We got our keys!! 8th September 2011

Yesterday, we finally got the keys to our Waterfall!

And now for the driveway and laundary steps before get the occupancy certificate!

Looking forward to moving in...

Roof is complete... house is water tight?! 18 June 2011

The roof is complete and the scaffolding has been removed so we can see a lot clearer how the house actually looks.  I think it's starting to shape up really nicely. We can't wait for all the interior to be done so that we can finally move in to make it a home.

Framework and water proofing was certified today, electricals and a/c ducting complete, brickwork for the ground floor yet to be cleaned, insulation bats and gyp rocking commences this week.

The Bricking is Complete... plus more! 3rd June 2011

The roof for the first floor is well and truly complete, the sarking (for the roof) is in and the bricks on the top floor has been cleaned.  I must say that the bricks have come up really nicely after the clean, and the photos don't do it justice. The roof for the alfresco, garage and eaves for the bottom floor should be done by next week, weather permitting of course!  The scaffolding for the ground floor should also be gone once all the roof work is complete, the remainder of the bricks will be cleaned, and we should be able to get a clear view of how the house looks externally... very exciting. And ooh, the stairs will also go in soon which means we can finally take a look at the floor plan upstairs. Yay!

The Bricking Continues.... 15th May 2011

Bricking Commences 27th April 2011

Right after the long Easter break, the bricking commences...

Since, I have some time off work, I'll make an effort to write a line or two about our experience so far.

To date, the site has been kept relatively clean, the neighbours have complimented the contractors who have worked on site.  Two thumbs up there.

The only major hiccup so far is the door frames on our bottom floor.  We have raised our ceilings to 2340mm from the standard height of 2040mm, with this, we felt it would look and feel better to raise all our door heights 300mm as well.  When the timber frames were complete, the ceiling height was correct, however, the doors are of standard height, so the carpenters will have to return and have the door frames corrected - which is a bummer!  We noticed this error from the street as the windows and doors didn't line up, so if anyone is at this stage and have upgraded their doors like we have, this is how you can tell without a site inspection.

The bricking is starting to shape up... which I'm pleased about.  They look a little dull at the moment due to the dampness. In true "Mel style", I noticed that the mortar was looking particularly grey (what they would call "natural" colour) but we had requested "off-white" so I called the Site Supervisor to ensure that they had the mortar colour right as it would be a shame to have to start all over when all that work has been done.  The Site Supervisor assured me that the mortar will dry "off-white". Well I bloody well hope so!

Brick colour - Latte by Austral Bricks

Mortar - "off white" - well it should dry that way according to the Site Supervisor

We are officially "Framed" 12th April 2011

After a couple of days off, the second storey was erected.

The "Framing" continues... 9th April 2011

They worked on a Saturday... The windows are in and the material for the second storey has arrived.

And We're getting "Framed" 1st April 2011

After several days of rain, the frames are finally starting to take shape...

We've been slabbed! 11th March 2011

It has been a hard slog.  Tenders, plans, tender variations, contracts, banks... etc. etc, but we have finally made it and we're excited to announce that the concrete was poured last Friday!

View photos below

Front View

Rear View

Side View

Until the next phase....

D-Day! 9th February 2011

Our cottage is there one day and gone the next...

Our humble home

Just a heap of rubble

Just an empty block of land now

We are officially homeless!

The Ball is Rolling

Last week, there's been a number of people coming and going...

1. Site inspection - tick
2. Bore hole soil test - tick
3. Contour survey of land - tick
4. Tender presentation scheduled for early July

So far so good with one exception...

The guy who did the bore hole soil test was a little disrespectful to say the least. He destroyed our hedges along side our driveway. Looks like he just bull-dozed over it despite the fact we left our driveway clean and clear. What's most disappointing is that he didn't even have the courtesy to call and let us know  what had happened! See photos...

It wasn't so much about the hedges but just the total lack of respect he had for the property. There was rubbish left behind on site in addition to the destruction of the hedges! Now, there are no guarantees that this "New Home" plan would proceed as the development plans have not been submitted to council for approval. Moreover, this is our primary residence and so the least we expected was a little courtesy!

Over the weekend, we wrote an email providing some feedback to our sales consultant. We were pleasantly surprised by his speedy response confirming that it would be further investigated and the feedback would be dealt with appropriately.

And so it looks like step one is complete! And we now wait to discuss the new tender with the presenters in a couple of weeks.

Step 1 - Inspecting our site

http://www.clarendon.com.au/about/process 

This is the beginning of an exciting journey... we're going to build our very own home.

It's been a long time in the making! Much thought, planning, viewings and discussion. Months of "should we?" and many other options considered, the sums have been weighed against the emotions and we have finally decided to take the big leap. This is, despite the stories we've heard of the dramas, challenges and roller coaster rides we are sure to encounter along our way.

Last Wednesday, 2nd June 2010, we drove out to Oran Park and met with our sales consultant who walked us through the process, talked through what the package included, added all the variations and upgrades we wanted, to give us an indication of the realistic cost - which may surprise most! "Ouch!" boy does it add up at warp speed.

Despite this, we pushed on.

And so, we signed several documents to confirm our understanding of the process, what the package offered and most importantly, the house we wanted to build.

Following this, we pay the site inspection fees and the we let the ride begin.

Today, we confirm all the variations in writing and to our pleasant surprise, it was all go. The phone calls from respective inspectors and surveyors started streaming in, appointments are scheduled and we let the process take its course.