Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our little corner of paradise: Painters are out. 22Oct 09, 2009 9:23 pm Another day, another conversation with the builder. The painting seems to be done as much as they can do now. But another hitch. The painters want more money for the job. We chose a colour for the walls, the same colour in gloss for the doors, another colour for the doors and trims. It costs more thye say, fair enough. However, the builder's agents (sales people at the land estate) had our information and available at the time of contract signing. We had been told that the extra colours cost more but (and I think it is reasonable to feel this) I assumed that all the costs of building the house would be in the contract, especially for things like painting. This isn't a case of digging the foundations and finding rock unexpectedly, this is paint for crying out loud! It's an extra $550 the painter told me this afternoon. At the same time, something that did get missed from both sides is that on the selection form was the wardrobe doors in the master bedroom. There are none! At the time of signing the contract, there was some confusion as to whether there was going to be a cavity sliding door ar standard wardrobe sliding doors. In the end, the plans of the house have sliding doors, so they have been ordered, one mirrored panel and one standard vinyl. The builder said they would absorb the extra cost of the mirror panel (about $100), which is nice, but I wonder what the catch is? The driveway issue has still not been sorted out though. The woman I spoke to at the builder's office told me the builder will call to talk about it next week. I'm still yet to call a concrete cutter to find out how much it will be to slice up the driveway, but that will be something to use to bargain with the builder as for him either getting it done or how much he will be giving us as compensation. I'll post some pictures soon, but not much has changed since the last lot, except the neighbour has had the fence put up and it looks alright to me. Re: Our little corner of paradise: Painters are out. 23Oct 10, 2009 5:03 pm More photos! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ They are sanding the front door as the finish wasn't great they said. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the neighbours got the fence put up. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I spoke to the sales person today for the land estate and she will speak to the builder for us about the painting issue. She also said that now they include any paint changes specifically are mentioned in the contract so it is priced too. But ours wasn't, it was, we were told, an "understanding" that when it was time to be done, we would pay the painter cash for it. I don't remember that bit, but I do remember being told that feature walls would cost extra. And, she said, she might just remind them of how much business gets sent their way from the sales office . Rightly so, especially as the builder basically blamed this stuff up on the sales person, despite the builder having all of our selections etc before the contract signing. I'm still somewhat of the opinion that if they are going to really push for us to pay the extra, then maybe I'll trade him the painting cost for fixing up the driveway. I know I shouldn't, but then it's over. Re: Our little corner of paradise: Painters are out. 24Oct 10, 2009 10:30 pm It all looks very lovely! Looks like you've got some incredible views. The house is turning out beatifully and I love that wall color, I don't think it's too yellow at all! Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 26Oct 18, 2009 6:13 pm This will be picture heavy! Lots has happened in the last week or so. Here's a run down. Last weekend, there was a delivery of some of the electrical items. On Monday, I got a call from the sparky on site who asked when we were dropping off the rest of the items, as he had been told we were supplying the fans and lights etc. They only had the stock standard oysters and a couple of fluros for the garage. Well, I saw RED and called the builder about it. Long story short, the stuff up was fixed and on went the week. I dropped in on Friday and had a look around, to see what I could see so to speak. And this is what I saw: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ They have installed the aircons. Different brand (Kelvinator) from what was originally promised (Hisense) but I can live with that. What I am annoyed about is that these "cheap" units have R22 in them. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ While we're outside, might as well mention the hotwater system. It's in and will be so good! On demand hotwater. Woohoo. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And of course, to drive the hotwater system and the stove below, the required bottle o' gas! I was a bit worried when I saw only one lead line from the wall connector. Everyone else in the street has 2 bottles chained to the side of the house and we only get one. It's a bigger one however, but I dunno why only one instead of two. So long as it gets filled regularly, I don't mind. They have also removed the rubbish pile and smoothed out all the dirt around the house, and tried to cover up the busted corner of the render. I dug it out and am still going to have it fixed! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The sparky has popped in a switch module for the sensor light: On->Off->Sensor. I like the idea but I had the switch; it's floppy and wasn't designed to fit into the HPM mounting plates. The corners and sides are rounded where as the HPM plate holes are less rounded. The switch, as you may not be able to see, doesn't sit correctly in the hole. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The oven is in. What's to say? It's an oven! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the gas stove too. REALLY looking forward to this. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Finally, the correct doors are there. They are painted now and waiting to be hung. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ With the installation of the fans, came the fan switches. Anyone see what is "not quite right" about them? They are the original Martec dials and capacitors, but they have popped them out of the Martec face plates that also had the light switch and put them into the HPM plates. On the Martec plates, there was a little arrow marking the point for the dial, the HPM plates obviously don't. It just looks funny and not in a good way. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ However, the fans themselves look great! (Except the trady's fingerprints!) Brushed stainless steel for the living and outdoor areas and white in the bedrooms. The SS ones stand out and a bit of a feature item, whereas the white blend in and you almost miss them in the bedroom. The plan worked. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I thought these would look better than they do, but they are still better than the ordinary standard ones I think. Only one is in so far. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The standard builder's selection of circular fluro light. I don't mind it. Sorry about the soft photo. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The taps we chose for the bath, shower and ensuite shower. In the bath, they are nice and straight (see below). My photography on the other hand leaves something to be desired. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ But these are the only ones they go on straight. The rest are shocking! I can't believe they thought it was ok to do it and leave! The shower: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The Ensuite: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And then look close as where the bath spigot comes out of the wall. See the little black spots? They cut a square hole in the tile, too large, and so the plate doesn't cover it all up. ******* much! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And while we are in the bathroom, this isn't the showerhead we ordered. I wanted an ordinary round, lots of holes and lots of water, shower rose. I live in the tropics, water usage isn't a prime concern (sorry to those people down south!) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ they've changed over the laundry tub and have since started the tiling. They really tore up the waterproof membrane though on the sheeting when they ripped out the old tub. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And here's a real kicker: we didn't order this extra tub in the garage. We were going to do it ourselves after handover and had it removed from the contract. It's there now and tiled in too. I'm keeping my mouth shut. Although, I wonder if it is to buy us off for something else? Am I being too suspicious? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And lastly, the doors have handles! Ok, I think that's about it. Lots has happened and there is a still many miles to go before rest. Despite being up to this stage, we haven't been given a completion date yet. It's mid October and I'm curious as they said PROBABLY the end of October. We still haven't packed much and have to give 4 weeks notice to the RE agent. I don't think it will take them a month to get a tenant into this place though, unless they jack up the rent a lot. Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 27Oct 18, 2009 7:05 pm Very nice! It looks like most of the issues left over are fairly minor and hopefully easy enough to fix without too much fuss. Good luck on getting in by the end of the month. Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 28Oct 18, 2009 7:11 pm Great pic fest! Looks like they have a few faults to fix but, putting these aside, the place looks great and really taking great shape. Having the fence up now gives you more of an idea of the size of your backyard. Fingers crossed you'll be in soon. Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 29Oct 18, 2009 9:18 pm Hi Digamma I like your door handles. What brand and model are they? Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 30Oct 18, 2009 10:35 pm The door handles are by Gainsborough. Here's a link: Contractor 100 Series - Amelia. What's funny about the door handles, they are the builder's standard ones. Sure, that may not sound funny in and of itself, but we changed a lot of stuff from the builder's range for ones we liked better. But the door handles we left alone and instead changed the tapware to more expensive ones to match the door handles! Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 31Nov 07, 2009 6:03 pm Such a busy week with work, I forgot about here! We had a call from the builder last Monday to say it was done and that we should go and have a look through and to give him a list of all the things to be fixed. Since this journey started many months ago, we thought at some point we would meet the guy doing the work! Still haven't laid eyes on the man! Anyway, the list of items to be fixed is mostly cosmetic items, but a couple of big ones like no roof insulation! Anyway, I've put the list in for posterity. Items to be addressed • Front door to be recoated • Light bulbs in bare holders to be installed • Bed 4 – Dent in wall, left side, against living room wall, high, close to where do doors open. • Corner of living room/bed 4 – scuff on wall • Fan switches, upside down and wired backwards (1 fast, 3 slow, should be reversed, 1 slow, 3 fast). Off is at the bottom of the switch and should be at the top. • Lights over kitchen bench are spaced unevenly and too far along to the cupboard end of the bench. Need to be moved over, spaced evenly and attached to the ceiling properly so that the light fixture will not be hit when the cupboard door is opened • Left switch on range-hood comes loose when being moved up • Studio sliding cavity door top of frame needs coat of paint inside and out • Dishwasher water pipe connection is too close to the GPO to connect (FIXED: The pipe has been bent outwards a little to accommodate the fixing) • Studio fluoro lights are the wrong type and wrong length • Dirty mark on wall outside of studio door – left • Scratches in paint on studio door • Studio doors do not sit evenly at bottom • Dirty marks on internal wall outside laundry between bed three and laundry • Dirty marks on internal wall outside laundry above GPO opposite • Laundry – paint on top of tiles to match other tiles • Toilet exhaust fan blades make noise – blades are making contact with housing • Toilet – Paint on top of tiles to match other tiles • Toilet “runs” (FIXED) • Locking pin on toilet doors falls out • Bathroom – Paint on top of tiles to match other tiles • Bathroom – position of soap dish in main shower should match the position of the soap dish in the ensuite shower • Bathroom basin plug leaks • Bathroom exhaust fan blades make noise – blades are making contact with housing • Main bathroom – shower taps not correctly aligned. Should be 90 degrees (>----) when off and 180 degrees (|) when on. • Main bathroom – Cold tap has scratches on shaft near handle. Turn tap on to see • Bed 2 – screw poking through wall from A/C mount from Bed 1 • Bed 2 – Dirty carpet • Bed 1 – Dirty carpet • Ensuite toilet “runs” (FIXED) • Ensuite – Paint on top of tiles to match other tiles • Ensuite toilet leaks from under cistern (FIXED) • Ensuite shower taps not aligned correctly. Refer above • Bed 1 A/C facing not clipped on correctly • Laundry external floor drain outlet needs painting • Render under external garage side door • Garage – paint in bottom corner between external door and wet area • Garage – Silicone sealant/grout on edge of tile at trough, floor level • External render – corner of bed 4 near down pipe • Front side tap sprays water upwards from fitting • No roof insulation. (FIXED, I think) • Paint on top of doors • Kitchen wall splashback, edge of tiles facing living area need painting And some pictures. The exhaust fans (both are taken while running, one with flash to see the blades open and the other sans flash). You'll notice the sticker on the fan housing. It says to not tighten the frame screws too tight or the blades will get stuck. The electrician seemed to ignore that, thinking he knew better. So he did up the screws too tight, caused the frame to bow and the blades hit it. What a smart cookie he is! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The internal fans. All the ones in rooms are white and most have a light built in. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The external fan. The fans in the living area are also in silver, with light. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The lights we chose for the walls on either side of the garage. The sensor operates them and the porch light (I hope, not bulb in the batten, so can't check yet) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Shots of the carpet in the bedrooms. Notice the nice red bootprints. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Our watertank. We haven't moved in yet and it's about a third full. It's connected to the outdoors taps, washing machine and toilets. What's got me is that the pipe into the tank doesn't have a drain for the first little bit of water that comes off the roof. So all the dust and bird poo etc will go straight into the tank and not be siphoned off first. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The pump is kinda snazzy. It has a sensor in the tank to detect the water level automatically switches over to town water when the level gets too low in the tank. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the endless supply of hot water! I'm going to have to resist the urge to have REALLY long hot showers now. I haven't been able to in the rental place as the tank is about 3 ft tall and holds barely enough for a lukewarm cup of tea. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Our little corner of paradise: Keys Thursday, Moving Friday! 32Nov 24, 2009 10:26 pm It seems like we are at the end of our house building journey. We FINALLY met the builder last Tuesday, discussed the final few things that needed to be completed/fixed and he was polite, pleasant and agreeable! I was expecting a lot of nopes, and nups and general weaselling out of fixing up little bits. But he agreed to nearly everything and explained why certain items couldn't be fixed (like the taps). I'm satisfied that he was genuine and I guess I'll be seeing on Thursday whether he will live up to his word. Either way, we have the truck to pick up on Friday afternoon so that we can take a load over that afternoon and spend all day Saturday moving the big items of furniture and appliances. Sunday is given over to the last items to be moved and starting on the cleaning. The real estate agent rang last week and asked if we can be out any sooner as they have someone lined up to move in as soon as we are out. Nice. Means less rent to be paid but means we have 2 nights to clean the place, top to bottom. No small feat! Plus, at the moment, the wife is 8 months pregnant, I'm a teacher in the middle of end of the year marking and report cards, so I'm up to my eyeballs in work! I'll be glad when the last day of school rolls around and I can drop into a ball and pass out from stress! But on the bright side, In 2 days, I'll have my very first house, our new home! Re: Our little corner of paradise: Keys Thursday, Moving Friday! 33Nov 24, 2009 10:33 pm congrats - nearly there!!!! 2014 - Prepping to build the Soho 4 with Plantation homes, industrial style 2009 - Built the Brampton with Coral Homes viewtopic.php?f=31&t=15399&start=280 Re: Our little corner of paradise: internal fitout now on! 36Nov 14, 2010 4:18 pm digamma This will be picture heavy! Lots has happened in the last week or so. Here's a run down. Last weekend, there was a delivery of some of the electrical items. On Monday, I got a call from the sparky on site who asked when we were dropping off the rest of the items, as he had been told we were supplying the fans and lights etc. They only had the stock standard oysters and a couple of fluros for the garage. Well, I saw RED and called the builder about it. Long story short, the stuff up was fixed and on went the week. I dropped in on Friday and had a look around, to see what I could see so to speak. And this is what I saw: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ They have installed the aircons. Different brand (Kelvinator) from what was originally promised (Hisense) but I can live with that. What I am annoyed about is that these "cheap" units have R22 in them. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ While we're outside, might as well mention the hotwater system. It's in and will be so good! On demand hotwater. Woohoo. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And of course, to drive the hotwater system and the stove below, the required bottle o' gas! I was a bit worried when I saw only one lead line from the wall connector. Everyone else in the street has 2 bottles chained to the side of the house and we only get one. It's a bigger one however, but I dunno why only one instead of two. So long as it gets filled regularly, I don't mind. They have also removed the rubbish pile and smoothed out all the dirt around the house, and tried to cover up the busted corner of the render. I dug it out and am still going to have it fixed! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The sparky has popped in a switch module for the sensor light: On->Off->Sensor. I like the idea but I had the switch; it's floppy and wasn't designed to fit into the HPM mounting plates. The corners and sides are rounded where as the HPM plate holes are less rounded. The switch, as you may not be able to see, doesn't sit correctly in the hole. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The oven is in. What's to say? It's an oven! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And the gas stove too. REALLY looking forward to this. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Finally, the correct doors are there. They are painted now and waiting to be hung. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ With the installation of the fans, came the fan switches. Anyone see what is "not quite right" about them? They are the original Martec dials and capacitors, but they have popped them out of the Martec face plates that also had the light switch and put them into the HPM plates. On the Martec plates, there was a little arrow marking the point for the dial, the HPM plates obviously don't. It just looks funny and not in a good way. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ However, the fans themselves look great! (Except the trady's fingerprints!) Brushed stainless steel for the living and outdoor areas and white in the bedrooms. The SS ones stand out and a bit of a feature item, whereas the white blend in and you almost miss them in the bedroom. The plan worked. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I thought these would look better than they do, but they are still better than the ordinary standard ones I think. Only one is in so far. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The standard builder's selection of circular fluro light. I don't mind it. Sorry about the soft photo. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The taps we chose for the bath, shower and ensuite shower. In the bath, they are nice and straight (see below). My photography on the other hand leaves something to be desired. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ But these are the only ones they go on straight. The rest are shocking! I can't believe they thought it was ok to do it and leave! The shower: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The Ensuite: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And then look close as where the bath spigot comes out of the wall. See the little black spots? They cut a square hole in the tile, too large, and so the plate doesn't cover it all up. ******* much! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And while we are in the bathroom, this isn't the showerhead we ordered. I wanted an ordinary round, lots of holes and lots of water, shower rose. I live in the tropics, water usage isn't a prime concern (sorry to those people down south!) Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ they've changed over the laundry tub and have since started the tiling. They really tore up the waterproof membrane though on the sheeting when they ripped out the old tub. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And here's a real kicker: we didn't order this extra tub in the garage. We were going to do it ourselves after handover and had it removed from the contract. It's there now and tiled in too. I'm keeping my mouth shut. Although, I wonder if it is to buy us off for something else? Am I being too suspicious? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And lastly, the doors have handles! Ok, I think that's about it. Lots has happened and there is a still many miles to go before rest. Despite being up to this stage, we haven't been given a completion date yet. It's mid October and I'm curious as they said PROBABLY the end of October. We still haven't packed much and have to give 4 weeks notice to the RE agent. I don't think it will take them a month to get a tenant into this place though, unless they jack up the rent a lot. Re: Our little corner of paradise: Now moving out :-( 37Jan 10, 2011 11:26 am Well, it's been just over a year since we moved into a first home. We have great neighbours, a great estate to live in and we are happy here. So why are we moving? We had our little bundle of joy (Ella-Jane) on Dec 20, just after we moved in. And while there have been some trying times, she is the light of my life and I love her to bits. But that's not why we are moving. The wife is looking for work, and as someone in the arts industry, she has worked out that Cairns has not much in the way of employment opportunities for a new graduate, who is looking for full or part time work in her chosen field. Reason #1. Reason #2 is bubba. She deserves to have family around, we deserve to have some family around and it would be nice to be able to go out to the movies occasionally. Reason #3, the missus is probably going back to uni this year to study teaching. This had better be her last year of study too! 6 years at tafe and uni and I've had enough of being neglected in favour of assignments. So this is the last bit. If she still can't get a job, we'll just have to have another baby and try for the job thing again in another couple of years! My wife is excited and happy to go back to Brisbane and be with family. Me, I'm a different story. This year at work has been awful. New principal, new head of department, a couple of staffing changes, it's made me quite unhappy and wanting to not be at work. But, I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE where I live, not just the house, but Cairns. I Hate Brisbane. It's too busy, cramped, the traffic and number of **** roads has me baffled how people can like living there. But c'est la vie. In short, I don't want to go. I'd stay in my unhappy job to keep living here. But it is not to be. As I am typing this, the movers are packing the last few bits, dismantling some of the furniture and loading the truck. I'm a big boy, and I want to cry. I want to get on the phone and tell the department I'm not moving now and call the wife and say get on the next plane and come home! I fly out tomorrow at lunchtime and won't be back to Cairns for a long time I don't think. The kids at school say they will miss me. I was a year level co-ord and have seen one grade through from when they started at the school and now I'll miss their final year of high school. They made me promise to come back, so I said either graduation or formal at the end of the year. Goodbye house. You have been an excellent place in which to live. You have put up with (in some cases) ham fisted attempts to make you into our home. House, I hope you enjoy the work I put into the lawn and gardens around you. And I'm sorry for when I crashed the dingo into the shed. You stand naked now and I'm going to miss you a lot. I'll miss you too Cairns. You have been a hot and wet tropical paradise in which to live. Winters are excellent. Thankyou for the experience you have added to our lives over the last 6 years. I hope to come back. 8 6275 4 14582 Dear all, Requesting your help in relation to a CDC code. We are building a new home in NSW on a corner lot (500m2, 15m wide) following Greenfield CDC code. Our design… 0 4884 |