I have Wheels...and I ain't afraid to use them.

So, after being forced off the road for 5 very long days with no car due to the "Dirty Fuel Scandal",
I finally got my car back at 6pm last night.
The first place I went bright and early this morning?????
What a tortuous week not being able to stalk my own build!!! But it seems that maybe daily drive-bys aren't the way to go. The longer you stay away, the more they seem to get done!!

Electrical works seem to have finished.
Plumbers have been in.
Fixing Carpenter has returned.
Lots of progress...not a lot of words tonight, but lots of pictures.
Maybe we'll be in in 5 weeks after all.....

Side fence to the Alfresco side finished.

Back fence done.

Side fence from the other angle.

Downlights in the Kitchen.

Electrical work in the Rumpus.

...and in the Games Room.

Downlights in the Master.

...and some Chinaman hats in the Master as well.

Knobs on robes in the minor Bedrooms.

Shelving to the Pantry.

Alarm system control panel in place.

Even the Kitchen sink!!

Hanging rail and shelf in the WIR.

"Wall faced toilet with soft closing seat option" to the Master Ensuite....no more trying to clean behind the bowl - yay!

Shower fit-off in the Main Bathroom.

The Kitchen, as viewed from the Family Room, complete with Benchtops and Sink.

....and again.

Laundry...tiled and tapped.

Getting ready for the Water Tank.

Downpipes in.

Ceiling fan in the alfresco - Bring on Summer!!

Alarm box thingie on the side of the Garage.

And now for the not so good photos/things still needing attention......

Damaged Bi-folds....still not replaced.

The Plumber perhaps? Disrespecting the Tiler's work.

No excuse for that.

Missing roof tile.

Laundry Door.....should have been "Paperbark" as per my selections, but I think I might actually prefer it in Woodland Grey.

Plaster rectifications needed in the Garage.

Powerpoint wired into the wrong spot, now fitted off in the wrong spot, in the Alfresco.

Still very messy out the front and in need of a damn good tidy up.

That's it for today!

Slowly but surely, edging closer.

Still here.....still waiting

OK, 2 days shy of 5 weeks since my last update ( Sorry! ).

2 days shy of 5 weeks since my last update...when I mentioned that we were potentially ( according to SS ), 5 weeks away from handover.

Well, 2 days shy of 5 weeks later and I'm still here ( in my crappy rental ) and I'm still waiting!!!!



I've had no indication as to when PCI or Handover will be.

My 1st SS finished up last Friday.

Apparently I have a new SS.

Haven't heard from him though.

I hope that SS #1 has given SS#2 a list of all the items discussed at our Fix Stage Inspection...because most of them remain outstanding!!! To say that progress over the last month has been slow would be an understatement!!

The only ones moving with any hint of speed seem to be all the people I've lined up for AFTER Handover!!! Every other week I seem to be putting somebody off...." No, not quite there yet, I'll let you know"...."Nope, still not finished, I'll keep in touch"......"I'm sure the Lounge Suite that you made me IS lovely, but it will not fit in this 13sq house along with the 7 people who live here and their various belongings, so do you think you can store it for me for just a while longer? Pretty please?"

Officially 16 days until the end of my contract period, and not a chance in hell of finishing in time. Did I say that I'm hating my rental? Well, that may be, but I'm loving the fact that I didn't give notice a month ago, because as small as it is, it's preferrable to the gutter....or the in-laws!



So that's the bad news. The good news is that there has been some action over the past 5 weeks.

- Tiler ( the lovely, Spanish "J" ) has been and gone. Charming!

- Features walls painted in the Girl's rooms ( "Z" you are my best tradie by a mile!! )

- Stone Bench tops in the Kitchen ( Coral Reef - love it with the Chalk Beige )

- Sparkies started last Friday. Half the light switches and power points are in. Not sure whether they have started on the lights yet, because as of Monday, I became another victim of the "Dirty Fuel" scandal that has rendered 100s of cars in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne inoperable!!

Aaaaarggghhh!!! What's worse? Housebound and unable to stalk your build for 5 days? Or the $3,562 repair bill......just when you need it the least??? There goes a fair few plants.....grrr!



OK, photos!!







Waterproofing "stuff" in the main Bathroom...man, that stuff stinks!!!








Feature wall for DD#1 - Wattyl "Iced Teal" ( Thank-you Z! )









Feature wall for DD#3 - Wattyl "Sheer Exposure"

Feature wall for DD's #2 and #4 - Wattyl "Bleached Turf".

DS gets good ol' Chalk Beige. If it's good enough for me, then it's good enough for him!

Floor tiling starts ( pre grout ) in the Laundry.

...and also in the Ensuite.

Door Handles are on.

Sparkies have started.

"Coral Reef QQ" in the Kitchen.

....and from another angle.

Getting closer to finished in the Main Bathroom.

Plain ( read "classic" ) tiles in the Ensuite shower.

"Pedra Arena in Ivory" finished ( but in need of a clean! ) in the Ensuite.

Great neighbours to 2 sides....the beginning of our fences.

That's it for now.

This time when I say hopfeully 5 weeks to go, I bloody well mean it.

Ciao. :-)

WHERE ARE WE AT???

Ooh, gosh...long time between posts!!!

But things HAVE been progressing, despite my lack of updates.

Fencer #2 finally turned up to give us a quote.

Seems his wife ran off and left him for another man, so he turned his phone off and went "bush" for a couple of weeks.

Oops, how bad do I feel having bagged him???? ~Blushes~

Turns out to be a really nice guy and we are happy with his quote - hope the neighbours will be too so I can cross one thing off the list.

What else? Concrete quote obtained! Tick.

Landscapers x 2 have turned up to give quotes on a Timber deck to the alfresco, and a Timber deck to the portico. Haven't received their quotes yet, but at least they turned up. Half a tick.

We have also been busy organising things for INSIDE the house......

- A beautiful 3 seater "Atlantis" sofa plus 2 Wing Chairs for the Lounge room from my "most-favourite-ever-in-the world-store"......www.purdysfurniture.com.au

- A sumptuously comfy "Magnum" corner suite from Plush for the Rumpus. Could be my 2nd bed.

- A "pretend" leather corner suite for the Kid's game room - easy to wipe the inevitable spills and what nots off.

- Light fittings on order to take the place of the Chinaman hats.

- A new front loading washing machine is on order because a) they are better for the environment but mainly because b) my current big old clunker won't fit into the allocated space.

On the Building front......

- Fixing stage has been and gone. I was the the Inspector for this stage and it went really well - if I do say so myself! My SS "M" continues to be a dream. A few minor issues, all of which he is happy to have fixed.

- Painting has started!!!! Woo hoo!!! What an exciting time in a build. We've gone for Wattyl " Chalk Beige" pretty much every where.....and I LOVE it. Our previous house was very, very, very colourful, and I wanted to take a step back with this house....but I find this colour, although neutral, to be very rich and deep and warm. Love it.

My Painter is to die for. A real credit to his trade. Taking his time, but I'm OK with that. He's fussy and pedantic about the finishes he achieves. I like fussy. Perhaps he's a Virgo like moi???

Thanks "Z"....you're a doll!

Some "Chalk Beige" happening in the Master Bedroom.

And again.

What a posh looking Garage!

Family Room, with some pending plaster rectifications, at the insistence of "Z".

Kitchen.

Rumpus Room. Was to be Dulux "Harold", persuaded into Dulux "Army Issue" by "Z". This shot was taken through a dirty window, it's nicer in real life. Very happy!

Render to the Facade!!!!! Takes on a whole new look. First coat in place...will end up being "Jasper".

SS "M" said he could be setting PCI this week, for 4 weeks time.

Potentially 5 weeks 'til Handover????

How exciting!!!! ;-)