Getting there slowly but surely ...

We’ve hit the three-quarter-complete mark and there has been a lot of building action. The site supervisor remains impressive and I’ve been getting 24 hour turn-around time for any emails I had sent, which is quite acceptable for a person who is supposed to be on-site ensuring things are rolling according to plan. The main entry door was installed and although it is a replacement of what we had chosen initially, looks great. As mentioned earlier our choice of Corinthian Elegance model was not available in a size greater than 920mm; however, Madison models are now available in rosewood and oak veneers which are suitable for clear finish.

 

 

Also installed were the garage doors... We’ve chosen B&D Panelift® in Madrid profile, which is part of the premium range. Without the driveway and the balustrade for the balcony, the door looks a bit out of place but I guess the shale grey colour will get more definition once the house is complete.

The delivery of the main floor tiles was delayed by a week and this pushed things like kitchen installation by a week but Casaview managed to complete everything else it could while waiting for the tiles to arrive. From my calculation the delay was only 5 days because as of yesterday the garage was full of boxes of tiles, quite a lot of them and two gentlemen were evaluating the stock and marking the areas. So everything is back to normal ... it seems.  

The copper shower tray waiting to be installed and water-sealed.

The wall insulation in bedroom two.

The kitchen has been decided too ...

The final kitchen meeting also took place on later part of July where we had to reconfirm the fittings we chose for the kitchen. Brindabella Kitchen is Casaview’s nominated kitchen manufacturer and our experience with them has been truly amazing. “Measure twice, cut once” seemed to be the representative’s motto as he went through every detail again in great detail. Just like every other part of Bennelong 28, its kitchen is truly impressive. As far as the design is concerned, we were given the layout as displayed and were allowed modifications but we chose not to given our attachment to the displayed layout. Door handles as displayed and aluminium kickboards came as standard but we had to upgrade a number of things so that it has the same look and feel as the one displayed – 40 mm slab ends for the island bench, glass splashback, polyurethane doors and soft-close mechanism.

Bennelong 28's kitchen as displayed at Homeworld Gledswood Hill.

The upgrade package we purchased had 40mm Caesarstone, Dorf mixer tap, 900 mm cooktop, double oven, dishwasher, canopy rangehood (externally ducted), microwave oven and Polytec sheen finish door, which we forfeited for a poly finish.

Tiles have been locked ...

The house is almost three-quarter complete and a lot has moved since my last post. We have met and sealed the tile requirements – some pretty tough choices. Casaview has a pretty extensive range of tiles to select, covering different sizes, colour, texture and make for all living areas, wet areas and external. The Bennelong display home at Gledswood Hills uses a really beautiful dark greyish porcelain but because we weren’t too keen on polished porcelain, we chose a similar product in matt finish, for a tad bit extra.

We also had to pay for a premium grout as the standard white that was provided wasn’t satisfactory and from experience they are harder to manage. It’s worth mentioning, that unlike many other builders, Casaview provides metal edging/trims for bathtub hobs and if a niche exists within the design as standard. It looks much nicer than the PVC ones that discolour over time, especially near bathtubs due to continual drenching.

Here's hoping the final look and feel of the tiles laid out is satisfactory.