Lock Up

We are now at lock up .....Yahooooooooo!!!!! Garage doors are on!!!!. And the water proofer has  been.

More than a bath....

So much progress and some regress over the last few weeks.

The bath is in upstairs. Built in by Dave the tiler with hebel brick ready for tiling in a few weeks. It may not look much but to us the installation of the bath means that it is getting close! In preparation the tiles have been ordered through Jacoba Tiles at East Maitland. All the PC items were delivered by Reece Kotara via Reece Newcastle - they have been fantastic all the way

The bath installation also followed a hectic few weeks. The tradesman, with only occasional help from the apprentice, had worked his butt off over the last few weeks finishing the wiring. Two weeks ago, much to our horror, we arrived on Saturday morning to find someone(s) had come in over night and cut the wires! Why!! Well that still remains a mystery. Amazing that some people can sink so low!! But with a lot of hard work the tradesman and the apprentice, and an extra apprentice on Saturday finished the (re) wiring last weekend. We were on a deadline to be ready for the gyprockers who were due to start this week. On Sunday night we were so exhausted we could hardly speak. But it was done!!

Doors and doors

Langfords have fixed the problem with glass part of the back doors and now they are in. We love them and so glad we chose black ....after advice. Both closed ......and open. Now we wait for the screens.

We now also have a front door and a laundry door. On Friday Travis gave me the keys to the doors. That was really exciting!! He had put the handles on so they could be locked. Pity the tradesman forgot about this on Saturday and went down to do a few things only to phone because he was "locked out - no keys"!While it is not quite at lock-up yet, these two doors make things a bit more secure, helped by the board Travis and Jesse nailed over the door from the garage into the house. Now if Saddingtons can remedy the problem with the garage doors order, and quickly, we will be at lock up.

The handles for all the doors were bought from AJ Edden. Andrew from Eddens has been very patient with the selection process over the last 12 months.

Insulation and Gyprock

The insulation has been put in...all but finished. This has meant the gyprocking has started. Two truck loads were delivered last Tuesday and on Thursday the gyprocking started. I met Troy from Ace Interiors on site on Thursday to sort out the question of cornice - the original choice just did not seem to suit the house. So Troy put a few "test" pieces up a so we could make a selection over the weekend. And we have decided to go with the one that is close to square set with decisions supported by Michael and Lynda.

The gyprocking make such a difference with rooms looking bigger in some instances. The office is the most complete and looks great. The louvre windows allow a great breeze and allow a really beautiful light. 

It now seems very close and while we are trying not to get too excited (no pressure Brent) we can't help it. I have even seen the kitchen, or at least the cupbaord frames minus the "pretty stuff" (Zol/'s description) when out at Cutting Edge the other day with Judy

Sorted out all the appliances recently with Mel from Winnings who has been great through all the process of decision making. Have had the range hood delivered to Zol and will probably need to take other appliances there soon.

This week we have to sort out the lights, quotes for shower screen and splash back, and water tank. Grace from Eurolight Kotara has been fantastic in guiding and providing multiple quotes. We are now ready to go with all the lights.  The water tank is now sorted. A chance drive-by at the weekend saw Hunter Irrigation at Raymond Terrace - they had not come up in my google search to date. Rang the Maitland store and Steve was most helpful of all contacts made for water tanks. And...he rang back when he said he would. If only other companies would realise that this counts for so much in making decisions about quotes!!!
Over the next few weeks we expect the gyprocking, the waterproofing and the architraves et al will be finished. Then the stairs. flooring, painting and kitchen......(again no pressure Brent just trying to think about the next steps) and then the tradesman and apprentice will need to finish the electrics and lighting. Some time in this the driveway and front fence will be done!!

Scaffolding Down, Roof Up, Paint on, Wiring and Air Conditioning in, Kitchen Underway

Much has happened since the last post and I have been slack in recoding this progrss (bad knee, work etc, etc). Thank God for Darren at Lambton Physiotherapy, the knee appears to be on the mend.  Brent as usual has been great at coordinating the trades and most importantly letting me know what is going on! The scaffolding came down and within the time frames!! It is really starting to look like a house without the scaffolding. The roof has gone up - happy with the colour. The painters have been there and have just about finished painting the outside and it is looking as imagined. And yes the colours align with the blog!!

The air-conditioning was installed last week. After a number of quotes and discussion with air-conditioning firms we chose was Lakeside Air. We were absolutely amazed at the number of air-conditioning firms that identified all the problems with air conditioning the house but seemed incapable of coming up with solutions!! Not sure what sort of sales they are trying to make but it was certainly unconvincing. In contrast Dave from Lakeside Air has been great - prompt with quotes, suggested a whole lot of solutions to roof space problems, arrived on time on the day he said he would! And we have recommended them to friends.

The tradesman had a week in the Snowy Mountains fishing. Luckily he came home with a lot of trout!. He even won the trophy for the longest fish. Very proud moment. He then spent the next week wiring up the house. It is just about ready - next weekend should see it all wired up and ready for sheeting.

We have had a bit of a hiccough with the back sliding doors but we are hopeful that Langords will sort that out this week as we are getting very close to lock up. Matt O'Connell will start the plumbing tomorrow.

We have organised the kitchen and laundry now. Cutting Edge Joinery are doing the job. Decision again based on previous work, responsiveness, timeliness of quotes and of course price. Had some decisions to make re colours and surfaces but we got there. Zol has been to measure up and he has told me they have started cutting the doors. Now it is getting close!!!

Two Floors and a Roof!

Upstairs family room

Everyone has been very busy since the delivery of the upstairs frames and roof trusses. It is amazing how quickly they have gone up since 17th January. They fit together almost like a jigsaw puzzle. Brent is amazingly well organised. The carpenters have been working their butts off as have the brickies.

Until this week the weather has been mostly OK. But this week the heat has hit and is predicted to be heatwave conditions till at least Sunday. Poor buggers working in that heat. And they are predicting increases in humidity because of the impact of Cyclone Yasi up  north. YUK!!


Upstairs back bedroom



The colourbond roof  (Surfmist) is now being placed on the roof. Last week the upstairs windows were delivered from Langfords and they are going in this week. Will need to get the guy from ProtectaWindow back to spray the peel-off plastic protective coating on the windows and frames. It is really starting to take shape.

One happy fisherman and one unhappy flathead!

We worked on some things on the house on Saturday but did manage to have a quieter Sunday. Even had a very successful fishing experience at Corlette!! Must be the name association!!!

Mid February

In spite of the hot and humid weather everything is still progressing well. The roof  and eaves are now on, and the panels on the top floor are on on most sides of the house. The rest of the windows are in and have been protected by Protectawindow. I can see why this is needed - saves having to scrape cement off the window and frame and risk scratching the glass.

The tradesman has worked (and sweated) very hard with drilling holes and starting the wiring process with a couple of circuits completed. The apprentice has been of little help - on compo with a bad knee so has been providing moral support only!! I guess the tradesman deserves a week at Adaminaby fly fishing - as long as he returns with some trout!!

The painter should start this week - weather permitting, although not looking great today or forecast for the next few days. Need to get upstairs painted in order to get the scaffolding down!  But at least it is cooler!!! The plumber should start in the next week or so and will have to organise the gas connection.

Things are Moving Along

January

Things are really happening now. The weather Gods have been kind to us, helped of course by Brent's organisation. Thank goodness we are not in Queensland and have watched in disbelief as that tragedy has unfolded.

After a break over Christmas the brickies started back about 10th January and made great progress that week. We now have walls and the outline is really starting to take shape. In the week before I acted as apprentice to the tradesman. He could not wait to get in and start drilling holes for the electrical cables. I was allocated the role of measuring and nailing in the metal plates for the light switches, which I mostly performed as per instructions after measuing the height and checking the plans!! All except for a few tricky spots where the experience of the tradesman was needed.

This week, starting 17th January it was all action. Brent had organised the frames and the scaffolding to be delivered. All hands were on deck on Monday morning for the big delivery. My role was to cook muffins for the workers on site while the tradesman swapped his cables for a turn as a stop and go man - (he relished the power!) as the huge crane lifted the frames and trusses to the site. He has threatened to bring the stop and go signs home and hold them up when I am getting too bossy!! Not that that would ever occur! By the afternoon, some of the trusses were on the back part of the roof!

The post Christmas period was also an opportunity to capitalise on sales for needed goods. We now have a fireplace from Home Fires  in Minto Sydney. It was worth the trip to Sydney to get it!  It was the fire we wanted and at the best price. What would we do without the internet to search out best prices! We  have managed a few other purchases at sales prices. And January is not over yet!

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)!