Handover ...

Yahoo ... we've been given a handover date of 31 October, just 17 days delayed and which is impressive taking into account the bad spell of weather and the minor delay in tile delivery. This builder doesn't have a PCI system where clients get to inspect the build couple of weeks before handover. Instead they remedy all issues before the handover and if, in the unlikely event (according to them) any defect is found they have 10 days to rectify it. I can trust their confidence because I am impressed overall at the quality of work.

Already getting quotes for things that builder doesn't include in their "package" - fence, screen doors, TV antenna, turf, clothesline and mail box.

Daylight or Warm white ...

No building project is stress-free and ours was no different, there were some minor hiccups but they were promptly addressed by the builder. The only gripe I have is about the builder not specifying the colour of down-lights they were about to install and it wasn't noted on the job sheet or plan. Light installation was only a week away when I emailed to query if they are installing daylight colour LEDs to be told that warm white LED lights have been ordered and it is what the builder usually puts standard. 

Now because this was not a standard item and, in fact, accounted for most of our electrical variations cost, I refuted their stance. I lost the argument ofcourse and had to cough up $176 restocking fee. I still feel it is the builder's administrative error but paid the fee to avoid any delays to hand over.   

Passed the 90% completion mark ...

Things seem to be moving according to plan ...
Noticed that painting has begun and the Taubmans Crisp White does look what we expected it to be. The stairs have been installed and we noticed a minor omission which the SS has kindly agreed to rectify.

The homes around us are at different stages of construction. Had a great pleasure of talking to to our neighbors building behind our lot, their homes with Allcastle Homes is complete and we have finalised the common fence. Casaview Homes is building the home on our left and the property on the right has some new builder doing a home with granny flat.

A minor set back but we're back in the game ...

It has been a while since I've updated this blog but here's what's been happening. As stated earlier the main floor tiles were delayed and this has pushed back other essential fittings by at least two weeks. The kitchen which was supposed to be installed on 25 August was finally installed on 10 September. 

To minimise further delay to tiling, the tile supplier made an administrative error on the selected grout and the whole floor was grouted using the standard off-white/grey grout. Luckily for us, I made a rushed decision to visit the site a day after grouting was completed and as I entered the house, the cheap looking standard grout greeted my eyes. At first, the site supervisor said that this is as grey as you get but because I've been working with colours for the past 18 years, I stood my ground and he kindly agreed to investigate. He was prompt and I got a call from the supplier admitting that an error had been made and whether I wish to get a refund for the upgrade or wish for them to rectify the situation. I chose the latter and they began working on fixing the right grout. 

This is where I was introduced to the term efflorescence which basically means grouts could react with chemicals in the slab and produce a whitish discoloration in some rare case. So its a wait and see if this happens to our grout ...  

Some picture of the bathrooms ...

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.

Insulation & internal walls ...

The works on installation of internal walls started last week, immediately after insulation and electrical rough-ins were completed. We were offered thicker insulation batts as part of the upgrade package, hence Casaview has insulated the walls with R2.0 batts (up from standard 1.5) and the ceilings with R3.5 batts (up from standard 2.5). The R-value is the heat resistance and the minimum requirement for Sydney is R1.5 for both walls and ceilings.

And now for the internals ...

Now that most of the externals have been completed, work has begun inside. Met with the site supervisor Friday 04 July to go through the work scheduled for the following 8 weeks and all looks in order as Casaview has been remarkably efficient despite spells of wet weather during the framing and bricklaying stage.

 

The inside works has begun on Monday 07 July with the installation of the ducting for the air conditioning and I was allowed to inspect and confirm the locations of the ducts and outlets. The air conditioning guys were a nice bunch and very knowledgeable. We ended up leaving everything as originally planned. Cool!

 

The electrical rough-ins, wall and ceiling insulation and plasterboard installation will follow in coming days. Waterproofing of all wet areas would be interesting as Casaview uses copper shower tray in addition to standard waterproofing technique and they’re one of the very few builders in the country who do this.

 

Bennelong's main bathroom, as displayed at Homeworld South 



We encountered a minor hiccup where the door we had upgraded to isn’t available in a size greater than 920 mm but the builder has been very proactive in getting a similar design and as an added bonus agreed to also stain the jambs, which were originally marked to be painted. Thanks Casaview J

Halfway there ....

We’ve reached the halfway mark...

The bricks have been laid, the fascia, gutters and downpipes have been installed and the roof is almost complete. The house seems to have attained its final physical form and looks pretty impressive, although the bricks still haven’t been cleaned. There hasn’t been much action in the last week and the work scheduled for completion this Monday hasn’t. I guess things are still pretty much on time.

Thanks to Casaview for allowing one last minute variation without any drama and I must say we still haven’t had any issues of concern with them.

It was great meeting another “Villager” last week who is building a beautiful single storey a few houses away from us, with the same builder. On sharing notes on our experiences so far, it was delighting to know that Casaview’s impeccable record is still intact.  

Brickwork in progress ...

The brickies have been at it throughout last week and have given our home more definition. We are satisfied with brickwork and are sure it will look even more beautiful once they’ve been cleaned. Some images of the job completed so far ...



The bricks are here ...

The bricks were also delivered on this day and I was given the opportunity to inspect them and provide feedback. Casaview’s chief carpenter was present and quick to point out a number of issues to gauge my reaction. While the colour is almost identical to the sample we saw, there are streaks and crevices on some of the bricks. Casaview has advised me that they would reject any brick with such abnormality and that they would consult with Boral to seek their resolve for this.

The delivered bricks with the crevices on most facing surfaces.

Boral Graphite, the colour is almost identical to the sample
but this particular brick shows obvious aberrations.

The brickies were also present to prepare the site for their brickwork commencing Monday 5 May.

The frames are complete ...

Last Friday, I was allowed inside to see how things were progressing and had a good walk-around tour of the site. I was thoroughly informed on a number of things and was very impressed with the details such as the quality and grade of timber used for different parts of the house, the difference between full treated pine and T2 treated pine and the role of different reinforcements (metal and wooden beams).  A good photo opportunity, hence the following...

Entry

Garage

Hallway from Entry

Formal

Living

Raked Ceiling from Lounge



Plumbing for Island Bench

Alfresco

Upper Living Area

Master Bedroom, showing WIR 

Ensuite, from Master Bedroom

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 4



The frames are up ...

The frames were delivered on 4th April but the framing could only start on 9th. The ground floor frames and the flooring were completed on 16th April. Casaview Homes ought to be complimented for the effort they put amidst very bad weather - unpredictable on most days.

The frames for the rest of the house and the windows have all been delivered and we're expecting some hammering action (not on the windows ofcourse), all within the short working weeks.

Slabisation ...

The builder has been busy since Monday. Tuesday afternoon we visited the site to be astonished by the amount of work done. The frame for the concrete was all set up and the waffle pods and steel reinforcements were all in place. An independent engineer was inspecting these to ensure that things were done according to engineer’s specifications.

And we had this amazing sight the next day. The slab has been poured and the usual question "why does it look so small" still hasn't been answered.

More action ...

Casaview has nominated Mr Enzo Palumbo as our site supervisor.

Work has begun and Casaview has been very swift in their actions. We were notified that the piering would be done on Friday 7 March which, in fact, was completed a day earlier. By Friday the site was ready for the plumbing and slab and a fence erected Saturday morning.

Some images below ...