Nearly 2 Years On...

It has been nearly 2 years since I started this blog.  So that would mean just under 2 years ago we signed our lives away and began the journey of building a new home.

We have definitely come a long way since then.

The most reoccurring questions I keep getting from everyone is "Would you build again with Metricon?" & "Were they (Metricon) any good?"

Since we have moved in (just over 6 months ago) we have had a few dramas (to say the least). A leaking water pipe and reoccurring cabinetry issues.

Let's face it Metricon is a high volume builder and as they claim No.1 as well. So even if they promise that everything is of good/high quality they can't promise that the tradesmen that they use will be too.

Once you have your 3 month inspection all your concerns are lodged and the appropriate tradespeople return to fix everything.

I lost a lot of personal time waiting around for tradesmen to come and fix things around the house.  Some were great and quick.  All arrived on time and if they didn't our Service and Warranty Manager @ Metricon would follow it up and make it happen at a convenient time for us.  That was great service.  Although I probably wouldn't have needed this service if a little more attention to detail was made before handover by the Builder (our Site Manager and the tradesmen who contract for Metricon.

So back to the questions....yes I would probably build with them again.  Yes their service was great...but they really need to work more closely with the contractors they use. Hopefully the complaints that we have made to Metricon about some of the contractors used at our build have been heard and noted.  

So where to now?  We are still working through our landscaping.  With the colder weather settling in it has been a little hard to get anything done.  Thought I would add some pics for inspiration.

Backyard decking...I think we may need a pool?

Decking and concrete - ready for paving

Aggregate Concreting...so glad we did this...

Our shed

Finally we have a drive-way and cross-over - no more dust in the house

Day 138 - Kitchen and Cabinetry

For a long time now we have been patiently waiting for the kitchen and cabinets to be delivered. Well the wait is over.  This week has been a busy one.  We now have a roof on our garage and the kitchen, Butler's Pantry, wardrobes have been installed.  Oh yes and the powder room, laundry and the bathrooms all have cabinets now!  I am really excited to see so much happening at the house, however I have been warned that the pace will slow down soon.

Our Site Supervisor has been churning through the house and has been really good with responding to our queries.  In my previous post I mentioned that we had hit "lock up" stage.  Well we checked the contract to see what "lock up" stage was and in actual fact it was a little different to what we had initially thought.  To cut a long story short we had our Private Inspector go through the house late last week. We received the report on Friday and sent it to our Site Supervisor and Consultant. We have now reached "lock up" stage...so bring on the fixing stage!

Below are some pics of the house from late last week....

Installation of the kitchen

 

 

Study nook and Fridge area

 

 

Butler's Pantry - Blum cupboard doors....awesome. 

Day 122 - Plaster it Up

It has been a busy week at the house.

For some time we have been waiting patiently to see more work at the house and in the past week we have seen the blueboard finished ready for render and the front two pillars (Nuvo Facade) being preped for render as well.

We also had the plasterer come through the house. 

We had a quick look on the weekend and were really excited to see the plaster throughout the house. 

We can now see the house come to life.

Our Site Supervisor told us that once the plasterers finish up the cornices will be installed and then hopefully the staircase and the kitchen will be installed.

I am yet to take a look upstairs so I am looking forward to seeing the staircase! 

Below are some pics of the house with plastering....

Hallway Entry - Theatre room on the left

 

 

 

Dining Room and Family Room - photo taken from the kitchen

Design Inspirations and Where to Look...

I thought I would take a time out in showing off our new home and start to look at interior design. 

For me this is the most exciting part of the home build. 

I get to work with a clean slate...I get to completely design the whole house and most importantly buy new things!!

I have been putting together a design board of all my favourite colours and design features.  In fact my "Inspiration" tab on the left of this blog is where I am housing most of my ideas for the interior of the house.  The new addition to this is http://www.moooi.com/collection.

I found this site when looking through the Exhibitors at the Salone del Mobile 2013 exhibition http://www.cosmit.it/en/milano held in Milan.  No I did not attend (unfortunately), however I jumped online to check out what was new in furntiure and interior design.

Mooi are not based here in Australia however Space Furniture in Richmond are their distributors.  Not sure about the rest of the capital cities but I am sure there should be Distributors across Australia...just check out the mooi site for more information.

These sites are great for design ideas...as I have mentioned in my previous blogs our "money tree" is pretty low at the moment so I am not expecting to buy the "real thing" however looking at these sites gives me a greater understanding of what I can look out for.  I intend on buying a lot of my furniture online...that is including light features. 

As I investigate further I am finding that what is available instore is often much cheaper (even with delivery) online.  Big Brown Box is a perfect example - http://www.bigbrownbox.com.au/ as too is Appliances online - http://www.appliancesonline.com.au/.

Ebay is also worthwhile as I often see great deals on pendant lights.

Enough writing from me...below are some pics from the Salone del Mobile 2013...

Euroluce - photo by Annalisa Cimmino

Euroluce - photo by Annalisa Cimmino


Below are some designs from Mooi...

 

Day 63 - First Look of Upstairs!!

It has been some time since my last post. 

The house is still being bricked up and so I wanted to give it some time before I posted more photos... 

We went passed the house today only to find the "brickies" working!  On a Saturday...we were impressed!  Looks like Metricon are running on a strict timeline and these guys need to meet it!

It is funny though...there are a few houses being built around where we live and most of them started construction when we did.  None of the houses have roofs, most are still having the frames put up.  I have to say Metricon have been very efficient in getting things organised.  That is definetly a big plus.

There has also been some development inside the house. The internal cavity doors were delivered and installed downstairs which was exciting. They still need to be painted though...so everything is still very raw.

We also got a glimpse of the work that is being done upstairs....





Main Bedroom - looking out to the balcony
 

Main Bathroom upstairs



Main Bedroom - looking into Ensuite

 

Brickwork on the house

Day 1

Today marked day 1 of the building process.

As planned the excavators started working on the block to make way for the slab. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet with our Manager for stage 1 of the building process. He was great. I drove to the site today and started to take a few photos. John (the Stage 1 Site Manager) came to greet me and take me through what was happening.

John is not going to be our Builder however he will be overseeing Stage 1 which includes the slab.

He advised us that they expect the slab to be laid by April 5 (which is 2 weeks away). We requested that the slab sit for 5 days before they commence work on the house. We have heard that it is worthwhile letting the slab sit for a few weeks (preferably) as this lets the slab settle on the site. Many have questioned this due to the advancements in concrete technology, but we thought there was no harm in letting it sit for a few days.

The only draw back we had today was when the excavators found a septic tank in the ground on site. Obviously they removed it however they have to charge us to take it away!!

John estimated the cost to be around $600. Seems that we may need to start shaking that money tree we planted a few months back!