Thursday, June 11, 2009

PCI Measles time!

Hello all,
We had our PCI today, it took about 2.5 hours and at least a box or two of dots. By the time we got there, the SS had already been through and put dots everywhere he thought there was a problem. There was a serious case of measles!

Now for the geek admission, we had previously sat down and created spreadsheets to cross check everything in the contract, PCV's and BV's on a room by room basis. So armed with 24 pages of spreadsheet, we worked our way through each room ticking off light switches, power points, fly screens, key locks, etc on the spreadsheet to what was in each room/area. That's how we found out there were no HDMI cables fitted off on the walls and no push plugs in the bath or spa. We also found we bonused an extra alarm sensor and a double power point.

The block had been cleared (unfortunately) so instead of the sand/gravel that was in the driveway, the bobcat had moved all the dirt up and around, result?? 4 inches of mud!! OMG how are we ever going to move stuff in with all this mud and how am I ever going to get it clean?

Unfortunately we had some camera problems so I do not have a lot of photos.
Ensuite with measles..
Our SS was pretty furious with the plasterers. Seems that they did not end up coming back until yesterday, which meant that the painters could not come back to finish off either. Add to that with this colder weather the plaster is taking longer to dry. That means that the house was not up to his standard at the PCI. When we arrived the cleaner was there trying to clean it up a bit because she has been pushed back because of the plasterers as well. She was lovely and kept apologising because she had not been able to do a better job. She was booked for yesterday which was when all the trades should have been completed.

Bed 4 with a large plaster repair, you can see that the plaster still is not dry.
One of the heat lamps was blown in the Tastic, and it was not seated properly in the ceiling.

They forgot the shroud for the range hood cover. The hole should be covered by the shroud once it goes in.
More plaster bit fixes, this time in the lounge room. Also because I love this room.
I'd like to say it went well, and it kind of did. We did not find anything major, just lots of paint spots, dings, doors that needed adjusting, plaster issues, a missing man hole cover, lots of blow outs in the mortar, chipped bricks, grout touch ups, missing seals on doors etc.
In one way it was really a relief because of all the other arrangements for flooring, carpets, time off that would have needed to be juggled if we had to push it back. In another way, I too was really angry at the plasterers. It was "finished enough" but I was expecting to see a basically clean, completed house and to find the huge plaster bits in some rooms was really off putting and did not look finished at all. Not to mention the mud!
We have to trust our SS at this point when he says it should all be done by next week. He has been true to his word so far and has always said that there will be issues, but once he knows about them that he will get them fixed and he has.
So we are feeling quietly confident that we should get handover next week.
Good luck with your builds people!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Finishing off bits and pieces...

Hello all, this post is really bits and pieces.

With PCI later this week, most of the week has been spent getting bits and pieces done to finish it off. Firstly, the insulation went into the roof. Bl**dy plasterers did not tie the manhole into the frame as they are supposed to, it seems. So when the insulators climbed up into the roof, the plaster came off and one of them nearly fell through it, one of the painters told me. I know it might sound callous, but thank god it was not us trying to get into the ceiling.
I think we have been pretty lucky with just about all of the trades we have had apart from the plasterers. You can see where they have put the surround back and just left the hole in the plaster.
According to the SS, he told them last Wednesday about this and about a hole in the laundry. They were supposed to have it fixed that arvo. Then Thursday, then Friday, as the painter is coming back over the weekend for the final touch ups and it's being cleaned Wednesday.

We were there Saturday and the plaster was still not fixed in the laundry, so I don't think they have been.

Any way, enough doom and gloom, shower screens now installed... This is the bathroom, love the feature tiles!

Ensuite with shower screen installed..
Feature wall in our bedroom, Dulux Enchantress, love it!
Feature wall in the formal lounge room, Dulux Enchantress again. It's a bit dark in this picture but it is stunning against the chalkdust white architraves and the 2pac mantel.
All the outside painting has now been completed, meter box, firebox cover, lintels and the laundry door.
Alarm box which to my mind is upside down. But apparently, it does not matter????
Kitchen under cupboard lights installed. Love that splashback (any excuse for more kitchen pics LOL)
Close up of the under cupboard bench lights, I think they look really cool.
And our mirrors are all in too. Couldn't resist this one either.

Had a call on Friday from the SS to let me know that it is all on track. So, Thursday is the PCI and fingers crossed, it all seems pretty good at the moment. Assuming of course, that the plasterers eventually show up and fix things!!
Cheers all and good luck with your builds!