Waiting on CFS fire rating

Well we are at a standstill while we wait for the CFS fire rating to be done. I rang the CFS last week and apparantly the one guy who does it is on leave. So two weeks at least before he starts doing them again . Then another 6 weeks or so to go through council. *arrghhhh* if it isn't one hold up it's another.

The council bloke states that we have to have the fire rating done because the small area that we are building in is rated a high fire risk due to the fact that it used to be a reserve/farmland. This rich family in Adelaide about 100 years ago bought up vast tracks of land, and then let them somewhat return to there natural state, they are now slowly selling this land piece by piece and making a killing. So the CFS rated these areas as fire risks, now that we are building they still have that rating and need to be assessed even though every tree within the area has been raised.

We still havn't gotten the second engineers report back, I rang Statesman yesterday, apparantly the external engineer had some big project come in, so they dropped everything to work on that.
Thats what they get for paying them pittance, so now it will be at least two weeks before that comes back.

Now that we are paying interest on the $180k for the land getting things to hurry along is all the more urgent.

The Gold range bricks

We changed our brick selection from Oyster, that we thought was just a bit to dark to Sorbetto, this upgrade cost us $2500. So I hope they look good. If they don't I think I will never hear the end of it from hubby, who wanted to go for the bronze or standard range bricks from Austral called Almond. I just found them too yellow.

Spoke to the Neighbours

Well since we now actually own the land and arn't backing out I thought I would see if I could get in contact with the neighbours and make sure they didn't use the same brick as us. IF I'm paying $2500 extra for a brick them I am not having the two houses next to us using the same brick, thats for sure!!

So the person to the left has bought the block to build a rental property on. He still hasn't decided on a builder but was/is leaning towards the same builder that we are using.

The couple to the right is Scottish, I could barely understand a word they said! They have a girl who is a year younger then my daughter, and a son the same age as mine. She is a nurse and he used to be a police officer. I talked to her about choosing laminates and tiles and where to go. They currently live in the same area that we are building, so hopefully they may keep a bit of an eye on the build for us.

I did however stress to both of them NOT to use the same brick we are ;) But now I am thinking that might backfire and when they go to selections the only name in there brains may be that of my brick :(

Hopefully though since the people to the right are using the same builder as us the builder might be able to come up with something for the retaining wall.

Land Ownership - It's settled

Well I missed the phone call to tell me that our land had settled! But they finished with all the paperwork and what not at about 12:10pm yesterday. So we now own a big old chunk of Australia, with the biggest weed you have ever seen smack bang in the middle of it.

I told my husband that we should go up there and open a bottle of wine and have a drink on our land. But he didn't get home till 6.30pm and it was dark and late, we where going to go up this afternoon, but it is pouring down with rain. So maybe later in the week, and we can then just fudge the date on the photo.

We all have colds at the moment, so the thrill of it all is seriously tempered by feeling so ratched.

In the mail yesterday we also got notice from Statesman of our total project cost so far. We sat down and tried to work out the sums in our cold addled heads. If we have it worked out right, we should have $10,000 left over at the end of the build. That's if the footings costs come down by the $9000 that Statesman expects them to. So I think we can get carpet put in the bedrooms and home theatre room before we move in. But no tiles in the main areas, it will be an adventure, I was thinking I could get some cheap carpet runners and run them down the hallways, we already have a big red mat that can go in front of the teli in the living area, and then I can get some rubber types mats to go down in the kitchen. We can call it an 'adventure' a bit like having milk crate furniture when you first move out of home.

On an altogether different note, I had a phone call from a girl who asked if I could witness some documents for her. So I have preformed my very fist duties as a Justice of the Peace. Poor girl was here for an hour while I read through the booklet to see what I had to do.

Hubby is due home with lunch soon, we might drive out to the block and at least take a photo through the car window, we should mark the even in some way.

Building Insurance and Council Letter

We got a letter in the mail today, from the builder. It contained a Policy Certificate number for the builders insurance. Oddly enough it doesn't say how long the insurance is for. The amount that it is insured for is also less then the total cost of our project. But I guess they took out the insurance before we did colour selections.

The second bit of paper states that our new home has now been submitted to council. I wonder what plan they submitted, as the engineers report hasn't come back on our alterations. Or do councils not worry about things like footings and retaining walls? Do they just want to know what the house plan is?

The letter points out the 3 stages of council approval, then states "In total the approximate time frame for approval is 10 -12 weeks.

We might just see about that, apparantly a few calls to the council can not hurt. So I might ring them tommorow and see if they have actually recieved it. Then I might call Statesman again to see if the Engineers report is done. I really want to know what the new footings will be. Once we have that amount then we will have a final figure, and I can have a heart attack or a Pims and a lie down.

Final Colour Selection Variations

I saw a picture in some-ones blog where they had the washing machine space near the door, then the washing tub and then some open benchspace with open space underneath. So I sent the picture to my colour selections girl and asked her if I could have my laundry like that, or if it would cost me to change it.

She sent me back an email that the laundry door would hit the washing machine and it probally wouldn't be a good idea. As I was busily measuring the washing machine she actually rang!!

We talked about it for a bit and she suggested a brilliant alternative. Move the washing machine space to right over next to the laundry cupboard, then reduce the size of the cupboard that the laundry trough is sitting in and then have the open bench space. So I said "yeppers" so in the laundry it will be (from the outside door) 2 cm bench, laundry trough, 110cm bench, washing machine space (700mm), laundry cupboard.

The laundry trough will be in a 700mm cupboard, which is what our rental laundry trouch is in, and I can fit all my chemicals in there fine.

I am excited about the 110cm of benchspace. Down the track we are hoping to put in some overhead shelving, with a rail, then I can do my ironing and hang the clothes up on the rail. All my dry clothes should fit on this bench space! (as it is the same size as the couch I now currently put dry clothes on) It just means I will have to fold the washing when I take it off the line, as compared to throwing it in the basket and dumping it on the couch as I do now. Hmm but I won't be able to watch telli when ironing, just look at a blank wall....

The best bit about it all, is because I am reducing from a 1200 cupboard to a 700 cupboard they are going to give me back $155 for all these changes :) *stoked*

Hopefully I will recieve in the mail tommorow or Thursday the final pricing for all the colour selections and an interm pricing for the whole project. Not looking forward to seeing that amount I can tell you.

Signed the bank papers

Well, I think we signed the Construction Loan today. I thought there would have been more fanfare, or the sound of chains clinking, or something. Instead I recognised the woman from my son's childcare, and we talked about childcare, and her kids and then there was a fight outside the bank, so we watched some women fight, then the police came. Then we continued signing 'here' and 'here' and 'here' she gave us our copy of the paper and off we went.

That was it, I think I just signed papers that says I owe a lot of money for the next 30 years. Feels a bit unreal somehow.

I wonder how I will feel on the 19th when we actually own a block of land.
I guess it will sink in when I see the extra line in my online banking that says "awfully huge homeloan over here"

Statesman are being there normal bumbly selves. They rang, our plans are with the colour consultant, she will have them til Friday, then they will go to the Engineers, then maybe two weeks with the Engineers. *sigh*

I've sent the colour consultant about 3 emails now asking about the pricing of the bricks, and the laminate and the paint, all the things she was supposed to get back to me about, and not a word. It's been a week since we had our colour selection. Not happy Jan.

Colour Selections

Well after spending hours in Beaumonts, and buying sample tiles and sample paints, we went into colour selections and chose completely different tiles and bricks and everything.

I had my heart set on a white brick called 'seacliff' but there was absolutely no way I could hae it. So we made a last minute decision to use Oyster. Though I would rather sorbetto, we are waiting for the colour consultant to get back to us with the price of it.

So selection extras are:
Electrical $110 - one extra power point
Brickwork $1855 - upgrade to PGH Oyster and light mortar
Insulation $580 - upgrade ceiling to R4.0 (this is on top of an already upgrade price we paid to go to R3.0
Window Finishes $420 to go to black window frames
Painting interior $1653 because I want to do the wall colour half strength they will have to do 3 coats, so we will get washable paint also, and cost us more to have the skirtings, doors ceiling white
Kitchen joinery - $1409 for the diamond gloss laminate, and pot drawers
bathroom $545 - silver tiles upgrade

any way, at the end of a very long 3 hours we are $5680 extra, on top, so we are going to have to rethink a few things :(

So choices are

Brickwork - PGH Oyster
Mortar colour - Light - white sand
Roof - Boral Capri Mid Grey tiles
Garage Door - Manor Red, Hampton smooth finish
Gutters/fascias/downpipes/verandah post - monument
Windows frames - satin black
Front door - manor red
Verandah - grey 400x400 tile

Interior:
Walls : Cumulus 1/2 strength 3 coat washable
Doors/skirting/aves : ceiling white - I thought this wouldn't cost me anything, but because they have to 'cut' the paint in, it is a small fortune

Kitchen:
Benchtops: laminex white valencia diamondgloss
Door : laminate Charcoal - flint finish
Door profiles: plain face
Kitchen splashback: 97325 100x300 stacked horizontal - a mat white tile
kickers: Formica brushed aluminium
a microwave provision and 2 sets of 3 pot drawers. (144,288,288)

Linen door - in hallway charcoal

Ensuite and bathroom
Door profile - plain
Doors : classic white - we went with some free offer they had on these nice lookign doors
polished crome taps and fittings and shower screen, crome plug holes, square crome floor drainers
Benchtop - Paprio Storm - velour finish

Bathroom main tiles 97284 300x600 vertical - a rectified polished white tile
frieze tile 97418 300x600 vertical - a grey tile
floor tiles 97417 300x300 same colour as the frieze tile

So in the ensuite the back wall of the shower will be the grey 97418 tile. So the floor tile will in effect run up the wall, hopefully making the ensuite look longer.

The white basins will be sitting in a grey benchtop, so they should stand out. The bathroom walls will be this polished white tile. The grout in the white tiles will be white, the grout in the floor tiles will be grey. I think the freize tile, the grey tile on the back wall will have white grout.

In the main bathroom, the floor tile will be grey, then the tiles around the bath and behind the bath will be the grey tile. The other walls will be white.

So yeah, I hope it looks good. I am going to take all the sample tiles back to beaumonts, and hopefully get some good pictures of the other tiles we have chosen to use instead. The pics of the tiles on the beaumont website are awful.

This is the grey wall tile from the beaumonts website