We made it !

Well again just when you thought there would be the most updates, life gets in the way again.
However here we are, the "eve" of our moving in ! Official handover and settlement took place this morning !

As usual we had to focus elsewhere in the past couple of weeks to keep the plates spinning. The final couple of bites at the apple were the whole family getting the flu, yours truly getting a double dose. So we have all been pretty much inactive for the past week.
Then when we thought we had covered all of the bases the bank wanted "another" inspection.


The delay looked like it would mean we would have to delay settlement and moving in by up to four days. Which would have had a huge domino effect. We have so many things lined up especially tomorrow, its not funny.

On the bank stuff, it really does pay to talk to the right person (not even necasarily high up) because after getting knock back after knock back from the bank, we then got a "yea sure, no problem, it will be done by lunchtime Thursday" - yay! They actually called us at 9:30am today (Thursday) saying where do you want to pick up the cheque from ?

So I must say fairly impressed with St. George, they did come though in the end.

The house is essentially finished, there are a few touch ups and a couple of appliances to go in. Fencing kicks off tomorrow, had a sparky doing some work this afternoon. The kitchen light we chose looks as magnificant as we thought it would ! (picture to follow)
The turfing should get done next week as well.
In our travels we also picked up a letterbox.
But the list of goodies we have been picking up and hording for the past 17 months is big, finally we get to unpack and use it !

Anyway here are some pics from the final couple of weeks.
As our internet and phones are going to take a while. (don't get me started) it may be a few weeks, for the next update.
We do hope to keep updating the blog with the "final final" product but won't be for a while unfortunately.

However at this time we would like to thank the people from Wisdom, they really have been a great builder, it really has been other factors that have made this build a challenge, we thank them that they have been a reliable element in the whole process.

While all staff have been courteous and helpful, we would like to especially thank Frank for keeping the construction on track and for heading a construction department that does take the worry out.
The office staff Bianca and Natasha for always helping and assisting even at times when they may have thought we were being a bit "special"
A big Thank you also to Colt and Mark who really did help us in the initial stages with some great ideas. They also provided a welcoming, friendly atmosphere for bouncing thoughts and ideas, and even just having a good old yarn.

Thanks guys.

We got a date !

Another couple of weeks go by and we are that much closer.

The kids have become a bit more active (maybe it's spring in the air) so we are enjoying spending time outside and at some of the great parks around the Ponds. Of course this does bring up a worry of when we are going to pack, so sorry the blog took a backseat for a few days.

We almost don't want to get our hopes up to much. The progress has been good, but like waiting for a big event or Christmas sometimes it seems to be slow. Still not a full realisation that "move" time will very shortly be upon us.


The main things happening have been finish off of the kitchen,
tiling in ensuite and bathrooms and painting both inside and out.
The colours have all turned out even better than expected and we have had a lot of positive comments from passers by and tradesman.

You always worry what will it really look like when your going off small sample swatches. Our internal colour on the walls was "Malamute" and it's turned out great, maybe a slight olive tinge to it we were not expecting, but works very well.

The painting on the front of the house the wife has an issue with (colour wise - not workmanship) but we'll see how it looks with a bit more done to the house.

Other items such as shelving, door painting and installation, balcony railing, staircase handrail staining, front door staining and laundry tub installation have been happening as well.

To cut to the chase we have been asking our SS for a date over the past couple of weeks. Last Monday we had a good discussion that lead to an agreement for Final inspection around the 6th or 7th and hand-over around the 9th. It finally seems a bit more real !

In a related incident the SS left the company a couple of days later. We don't think we were that hard on him, so assume it was for other reasons. The Construction Manager at Wisdom, Frank has stepped in and will finish the house for us.
We've had a meeting with him and he's certain he can still hit the dates ! Yay!




We were happy with this outcome as some companies when staff leave just leave you hanging, but it has been pretty seamless to us. So all good.






The other items getting our attention have included finishing off the process of sorting out fencing and turf quotes, which we want to get done ASAP after move in. It pays to shop around a bit and not beleive everything you hear, especially when it comes to turf.


The main next steps are termite guard, driveway and paths, concrete alfresco area, electrical final, plumbing final and then carpets and floor tiles. Then we're In !!! (of course other bits and pieces as well)

Still going strong

We are getting into the final run now. The tilers have been this week and have been doing the bathrooms and on suites.

The chippies have also been around with lots more window frames, architraves and cornicing going up.


They hung the front door as well and the inserts will be swapped later.
The Caesarstone was also installed we went with the"Urban" clour.
We sorted out that the staircase would not be able to have flat landing as we wanted but its not that big of deal.
Again pretty happy with the progress.

Powering along.

Another great leap in progress.The big items are the stairs going in. (No more ladder yay!) Then the kitchen going in with bathroom vanities as well. Also the internal doors, the garage doors and the main front door.Along with the architraves and other carpentary.










We had forgotten to an extent how the kitchen would look, especially with such small colour swatches to go by. We are really happy with the way it has turned out though. Looks fantastic. Even got a few comments from the tradies on the great colur selections.








The front door, while the style and size we wanted, had the wrong inserts. So another is being made and the one in the house at the moment will be replaced.



There has also been an issue with the stairs. We paid extra to have a flat landing in the middle but a step has been put in. We did debate to just live with it, but it was one of the things we wanted and did pay for it, so that is in the process of being redone.






Again Wisdom have been good about it, and said they had a stern talk to the stair people.
Lots of other bits, like the home theatre shelves, wall niches and the corner post on the balcony being done.







This stage has kind of crept up on us. after months of waiting and watching the time to call fencers and landscapers (lawn guys) was here !
So that's been keeping us busy getting quotes and final decisons.















It seems like someone should have said "time to pack up and sort out the outside stuff" or fired a starters pistol,or something, So we still can't belive we could be moving in a few short weeks. It's very tentatvily set for around late August. Fingers crossed !!!

Internals full speed ahead.

Lots of pictures this time around.

Over the past few days we’ve seen the insulation get installed, the outside cladding being put up and the gyprock go on. The guys were really quick and have done a good job. Something that one of the other builders in the street noticed as well.

There was an issue with the sound insulation that we asked for around the study. While we were looking at the gyprock around the study we discovered no insulation had been installed at all. This should be rectified shortly.

Today they were finding and pulling the cables through for the electricity and TV.

Finally the end is coming into sight.

It's another strange feeling that the whole "building" adventure could be at a close in a few short weeks and our purgatory of a rental house can then be vacated.

It's weird in as far as it does, but it doesn't, feel like our

house.... I suppose the operative word will be "yet"

Items such as front door, staircase and kitchen should turn up over the next week or so. Fingers crossed it's downhill from here.