Walls, Floors, Windows and ...Trusses (to come)

This week there has been great progress. The rain, but not the heat and the humidity, stayed away. At least most days the nor-easter comes in about midday and hopefully cools everyone down. (although not today!!)  And yes I know that the trusses are for the roof (Don't panic Brent) and will not come for a while but I like practising my building terms. And besides it sounded better in the title!

The flooring which I am informed is called yellow tongue is in place which means no more balancing on bearers and joists (more building terms practice). The garage wall has gone up and today the frames have been put in place. Now we can see the outline of rooms. So exciting!!!.

 On Friday 17th December some windows arrived and were put in!! These are some of the downstairs windows. The louvres are minus the glass until lock-up (I assume). Now winding down to Christmas but deliveries suggest maybe the upstairs bearers and joists might go in and then yellow tongue flooring. Progress today has been great thanks to Brent and the boys. Hope they all have a Merry Christmas!!

Its Started!!!

Despite bad weather, and a few other difficulties the building has started. The trenches and footings were dug and cement poured. Vern and the boys were fantastic - and under some difficult circumstances!!! Brent from BC Build has communicated progress all the along the way.

I can actually see some of the rooms. The piers and footings are in place (apologies if I occasionally get my building terms wrong - I am learning but slowly!!). The bearers and joists are going down today and very soon the slab for the garage is being poured (Wow a few building terms there!!).

Last weekend we (I was the apprentice) had to bring the mains from the pole to the "conduit under the house" before the floor went in (i know that is not the right term and I am sure I will be corrected). With Steve way up the pole and me on the ground we had to pull and push for hours to get them in. And what do electricians use when they need to push big things through small holes. Lube!! Well with a lot of pushing and pulling we finally got them through - thank god for the lube!! Only one slight tipping of the ladder up the pole!! When we finished we were exhausted and hardly moved all afternoon. But when we turn those lights on it will be with some pride that we have brought power to the house!

And this weekend we had to repeat the exercise all over again, and again last night we could not move. Thank God for the help from Michael (Jet Electrical)!

On Quoting

Quoting is all part of the process when building. It is good for us as the consumers and good for suppliers for competition. However I was unaware how harrowing it could be. I should know this as I spend much of my time tendering for contracts - some I get and some I don't. Disappointment always goes with the unsuccessful and jubilation with the successes. Hey but this is all part of the game.

However we have now been through the detailed quoting and decision making for the build, the windows, and PC items and have now started the tiles and kitchens. Builders quotes came down to 2 final bidders - Brent Caukwell from BC Build and Evan Graham from Evan Graham Building. We had other quotes but these were the two we were considering in detail. They both spent a huge amount of time on the quotes and discussing our needs. We know and appreciate how much time it takes. The final decision like most is down to price and quality (usually judged by previous work, reputation for workmanship and timing and references). We have made the decision to go with Brent because of price and quality. However I would highly recommend Evan to other potential builders.

Similarly with windows we had a number of quotes and narrowed it down to 2 - Langford Aluminium and Great Lakes Windows. Again both have spent a lot of time and effort in quoting and "selling" their company and products. Again it is down to price and quality - including after sales service. The decision has been Langford but again would recommend Great Lakes.  Decision about PC items came down really to the products we liked best and to the fact that Reece happened to be having a sale, which saved us about $1500 (and their floor staff at Kotara were very helpful). Now to tiles - quotes in from DiLorenzos tiles and waiting for Jacoba tiles at East Maitland. Have to say I was a bit concerned about the recent service at diLorenzos and their failure to provide quotes in the time they set. At this stage favouring Jacoba - impressed with staff and showroom but waiting quote but worried that selected tiles may be too dear.

Telling the unsuccessful quoters is very harrowing. I hate doing it. I know competition is good but I feel like I am letting them down. I need to toughen up ( or perhaps get some of the toughness displayed to Telstra at the weekend - I think they are getting worse not better and am now going to change to Optus)!

Demolition

It's down. Finally. After two weeks of promises and delays due to bad weather and other things Spero has delivered. The house is down. The block is clear and levelled. All stations ready to start Monday 1st November 2010!