Day 245

We are getting close to the end, as evidenced by the following photos. However, as we look forward to a brand new start in a more spacious home (our current house is a 15m2 1960s clinker brick with 1 bathroom and no storage) we are bracing ourselves for more frustrations and disappointments. Earlier on in the build we were out of our league in terms of building know-how and unable to tell whether things have been done properly but now as the finishes are installed any defects/ discrepancies are more easily detectable by building ignorant people like us. An acquaintance told us it took one year for her house to be built and another for it to be fixed! We are bracing ourselves for the worst. Our pessimism has been borne out of optimism - if we expect the worst we could only be pleasantly surprised! Ha! 

Front "solid" door installed

Front door stained Cabot Jarrah- colour does't match the gable and garage door  

Exposed aggregate driveway

Outdoor area

Concreted outdoor area

Plastering of portico area - front entrance

Balustrade - not quite what we were expecting 

Spotted gum floorboards

Resolution of issues.... NOT!

It's been almost a month since we raised the 'not quite right' issues with the SS. The only thing that has been resolved is the down light positions in the kitchen and family area. Despite the down light issue being quite obvious we were told there was nothing wrong with them - that they were spaced evenly and that the electrician would have installed the down lights in those positions for a reason such as to avoid metal, joist/trusses etc. It took several phone conversations, emails, and 3 weeks of frustration culminating in an email in which we attached photos we took pre plaster (to show there was nothing in the way to prevent repositioning of the down lights) and our indication that we were prepared to escalate the matter further before something was done. We got a call from our SS the following morning asking whether we could come to the site as the electrician would be there that afternoon. When we saw the electrician the first thing he said was that he agreed with us about the lighting. Then, the SS also said he agreed.....

In regards to the other issues:

• The crooked window was actually a crooked cornice. There was approximately a 5mm difference between the top right corner and top left hand corner of the window when measuring from the cornice. Since building tolerances allow for up to 4mm difference the most Metricon would do was to shave off 1mm from the cornice. However, it was portrayed to us that although it could be done it would not make much of a difference and that it was not worth the effort.
• The SS told us that he had contacted the ducted heating company and was told that they had installed the required 14 outlets and that we had made a variation to the contract, which explains why the 15th outlet was not installed. This is a load of @#$%. We did no such thing. The plans clearly shows the ducted outlet and the contract clearly says that we paid extra for it. We do not know if this has been rectified yet. 
• We feel basically defeated about the linen cupboard, whose shelves fall short. The issue was that (unfortunately) the elevation drawings for it were missed by all. While the house plans show the line of the linen shelves going all the way to the cupboard door, with no elevation drawings Metricon's argument is that they installed what they charged us for which were standard shelves (for a cupboard that was not standard!). Pointing out to them that the contract did not state 'standard' shelves made no difference. We were told the company that does the intallation do not make non standard sizes!!!

Not quite right?!

Some of the things we have noticed recently and have informed our SS. Let's hope these get rectified. These includes:

1. Missing ducted heating outlet in ensuite

Where is the ducted heating outlet?

2. Crooked window - this was raised previously and the brickwork on the outside was redone, however, this still looks crooked on the inside.

RHS window in main bedroom slightly crooked

 3. Kitchen down lights skewed to one side (left hand side)

Kitchen down lights

 4. Family room down lights and fan provision (where batten light is) is positioned closer to window side and should be more centred. Hard to tell from this angle.

Family room lights

Batten light should be centre of fireplace but located to the left

5. Shelves fall short in linen cupboard.

Day 213 Tiling

Tiling started yesterday. Here are some pics:

Ensuite 

Laundry

Ground floor bathroom

As the tiling was the last visit of our 'colour selection' we were exhausted and overwhelmed by the cumulative cost of the build and therefore just went with the standard inclusions. We would have loved to have tiled to the ceiling. When we saw the tiler on site in our ignorance we asked whether it would be possible to get someone to tile up to the ceiling at a later stage. We were told that it wouldn't look right because of the way the tiles are initially aligned/positioned. Bugger!

Day 210 Garage door

Drove past yesterday evening and noticed that they have installed the new Colorbond Timberlook Garage door (Classic Cedar - light colour). The initial impression was disappointment when I noticed the colour difference between the Gable slats and garage door. We had based our colour selection on the Metricon Plantation design we had seen at Metricon display homes (e.g Mornington Peninsula), on the Metricon website and other Metricon homes on the internet. In addition to the timber-look Colorbond garage door, the front door will be stained Cabot Jarrah. But as you can see the gable slats don't look quite right. In addition to the colour (or lack of it) the slats are quite wide apart. 

Garage door

Gable

This is how the gable should like at Metricon Mornington

Other issues:

Front door - we found out a few weeks ago that the "solid" timber door we thought we had upgraded to was not solid enough for the door handle we chose. We had chosen this door handle from a selection presented to us at Studio M (after having chosen the so-called "solid" timber door) - it was not a special order! The upshot was we had to pay for another upgrade to a "solid", solid door (which is basically a double upgrade) otherwise our only other option was the standard door knob handle!!

Other updates:

Painting (internal) is all done and looks good. The electricians, telecommunications and cabinet guys have been in the property the last couple of days to do some of the electrical fit offs and wardrobes. 

Bedroom 3 wardrobe

Bedroom 2 walk in wardrobe

Main bedroom

Heating and cooling vents, lights

TV points and power points

Staircase storage room

Staircase storage room

Staircase storage room

Day 200

Painting started about 2 weeks ago. Our SS uses a particular painter to do the whole job  and will take about 3 weeks.

We also received the fixing stage payment request 2 weeks ago, which is 25% of the build cost.

In the meantime, we have been organising landscapers to come over and give us some ideas and cost of landscaping our ideal garden.

Here are some pics of the progress:

Staircase

Staircase

Upstairs leisure room

Entry

Study room

Family room

Hallway

An inlet pipe from the gas main in the street was connected and then located to the front RHS of the property. Gas meter connection to the gas outlet should be soon. Noticed the electrical wire (white wires on the left side of photo) is very close to the gas inlet. Is this safe???

Day 184 Plaster and Cabinets

Plastering commenced 3 weeks ago followed by delivery of the cabinets. Lock up has occurred along with the payment request.  Painting will be starting very soon.

Here are some pictures:

Family room

View of outdoor area

Dining area

Hallway

Temporary ladder to upstairs

Bathroom

Doors delivered

Kitchen with cabinetry

Kitchen

Kitchen

Laundry cabinetry

Staircase!

Stairscase

Bathroom with waterproofing

Main bedroom ensuite

 

More pictures with the brickwork repairs and still more to go.

Brickwork removed due to bowing of the brickwork above the window. 

Brickwork done with support.

  

Brickwork repaired at base of pillar after a big chunk was removed with a bobcat