a white kitchen with white subways! We have good taste! Lol Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 33Feb 25, 2016 12:34 pm CustomStirling Beautiful choices! I've also decided on a white kitchen with white subways! We have good taste! Lol Thanks CustomStirling, we like it and the subway tiles seem to be a bit of a trend at the moment. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 34Mar 01, 2016 9:39 pm So not a lot of progress in the last two weeks, basically only the cornices have been done since the cabinetry installation. We also had an electrician through the builder in to get the landline and data points installed. We were a bit annoyed with them to start with as they were meant to be in to do this when first fix electrical was being done around 13th Jan but they only came in last week and now they have placed a lot of the data points in the wrong spots and they also did a pretty rough job. They are meant to be in sometime this week to fix but there are now holes in the gyprock which are going to have to be repaired. Hopefully we start to see some more progress this week. We were able to get into the house last week after all cabinetry was installed and have some updated photo's below. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I've loved how the kitchen has turned out and can't wait for the bench and tiles to see how it will all come together. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Storage Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Can't wait to use the butlers pantry either! Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 35Mar 01, 2016 11:08 pm Looks great. It sounds like your electrician who did the data points was through fairmonts - how was their pricing on data points? I assume you have organised Cat cable to network the house? Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 36Mar 02, 2016 11:26 am hillbuilder Looks great. It sounds like your electrician who did the data points was through fairmonts - how was their pricing on data points? I assume you have organised Cat cable to network the house? Hi Hillbuilder, I don't have a great knowledge with all this cabling stuff (i've left this up to the hubby) but the cost was $145 per outlet with cat 6 cabling. Basically for data points, landline etc Fairmont tells you to talk to the electrcian and we pay the electrician direct. The electrician working on our house doesn't do data cabling so they put us onto another electrician who has been inducted by Fairmont. The price will vary with what electrician you use, as the electrician working on the house quoted more for the landline phone point than the electrician who we went with. Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 37Mar 11, 2016 2:51 pm Tiling has started!! The tiler started Monday which is a couple of weeks later than expected but just glad its happening. Hubby met the tiler today and said he seemed like a nice bloke and he pointed up a couple of issues with the laundry which we will keep an eye on that Fairmont fix. The tiler said he will work over the long weekend and expects to have our bathrooms and kitchen finished by Wednesday and will be back after painting to lay the floor tiles to the rest of the house. The stone benches have also been installed and the sanders have been in and sanded all the walls so I'm hoping that means that there will not be a big delay between the tiles being completed to the painting starting. The biggest hassle in all of this has been the additional electrical work for the landline, data points etc. As I already said in a previous post they did the cabling a month after they were meant to and they have done it incorrectly. About 2 weeks ago they were meant to be in to fix but have still not turned up even after emails and phone calls to try and get it happening. Today after another call they are saying Tuesday. This has been the most stressful part of the build so far and I am worried at this stage that it will hold up the painting as they have damaged the plasterboard which needs to be fixed before painting. I've included some photo's below, not many of the tiling as he had only started the ensuite when we took these. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 38Mar 11, 2016 3:02 pm It's looking very spiffy Lewiston2015!! Love it all. Just a question, how are you having your tiles laid in the wet areas? It looks really interesting! Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 39Mar 11, 2016 4:13 pm Yay for tiles! Sorry to hear of the drama with data cables etc can I ask if the work was done by nacevicius or sa electronics? We had a quote from them for extra data and nbn stuff but I'm a little concerned about the issues you have been having... We're they meant to be in at first fix or some other part of the build? Re: Building Custom Design with Fairmont Homes - Lewiston SA 40Mar 15, 2016 2:23 pm Sorry for my late reply guys, it has been a busy weekend getting our current house ready to put on the market! [quote="heatherkam"]Yay for tiles! Sorry to hear of the drama with data cables etc can I ask if the work was done by nacevicius or sa electronics? We had a quote from them for extra data and nbn stuff but I'm a little concerned about the issues you have been having... We're they meant to be in at first fix or some other part of the build? Heatherkam, neither of the electricians you listed are doing our datacabling. Basically Nacevicius is doing our electrical work but when we approached them to do the phoneline, datacabling, tv ariel etc they advised that they couldn't do the datacabling and passed onto us the details of another electrician who could. They told us they couldn't do the work but I have no idea if that was a couldn't be bothered doing the work! The electrician who is doing the work was meant to come in and do it when first fix was happening, never did and we kept advising them all along what stage the build was at, e.g, insulation started, when gyprock was expected to start etc etc. Again today they were meant to be there and haven't turned up. I wouldn't expect that you would have the issues we have though, if you can use the electrician who is doing your electrical work then they should just do it as a part of the first fix and then finish it off when they come back to finish the electrical work. [quote="CustomStirling"]It's looking very spiffy Lewiston2015!! Love it all. Just a question, how are you having your tiles laid in the wet areas? It looks really interesting! Thanks CustomStirling, sorry to disappoint but we're not having the tiles laid any special way. I'm guessing your asking as the bottom row of tiles on the floor haven't been done. We asked the tiler this and he said that basically he likes to do the walls first but has to leave the bottom row off until he has laid the floor tiles and then he comes back and does that last row. If it was me I would just lay the floor first but he has told us that he tiles the Fairmont display homes and can only assume that he must do a good job so I'll just go with whatever works for him! ideal house depends on the site and location as much as internal floor plan....what is the distance from the house to all four boundaries, where is north, describe your… 3 10169 From a pure legal perspective, if you've signed the variation, it is a very high bar to have it set aside. No-one can give you legal advice on a forum, but you would need… 3 4337 |