Windows Delivered and installed

Working in the industry, I have been looking forward to this day since we planned what our windows would look like on the floor plan all those months ago. And, I am happy to report I am not disappointed.

The two front bedroom windows are 2400h x 2100w each and are basically floor to ceiling glass - they look great (just won't worry about the cleaning they will bring).

We have many large fixed panels of glass in the house, most of which span 2400h - loving the glass and the feeling of space.

The rear 4 panel Alfresco door has also had the frame installed - can't wait to see this with the panels installed later.

The colour we chose was precious silver pearl, and has a lovely glitter / pearliest shimmer to it. Should look really good when we render the brick work after hand over.

There were two little issues however - seems the window company made a few errors. Our main bedroom window was made approx 100mm too short in height, and one of the front bedroom windows were made in the incorrect configuration - they were supposed to be a mirror image of one another, but instead, we received two of the same configuration. We rang our SS immediately, who said he had already discussed this with the supplier, and new windows were being arranged.

Aside from these little problems, we are very happy with our window selections.

The house has also started to be wrapped - its really feeling like a house now!
 
Tomorrow the gutter and faschia will be done, and more wrapping.

Inside view from front bedroom

 

View from living room looking through the 4 panel door into alfresco area

 

Rear backyard - ensuite, main bed (with wrong size window) and WIR

 

Front bedrooms - these window should be a mirror image - not the same.....

 

Long shot down the side of the house

 

Garage on left, front entry in middle, bed 2 on right

 

 

Shot from the street - looking pretty impressive!

 

 

 

It only took two weeks but.......

..... our frames are up and finished.

Our SS warned us that there might be a few hiccups with the steel frame - its only the second steel frame coral has done. Seems he was right.

The weather here hasn't helped either. Our site was literally a mud pit.

Anyway - they are finished now and everything looks really good. The frame feels really strong and is dead straight.

We are very happy customers!

The Mechano set taking shape - view of the front of the house

 

View from the back yard looking into the house through the Alfresco area

 

The front of the house - two front bedrooms with big windows

 

 

 

 

We are going back for more.......

We have decided to go back for more punishment and put a rear retaining wall the full length of our back boundary.

Our landscaper has been fabulous, and has quoted us up to have the job done any time now, while we still have access.

Hopefully we will get this going in the next week or so..... hopefully it goes better than the first one!!

We also went shopping over the weekend. Freedom had a sale and we couldn't say no! We picked up a lounge for the living area, a feature chair with ottoman, and a wing chair for the library/study. Lucky for us, the lead time on the products were 2 months, so this helped us heaps.

Its all starting to come together!

Frame work is up, up, up and away!

Well, after a week or so wait, the frames are well on their way.

All the frame work is now done and looking great. The Roof trusses were supposed to be craned on last friday, but due to the wet weather it was a no go.

When we went to have a look, we noticed that the main wall between the hallway and the main living area seemed to be backways - the main opening was in the wrong spot! Whopps! After a quick call to our SS, it was fixed up!

We were quite nervous about the frames being up becasue we brough this house right off the floor plan (and a few tweaks on our end). There wasn't a sydney display of this home. We loved it on paper, and had our fingers crossed that we would still love it once the frames were up and we could walk through it (too late anyway if we didn't). We are happy to say it has exceeded our expecations. Every room is perfect and I'm really loving the open kitchen/dining/lounge area.

The study was alittle smaller than we first thought, so its become more of a library, instead of a usable study - but thats ok with us.

Hopefully the rain stays away long enough next week to get the roof trusses on and the gutter and faschia up...... fingers crossed the weather is good.

Here are a few pics.

This is taken from the kitchen looking into the bedroom

Looking at the from bedrooms and activity room - its a giant mechano set

View from the rear back corner - ensuite on the left, main bed on the right.

View looking at the front door - its a big door! Garage on the left.

Keenan's Theatre room step - couches will be ontop and infornt

The retaining wall......

..... has been certified!!!

After much back and forth, we finally received word today, that the wall has been passed and deemed 'satisfactory'.

Thank goodness!!! End of that chapter hopefully.

There hasn't been much action on the block for the last few days. The framer has gone 'MIA' - he was supposed to turn up last Thursday to start work, however he didn't turn up - he is uncontactable and has just disappeared. Coral is now rushing to try and find another framing company to get them up. Finger crossed another company should be onsite tomorrow starting to put them up.

Just want it started already!

We also have the excavation machine thingo going to site tomorrow morning to cut out the back retaining wall. From there we will be able to organise to have that one done - hopefully it will be less drama than the first wall.

we'll be heading to site tomorrow for some pics, so I will post some tomorrow.

Cheers!

Frames have arrived!!

Our steel frames arrived onsite today. They were originally planned for delivery yesterday, however, the commute from QLD appeared to set them back a day.

Carpenters are onsite tomorrow to start putting the giant mechano set together! Or at least I think they are chippies.... or are they metal workers if its a metal frame???? Dunno....

The temporary fencing also went up today. It was good to get a feel for how big (or small....) the back yard will be, off the alfresco area.

Yesterday our landscaper went back to site and finalised the 'infamous' retaining wall. The certifier was supposed to be onsite today to (hopefully) approve it...... however we didn't hear from them this afternoon, so we are hoping that no news is good news. We'll be chasing them tomorrow morning so we know once and for all where we are standing with this wall. Fingers crossed.

Looks like the next week will be all frame work. Gutters and fascias turn up straight up.

Lots of pics below.

And the retaining wall is done.... just needs to be approved

Thats a big pile of frames

Roof trusses for the portico porch area - they are cute.

Some of the main roof trusses

Our name is on this house..... literally!

Box of goodies.... pop rivets etc

Now thats a bracket - holding the roof trusses together

 All shinny!

 Shot of the back yard, standing in the master bedroom.

The retaining wall...... again................

Soooooooo, our landscaper has been to site (for the third time now!) and has completed the retaining wall, so it goes right to the rear boundary. The private certifier is heading out to site tomorrow, so fingers crossed he finally approves the wall and we can close this chapter once and for all.

Because this has all been too easy (?!?!?!?!?), we decided to run a retaining wall the whole back length of the boundary. Our SS was kind enough to organise to have his bobcat guy dig out all the dirt required (and take the dirt) for $100 bucks! Deal of the century, given there is probably 8-10 tonnes of dirt to move. This was all scheduled to happen yesterday, and from there, we would organise the fence (once the current one is approved and closed off).

However, as seems to be our luck with retaining walls, the bob cat could not unearth the rock hard dry clay which was onsite. Weeks of rain and then sun, has turned the clay into almost rock!

So, the bob cat guy couldn't do the job after all that! So we still have all that dirt sitting onsite! Fortunately, our SS said he could organise the bigger digging machined (dunno what it is actually called) to come out to our site when it was next in the area to break through the clay - and he was kind enough to pay 50% of the cost for us, as he was feeling sorry for us.

Should have an idea when this will happen by the end of the week.

Unbelievable!! Don't build retaining walls!!!!

Below is a pic of the final I-beam against the rear masonry retaining wall on our neighbours plot. Timber sleepers were fitted today, so I'll have a new pic tomorrow.

We're off to site tomorrow to check out what the chippies were up to and hopefully celebrate the approval of our retaining wall...... hopefully we'll have good news tomorrow!!

Some more additions onsite.

Hubby and I went to site last night and have  a few things to report.

We have had a delivery of temporary fencing - its still in a pile, but its onsite! Don't know how useful it will be sitting on the slab..... but it's there! Plan is to have this errected tomorrow.

We also found that some dirt had been spread out right around the slab - looks much better now, and it helps to get a feel for how high the house will sit.

We also got an electrical box! Yay.

Frames were due onsite today (so hopefully they are sitting there waiting) and the carpenters are scheduled to start tomorrow. Hopefully we will have our retaining wall dramas sorted by tomorrow as well - see next post for more details.

A few pics of whats going on.

Nice pile of fencing there

Electrical Box

Site rubbish bin ready to get filled.

Front entry of house - loose dirt is now right around the frame.

The wall that will never end........

So, while the pouring of our slab is great news, unfortunately, the retaining wall saga continues.

After a second attempt, the private certifier has still not approved the wall! We now have to have our landscaper go back for a third time. Our landscaper has been nothing but helpful, and has offered to go back at no additional cost to us, if we agree to use his services for another retaining wall at the back of the property (thankfully this one won't need to be certified!).

We are hoping to have the wall completed by the end of the week, and fingers crossed we can get it signed off early next week.

We are really over this damn wall! The stress and angst this has caused us is ridiculous. I will be strongly suggesting that Coral Homes offer the option to provide owners with retaining walls because this is just stupid!

There is one small benefit to this mess. We have decided to run a retaining wall right across the rear boundary while the house is being constructed. We were always planning on installing a wall here, but thought it would be easier to install after handover. However, after seeing the amount of excavation required we have decided to get it done now, while we have no neighbours or fencing's getting in the way. Just waiting on the quote back from the landscaper...... I'm sure that will be delightful!

Just a word of advice for anyone looking to buy some land - PICK THE FLATEST BLOCK!!! NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE SLOPE SEEMS RUN FAR, FAR AWAY. YOU DON'T WANT TO NEED RETAINING WALLS!!!!!! IF YOU DO - INSIST THAT YOUR BUILDER DOES THEM. DON'T END UP IN OUR MESS!

We got Slabbed!!!!

Well today is the day......

WE GOT A SLAB!!! The concreters were on site early this and all the concrete trucks were done and dusted by mid day.

Love, Love, love this house!

Our SS expects to have our steel frames arriving on site monday/tuesday next week. Really looking forward to walking through the house - hopefully by this time next week we should be well on our way to doing that!!


View from the street - facing the front door





 

Waffle pods baby!

On monday this week the waffle pods were installed in preparation for the slab pour. After the wild weather last friday, the frame work had to be redone as the rain had literally washed it away! Some of the piers had also been exposed as the rain washed away the soil surrounding them. Coral had to put more dirt back, compact it, then set out the frame work again.
 
Anywho - the waffle pods are down!!! And....Wow the house looks so big!! Really really happy with the layout of the house. Its a tight squeeze down the side of the house, but we don't care.

All being well we should have a slab by mid this week - yay!!!!!

Re-worked frame work ready for waffle pods.

 

Thats a nice pile of waffles!!

View from one side of the house - waffle pods in, and ready for slab pour

Alfresco area ready for slab pour. Bring on the concreters!

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

So, after a very wet weekend out onsite, we are hoping this week see's some movement on the house.

We met with our SS on Friday who was really great, and very accommodating. He was more than happy to let us run our own data cabling (hubby has all these grand plans on 'future-proofing' the house...... we'll see). The SS also said that the concreters should have been onsite today framing up the slab, and fitting the rio.

When we were onsite last Friday we also noticed that our landscapers were back onsite adding to the retaining walls - or so we thought. We went back to site on Saturday only to find the wall not done! They had added more sections, but it still did not go all the way back to the rear boundary!! This wall is doomed. We will be speaking to the landscaper tomorrow to resolve this once and for all!

Aside from that, there isn't a whole lot more to report. We will be heading out to the land on thursday this week, so I should have lots to report back then.

Till thursday!

The most important requirement on any site........

We went out to see the progress on site this evening and were very excited to see our porta loo had arrived!!!!

Thought we would open the door and take a pic before it was used much :)

The plumbers had been busy too, with all the plumbing work done and ready for the slab. We spent lots of time 'walking through the house' and we were able to get a good feel for where everything was actually going to go.

So far everything has gone to Coral's plan, and we are hoping everything is still on track for a slab pour early next week.

Electrical box will be set up tomorrow, and then they will start framing up the slab.

Fingers crossed the wet weather stays away for a few more days!

Shot of our ensuite and bathroom pipe work

Keenan and our Porta Loo!

Pile of rubbish which seems to have begun to accumulate in the rear corner right where the retaining wall need to be finished - will speak to SS to have this moved asap, before the wall is done.



And we have piers!!!!!

So exciting - we went to site last Friday only to find that our site had piers! It was so exciting to see the begining of the house!
 
Our Site Supervisor (SS) thinks that all going well we should have a slab down just after the long weekend!
 
We had fun walking around the piers trying to work out where each room would be - it all felt so real.
 
Have to admit too, it was really refreshing to see something actually happening. It feels like forever since we signed our contracts in August 2012, and to see the piering down made it all worth while.
 
Next step - plumbing and electrical connections.... one step closer to a slab!!

Close up of one pier - at least the house won't sink!

About 55 Piers all in all - They will return and clear off the excess concrete.








 

The Great Wall..... on Discovery CCT

So, due to the slope of our site, and the fact that we will be building so close to the boundary we needed to have a retaining wall installed down one side of our boundary.
 
Unfortunately, Coral Homes do not organise retaining walls, so we were left to our own devices on this.... and what a nightmare to say the least!
 
After numerous back and forwards between Coral, the architect drawing the plans and council personnel, we confirmed what we actually needed on site. From there, we had to have plans drawn up with the dimensions etc of the wall, and showing where it would finish on the land.
 
After approximately 2 months (! - yes two months!) of back and forth, we finally received our council approved plans and construction certificate for the retaining wall.
 
We organised Summit Landscapes to install the wall for us - neither hubby or I fancied the manual labour - and they did a great job. You can see in the pictures that they bevelled the edges of the timber sleepers which I think gives a very finished affect - loving the wall!

The Great Wall of Gregory Hills! I love the bevelled edges! 

So, we were feeling pretty good with ourselves, and very happy with the quality of work provided by Summit Landscapes. A few days later we had the private certifier attend site to sign off on the wall......... and here started the stress!

The certifier told us he was unable to pass the wall, as it did not go right to the back of our boundary. The frustrating part for us, was that everything had been made in accordance to the council approved drawings - the retaining wall was to run the majority of the side, finishing approx 2 metres from the back boundary wall, where the land would instead be battered back - this is exactly what was on the approved plans, and exactly what Summit did for us! SO FRUSTRATING....

A shot from the rear boundary looking onto the road - you can see the retaining wall doesn't hit the back boundary - this is problem according to the certifier! Never mind this is what Council approved!

The only way to resolve the matter and keep the wheels turning is to complete the wall, and have it run all the way to meet the back boundary - more costs for us! Only then will the certifier approve the wall....... I will be taking this one further with council..... whats the point in approving the plans if the certifier says it isn't structural correct???? I thought council was supposed to check these things!

Any who - hopefully the wall will be done later in the week and we can get the wall approved and move on......... Only suggestion for Coral Homes is to offer clients the opportunity to build retaining walls! The stress and time this one wall has cost us far out weighs the house...... and its still not right!

Fingers crossed we get it resolved soon.



The story so far...

Welcome everyone to our blog! My husband (Keenan) and I purchased our block of land in Gregory Hills, back in Sept 2011. We then had the agonising wait for the land to be registered, which happened in June of this year.

After looking at just about every display village in Sydney (and beyond!), we finally settled on building a revised version of the 'Daydream 28' by Coral Homes.

Since signing our contracts in August, we have been busy sorting out bank finances, choosing colours, selling our existing property, and moving back in the with the parents (joy!).

I'll post up our floor plan and some colour selections we chose.

Let the blogging begin!

Kylie