Small but significant steps have been made since our selections a couple of weeks ago. Over the last couple of days the Developer's Approval has been given to build our house, without any changes required and the bank have finally managed to find the contract I sent them (only two weeks later!) and given us the approval for our finance. It would seem that we've nearly cleared the last of the hurdles on the way to getting the build actually happening. Next up is the Casey City Council granting the building permit and it'll be time for us to get out to the block to clear the debris left by other builders on our land.
Without getting too ahead of ourselves, what with the building yet to start and all, we've been putting in some thought about the important additions to our new house (no, not the driveway, landscaping or even letterbox) but the pendant lights to go above the kitchen bench and the roof mounted speakers for the living area! For some reason they seem like the most irrelevant things in the grand scheme of things, but also two of the easier ones!!! Of course, we're hoping to pick up a couple of nice designer items on our trip to NY for the new house somewhere along the way as well.
It now looks as if it's going to be a race between Metricon to start finally building our new home and us heading off on our holiday. There are only 19 days (14 work days!) left for them to take the chequered flag first. Not that I'm counting though!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
May the house be with us (one day...)
Well, it's out of our hands now. The house selections are done, it's now up to Metricon to build our house as quickly as possible so that we don't have to wait any longer than we really have to.
Saturday was shaping up as a really big day. Following on from our contract and electrical appointments, we had our tile appointment at Beaumont Tiles on Saturday morning and the big one, our remaining colour and fitting selections at Studio M in the afternoon. Although we'd been to Beaumont's three or four times previously, we still hadn't settled on our final colour schemes for the wet areas in the ensuite, bathroom and laundry and splashback for the kitchen. Typical of us both, we managed not to stress too much about it, and within an hour we'd sorted out everything we wanted and were pretty happy with ourselves. Neutral tones won the day, with slate grey floor tiles, white wall tiles and 'Donkey Grey' as our kitchen splashback tiles.
(from bottom) floor tiles, laundry splashback tile, bathroom/shower tile and kitchen splashback
Having taken less time than anticipated with our tile selections, we were able to run off and have some lunch before steeling ourselves for the anticipated five hour epic selections appointment with Studio M.
I think we must have set some sort of record, as the majority of our selections were completed within an hour! We'd picked our bricks (Maldon), Colourbond roof and fascia (Woodland Grey), garage door (Dune) window frames (Woodland Grey again) and front door (merbau stain) within ten minutes of arriving at the studio. No arguments, just get it done seemed to be the best approach.
Next up were the door handles, which took all of about one minute (prior preparation prevents poor performance!) before moving on to the kitchen. I tell you, if when this place is finally built the kitchen is not the most impressive one ever built, I think we'll have to sell and build another place! Added to the already planned 900mm upright cooker, extended caesarstone island bench (in ice snow) with undermount sink, pot drawers, soft close hinges and walk through pantry, was the parchment coloured gloss finish wrapped vinyl cabinetry. We encountered our first proper moment of indecision when it came to the handles for the cupboards and drawers before finally deciding on the satin chrome coloured square set ones. I promise that the first dinner party that we cater will be a cracker. I've already been working on the menu...
Next up was the ensuite and bathroom fittings. Another little luxury I'd been angling for was the rainfall showerhead in the ensuite. For some reason, Sare didn't put up any resistance at all to this one, but ominously warned that she "was going to pick her fights". I figure it will nicely complement the extra large shower with the tiled base. The square inset basins were already planned and will match the bath nicely, which will have the floor tiles extended up and around it. The last touch were the mirrors, which are nice simple satin chrome framed ones.
The final part of our selection appoint revolved around the floor coverings. This one proved more tricky than the rest of the house. With several wood colours to choose from and a carpet that needed to nicely match, we spent almost as much time deliberating on this as we had on everything else combined. Finally we committed to the Ironbark coloured wooden floor to complement the Surf coloured carpet for the bedrooms, rumpus and rear hall.
And with that we were done. Six long months of looking for houses, deciding to build, buying a block of land and deciding on our house had led to all of the design features and colours we have now committed to over the past week. Next steps are to get that finance approved and let the fun and games of the actual build commence.
Oh, and to get onto the plane for New York in five short weeks for our long awaited honeymoon!!!
Saturday was shaping up as a really big day. Following on from our contract and electrical appointments, we had our tile appointment at Beaumont Tiles on Saturday morning and the big one, our remaining colour and fitting selections at Studio M in the afternoon. Although we'd been to Beaumont's three or four times previously, we still hadn't settled on our final colour schemes for the wet areas in the ensuite, bathroom and laundry and splashback for the kitchen. Typical of us both, we managed not to stress too much about it, and within an hour we'd sorted out everything we wanted and were pretty happy with ourselves. Neutral tones won the day, with slate grey floor tiles, white wall tiles and 'Donkey Grey' as our kitchen splashback tiles.
(from bottom) floor tiles, laundry splashback tile, bathroom/shower tile and kitchen splashback
Having taken less time than anticipated with our tile selections, we were able to run off and have some lunch before steeling ourselves for the anticipated five hour epic selections appointment with Studio M.
I think we must have set some sort of record, as the majority of our selections were completed within an hour! We'd picked our bricks (Maldon), Colourbond roof and fascia (Woodland Grey), garage door (Dune) window frames (Woodland Grey again) and front door (merbau stain) within ten minutes of arriving at the studio. No arguments, just get it done seemed to be the best approach.
Next up were the door handles, which took all of about one minute (prior preparation prevents poor performance!) before moving on to the kitchen. I tell you, if when this place is finally built the kitchen is not the most impressive one ever built, I think we'll have to sell and build another place! Added to the already planned 900mm upright cooker, extended caesarstone island bench (in ice snow) with undermount sink, pot drawers, soft close hinges and walk through pantry, was the parchment coloured gloss finish wrapped vinyl cabinetry. We encountered our first proper moment of indecision when it came to the handles for the cupboards and drawers before finally deciding on the satin chrome coloured square set ones. I promise that the first dinner party that we cater will be a cracker. I've already been working on the menu...
Next up was the ensuite and bathroom fittings. Another little luxury I'd been angling for was the rainfall showerhead in the ensuite. For some reason, Sare didn't put up any resistance at all to this one, but ominously warned that she "was going to pick her fights". I figure it will nicely complement the extra large shower with the tiled base. The square inset basins were already planned and will match the bath nicely, which will have the floor tiles extended up and around it. The last touch were the mirrors, which are nice simple satin chrome framed ones.
The final part of our selection appoint revolved around the floor coverings. This one proved more tricky than the rest of the house. With several wood colours to choose from and a carpet that needed to nicely match, we spent almost as much time deliberating on this as we had on everything else combined. Finally we committed to the Ironbark coloured wooden floor to complement the Surf coloured carpet for the bedrooms, rumpus and rear hall.
And with that we were done. Six long months of looking for houses, deciding to build, buying a block of land and deciding on our house had led to all of the design features and colours we have now committed to over the past week. Next steps are to get that finance approved and let the fun and games of the actual build commence.
Oh, and to get onto the plane for New York in five short weeks for our long awaited honeymoon!!!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
How I learnt to stop worrying and love the contract.
Finally. It is done. Well, mostly!
After nearly six weeks of sitting around watching the grass grow on our block and having nothing of any real note happen (well, there is now one fence up, but that's about it) we've finally signed our contract! This of course, was not without excitement on Sare's and my behalf. Chantell had sent through a copy of the contract with the drawings in advance of signing the contract, and after careful inspection, we identified several things that were, shall we say, not quite right.
Instead of the site costs we'd been advised of, there were extra charges of $8k! Other minor details included our verandah not appearing on the drawings, no door in the garage, the window on the studio not being increased in size and windows and sliding doors being reversed. To Metricon's credit, Chantell and Jamie acted rather quickly and ensured that all items had been adjusted as variations for when we signed the contract.
After we'd managed to sign the contracts (every page of the document, in triplicate) we started to feel like superstars having to sign our autograph for the fans. Of course, the only fans in this case were Metricon, as we've just committed a sizeable chunk of NAB's money and our next thirty year's earnings over to them.
Thankfully after the contract was signed we managed to complete our electrical appointment with a minimum of fuss. Ensuring that plenty of powerpoints were added was the priority, although the additions of Cat 6 Data cabling to four different points of the house was also pretty important (to me at least!). The dream is to have the entertainment completely integrated, although that's probably going to take a little more effort down the track. At the cost of not getting the house completed with downlights, we will have the speakers wired throughout the house, which will definitely make Sare happy as she won't be tripping over wires everywhere!
So all in all, some pretty good progress. NAB has been provided with a copy of the contract now, so hopefully there won't be any issues with getting it all approved. All that's really left now for us is to complete the tile and Studio M selections appointments on Saturday. How exciting!
After nearly six weeks of sitting around watching the grass grow on our block and having nothing of any real note happen (well, there is now one fence up, but that's about it) we've finally signed our contract! This of course, was not without excitement on Sare's and my behalf. Chantell had sent through a copy of the contract with the drawings in advance of signing the contract, and after careful inspection, we identified several things that were, shall we say, not quite right.
Instead of the site costs we'd been advised of, there were extra charges of $8k! Other minor details included our verandah not appearing on the drawings, no door in the garage, the window on the studio not being increased in size and windows and sliding doors being reversed. To Metricon's credit, Chantell and Jamie acted rather quickly and ensured that all items had been adjusted as variations for when we signed the contract.
After we'd managed to sign the contracts (every page of the document, in triplicate) we started to feel like superstars having to sign our autograph for the fans. Of course, the only fans in this case were Metricon, as we've just committed a sizeable chunk of NAB's money and our next thirty year's earnings over to them.
Thankfully after the contract was signed we managed to complete our electrical appointment with a minimum of fuss. Ensuring that plenty of powerpoints were added was the priority, although the additions of Cat 6 Data cabling to four different points of the house was also pretty important (to me at least!). The dream is to have the entertainment completely integrated, although that's probably going to take a little more effort down the track. At the cost of not getting the house completed with downlights, we will have the speakers wired throughout the house, which will definitely make Sare happy as she won't be tripping over wires everywhere!
So all in all, some pretty good progress. NAB has been provided with a copy of the contract now, so hopefully there won't be any issues with getting it all approved. All that's really left now for us is to complete the tile and Studio M selections appointments on Saturday. How exciting!
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