Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Framed and other developments!

Hey guys,

Gee it's been nearly a month between posts again. So slack I know. I haven't even been on my beloved Homeone forum so don't feel too bad - it's not just the blog I'm neglecting.

Well lots has happened (as you would hope) with the build.

First I had to pay the council for the privlege of opening up the road. Another $800 not budgeted for. *rolls eyes*

Then we had all the external drainage (stormwater grates etc) installed......it that the right word?.........then all the ultilities. It was fabulous just to see a tap with running water! They had also installed up the driveway electricity, with our own power pole, water, gas, telstra etc. Very exciting and I don't think I've seen so many trucks and tradies on the block at once.

Then we had a few more dramas. I had a computer crash and was not online for 3 weeks (no email, internet, nothing) It was a laptop crash, and as the laptop I use is my work one, I had to wait for them to come to a solution before I had access to these again.

Finally I gained access to email remotely for a day, and saw a note from the builder needing me to clear the excess soil off the block, as they were waiting to deliver the frames. Oh gosh why didn't someone call me? It was partially my own fault - I had explained to the builder that they were to email me (you know, to always have it in writing). So with me not getting the email, then having to organise the removal of the excess dirt, we had pushed the frame delivery back a few weeks.

But the great news is we are now the proud owners of a first floor with joists, with a view to a second story hopefully by the end of the week.

The carpenters worked until about 4.45pm last night and are just powering through. We went down this morning to see if any of the second story is up, but not yet.

And the other great thing is that the builders timeframe of delivery has been spot on. As we are a battleaxe, there isn't room to store the frames etc. So we had a delivery of the ground floor Monday, Wednesday we received the second floor, and we must be on track to recieve the roof for Friday.

I must say this has been the most exciting part. Walking through the house with walls, you finally get to see those plans come to life. Remember this house isn't on display, so we weren't able to walk through, and we made so many changes it was a little leap of faith. God I'm loving my storage already! Only one area I don't know what I'll do with. But hey, I'm sure I'll work it out.

And to top it off - I received the 2011 Ikea catelogue in the mail today. Now I'm furnishing the house!

Oh I promise pictures when I get them off the camera.

Cheers
Bel :)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

San Francisco!

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with building houses - but Dave and I had such a fabulous time in San Francisco, I thought I'd share some of the millions of photos I took.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.............


A rare photo of the two of us together in the Palace of fine Arts (it was in the movie "So I married an axe murderer")
Moi with the Bay Bridge in the background.

Moi again in Union Square - leaving my heart in San Francisco!


Why we were there in the first place - St Francis Yacht club (in the distance) who hosted the sailing regatta Dave was in.


Coit Tower

Such a beautiful city with architecture to die for! We couldn't believe that on the most average of streets you would find amazing houses. This row of Victorians was on a walking tour I did.

Golden Gate Bridge under fog


Golden Gate Bridge with sunset (beautiful *sigh* this was actually from the sailing club)


Dave and I did this "Go car" tour with our friends Noddy and Sue (Dave's sailing partner and wife). The car is basically a 2 person moped. It was an absolute blast, and the tour with a GPS guide, was informative, had great directions, and was so much fun. This would be such a hit in Sydney.


Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day! We saw dolphins swimming in the water under the bridge.





A fabulous diner we stopped at, for coffee and breakfast whilst on the car tour. A really great little stop, perched on a cliff, with a stack of history to boot.


Southies for you - the Painted Ladies. Oh and the one on the far left is for sale. About $4 million USD a taxi driver told us.


Goooooooooooo Giants! Yes we went to the Baseball. I loved it so much. Not so much for the game itself (bit like watching cricket), but the people watching - fabulous! They won!!!!

Dave's boat (he's in the middle) - actually an 18ft skiff, the Yandoo. Why we were actually there, thanks to the generosity of Woody and Kerrie. You are both amazing people - thanks :) The boys finished 3rd overall - a great result.

Monday, September 6, 2010

To good to be true

I knew it! I've been waiting for an email from the new tile place for the "codes" that are included in the builders range. This meant I could go to Bankstown (close to home) to have a look/see and get an idea of the range.

Just received an email. Urgh. It's off to Norwest I go (not close to home). Apparently they don't have the ranges at Bankstown.

Hpmh.

Knew it was too good to be true!

Bel :)

Progress is the sweetest word

So can you believe it, I still haven't taken more slab pictures. Just. Haven't. Had. A. Chance. I actually can't believe it myself - I was going to get down there to take a few on the weekend, but we had washed out cricket (but ended up with a mate over for Jack), birthday present shopping for the twins (4 on Friday), work, grocery shopping, work, and then Father's Day, it didn't happen.

Anyway, it looks like we will have a continual stream of trades on site for the next few weeks (I guess as long as the weather is ok and the moons align). This week we are booked in for external drainage, and next week the frame will be delivered.

Gee I hope we have rain free weeks for a while.

I'm doing the electrical appointment Thursday. I'll be dropping Jack at school, and then off to Penrith we go! Then it'll be back for school pick up, and then into Randwick for a specialist follow up. I'm not sure how I'll survive the day - it'll be tears all round no doubt!!!

I still haven't completed the tile selection either. I had been putting it off, knowing other friends experiences of the discontinued tiles. I also really don't like DL as a tile store. Anyway it looks like the builder has gone into partnership with another tile place, who of course are at NorWest. But the good news is they have a showroom at Bankstown, so I can go there for a look see, before the actual selections.

That's it for the moment - it's going to be a hectic week!

Bel :)