5.6.18 - Final plumbing done & carpet laid

Plumber was here yesterday installing all of the tapware, hot water system, gas fittings and toilets. We madly spent all of last weekend hooking up our big rural water tanks and pump to ensure that the plumber had pressurised water for the final install. So happy with all of the fittings, especially our big rain shower heads.

Managed to find another open window today and got in to see our new carpet. It's darker than we remembered, but absolutely love it and it's a nice contrast to the rest of the house being so lightly coloured.

31.5.18 - Paddock fencing completed

All of our boundary fences, internal paddock fencing and the meshed area around the house have all been completed. The top wire will also be electrified. So excited to be able to bring the horses here very soon!

30.5.18 - Electrical done and HANDOVER DATE BOOKED

All of our power points, down lights, data points, external lights and switches were all done today. Nothing more exciting than breaking into your own home through an open window and running through flicking all of the lights on!

Our site supervisor also rang today to say that handover will be next Friday 8th June! We are beyond excited for all this building stress to be over soon.

29.5.18 - Tiling finished

The tiler started the tiling of the wet areas back at the end of April, but once he had done these areas (laundry, front porch and both bathrooms), he left until after the painting was done.

Tiler came back to finish off by doing the rest of the main house. We were a little deceived by the tiling company about the colour of the 'misty grey' grout that we chose. We were told it was a similar colour to the tile we had chosen, however once we saw the wet areas tiled, we realised the grout was much lighter than we thought. We then made a trip to bunnings and bought 2 bags of 'slate grey' grout and 3 tubes of slate grey' silicone, which is darker and pretty much the exact same colour as our tiles.

Fast forward to Monday 28th May, we went out first thing to the site to meet the tiler and try to convince him to use the darker grout & silicone we had purchased...$450 cash later, he agreed to it!

21.5.18 - Painting finished

The painter has finished today and done a great job...aside from leaving the tap on our water tank and draining 1,000 litres of water!

6.5.18 - Shed completed

Our beautiful big shed is all done and perfectly matches the house!

24.4.18 Shed frame up

Our shed frame has started being put up today! We are just amazed at the size of it and so happy that we added extra height. It's a triple bay enclosed shed with double roller door, a lean-to off the right side for the horse float and a garaport off the back for the wash bay/stable area. Total area is 11.5m wide x 10m deep.

I also managed to get some nice daytime photos of the house with garage door.

18.4.18 Damage to our driveway

One thing we are really not happy about with Allworth is that one of their sub-contractors has driven over our newly-installed driveway pipe and has cracked and broken the concrete head wall! We have contacted Allworth with photos to try and get the repair cost (about $1200) taken off our final construction progress payment, but expecting them to come back with a far fetched reason why they won't take responsibility for the damage. Our main issue is that the driveway pipe wasn't even the allocated site access point...it's a 4 acre block with 100m frontage, so they can easily access it without having to drive over the pipe.

18.4.18 Garage door and external tiling done

Garage door is on! After all the dramas with trying the change the colour, we are so happy that we picked the Dover White, as it matches the windows perfectly. Can't wait for the front door and laundry door to be painted gloss white to match everything. The front porch and laundry threshold has also been tiled using our external tiles, which they have done a very tidy job. 

13.4.18 Shed slab done and kitchen bench in

Our shed slab has been poured! There are 3 parts to it: the main enclosed triple bay shed, the wash bay/stable area at the rear for the horses and the water tank slab on the side. Very happy with the size of it and the shed builder will be here next week to put it up! Our caesarstone bench tops are also in, which look fantastic! I have been taking sneaky pictures through the windows, as we are still very much locked out.

11.4.18 Shed slab being formed up

Our shed pad was excavated a few weeks ago and the concreter was there today forming it up to pour the slab tomorrow.

4.4.18 Kitchen & laundry cabinets, skirting and architraves

I managed to find an open window and snuck into my own house to take photos of the kitchen cabinets, laundry cabinets and mouldings. Very happy with our kitchen colours and will look even better when our caesarstone bench goes on!

3.4.18 Septic tanks installed and driveway pipe

There was a few issues with the septic, as Allworth put the waste pipes too deep in the ground for the septic inlet. $2000 later and our Septic tanks are installed! Our driveway pipe has also been done. We will get a concrete and asphalt driveway put in up to the garage once the builders are done at our block.

30.3.18 Officially locked out

Front door, laundry door and garage internal door have been put on and we are officially locked out! They have also put all the internal doors on.

22.3.18 Plastering and waterproofing done

All the cornice and plastering is done, very tidy job. They have also waterproofed the laundry and bathrooms.

12.3.18 Gyprock done

All the sheets for ceiling and walls have been put in. We are so happy that we added high ceilings and doors...makes the rooms look huge!

12.3.18 Excavation done for water tanks and septic

We hired an earthworks guy to come and clear a spot for our 2x 25,000L water tanks, as well as dig the hole for our septic tanks. He did hit rock during the septic hole dig and we had to hire a rock breaker to get through it.