Week 3, Merry Christmas from Porter Davis

We received a little Christmas surprise from Porter Davis, exactly 4 days after the slab had been poured.....

A whopping big bill for the base stage!

We knew it was coming, but hey, I thought perhaps Christmas may have brought a little delay :)

Week 2, Day 14 - Slab Pour

We were very excited to hear the guys over at the block today, especially when the concrete pumping truck arrived!  They worked all day, with truck after truck arriving at the site.

Thankfully, the rain held off throughout the pouring and burnishing, which was a bit of a concern for us at this stage in the construction because we have decided to go with a polished concrete flooring (unless we chicken out!).  We've been told that rain during the pouring, along with hot sun whilst curing can impact on the finish that we get at the end.  It's better if it dries slowly rather than quickly.

This will be the last we see of the builders, due to the Christmas and New Year break, with framing due to commence on January 9th.

Week 2, Day 11 - Waffles down

Today saw the waffles and reo put in place ready for the concrete pour which we are guessing will happen on Monday.

We were wondering how the termite protection was installed and at what stage it is done, which our SS has told us has been partly done at this point (the black sheeting under the waffles and reo).

Week 2, Day 10 - Pre-Slab

This morning, the guys were at it nice and early and have marked out the house on the block.  The timber framing for the slab has been laid, along with the sheets of plastic that form the base.  Given my lack of build-tech-speak, I'll just call everything by names that it looks like to me!

The foam blocks were delivered last night, which is what that big pile of "stuff" is on the site!

Week 2, Day 9 - Piers

The concrete piers were done today, 35 of them in fact!  They don't look that big in these images, but they are HUGE!

Week 2, Day 8 - Plumbing and Electricial

Plumbing and electrical were completed today.  Doesn't look like much here, but an incredible amount of work has been done underneath all of this!

Week 1, Day 7 - It's a Duck Pond

After the enormous down pour on the weekend, the site has become a bit of a duck pond!  The cut for the porch and garage are full of water!

Week 1, Day 1 - Excavation

Day 1 came a day early for us, with an early morning phone call from the Site Supervisor (SS) informing us that the guys were there ready to work.

The surveyor was there placing pegs and marking the land in the morning, then suddenly we could hear machinery.

You're probably wondering why we could "hear" machinery!  We are currently living only a couple of doors down which is great because we get the chance to have a quick peek to see what's happening!

Here are a few shots from early in the day when the excavators first started the cut....

And some of the block after the cut and fill had been completed...

One last look before we start

Here is one last look at our land before the site is excavated on Wednesday 7th of December.  

The buildings that you can see are our existing 4-car garage and the bungalow which after much deliberation, we decided to keep.  Keeping the garage was a no-brainer, with Scott very excited to call it his 'Toy Box'.  I'm not really sure what toys he has in mind though!

The land size is just over 1000 square metres, with a lovely wide street frontage of 25mt, and a length of 50mt.  It's hard to tell by these images, but it goes way back with a mini jungle for the kids to play in.

We have a start date!!!

Well, today I had a call from PD with the all important site start date that we have been so eager to get.


This is all obviously dependant on the weather, but here are the dates we've been given;

• Site Cut – 7/12/11
• Retaining Wall – 8/12/11
• Set Out – 9/12/11
• Piers – 12/12/11
• Drains – 13/12/11
• Underground Power – 13/12/11
• Slab Start – 14/12/11
• Slab Pour – 16/12/11

This certainly makes it all feel very real now!

Facade & Exterior Selections

The facade we have chosen for our home is the Allandale, which was the most simple, classic style available for the Forestdale.  Coming from the old cottage style home that we had previously, we didn't really want anything too modern.

Scott & I couldn't find a single brick in the whole PD collection that we really liked!  Everything was too modern, or so far removed from our taste that we were pulling our hair out trying to come up with something that we both liked.  We decided to take up the Hebel offer and have the whole house rendered.  That way, we can stick with the neutral colours that we love and the house, although fully rendered, will have somewhat of a sandstone appearance.

Galvanised Roof
Windspray (Colorbond)

Render
Pipe Clay (Dulux)

 

Windows
Seamist (Colorbond)

Sign off

Yesterday we had an appointment with PD to check all the PCVs and Final Drawings.  All was great, the bank is happy, PD are happy and we are happy!

Lisa has informed us that we will be given a site start date next week some time, with the view of having the slab down and possibly the frame done before Christmas.

Things are finally falling into place!

Planning Permit Received

Last Wednesday, 16th November, we received our much anticipated Planning Permit from the Council.  It had been with them for two months, so we were very excited to have it issued.  I think all the work that Scott put in certainly made it easier for them to approve.  The application looked very impressive with not a single detail left out!

Fingers crossed for a build start date before the end of the month.....

Colour Selection

I've previously posted our colours, but I thought I'd post the images that we took of the actual colour swatches at Hopetoun Interiors.

Roof - Windspray
Render - Pipe Clay
Windows & Garage Door - Seamist
Front Door - Woodland Grey

Floor Tiles for Ensuite, Bathroom, Laundry & Powder Room
Wall tiles are a white porcelain tile with the same profile & size

Sink for Ensuite, Bathroom & Powder Room

Mixer-Tap for Ensuite, Bathroom & Powder Room

Cabinet Handles for Ensuite, Bathroom, Laundry & Kitchen (see No.12)

Caesarstone - Ice Snow for Benchtops in Ensuite, Bathroom & Kitchen

There's not much point posting a swatch of the cabinetry colours, as of course, we have chosen white throughout!  It's far from the 'white house' weatherboard cottage that we were known for, but it's very hard to break out of the 'white mode'.

That said, I am extremely excited about the kitchen cabinetry as we have opted for the crystal gloss finish.  I've always loved glossy kitchens for their simplicity and clean look, so this is the big exciting thing for me!  Scott really wanted a black glass splash back, which is a bit scary because it's such a strong look, but I'm sure it will look great.