Still waiting...

Monday 20th September 2010

Yes, I have been slack with the updates, which is pretty much representative of the progress. Nothing is happening.

I've checked in with the builders a few times in the last few months but they're waiting for the Council to approve my builders licence before they are able to make a start on the construction. It's been about two months that my paperwork has been with the Council and waiting for them to sign off on it.

I got a call from the builder today to let me know that I should have the builders licence by the end of the week. I'm not holding my breath.

Every few weeks I've been driving past my block of land to see how my neighbours are progressing with their construction.

Here's a bit of a pictorial to show what's been happening on both sides of my block:


20 May 2010
Nothing much is happening, as you can see.

25 June 2010
Neighbours on the left are levelled out in preparation for the slab.

21 August 2010
Neighbours on the left are ready for the walls to go up.
Neighbours on the right are getting ready for their slab to go down.

18 September 2010
Neighbours on the left have the framework for their roof up.
Neighbours on the right have their slab drying.

[sings] "What about me? It isn't fair..."

When I drove by on the weekend my heart paused a beat when I saw that my land looked like it had been levelled out. But as I got nearer, I realised that it was probably just a side effect of the builders clearing the debris of bricks and cement that they had dumped onto my land while my neighbours' construction was getting underway.

The irony of all this is that someone from West Australian Housing Centre (my builders) called me on Sunday to let me know that they are offering a 'reward' of $500 for each person that I refer to them to sign up to build. I was quite frank with her in saying that after all the dramas I've been through and the way in which my contract has been handled, I would not be recommending them to anyone. That's why I got the progress call today.

Let's hope that the next post I upload will have a photo of a nice, levelled out piece of land.

Little steps...

Tuesday 23rd July 2010
I've had some dramas with the builders charging me an extra $3500 because they claim my titles took too long to issue. I've disputed this since I have email evidence that I informed them when my titles were ready and it was their oversight and lack of attention to detail that has caused a delay in my construction progress. They've backed down to give me a 'discount' but I don't think I'm going to get them to waive the whole cost. *Aargh!!*

Anyways, I'm trying to fight the battles that I can win. I got in touch with my new neighbours on the strata and they are two months ahead of me. They're expecting their slabs to go down any day now.

I went to prestart last week and finalised all my colours and fittings. I was extremely disappointed to find out that the kitchen splashback tiles I had chosen were going to cost almost $2000 extra!! Needless to say I'm not going ahead with those.

I've also changed my choice of roof tiles so that it will suit the rendering colour that I want. I think I am very happy with my final choices.

I also spent time altering my electrical plans. I consulted my cousins who are electricians by trade and I think I have come up with a good electrical plan. Lots of power points! Pity that my strata only has one phase power available.

All there is to do now is show proof that I have the available funds to pay for the variations and additional selections. They say it will take about six weeks for my final building plans to be ready and then the slab should go down very soon after that. So I'm looking at about two months until the slab goes down.

It's all getting very exciting!

Bricks

Wednesday 14th July 2010

Recently I diligently went around to various showrooms and businesses to try to complete my Prestart checklist.

I have chosen my bricks!

I have always liked the earthy toned bricks so it wasn't a tough decision. I went to visit the Austral Bricks display at the Home Base Expo on Salvado Road in Subiaco. After a bit of a wait to get some help from someone, the lady was actually very helpful and explained the brick selection to me very well. She explained the difference between 1 course and 2 course bricks. 1 course are pretty much your standard brick and 2 course are twice the size. The 2 course bricks are becoming quite popular but I still prefer the 1 course bricks. I think it gives the house more of a quaint charm, whereas the 2 course bricks give the house a more modern look.

My choice? I love the look of Dampier
I love the earthy red hues running through the bricks.

Here's an example of the 2 course 'Prevelly Limestone' bricks.

Ceramic Tiles

Monday 5th July 2010

I've been trying to go through my Prestart checklist and make sure that I'm on top of things before my Prestart interview. I've selected my vinyl floors and blinds. Today it's ceramic tiles for the bathroom, laundry and kitchen.

I went to Crosby Tiles on Albany Highway in Kenwick. I was met by a lady by the name of Jan (who proved to be very friendly and helpful) and shown to the builders standard range. I knew this wasn't going to be easy but I thought I would have a head start with the photos of the colours from the display home. Aside from knowing that I wanted a darker brown for the floor tiles, everything else that was in the display home was pretty much discontinued.

I started off by ruling out the colours that I did not want. Like the greens, the blues, the blacks, the light browns. I narrowed my choices down to three shades of dark brown.

left: my lighter brown choice
right: this one sort of had two tones

I think I am going with this one though. MOCHA.

Next...I have to choose the feature tiles. These are a way of dressing up your bathroom and there are so many different tiles to choose from, and endless ways that you can position the tiles to create different effects.

I fell in love with these tiles - different hues of brown. It looks like a packet of chocolate bars. Delicious!

I also need to choose benchtops and cupboard colours. I'm probably going to carry the same colour schemes through both bathrooms and the laundry. I'll probably just have the feature tiles different in each room to give them a bit of individuality.

I think I spent a good two hours there. I eventually left with these as my preliminary choices:

MOCHA floor tiles
DONKEY feature tiles
TUSCAN MARBLE benchtops
BIRCH cupboards

I still can't decide what colours I want for the kitchen cupboards and benchtop - I think I will have to have another look at the samples tomorrow.

The more I look at the colours, the more I worry that if I make the wrong choice, one element could really throw off the whole balance of the room. I hope it all works out alright!

Another consideration is that if I stray from the builders standard range, there are additional costs involved. There are also restrictions where there are certain ranges that I cannot select from. While it would be fantastic to be able to go in and choose whatever I want and not be limited to choices, at the same time I really appreciate the time I am saving in not having to go from store to store to find out the absolute best choice. Knowing me, I would go for the most expensive tiles. I am already going to be paying a bit extra for the feature tiles.

Land Sweet Land

Friday 25th June 2010

I drove past my block today after work. I've been told that the site works survey has been completed and I am now waiting for my contracts to be drawn up.

On the one hand, I can't help but get excited and I'm keen to hurry and start the building process.

On the other hand, in light of my career change, I am thinking that it is not a bad idea for the construction to not happen at lightning speed so that I can buy more time to figure out things.

The block one over from mine is beginning to be levelled out!

Watch this space!

Tuesday 25th May 2010

I drove past MY piece of real estate last week. It looks the same but I feel different. I actually own this little piece of land now!

It won't be long until my prestart interview so I figured I'd better start my preparations. I went to Trevors Carpets on Albany Highway, Cannington, to check out the flooring options.

Part of the basic package for the house is that I get tiles for the wet areas - the bathrooms and the laundry. I have to pay extra for flooring for the rest of the house. I want vinyl. No carpet. The reason? Well, partly because I'm asthmatic and also allergic to dustmites. Carpet is the perfect breeding ground for dustmites and it's actually their dander (excrement) that I'm allergic to. I planned to have wooden floors when I finally got my own place, but of course I can't afford wood. Plus, if I am to rent my house out in the future, I would rather not spend too much money on the flooring in fear it gets scuffed, scratched and damaged from the tenants.

I got to the store and was shown to the 'Builders Choice' range - there were about eight different patterns/styles to choose from. There are other ranges but of course the cost goes up. And it means more options. I already had a tough time making a decision with just the eight styles.

I must say, I heard that vinyl has come a long way from the days of just being plain and boring vinyl, and it sure has. You can get vinyl that imitates the look and texture of tiles, slate and wood.

	I think I've decided to go with this one. Sherwood.

I'm uncertain about choosing the flooring. I'm worried that if I make the wrong decision, it's going to throw off the whole look of the house. It's not like it's a wall that can be painted over. It's the flooring for the whole house. I'm a bit worried about choosing a darker colour because I don't want the house to appear too dark. But the storeperson reckons that in a large space the colour will appear lighter. I like the look of the darker browns. I think it looks more natural and will add a touch of class to the house.

After about half an hour of flicking through the same samples, I decided it was best to just take some photos (I hope I managed to catch the colours as closely as I could) and deliberate further.

Next stop was ABC Blinds further down the road. The lady there was friendly and showed me to the 'Builders Choice' range of blinds. I'm going to just get simple vertical blinds.

I'm opting for a very neutral 'Dove'.

and it's Settled.

Tuesday 4th May 2010

My block of land was finally settled yesterday morning. That's one major hurdle and another upcoming challenge with actually building the house.

I've had a hectic month. I was able to relish in the fact that I was able to pay off the balance of my HELP debt and enjoy over a month of being totally debt free. I thought it would be a little consolation before leaping into the biggest loan of my life to date.

I can now go out this weekend and celebrate the next 30 years of mortgage debt.