Week 20 - completion is underway

So we met with our Site Supervisor Wednesday (not Tuesday) of last week to sort out the mix up about the kitchen pot drawers and great outcome!... He said it wasn't a problem at all, that they will be fixed/replaced as per the drawings which "are there for a reason" and that it wouldn't hold up progress as other trades can keep working in the meantime.

And that they have!... yesterday morning we briefly met on site with the painter Brett, who was great to deal with (and who btw looked very familiar, maybe from one of those tv shows). He just wanted to clarify a couple of things, and was also happy to do two more coats on the front door; he'll get the extra paint then we can pay him directly.

By the time I dropped in yesterday afternoon, the first coat of paint in the entire house including the garage had been done! No need to say that the painters were on site today, again working on a Saturday... impressed but no longer surprised, CG clearly don't muck around.

Had also asked our SS at our meeting about the driveway, and again he was more than happy to give us the details of their contractor so we can contact and deal with him directly. As CG/SS deal with him on a regular basis, they'll also give him access between PCI and Settlement so that it's all done by the time we're ready to move in ☺

our controversial
front door colour :)

Week 18 - fixing stage done :)

Eventually managed to get a sneak peek yesterday, but it wasn't until late afternoon coz of all days couldn't believe the renderers were actually on site working on a public holiday!... certainly cannot complain about Carter Grange keeping up with the progress.

So far so good, except for the kitchen pot drawers which somehow the cabinet maker got wrong :/ basically the middle ones are too small & the bottom ones too big, but we're meeting with our SS on site this Tuesday morning to sort it out.

Otherwise, all plastered walls prepped & ready for painting, all internal doors (excl. cavity & robe sliding doors) are in, all cupboards & cabinetry (except for laundry most likely happening on Monday) are installed and we've finally got stairs!... so no more climbing up & down the ladder.

With the completion stage, which can take up to 10 weeks, starting next week and provided the kitchen drawers can be fixed quickly, here's hoping for a pre-xmas delivery! ☺

Stairs

Kitchen

Butler's Pantry

Ensuite cabinets

Bathroom cabinets

Entry

Dining-Kitchen

Dining-Living

Leisure-Balcony

Leisure-Stairs

WIR

Week 16 - plaster's up!

Since our SS mentioned the plastering was scheduled to start last Wednesday, I'd been stalking our site driving past the last 3 days but no action in sight :/

What a nice surprise it was to see the plasterers on site this morning, on a Saturday of all days, so no need to say I had to pop my head in quickly and say hello ☺

I guess the guy wasn't kidding when he said they'll be done by the end of the day, they were there til after 5.30pm & all the plaster sheets to the entire house including the garage had been put up in just one day!

garage / store

entry

laundry

dining / living

dining / kitchen

kitchen

leisure / balcony

leisure

passage

master

WIR

ensuite

bathroom

bathroom

Pre-plaster re-inspection

As arranged, we met again with our SS on site this morning to check off the pre-plaster items. The carpenters were also on site fixing/finishing off anything outstanding, and happy to report that:

● bed 2 external wall was being leveled
● the stairs dwarf wall had been leveled
● the tie-down bracings were tight
● the heating unit had been relocated over the load trusses
● gaps to the window & door were properly insulated
● the ensuite & ground floor wet spots appeared to be dry, and as I dropped by this arvo noticed the roof guy up there replacing the missing tiles

We also went over some of the other esthetics & external items in the report, and were reassured that these would be addressed in due course, so we'll have to wait and see.

As the inspector said no building project goes without any issues (big or small) and that you simply want the builder to respond, address and/or fix them, which so far Carter Grange have done.

Our SS also said that the plastering was scheduled to start tomorrow, and that he expects the fixing stage to be done by end Sep-early Oct!

Certainly can't complain about the progress so far ☺

Lock-up / pre-plaster inspection

Yesterday we met on site with the building inspector we'd independently engaged, Damien of Project Logic, and pointed out a few things we had noticed. As he said there's always a fine line between the standards and the esthetics, but at first glance he couldn't see any obvious major structural issues or defects that couldn't be addressed.

We left him to carry on with his inspection and received his comprehensive report with supporting photos later that night. There were 19 items in the report (which apparently isn't that bad) most of which were minor and some of which relate to esthetics & items externally that would be dealt with at the final inspection.

So for the purpose of this post, I will focus on the pre-plaster items, along with Damien's comments on how they should be addressed:

● bed 2 external wall not plumb and stairs dwarf wall & theatre bulkhead not level - ensure all walls and bulkhead leveled before plastering

● tie down bracing to 2 windows not taught - ensure all bracing pulled tight

● heating unit not located over heating load trusses - relocate unit over heating load trusses which was mentioned to the contracters who happened to be on site

● water penetration in ensuite and a few locations to ground floor due to missing roof tiles - ensure all roof tiles put back into place once scaffs are removed & insulation is dry before plastering

● insulation & flashing missing in gaps to 1 window and 1 door - ensure all gaps to windows & doors properly sealed & insulated

All in all, the slab & frame were good, nothing that can't be fixed and nothing structural of major concern, so we sent the report to our Site Supervisor this morning and we've arranged for a re-inspection (which we'll do ourselves) next Tuesday, hoping that Carter Grange would have addressed most of those points by then.

Week 14 - we're at lock up!

We are officially at the halfway mark ☺

The garage & lower roof tiles are done, the heat/cool duct vents to the ground floor are installed and the electricals rough-in has been done. Ray of F'Niche (who was great to deal with btw) has put in any additional timber noggins required for the bathroom accessories, towel rails, etc.

The insulation & soundscreen batts have also been delivered to site ready for the next stage... but first, the inspection on Tuesday hopefully with a not so bad report... will keep you posted...