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!!!