1 week out - Painting not finished

With about one week to go on the basis of the conversation during the week I'm happy to say painting inside has commenced, but not yet finished :o(

I think they are working from the rear to the front as the lounge looks like it is ready for its second coat...


but the main bedroom looks done, except for the skirting boards. That's my Mum and Me in the reflection.


I noticed the backdoor's frame has been done but I forgot to go back around and check the front. The eaves are not yet done at all and nor are the downpipes. The downpipes get to be painted because they are PVC in order to be connected to the rainwater tank as the guttering companies haven't progressed to making round downpipes. Dumb huh?


Well taking another look at the budget some things will be prioritized and others left for later. I was walking around today looking at the level changes in the block and I've come to a bit of a conclusion...

The drop edge beam is ridiculously low! So having paid money to have dirt carted away I am hoping that the excavation from the driveway will be able to be used to raise the level in this photo to cover the bottom row of bricks...


and this will run along the wall to this point, being the bottom row of bricks here. Then a sleeper will be used here to create a step for the next two rows, filled in behind and around to the higher part and the backyard will continue at this height.


Generally this will need to happen all the way around although on the other side because the front yard under the window will be retained and raised that side will all sit at the higher level. Then across the back fence and 1.5m deep raised garden bed will be created by retaining the area in front of the back fenceline as the back neighbour sits higher again, though only by about 2-3 sleepers high.

A drawing might be developed and scanned if I get a chance this week.

Also ordered the blinds, flyscreens and screen doors during the day from Wynstan's at Narellan. Have gone for a vertical throughout with a sewn-in weight and then a 25mm venetian in the bathroom and ensuite. Oddly however as I stood peering through the window at the house into the ensuite I decided to go for a venetian in a pebble brown colour to match the vanity. I thought looking into the ensuite that it would be bland to go with white as the wall tiles are full height and that the window covering could be more of a feature. In the main bathroom it is a long sash window so I think it's going to work out nice. Well for better or worse it is ordered now.

The plan is that because the screen doors and flyscreens are going to be powdercoated to match Colorbond Surfmist (closest thing to Trend Anodic off-white) this takes 3-4 weeks for delivery, which puts it in the first week of November. All going to plan if the keys are handed over on 25 October that week will be the concreting of the driveway and entertainment area and the carpet and tiles going in. Then looking to move in or at least move across that weekend.

Remains to be seen, haha.

Flooring issues resolved

I had a lovely long discussion with the Acting General Manager yesterday afternoon, which was an excellent demonstration by senior Allworth mangement to identify customer service problems and focus on moving forward rather than apportioning blame.

It gave me an opportunity to raise a nubmer of issues particularly relating to communication and some poor incidents where the team could have made an effort to be more approachable and resolve matters early. The Acting GM did clearly indicate that he was concerned about word-of-mouth damaging their reputation, for which no one can blame him, and so I greatly appreciate him giving me the time to simply put it to someone who can do something about it, but even if he doesn't I at least felt someone has had the decency to listen to what I have said.

In summary:

• the work by the company is covered by the builders insurance for seven years, if work is completed by the owner before handover this can void the warranty or lead to a dispute about liability, and it is a risk they are not willing to take.
• to change the contract now would involve a variation to contract, which may impact on eligibility for FHOG, and be pointless as it would push out completion needlessly.
• the contractors can not be controlled or policed but they can be asked to refrain from smoking inside and collecting their butts before leaving.
• a schedule is avaliable but not set in stone and the SS should be able to say what is coming up in the near future.
• the company does not have a policy about regular contact between the SS and the client, but SS should be available or return calls and the CM should be prepared to take a message and communicate it to the SS if the client cannot get onto the SS.
• any leftover bricks or damaged bricks do not belong to the client, but the client can negotiate to collect those bricks and put them out of the way as this will also save the company some money on tip fees.
• the build is tracked on a computer system and events are checked off as they are completed, but if an event is not checked off in time a trigger may be activated and generate a notice that does not apply.
• the site should be left clean of rubbish and recently run over by a bobcat - it will not be as perfect as landscaping but should reasonably level out any variation around the site.

He also managed to negotiate a further discount on the floor tiles and carpet with Lockwood, so I appreciate the assistance all round (quote frankly if they've covered part of the bill it wouldn't surprise me but at least either way he has tried to make ammends).

As painting is scheduled to start today a drive out tonight will soothe my frayed nerves, and because the screen doors and blinds guy from Wynstan has a cancellation today he is going to go and see if he can measure up.

See I wasn't being unreasonable at all.