Thursday, March 12, 2009

Plastered.. I wish!

Hi all,

Bricking was finished last Thursday.





This week has seen some interesting developments. Our plasterers, who were supposed to show up on the 25th February finally found the house and started yesterday (Wednesday). I can say, without fear of contradiction, that these guys are only in it for the money. No pride in their work, no care factor, basically if they gave a continental, they would not be there. Perhaps we have been lucky with the majority of trades on our site, most of them have been pretty good.

We can only hope that when they stop the plaster that they can fix all the dings, dints, holes, crumbled edges etc that we are seeing so far. And that they are alot better at stopping than hanging. Also, we found sound screen on the floor where it had obviously fallen out, as you can see from the pic below




We know because we tried to put it back in the night before. The plasterers had trodden on it and it would not stay in. So much for the "plasterers are required to put it in, it's part of their contract". This is the room and it's been plastered, sound screen still on the floor...


Good news (I think) is that the bi folds have arrived and are sitting in the garage. Perhaps the bricks will get cleaned before they go on, but then again, perhaps not. Also the spa has been delivered and it is the right one!
Below is the lounge room with the larger windows and the spa there in the corner...

So, more plastering to come. Looks like they might have run out of ceiling boards.. This is the dining room with french doors to the alfresco...


On the still waiting front, nothing has happened with the guttering issues, nor with the holes in the roof/tiles. Now when it rains, the water will go down the wall, into the insulation batts and against the plaster that has now been hung. Similarly, the roof truss has not been fixed but the ceiling has been hung. The missing HDMI cable for the family room was not put in before they hung the plaster either. Looks like a call to the main man might be in order.

Sorry guys, feeling a little melancholy over this. Reading some other blogs with issues, I guess I am just waiting to have major issues as well, although secretly hoping that it will all turn out ok. We also have to start getting our current house ready to put on the market, not fun at all!!! Still no sign of a lock up invoice, they need to get the bi folds on, roof fixed and front sidelight secured still. So, no invoice this week. Much better that the bank keep their money for a bit longer.
Have a great week every one!

15 comments:

Thuy said...

Hey BB, the house is really coming along! Its been awhile, but I think it looks great!

No build is without its problems, but i've got my fingers crossed for u that ur's will go relatively smoothly ;)

Plastering really makes the house look like a house...it wont be long now before u get fixing and painting done!

NoShitSherlock said...

Hi J,
Chin up - it can't be all smooth sailing...that would go against anything anyone has ever said about building a house, wouldn't it? That sound screen issue would definitely p... me off though, I can see your frustrations there. I'm sure the plaster will end up looking great - I'm concerned about ours as well, but I'm thinking it might be best for me to just stay away until it's done and then see how it looks..?? I have enough grey hairs already!
As for the big invoice - I got mine last Friday with a big 'congratulations your house has reached lock-up' letter. I had to reply to that e-mail saying that, until the bi-folds arrive, I don't think they can actually lock the house up, so I will not be authorising a 'lock-up' payment until they can!! So there!! A week of interest saved so far. Lol..oh the joys!!

Good luck putting the house on the market. I found the more you pack up and move out of the house, the less you have to clean up when someone comes for an inspection. My mum has so many boxes of toys in her shed it's not funny!

Hope it all turns out well.
Mandy

Hels said...

There's always one lot of tradies who do a crap job. With my last house it was the painter!
I hope the plaster ends up looking ok and that you get the problems fixed up soon.
Have a nice weekend.

Hels :)

Anonymous said...

Hey J,
Looks like you got the same plasterers that we have. Don't get sad, just get a camera and a bottle of vodka! Chin up sweety ... you could be building a Windsor in Keysborough. D'oh.

L

Anonymous said...

Hey J, The house is really looking fantastic - you guys have done well. Don't wait for issues to happen because they will.. be positive and it will all pan out
:-)

M&J said...

Hi BB, pity the plasterers have soured the build for you but the house is still looking great. Hope the other issues get fixed soon and I'm sure the plaster will turn out well also.

Like everyone has said, issues will arise so chin up, let SS know what needs to be fixed and you WANT it fixed and keep on smiling :) hehe easier said than done tho

K AND T said...

Oh J!!! *HUGS*
Sorry your feeling down. :-(
Bodgie tradesmen seem to be everywhere lately!
I hope it is of some consolation to you for me to say the facade looks stunning with the brickwork completed, the lounge room is looking great with the plaster that I can see and, did I read correctly... bifolds in??? Lock up achieved??? No way you are waiting until August to get your keys!!
Good Luck with putting your house on the market...but you are probably a pro at that by now seeing as this is your 3rd(?) house.
What is next for the Chateau?

R&C's Brookvale 45 Home said...

CDB, yes the plasterers are messy. We met ours the other day having sweet and sour pork in the dining room, say no more. They have been very messy but the end product has passed our son in laws checks and he is a plasterer. Lets hope yours are the same ones.

PS: And heres hoping you brick cleaner comes before the bifolds are fitted.

R&C

BelleBeau said...

Thanks for the kind comments everyone :-)

Hey Newbies, good to hear from you! Love the wedding pics, you guys look so happy. Yes, plastering certainly makes it look more homey.

Hi Mandy, LOL at your invoice. We are also "locked up" but with the sidelight space empty, I don't think it is locked up either. Fingers crossed your plaster (and ours) turns out ok.

Hi Hels, our last house the crap tradie was the tiler, so expecting stunning tiling this time round LOL.

Hey Liana, vodka huh? All I can say is that I am listed on the balance sheet of the makers of lemon ruskis as an current asset!!

Just feeling a bit let down given that almost everything else has been really good on the build. Most issues have been rectified as we notify the SS. Also the stress of selling this house too. God knows what it is worth in todays's market.

Thanks Christina, good to see you guys are at lock up too! Tell Frank to keep uploading photos I love looking at your facade!!

Hey M&J, thanks for the positive vibes. Yes you have to laugh to stay sane, although I am not strictly sure anyone who decides to build a house can be classified as "sane" LOL.

We went up today and there is more plaster hung, it so different it is almost like a real house.

Thanks for the hugs K, amazing the emotional rollercoaster that you ride during building. Yes Lock up according to the SS on Friday but as we have no sidelight just a big hole, I don't think you can class it as locked up yet.

Plastering to finish by Wednesday and the kitchen is being delivered next Thursday or Friday. Whoo Hoo!
It's all getting serious now especially because they will not move from the handover date of 11 August!!!

Thanks R&C, I hope they are the same too. You guys sound far too young to have a Son In Law, I thought C's new car was for her 32nd birthday, obviously a child bride.

No such luck with the Bi folds, they were hung Friday and the brick cleaning to happen on Monday. Bugger.

Let's hope all our issues are resolved with less rather than more grey hair LOL.

Cheers
J

G+A said...

Geez you already have plaster?? I only had plasters put up on my house this week and we started way before you. It's definitely moving very quickly for you and things are looking very good so far :)
YAY!

Lisa said...

Wow, I can't believe that they didn't put the sound batt back in!! I would be taking those photo's and talking to your SS and getting them to pull the plaster down and replace it as even the slightest gap can make a huge difference, let alone a whole section!

BelleBeau said...

Hey Althea, was just over at your blog checking it out. So glad the bricks turned out Ok for you.

Yes Lisa, have already spoken to the SS about it, he's going out monday to check it out.

Cheers
J

Lexriel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexriel said...

Hey J,

Seems like it was just yesterday you were having problem with your permit and finally you got your slab. Look at your house now!!! It's so fast!!!
You are at plaster stage now! Feel happy for you!

Hopefully your sound screen issue will be fix and won't have problem on your plaster!

Looking forward to see more pics!

R&C's Brookvale 45 Home said...

CDB,
lol at your comment about "C". Yes she is 32 again,lol. We are both young at heart otherwise we wouldn't ahve made it this far building a new home. R&C