We got a huge shock this afternoon, I phoned Wisdom about an Air -Conditioning question and was told the Architect had the DA pack ready, and it was going to be picked up first thing in the morning. Well I was told on Monday that it would take a week for it to be ready, but that was before I made the mistake with the cheque, so I thought that it wouldn't have been ordered until we made the new cheque out.
Once again I was WRONG, that's twice in 4 days (now I am not going to admit any more this week)
it took them just 3 days to have it ready, it is a great feeling to think that we could be about 7 weeks away from a DA approval. I am ringing our last officer at the Council tomorrow to let him know that it's on it's way, hopefully everything is the way that they want it as we have addressed all the things that were of a concern with the last DA. Once again we are very grateful for all the work that has gone into getting these plans to Council so quickly, as you can't imagine what the last 10 months have been like for us, our kids just want to have a home that is theirs with a yard that they can run around in. Lets hope the Council don't have a lot of work and they are just sitting there waiting for our DA to arrive.
Our neighbours will not know whats going on when the new DA arrives for a different house, I am sure that they will be thinking we are mad, but I am sure they won't when they find out what has happened.
Other news on the brick front, I called Austral Bricks to see if there was any homes that had been built in the bricks that we have chosen, they told me that the bricks we have chosen were made in Sydney and now they are being made in Queensland. What has happened is that the Qld bricks are completly different to the NSW bricks colour and style wise. They have only just changed the bricks to be the Qld bricks so there hasn't been any homes built as yet in these bricks.
So maybe we will be the first and we will be the drive past home for anyone wanting to use them.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
New Lesson Learnt.
I went up to Wisdom Homes to pay our 5% deposit today and well I have learnt something new, If you make a mistake on a cheque don't just change it and initial the change as the bank won't accept it.
So what happened, I made the cheque out for a lesser amount and then changed it to make it the correct amount and initialled the correction.
WRONG!!!! not one of the smarter things that I have done today.
So I have learnt the hard way that you must put your full signature on the change that you make on a cheque.
Now that I can't be trusted my Husband is going up there tomorrow to give them a new cheque and while he is out he will go and have a look at their new display homes.
In true "Kath and Kim" style I have one word to say and that is "truly stunning" (we just love that show and our kids know the words and sayings off by heart) ok I have gone off the track again. Back to the new display homes, they are just fantastic, beautifully decorated and the 2 story one has the Master Bedroom upstairs and the other bedrooms downstairs, I think this would suit a family that has teenagers and children that won't leave home or worse still boomerangs that keep coming back. I just love the style of home that they build, they have a lovely feel to them. Unfortunately, when we move into ours it will have that family lived in look and not the spotless display home look.
I also changed the roof tile today, we had one that had a ripple profile but I hadn't been happy with it, so when speaking to the designer today we discussed the different colours and decided that the flat profile one that I liked would be suitable, so the change was made.
We are probably about a week away from going to Council, that's if I make no more silly mistakes so keep your fingers and toe's crossed for us.
So what happened, I made the cheque out for a lesser amount and then changed it to make it the correct amount and initialled the correction.
WRONG!!!! not one of the smarter things that I have done today.
So I have learnt the hard way that you must put your full signature on the change that you make on a cheque.
Now that I can't be trusted my Husband is going up there tomorrow to give them a new cheque and while he is out he will go and have a look at their new display homes.
In true "Kath and Kim" style I have one word to say and that is "truly stunning" (we just love that show and our kids know the words and sayings off by heart) ok I have gone off the track again. Back to the new display homes, they are just fantastic, beautifully decorated and the 2 story one has the Master Bedroom upstairs and the other bedrooms downstairs, I think this would suit a family that has teenagers and children that won't leave home or worse still boomerangs that keep coming back. I just love the style of home that they build, they have a lovely feel to them. Unfortunately, when we move into ours it will have that family lived in look and not the spotless display home look.
I also changed the roof tile today, we had one that had a ripple profile but I hadn't been happy with it, so when speaking to the designer today we discussed the different colours and decided that the flat profile one that I liked would be suitable, so the change was made.
We are probably about a week away from going to Council, that's if I make no more silly mistakes so keep your fingers and toe's crossed for us.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday is New Post Day.
Well there have been lot's of things happening, contracts were ready yesterday and we went out to The Ponds to sign them. Minus the kids of course, just way too hard to keep 2 boys occupied whilst going through pages and pages of a building contract (If you have signed one recently you will know what I mean), so that's where Grandma & Grandpa come in (thanks G & G), they did the babysitting while we signed our life away.
Contracts were signed but I have both of the copies with me as I was going to do a Direct Deposit of the 5% into their a/c but we decided that it would be better to give them a cheque for the deposit and I didn't have the cheque book with me, so I will go up to Narellan tomorrow and pay the deposit.
We have to get a copy of the Builders Home Warranty Insurance, I suppose it is to show that we are covered if something terrible should happen to the builder (think back to Beechwood) and that was not with the contracts, so I will get the copy on Monday and pay the deposit, all very easily fixed, and we will be on our way to Council.
We also had a huge win with the water tank we had allocated around $2000 in the tender for 2 slimline tanks but we only need a 3000litre tank and they have included the slimline one in the base price so we got a bit of a early Christmas present (thanks guys).
We still haven't done our electrical plan and this won't be in the tender, so whatever upgrades we do will have to be paid for up front. This is the one thing I am not really looking forward to as you have to try and visualise where all the furniture that you haven't purchased yet is going to go and where you need to put the power points, what lighting you need where and how many extra lights you need.
Yesterday it was also mentioned that we had got to the contract stage really quickly, and I said no it seems like it has been going on forever, but we started this process with Wisdom Homes on the 9th September and yesterday was the 25th October so it has taken them 47 days (6weeks and 5 days) to go from meeting us to having contracts and plans ready to go to Council.
This is an amazing achievement as I know that we are not the only clients of Wisdom, so it is very much appreciated and all I can say is a big Thank You to everyone that has so far contributed to get us to where we are so quickly (you all know who you are). Keep up the great work and we will be having that house warming party before you know it (I would like it in the warmer months if at all possible). Just for the record it took Clarendon 5 months to get to this stage!!!!!!
Found: One toner cartridge in the photocopier machine. (we won't go there but it was good to see that it was in it's rightful home)
Contracts were signed but I have both of the copies with me as I was going to do a Direct Deposit of the 5% into their a/c but we decided that it would be better to give them a cheque for the deposit and I didn't have the cheque book with me, so I will go up to Narellan tomorrow and pay the deposit.
We have to get a copy of the Builders Home Warranty Insurance, I suppose it is to show that we are covered if something terrible should happen to the builder (think back to Beechwood) and that was not with the contracts, so I will get the copy on Monday and pay the deposit, all very easily fixed, and we will be on our way to Council.
We also had a huge win with the water tank we had allocated around $2000 in the tender for 2 slimline tanks but we only need a 3000litre tank and they have included the slimline one in the base price so we got a bit of a early Christmas present (thanks guys).
We still haven't done our electrical plan and this won't be in the tender, so whatever upgrades we do will have to be paid for up front. This is the one thing I am not really looking forward to as you have to try and visualise where all the furniture that you haven't purchased yet is going to go and where you need to put the power points, what lighting you need where and how many extra lights you need.
Yesterday it was also mentioned that we had got to the contract stage really quickly, and I said no it seems like it has been going on forever, but we started this process with Wisdom Homes on the 9th September and yesterday was the 25th October so it has taken them 47 days (6weeks and 5 days) to go from meeting us to having contracts and plans ready to go to Council.
This is an amazing achievement as I know that we are not the only clients of Wisdom, so it is very much appreciated and all I can say is a big Thank You to everyone that has so far contributed to get us to where we are so quickly (you all know who you are). Keep up the great work and we will be having that house warming party before you know it (I would like it in the warmer months if at all possible). Just for the record it took Clarendon 5 months to get to this stage!!!!!!
Found: One toner cartridge in the photocopier machine. (we won't go there but it was good to see that it was in it's rightful home)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Contracts will be ready for the weekend....
We have a appointment on Saturday to go through our contract, and if it is all ok we will sign it and then pay our 5% deposit. After that has all been done the plans will go off to council. Let's hope that it will all be fine so that we can get our plan's back into council.
As soon as they send them I will be on the phone to the officer that looked after our last DA to let him know that they have been sent, and maybe he will get us again.
Lot's have been happening behind the scene with different costings that we have asked for coming back to us, we asked for the cost to upgrade the whole house to Taubmans Living Silk paint but it was way too expensive so we just left it as the standard paint that is included. We have included all the feature walls and the door into the walk in pantry will be polyurethane Alabaster the same as the cupboards in the kitchen. This cost will be in the new tender, so our bottom line price has gone up again.
We want to get as much as we possibly can included in the contract price so that we know how much we are going to pay for the house and all the extras. We still have to upgrade the tiles and possibly the carpet, so these will all be over the contract price.
I nearly forgot to tell you that there was a bit of good news with the water tank, the basix's came back from the Architect and we can have a 3000 litre tank and the slimline tank will fit down the side of the house, this also means that we should get a credit as we had allowed for 2 slimline tanks (2000 litre tanks).
On another matter my laptop died on Sunday so my husband went and brought me a new one, so that I can still blog while watching the TV don't I just love that. All I need now is a dishwasher next to the lounge and I wouldn't have to get up.
As soon as they send them I will be on the phone to the officer that looked after our last DA to let him know that they have been sent, and maybe he will get us again.
Lot's have been happening behind the scene with different costings that we have asked for coming back to us, we asked for the cost to upgrade the whole house to Taubmans Living Silk paint but it was way too expensive so we just left it as the standard paint that is included. We have included all the feature walls and the door into the walk in pantry will be polyurethane Alabaster the same as the cupboards in the kitchen. This cost will be in the new tender, so our bottom line price has gone up again.
We want to get as much as we possibly can included in the contract price so that we know how much we are going to pay for the house and all the extras. We still have to upgrade the tiles and possibly the carpet, so these will all be over the contract price.
I nearly forgot to tell you that there was a bit of good news with the water tank, the basix's came back from the Architect and we can have a 3000 litre tank and the slimline tank will fit down the side of the house, this also means that we should get a credit as we had allowed for 2 slimline tanks (2000 litre tanks).
On another matter my laptop died on Sunday so my husband went and brought me a new one, so that I can still blog while watching the TV don't I just love that. All I need now is a dishwasher next to the lounge and I wouldn't have to get up.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Our Weekly Update....
We are waiting on the Basix report to come back from the Architect, what it will tell us is what we need to do to ensure that the natural resources such as energy and water are conserved. All new builds have to do this, as it was developed by the NSW Government.
A lot of things go into consideration for example I think brick and tile colour are considered and how many energy lights you use.
As a minimum, a new development must be able to demonstrate the commitments selected will use 40% less mains water, and 25% less energy than conventional buildings of a similar type.
We will then be told what size water tank we need to be able to flush the toilets and also wash the clothes (if we choose to do so, that's wash the clothes)
Contracts are in the process of being drawn up, so we should be back out to The Ponds to sign each and every page of these huge things, sometime next week.
The Hydraulic report can not be done until the water tank size is determined, this is the one report that we are eagerly awaiting as we think we have fixed our transpiration pit problem by raising the house, fingers crossed.
Tile update: I have had the 600x600 tile in front of the kitchen sink in our rental home and that is a high traffic area in our house (especially with a teenager that is a bottomless pit) and it has come up really well, no stains even though I made up some curry paste and layered in on, and left it for over an hour.
It wiped straight off as did all the dirty marks, I tried to scratch it with a sharp knife all it did was leave a carbon mark that came off with jif, and my Dad had a go with a key and it didn't scratch.
Oh and what everyone has been waiting for a toner update!!! Well maybe not everyone, but I need to tell you that it is a really good idea to check that the sticky tape is on the toner cartridge when you pull it out of the box. Why you might ask??? Because clothes don't look good with toner all over them and photocopiers don't work when the toner is on the clothes!!!! Better luck next time.. lol
A lot of things go into consideration for example I think brick and tile colour are considered and how many energy lights you use.
As a minimum, a new development must be able to demonstrate the commitments selected will use 40% less mains water, and 25% less energy than conventional buildings of a similar type.
We will then be told what size water tank we need to be able to flush the toilets and also wash the clothes (if we choose to do so, that's wash the clothes)
Contracts are in the process of being drawn up, so we should be back out to The Ponds to sign each and every page of these huge things, sometime next week.
The Hydraulic report can not be done until the water tank size is determined, this is the one report that we are eagerly awaiting as we think we have fixed our transpiration pit problem by raising the house, fingers crossed.
Tile update: I have had the 600x600 tile in front of the kitchen sink in our rental home and that is a high traffic area in our house (especially with a teenager that is a bottomless pit) and it has come up really well, no stains even though I made up some curry paste and layered in on, and left it for over an hour.
It wiped straight off as did all the dirty marks, I tried to scratch it with a sharp knife all it did was leave a carbon mark that came off with jif, and my Dad had a go with a key and it didn't scratch.
Oh and what everyone has been waiting for a toner update!!! Well maybe not everyone, but I need to tell you that it is a really good idea to check that the sticky tape is on the toner cartridge when you pull it out of the box. Why you might ask??? Because clothes don't look good with toner all over them and photocopiers don't work when the toner is on the clothes!!!! Better luck next time.. lol
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
What's been happening....
There have been a few phone calls back and forth from the builders with changes that we want to make to the plans, just minor things like changing the door in our bedroom from a glass panel to a translaminate panel so that it gives a bit more privacy.
We also had a bit of a surprise with the water tanks, we thought that we would need 2 slimline tanks but because the house comes in on one side we are able to fit one 3000 litre tank down that side, so I think that will save us a bit of money and space. Let's hope so....
I have also had really good results with the tile samples, the large 600x600 tile I have had in front of the sink and it is being constantly walked on. So far so good it has taken all the wear and tear really well and it looks clean even though I know it isn't.
It's just a waiting game now, we need to wait for the plans and the hydraulic report and I am sure there are some other reports that we need before we can lodge our DA to council.
We sold a heap of standoffs at work today, about 300 of them, these are what I want to use on our staircase so I have to get enough for our staircase and hide them so that my hubby can't sell them, lucky the ones we sold were mirror, but I want satin so I am going in tomorrow to find and hide them........as I said before he doesn't read this, just as well.....
We also had a bit of a surprise with the water tanks, we thought that we would need 2 slimline tanks but because the house comes in on one side we are able to fit one 3000 litre tank down that side, so I think that will save us a bit of money and space. Let's hope so....
I have also had really good results with the tile samples, the large 600x600 tile I have had in front of the sink and it is being constantly walked on. So far so good it has taken all the wear and tear really well and it looks clean even though I know it isn't.
It's just a waiting game now, we need to wait for the plans and the hydraulic report and I am sure there are some other reports that we need before we can lodge our DA to council.
We sold a heap of standoffs at work today, about 300 of them, these are what I want to use on our staircase so I have to get enough for our staircase and hide them so that my hubby can't sell them, lucky the ones we sold were mirror, but I want satin so I am going in tomorrow to find and hide them........as I said before he doesn't read this, just as well.....
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Tile Stain Test
With 2 messy boys we need our home to be pretty much bomb proof.I purchased samples of the tiles and then set about pouring all the common staining things on it, Coke, Coffee, Raspberry Cordial, Raspberries ,Oil and much to my husbands horror port. I left it overnight to soak in but I am glad to advise that not one of them stained they all wiped off.
This tile is looking better everyday.....
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Kitchen Photo
This kitchen is just stunning, What do you think??? Can't wait to cook up a storm in here...... and use a dishwasher again.....
Colour Selection Done
Well the fun part is done, colour selection.....this can be a very daunting task, I spent the best part of last week trying to get my head around what we wanted for our new home. We have been down this path before (our colours were all picked for the other house) and this time it was a whole lot different, I don't know if it was because it is more flexible but the experience was a lot more comfortable and enjoyable.
Brick colours will be as described below with gutters and downpipes in Ironstone and Dune, the cladding at the top will be in Dune and the front door will be Ironstone, the garage door will be B&D Contemporay in Dune and the windows will be Anotec Natural Matt.
The Kitchen will be as displayed (see photo) as I just love the way it has been done (it is a credit to the lovely designer that they have), and the wall colours will be the same as the display home (my husband really liked the colours that have been used in the home) I am really happy with the selection and just can't wait to get my hands on that kitchen (for everyone that knows me, you know how I love to cook).
The front balcony will have a Satin Stainless Steel tube around it which we will either install or supply, the front driveway will be Storm Grey in a Random Blue Stone pattern with a Brick Border around it.
The floor tiles have been picked as well with a 600x600 Ash tile in Glazed Porcelan, this will be a upgrade but we love these tiles and they look fabulous.
Dilorenzo Tiles had the best display that I have ever seen, if you can't find something you like there then there is something wrong, they have so many tiles and I think I would have found something in the standard selection had we not liked this tile so much.
They also have the carpet that is supplied with the build, there were 5 different styles in different colours of course, (the range was pretty good) and we will look at the different ones when we get to the slab stage.
We have also added some feature walls in the house, we were going to do it after handover but we want to be able to move straight in as soon as handover is complete so we have decided to get the builder to do it.
We came away from our colour selection happy and full of hope that this build will be very different to the last one.......
Oh I forgot...... Don't forget that toner.... You know who you are!!!!!!!
Brick colours will be as described below with gutters and downpipes in Ironstone and Dune, the cladding at the top will be in Dune and the front door will be Ironstone, the garage door will be B&D Contemporay in Dune and the windows will be Anotec Natural Matt.
The Kitchen will be as displayed (see photo) as I just love the way it has been done (it is a credit to the lovely designer that they have), and the wall colours will be the same as the display home (my husband really liked the colours that have been used in the home) I am really happy with the selection and just can't wait to get my hands on that kitchen (for everyone that knows me, you know how I love to cook).
The front balcony will have a Satin Stainless Steel tube around it which we will either install or supply, the front driveway will be Storm Grey in a Random Blue Stone pattern with a Brick Border around it.
The floor tiles have been picked as well with a 600x600 Ash tile in Glazed Porcelan, this will be a upgrade but we love these tiles and they look fabulous.
Dilorenzo Tiles had the best display that I have ever seen, if you can't find something you like there then there is something wrong, they have so many tiles and I think I would have found something in the standard selection had we not liked this tile so much.
They also have the carpet that is supplied with the build, there were 5 different styles in different colours of course, (the range was pretty good) and we will look at the different ones when we get to the slab stage.
We have also added some feature walls in the house, we were going to do it after handover but we want to be able to move straight in as soon as handover is complete so we have decided to get the builder to do it.
We came away from our colour selection happy and full of hope that this build will be very different to the last one.......
Oh I forgot...... Don't forget that toner.... You know who you are!!!!!!!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Have a look at this!!!!
This has been done by one of the very special people on Homeone Forum. This is the house with the 2 types of bricks that we are looking at. When I saw it this morning I was really happy with the result. Let's see what everyone thinks.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Sovereign Facade
This is the facade that we have picked, so if you can imagine the silver bricks will be top and bottom and the pepper coloured bricks will be where the grey render is in the front above the front door.
Plan's are ready....
The plans are ready and my Dad and Son took a drive out to Camden to pick them up and then went on a airport crawl, taking in the sights of Camden, Hoxton Park and Bankstown airports, It's a shame that I had to work!!!!! Not......
Anyway we have those plans in our hot little hands and I have checked them and I can only see a couple of problems, eldest son's WIR door should have been a door and it was a cavity slider, the air-cond has to be more than 3 metres from the boundry but it is on the side of the house which is only 1.4mtrs from the boundry and they have a gas hot water system on the plan but we don't have gas in the street.
So I am going to take the changes out to The Ponds tomorrow to get them fixed, so that we can keep this moving along at a really fast pace.
I have been out at the Austral brick selection place as well as the Laminex showroom as we need the laminex for the bathrooms and laundry.
The kids and I have had heaps of fun and if we went back 20 times we could build a BBQ with the samples that they give you. Our lounge room has all the colour combinations that I have picked and they give you a box that fits 3 bicks plus styrene that acts as the mortar, they look really cool.
I really like the bricks that are below and we have a colour consultation on Saturday, so we will be looking for advice on these colours.
I am also really happy with the laminex colours, the girl that helped me out there was fabulous, she went to a heap of trouble to get the right colour.
We are still really happy with the way everything is progressing, so fingers crossed we will be in council before you know it......
Anyway we have those plans in our hot little hands and I have checked them and I can only see a couple of problems, eldest son's WIR door should have been a door and it was a cavity slider, the air-cond has to be more than 3 metres from the boundry but it is on the side of the house which is only 1.4mtrs from the boundry and they have a gas hot water system on the plan but we don't have gas in the street.
So I am going to take the changes out to The Ponds tomorrow to get them fixed, so that we can keep this moving along at a really fast pace.
I have been out at the Austral brick selection place as well as the Laminex showroom as we need the laminex for the bathrooms and laundry.
The kids and I have had heaps of fun and if we went back 20 times we could build a BBQ with the samples that they give you. Our lounge room has all the colour combinations that I have picked and they give you a box that fits 3 bicks plus styrene that acts as the mortar, they look really cool.
I really like the bricks that are below and we have a colour consultation on Saturday, so we will be looking for advice on these colours.
I am also really happy with the laminex colours, the girl that helped me out there was fabulous, she went to a heap of trouble to get the right colour.
We are still really happy with the way everything is progressing, so fingers crossed we will be in council before you know it......
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Waiting for those plans..... due the 8th October!!!!! Sounds like we are waiting for a baby.....
I mentioned before that I unfortunately have very little of that thing that you sometimes need in life called patience!!!!!
Well this week I have had to call on all that is in my body because we are still waiting for the plans to be drawn up.
Not that they are running late or anything, we were told 2 weeks and when I spoke to the builder this week, I was told that they are due on the 8th October.
There are some drawings that need to be done once the plans are ready and hence that's why I am getting very impatient (it's that damn word again) the hydraulic report is one of them and as we have lifted the house up to give a runoff back to the street we won't know if that will work until the hydraulics are done.
So I sit here waiting for those plans so that the next part of this journey can start to happen.
I have been trying to find that perfect balustrade because as most of you know that is what our business is all about. I found what I liked but unfortunately the building code has changed and we are not allowed to have frameless glass if it is off the ground, so we are trying to find something that looks stunning that also has a top rail.
I know that with 2 very messy boys I am totally going to regret this decision but I really want glass, how many times a day will I have to clean that glass, I don't know but one things for sure as I clean it, I will be thinking what on earth made me want it.
After the 2 very hot days that we have had I am thinking one word ......POOL......
Now that will be another story, I haven't said anything to anyone, so that will be our little secret.....shhh,...... lucky my husband doesn't read this.
Well this week I have had to call on all that is in my body because we are still waiting for the plans to be drawn up.
Not that they are running late or anything, we were told 2 weeks and when I spoke to the builder this week, I was told that they are due on the 8th October.
There are some drawings that need to be done once the plans are ready and hence that's why I am getting very impatient (it's that damn word again) the hydraulic report is one of them and as we have lifted the house up to give a runoff back to the street we won't know if that will work until the hydraulics are done.
So I sit here waiting for those plans so that the next part of this journey can start to happen.
I have been trying to find that perfect balustrade because as most of you know that is what our business is all about. I found what I liked but unfortunately the building code has changed and we are not allowed to have frameless glass if it is off the ground, so we are trying to find something that looks stunning that also has a top rail.
I know that with 2 very messy boys I am totally going to regret this decision but I really want glass, how many times a day will I have to clean that glass, I don't know but one things for sure as I clean it, I will be thinking what on earth made me want it.
After the 2 very hot days that we have had I am thinking one word ......POOL......
Now that will be another story, I haven't said anything to anyone, so that will be our little secret.....shhh,...... lucky my husband doesn't read this.
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