An Eventful Month

Considering we had a three week break on our house over Christmas, January certainly turned into an eventful month. Not only have I completely neglected the blog, but with the flooding around SE Qld we didn't even really go out to the house that much until about last week.

We were very fortunate to not have been affected personally by the flooding at either this new home or the one we are renting. In fact, we went to see our new neighbours during the flood (when we could get out) and it seemed as if nothing was even happening in our little estate. Life was normal.

When the tradesmen were able to get back through to our house, they finished the painting, plumbing and electrical, installed the security screens and also the insulation and cleaned the place (better than I imagine it will ever see!). And that has just been in the last two weeks. Again, we can't speak highly enough of Coral and their commitment to not only the quality of our job but the ability to do it quickly.

I've included a few photos to show the progress, but they aren't very good and therefore would rather wait until I have taken proper ones on the camera.

We think that the main floor tiling may start this week which is very exciting. We don't have a finish date at this stage but things are looking very close. I will take more pictures this week and update ASAP.

Our entry feature light

The kitchen

Our ensuite

Our entry hallway

The black front doors

The front of the house with it's new lights.

Our gorgeous tiles!!!!!

I'll let the photos do the talking:

This is our beautiful ensuite. The tiling is exactly what we asked for and so far we couldn't be happier. At this stage the white grout hasn't been done on the walls but the floor has been grouted. Can't wait to see the vanities go in now. Thanks to Shaun and Jake for their excellent work!

Stress

They say that building a house is nothing but a stressful event and then once you're actually in you have a lifetime of work ahead of you. I guess you could look at it that way if you really were that negative or if you chose the wrong builder. Clearly we have made the right decision in Coral. Ok, the first six months was frustrating as it seemed for us that nothing was happening as we couldn't see anything tangible on our block. However, now that we are in the process of construction, it seems like those six months were a million years ago and really we are grateful that all the issues were sorted then to avoid having that stress that so many others seem to suffer during their build.

This is my second build and Matt's first. I remember very clearly first time round not knowing much and just expecting that they would do their job properly. That was my first mistake. It's hard to get someone to fix something once they're gone, particularly someone who made a point of saying how little he was getting paid in the first place. I truly remember it being a long process that ended in a lot of hassles.

This build has been the exact opposite. The only stress that we have had has been the stress of making sure we go out every afternoon and have a look because if you miss a day you seem to miss a whole section of the house transforming. It has been seven weeks today since our build started and by started I don't mean the slab being poured, I mean the pad being cut. This week we are looking forward to seeing tiles go down and by the end of the week we will meet our painter. It's all a blur. Our site supervisor has said that we seem to be on track for a mid February relocation to our new home. We can't wait!!!

Here are some photos of our gorgeous new kitchen and laundry that were installed last week thanks to the wonderful work of the brilliant Michiels family at Fine Design Furniture. Although they knew the rough date of our install, it crept up very quickly and Clinton and his team did an amazing job to finish both the kitchen and laundry in just over a week. Considering it usually takes this long just to build the furniture and then it has to go off to the polisher to be finished it was a truly fantastic feat. I would encourage anyone looking for cabinetry or furniture for their home to go and have a chat to the fabulous folk at Fine Design Furniture and see what they can do to help you out.

Our stunning kitchen.

Our gorgeous laundry.

View from the front.

I love the detail of the corbels and panelling on the front.

With the appliances in. They're gone now but will be back once we move in.

The front of the house ready for rendering.

It's Been Two Weeks....And You Won't Believe The Difference!

It's been two weeks since I last posted on here. We've been flat out at the house installing insulation in the internal walls to act as sound deadening in certain areas and also installing brackets in the eaves so that our patio will easily attach. In that time so much has happened, but with the end of the school year approaching and being at the block until 7pm at night its been impossible to get on here to show you what has happened.

This past fortnight has seen our roof go on, the baths installed, the windows fitted, the bricks put up and the plaster sheeted and set. This week we are up to the cornice and what I can only presume is getting ready for lock up. Our kitchen and laundry will be fitted at the end of the week and on Monday I am off to select feature tiles, handles and lighting. It's all very exciting.

With any luck our Site Supervisor hopes to have the house painted and tiled before Christmas which means that after their return from holidays there won't be much left to do before we can move it.

Here are some photos to show what our house looks like this weekend.

Our bedroom looking through to our ensuite and WIR.

Our bedroom

From the front doors through to the theatre. Coral do a lovely coffered ceiling in their entries and we plan on hanging a feature light in this area.

From the entry to the meals room

Front of the house. Our doors will be painted high gloss black and the portico will be rendered and painted in Surf Mist (which is the same colour as our fascia and garage door).

Looking from the back of the house to the front along the side that we'll have our patio and pool

Front of house

Garage side of house

The Week That Was

We have just finished week three of our build with Coral and let me say that we are so impressed with the way that it is going. We have had excellent tradies on our site from the start and the work is of a very high quality. It is also going a lot faster than we actually thought it would. So much faster in fact, that I don't get time to blog during the week because we spend so much time there every afternoon checking it all out. And, to top it all off, we went out yesterday (on a Saturday) and found guys working to put up the fascia and guttering. It doesn't get much better than that!

Here are some photos of what has happened at the house this week:

Frames up.

Our windows waiting for installation.

Main bathroom bath.

Our ensuite corner spa.

Trusses view from the side near our bedroom.

Fascia and guttering up.

Almost ready for tiles.

Our flat black roof tile.

Other tiling stuff.

Hopefully the rain will hold off this week so that they can get the roof on. We received a letter on Friday to say that they wouldn't be finished for Christmas (which we weren't expecting anyway) but the kitchen and laundry are booked in for December 3 so it sounds like a lot is going to happen in the next three weeks. Can't wait to watch it all unfold!

And Then There Were Frames!

Pretty much as soon as the slab was finished, the timber for the frames was delivered in lovely bundles, ready for the builders to get stuck into it. They were out the next day and by the end of the week this is what our house looked like.

Milly standing outside what she calls "Charlie's room"

Milly's room (photo taken from outside her window)

Spare bedroom (photo taken through window)

Activity Room (looking at sliding glass door onto patio area)

Laundry

Our Ensuite (photo taken through garage wall)

Our Bedroom (from WIR looking towards windows)

Walk In Robe

Theatre Room

Entry Hall

Standing in the entry way looking to the back of the house.

Family room through to hallway.

From Kitchen to meals room (window on left, slider on right).

View from the front.

Formal lounge dining.

Study

So Much To Tell

I've been so slack in the last two weeks and haven't blogged anything although heaps has been going on.

In our first week the cut was done on the Monday and then on the Wednesday the guys came out and did all of the screw piers and other trenches that needed to be dug. In the second week they came out on the Monday and did all of the plumbing and electrical that needs to be done before the slab can be poured. Here are some pics from the first stage.

Also in the second week the concreters came out and set up the form work for the slab. Unfortunately due to rain on Tuesday night everything was pushed back a day so they didn't get to pour on Friday. Here is a pic of the area ready for the slab to be poured.



Finally today we've had the slab poured. It was so exciting to be able to walk on it and get a real feel for what our house will be like. It's kind of scary really because generally at the slab stage the house feels a lot smaller than it will be in real life. Unfortunately for us it seems huge....seems like a lot of cleaning! ;-) Here are some photos of the slab. Milly was so excited to see her bedroom she asked if she could kiss it, hence the child on the ground with her mouth on the floor.

Slab from the garage side of the house.

Our family on the slab.

Milly kissing the ground in her bedroom.

View from the back of the house looking to the front. Not the timber being delivered.

Now that the timber has been delivered, we may even have frames tomorrow. It's all getting very exciting!