Clive Peeters sold us our appliances for the kitchen ...

but things aren't as bad as they seem. Back in January we put all of our kitchen appliances on layby with Clive Peeters. We bought a Miele dishwasher, Miele cooktop, Venini rangehood and Ilve oven. On May 19th Clive Peeters went into receivership. Along with everyone else who had purchased things through them but didn't have their products yet, we thought the worst, however we've been assured we'll get our stock. The receivers have cancelled all of the laybys and reordered them. Miele called today and everything is fine with them. The Venini rangehood is already in but we're waiting on the Ilve oven. We're not prepared to hand over anymore money until we see the goods so we're playing the waiting game at the moment.

I had been into Clive Peeters on the Tuesday before they went under to look for air conditioning (as I posted earlier) and nearly put that and our theatre gear on layby. So glad that I exercised some restraint for once. We potentially could have had $22500 worth of laybys with them and would have been expected to pick it up by June 30...that is the cut off date. Anything not picked up by then is not being honoured from what I understand. Fun times!

A building update

Nothing has happened. Ha ha... I know this is true but things are happening on the paperwork side of things. Coral have agreed to fully cut and fill our block which is exactly what we wanted as it will mean that the whole yard is nice and flat. They are in the process of drawing up a contract for us to sign and then it will be all systems go. Apparently council takes about two months so we're still a little way off building but we're getting closer.

In other news, there are three houses currently under construction in our estate and another one has been cut ready to start soon. We've met both of our neighbours and they're both lovely. One neighbour I went to school with so I've known her for quite some years. They both have small children which will be lovely for Milly as she grows up.

To duct or not to duct?

We've been going back and forth about whether we put ducted air conditioning in the new house or not. It obviously has it's advantages as it is a much cleaner look, however the disadvantages are the cost and also the cost of running it. Today I spent some time with our guy at Clive Peeters and got some quotes on split systems. Matt is not the biggest fan of splits but they certainly have their place. The main disadvantage of splits is the big ugly box outside the room that is being air conditioned. And that is where we are having our disagreements... I would prefer to have split systems as they don't all have to be on at once and use less energy but Matt is concerned about the fact that the systems would be on our patio.

So, the big question is "to duct or not to duct"? I think the answer will relate more to the secondary statement "$15000 v $7500".

Tender letter received

Yesterday we went back to Toowoomba to meet with Philip and finally discuss the Tender price for our house. I'd already spoken to him during the week and found out about the rock and e type soil so we had started to discuss ways to make the house cheaper. Philip sat us down and cruelly let the process drag out a bit before finally revealing that our Tender price was $30k under the original estimate. We were absolutely blown away. After combing through it we realised that they'd left out the ducted air conditioning, but that doesn't make up the $30k anyway and after much discussion we have decided that we don't really need ducted air con, that a few split systems should do. Our house has sarking and insulation in the roof as well as sarking and insulation in the walls plus we've opted for dark grey tinted windows, so we don't think we'll have the same problem we had at Powells Rd. Anyone who came to that house in summer will remember the heat generated by the lack of insulation in the upper floor walls along the northern side of the house.

Needless to say, we're very happy with the quote. Matt is currently combing through it again to make sure that it contains everything we want. Once we've checked and double checked it we'll post it back, all signed, and can expect to receive our contract and working drawings within the three weeks. Finally, finally, finally.....something is REALLY happening!!!!!

E-type ... and it's not a Jaguar!

It would have been fantastic if it was, however our soil test, unlike it's Jaguar namesake, is less than exciting. That coupled with rock at 1.5m - 2m means that we are probably in for a shock. We are heading to Toowoomba this afternoon to see what the damage is and will keep you posted!

Contract soon

I finally got an email back today from our sales guy in Toowoomba. He let me know that the soil tests and contours had only come back this week so we should go to contract within the next two weeks. We now have to sift through the estimate and make sure that it is exactly what we want so that when we go up there we can sign the contract and things can move along. At this stage it looks like we might get the floor coverings ourselves after handover. It seems to work out a little cheaper.

Thanks Ethan!

We went out to the block this morning to have a go at clearing the fence lines. Matt, Milly and I had tried to do this previously, however, the pink tape we were trying to use kept blowing in the wind so we couldn't get a straight line. We did, however, chop down some trees to try and get the line right.

Thankfully, we have a friend who has the ability to find a line between two spots without having to use pink tape. This morning in stepped our friend Ethan, a surveyor, with all the right equipment to make the job just that much easier. He set up the lines and then he and Matt set about cutting down everything that was in it's path. Milly and I tried to clear some of it out and came up with a huge pile, however there is still so much to go!

The next step, with regard to fencing, is for us to find a free weekend and for Matt to get a dingo and clear the rubbish along the line. Then he can put in post holes and we'll be ready to start putting a fence up.

Things are happening slowly out there!