Saturday, March 31, 2012

Day 254: It's beginning to look like ...

A home? Not yet.  Still plenty to go, I reckon, but we're getting there ... bit by bit.  Everyday I pass by the house hoping that something has changed.  And most of the time, it's not a disappointment.  Yes, we're getting there, so my SM says.  In fact, he strongly believes, barring any mis-haps, if everything goes as planned, and when the leaves are green and the sky is blue, we may do the walk through come May. Yessss!!!

I certainly hope so.

So where are we at the moment ... this 254th day since site start?  See for yourself and let's go have a look ...

WARNING: Lots and lots of pictures ahead.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Another "You know your sparky's not into it when ..."

This one really deserve its own post.  Not sure what's going on our sparky's mind when he was doing this.  Reminds me of when I went for a blood test one day.  The medical technologist was having a hard time finding a vein in my arm.  So she poked ... nope, no vein there!  How about here (poke) ... nope, nothing there! Here? ... no luck!  Let's try your other arm, shall we?

{Me} How about you get somebody else who knows what they're doing?!?!

Well, I'm sure our sparky knows what he's doing, he's probably just having a bad day.


Guess how many downlights' going to fit there?

Monday, March 19, 2012

Day 242: You know your sparky's not into it that day when ...

... locates a light switch in the middle of a big wall ... 

... on the other side of the wall (outside) of the room it's meant to be in 

... misses the power point bracket behind the plasterboard ...

{Front View} looks completely OK from where I'm looking
{Behind the Wall} There's the bracket, where's the hole?
{Behind the Wall} There it is ?!?!

SITUATION:  Bathtub is going to be placed here.  There's a  power point on the other side of this bathroom wall.  I can see the electrical wires clearly just a few centimeters from where the bathtub will be.  I can see the electrical wires clearly just a few centimeters from the drain pipe.  I'm thinking ... power point, wires, electricity, bathtub, water, drain pipe, water ... electricity, water ... water, electricity ... HANG ON ...

QUESTION: Is this safe?  Shouldn't there be a cover (plasterboard) on this side of the wall?  What if the bathtub cracks or leaks and/or overflows and ... ?  What if ???  
 
Don't get me wrong.  The electricians are doing a great job here.  And to be fair, they haven't finished the job, yet.  These things can still be fixed.  I'm sure they will.  But this is the first thing that I will need to come back to and check later.  Even if I have to remove the electrical fitting and check.

So, how's yours going so far?

Monday, March 12, 2012

Day 235: Tens of Thousands of Dollars in the Red

Ah yes, another day, another dollar, tens of thousands of dollars ... for Metricon, that is.  This time, it's the Fixing Stage Invoice arriving on my inbox, and we're now another few tens of thousands of dollars in the red.  Good for the building economy, another dent or chunks off our bank account.  But looking at the bright side ... we're getting closer to Home Completion ... and we're getting excited!!!

So, at the completion of the Fixing Stage, ideally, we would expect the following to be all completed (according to "My Metricon"):

  • Internal cladding (plaster is hung)  C
  • Architraves and skirting C  
  • Stairs C  
  • Basins, troughs and sinks  D 
  • Internal doors, cabinets and cupboards  C 
  • Attached garages and porticos  C  

There are still a number of items still outstanding or missed from the Fixing stage and past stages.  We're assured by our SM that these outstanding items will all be fixed in due time.  We're sure, of course.  We're just be holding off the final payments by settlement date, if that's not the case.

Here's what's outstanding so far ...

2 x 2-Pot Drawers.
Still waiting for the cabinet maker to come and replace the 3-pot drawers with the requested 2-pot drawers on either side of the under-bench oven as per original contract variation.

Kitchen Window Sill.
This has been left exposed for a while.  Told our SM of our concerns as there's a potential risk of exposure to the elements, pests and vermins, when everything inside has already been sealed.

Missing downpipes.
Always look up, not everything amiss is visible below eye level only.

Portico downpipe (with no rain head).
Our SM has told us how this "downpipe" is going to work.  It just went over my head, and still baffled to-date on how this is going to work if there's no rain head.  Maybe we need to look at existing Liberty/s on a rainy day and see how this works.  Does anyone have a clue? And can they enlighten us, please?
Front Portico/Veranda ceiling lining.
Still hoping (for the impossible?) that M will be generous (read: make a mistake) and provide KDHW timber lining boards, instead of the regular plasterboard lining.  Can someone convince our SM, please?

And for every wrong, there's something right; if there's bad, there will always be good; down - up; left - right; yin - yan; black - white; close - open; man - woman ...

What we're saying is ... amidst the things that M may have left outstanding, there are a few things that were already started to get us closer to the home stretch:

Heating vents installed and done. 

GPS? Hmmm, it says NAVIGATOR.  Must be the central heating remote controller.

The tile colour was chosen when we first thought about rendering the balcony/facade.  Looks like we won't be.  We're kinda liking the brick look of the facade now.  Well, at least this should suit the aluminium handrails (yet to be installed).

Floor tiling has commenced, as well.  Wall tiles will be white, but the bath hob and skirtings will be the same as the floor tiles.  It should all look much, much better from this picture when all the tiling will be done and cleaned.

Will have much better pictures next time.  Watch this space.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Day 225: Painting's done

Just had my regular meeting with my SM again this morning.  No worker's on-site, unlike the past few days where there seems to be a flurry of work going on.  Site's been cleaned-up a bit, and yes, painting's done.  Sort off.  Well, majority of the painting work has been done.  What's left are just some of the timber doors yet to be stained. Most of the doors, including closet doors, have been hung, as well.

Leisure Room upstairs

Family Room

Kitchen and Dining Room
Most of the powerpoint/switch boxes have been exposed, as well.  There are still a few that haven't been exposed, yet, like those in the Family Room, and in one of the bedrooms.  Had a nasty surprise, though, when I went into the main bedroom upstairs.

Main Bedroom
What's that hole in the wall for?

Looks like the electricians have mis-read the electrical plan and placed the switches, intended for the ensuite, outside. And it's even in the centre of the wall?!?!

Main Bedroom Ensuite (Pre-Plaster). Notice where the electrical wirings fall.
The original (Metricon's) drawing have no doors on the ensuite.  We then asked for double cavity sliders to close the ensuite off.  Nice.  Come Electrical Appointment, our electrical consultant said that the ensuite switch will have to be outside as they can't put switches where there's a cavity sliding door behind. After much deliberation and discussions with our CSC then, we were able to get approved a single cavity sliding door, with the cavity on the bath side, increasing the wall space from the left. Nice. That's great.  Now we can have the switches for the ensuite inside ... and a wall space to put towel rails.  Bonus. Case solved.  Everyone's happy.  Not!

My then previous SS made a mistake of ordering a single cavity slider that closes from left to right (opposite to what was drawn).  More dramas.  But eventually resolved.  My current SM made that happen.  So, proper cavity slider installed, electrical wiring's done correctly, plastering's done, painting's done, and now the electrician decides to put the switches, not just outside, but in the middle of the wall, as well?!?!

My SM said he'll get it fixed as soon as possible.  I believe him.  He's a good man.

Paintwork quality? Top notch.  So was the plastering.

Next week? We'll see how the wall and floor tiling goes.