BBQ Structure

We found this entrance structure in a street near to us.

It will give you an idea of the shape that we are looking at building over the BBQ area pavers.




Not 100% sure what we will make this structure out of - but now we have an idea of what we are wanting to out over the area below.

Seriously 6 Months!

Well today it’s been Six Months since we moved in!!!

Time has gone by so fast (in some ways) and in others it feels liked we have always lived here for years!

Thanks to everyone that has helped us out along the way.

We have a few more projects on this weekend – but we are getting closer to the finishing line every day!

It’s the Final Countdown

WOW……time is ticking away not long until we get the keys…..less then 48 hours away!

Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited… the problem is I have a major assignment due is 48 hours so I am feverishly trying to get it ready to hand in tomorrow (its over 100 pages) and another presentation next Tuesday….. so at the moment I am not really that excited – I am more focussed.

Everything is in place:

- Insurance
- Electrician
- Locksmith
- Antenna Man
- Phone Line

Moving and unpacking will be the killer as we have so much stuff!

Next steps will be:

- Retain Walls
- Fencing
- Gates
- Fill
- Turf

Then all the other landscaping…… I think now is the time the real work begins.

I have discovered how to blog from my iPhone using BlogPress (Thanks Katrina) so I should be able to update you on all progress over the coming week of madness LOL

Paving Finished!

The paving is finished on the Driveway, Porch & Alfresco and we must say we are very happy with it!

It took a little longer than expected due to the massive amounts of rain we have had in Brisbane over the last week.

We ended going with 90' herringbone & I am happy with the result!




Porch




Alfresco




Posted by Jazz's iPhone

The Block Ep 4

Yesterday was Hump Day so that means Block Day!

Ep 4 was all about the Ensuite!

And the winners were……………………….

Mark and Duncan (aka Two Fat Tradies)


They won due to great use of space…. They extended the shower space and also they installed a $3K floating vanity!!!

I totally LOVED the feature tiles in Erin and Jake’s Ensuite – so bold! I wouldn’t have picked the mirror that they did – I think it clashed with the feature tiles. The black toilet paper was very cool too! The judges didn’t like the fact that they didn’t put a door to the ensuite.

Brett and I don’t have a door to our ensuite HOWEVER our toilet within the ensuite area DOES have a DOOR…..

Neisha & John’s ensuite was nice with good finishes – I did like the fact that they kept the ceiling arch, however I don’t think the square modern tap ware really went with a curved feature??

Chez and Brenton – plain plain plain…… its like they went all out on the bold sliding doors on the first reveal and now they are in a PLAIN JANE STATE!!! They also didn’t have a door which the judges did not like!

There was a little cat fight regarding Brenton and Chez flying in a friend from QLD that was a tradie and having him sleep there….

If you missed the show you can view full Eps online at http://channelnine.ninemsn.com.au/theblock

Final Draw Down

Whoo hoo just got our final house building invoice and with variations we are only out of pocket $640.00 (Plantation even gave us $500.00 back)!

Bring on next Thursday!

Walk Through

We had our walk through yesterday with SS - here are some of the pics.... nearly there!

The count down is on!

The Blog has been Blogged!

I submitted our Blog to www.blogged.com to be reviewed and rated by the editors for Blogged.com. We received a rating of 6.7 (GOOD)!

Very happy about that!

If you would like to rate and review our blog visit http://www.blogged.com/blogs/the-house-that-jazz-and-brett-built.html


PS. I also sent in my other blog (event TH!S) http://www.blogged.com/blogs/event-this.html and it was rated 7.2 (VERY GOOD)! Also happy about that!

Why not get your blogged rated?

What is Blogged.com?
Blogged.com was created as they felt that bloggers who really put their minds and creativity into their writing deserve recognition. Blogged.com showcases the talented bloggers across the blogosphere and serve not only as a blog directory, but also as a destination where their writings can be appreciated. Bloggers are the heart and soul of Blogged.com and it is their creativity and passion that inspired us to create this site.

Our blogs are reviewed, rated, and categorized by our editors, so you won't have to experience the frustration of filtering through blogs that are either spam, outdated, or irrelevant. You'll be able to find quality blogs that you would have unlikely found through a traditional blog search.

What’s Your Style?

I saw this quiz on another H1ers site and it was so much fun – check out http://destination3977.blogspot.com/ great blog to follow!

So what is your style?

Take this quiz – it’s a bit of fun….

A playful quiz to get you started. Go with your instincts. Choose fast. What do you like? How does it make you feel? Think vibe. Shape. Mood. Inspiration. The overall look…. Love it. Define it. Make it yours!

http://www.ethanallen.com/style_quiz

I turned out to be…

METRO
The verdict is in—your style is Metro. Metro is a great modern space. Chic, comfortable, clean. Do the math. Strong horizontals plus graphic clarity plus a fearless blending of metal, woods, leathers, and wovens; minus the superfluous and the clichéd; equals urban architecture domesticated, a vision for living.

This online portfolio shows your style. Brought to life in rooms. A subtle mix of furniture, accessories, and attitude. Different “looks.” Because every home should be unique.

A contemporary haven for the art and design maven. A fearless mixture of styles punctuated with pops of chartreuse, pink, and black.

A vibrant cosmopolitan vibe. Bold splashes of orange and red add warmth and wit.

More Good News to Report!

Ok so this week I did have a bit of a whinge…..paver colours, kitchen draw & paver pattern…. All really minor things in the scheme of things and I am happy to say all fixed!

We made it threw 80+ days of a build without a hitch – so we are really thankful for that!

Pavers – SS was able to get the Birch and Rumba colours (so all good)!

Paver Pattern – We ended up going our second choice which was the 90 Herringbone Patter with a horizontal border…. As much as I did like the other style in the brochure having not been able to see one in real life put us off.

Kitchen Bin – SS came up with a great idea… they are going to move it to the other side of the dishwasher (one side of the sink) and custom build it all in!

We also met a number of retaining wall suppliers and landscaper’s today onsite to get quotes started on the outside…. I look forward to seeing what those bring!

14 days to go!

Near Map

I had a quick look on Near Map and here is the latest image of our place on the 11 September 2010.

Roof is finished.

Can’t wait to see what it will look like once the landscaping happens!

Handover – Lock it in Eddie!

We have received some great news!

We now have our official hand over date of…..

Thursday, 21 October 2010!

That is 13 days ahead of schedule!

Now for the coordination of more trades, moving and landscaping begins!

Shedding Some Light on Things

We met the electrician onsite last week for the light fitting (well some of it) we are having the majority of the lights done after the build.

Here are some sneaky shots I got over the weekend.

Kitchen Woes

You may recall a post The Big Bin Quest…..


We searched high and low for a bin draw that was big enough for us….



The designers advised that it would be better for them to purchase and install the bin that was it comes with the kitchen and less drama for us to install later down the track.


When Brett and I were out on site last week – Brett remarked that he thought that the place for the bin draw looked too small…


I thought well they are the professionals maybe it is right?


We received a call late last week saying that “drafting” had stuffed up the kitchen plans that then cupboard was too small by 7cm!!!!!!


The first option that was suggested was that they find a similar size bin draw – I said…. Yeah Good Luck With That!


Turns out that the space that is there would only accommodate half the size of a bin that would want.


So I said NO!


The next option was to re-do the whole Island Bench – stone top, tiling, pluming, cupboards etc… Which is not ideal! Not to mention time consuming!


Yesterday SS rang up and wanted to know my thoughts on changing the bin draw to the cupboard to the right of the dishwasher (under one side of the sink).


I am open to the idea as long as:

1) it is a bin draw (not cupboard).
2) it is enclosed and not open to the other side of the cupboard.
3) that we get shelves and cupboard door back on where it was originally to go.


I hope this can be sorted out….


I did raise that perhaps the bottom of the sink may be an issue with regards to the internal workings of the bin – I guess we will have to wait and see.


Our build has been so great up until the end of last week with the paving colour issues, paving pattern problem and the bin debacle….

SS and Admin have been good trying to mitigate the situation.

Paving Colour Problem

I am writing this post retrospectively as this issue has since been resolved.

I received a phone call last week from one of the designers advising me that the border paver (Rumba) we had selected is not going to be available till late October, early November - well more like some time in November.

Needless to say I wasn’t too impressed!

The option that was suggested wasn’t going to have the same effect and fit in with the house. The thing that I was annoyed about was that I had to get back to her by Monday.

Brett and I both agreed the “coffee” colour was not going to be the right substitute colour and that we would be prepare to wait.

We haven’t gone through this whole process to not get what we want.

We picked these colours back in April and there was no way we were going to spend the 25 years (or so LOL) not being happy with the driveway.

The issue for our builder is that the contracted date for hand over is 3 November as we have a guaranteed build time - so if we wait then they have to start paying us (obviously why they were pushing the coffee colour).

So we were at a stale mate and were trying to figure out the best way forward – accept a colour we don’t like, wait or removing the paving from the contract and try to sort it out at a later date…

Luckily our SS was able to track the Boral Rumba Colour down, so as far as the colour problem with the pavers is concerned that is fixed, however we still haven’t made a decided on the paver pattern debacle as yet.

Paver Pattern HELP!!!!!

I just got a phone call from “S” the paver dude asking why we have picked the 45° Stretcher Bond with flat header course pattern?

I asked why?

His response was that the has only laid that pattern ONCE in 16 years and the solders (border) isn’t strong with only being 1 brick wide?

To which I say – well why do Boral have it down as a popular pattern?

He has told me to meet them out onsite to have a look at another one they are doing tomorrow. He says that that the pattern can look too busy and they we should look at either the Basket Weave or 90 degree Herringbone.

He also asked me to look at the one 2 doors down:


I am not a Herringbone Fan – it seems like everyone has Herringbone… I told that I like to be unique – hell I have a black water tank!

The concrete driveway has been poured today.

These are the options we have – would love some feedback....

Any feedback would be great – feeling uneasy about the choice we made…..

Its Oh So Quiet… shhhh shhhh

I must apologize for the lack of blogging…..

The last week and half hasn’t been the best for us. It’s been really busy, stressful and full on…

I even had to get the Zovirax out LOL

It all started with Princess Lulu, a week and half ago she was yelping and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong 2 trips to the vet found that she had either a slipped or budging disc in her spine and that we needed to keep her still, quiet and rested to help heal it…

Now if any of you have ever met Princess Lulu, you would know she is a totally excitable, overactive toy poodle!!!

So this was no mean feat…. Brett and I have slept on the floor, sent hours sitting with her on the floor and Mum and Dad have also been looking after.

We have about one more week of tough love – hopefully in a week she won’t have to be on a lead and kept calm….. She has been pretty good I think she knows it’s for her back and she is starting to feel better.

I have had such a busy time with Work and Assignments – it never rains it pours… only 3 weeks left of my course and then I vow no more higher education for the next 10 years!

Brett has also been manic with his job trying to get his targets in for end of year etc.

We have a few issues with the build which I will blog about later in the week.

So... sorry for being quiet I know how much you all love the blog LOL ha ha who knows who even reads it but anyways – so sorry just the same!

Black Tank!

Check it out our black water tank has been installed!

Before Plumbing:

After Plumbing:

Feeling The Lock Up

When we visited the house last weekend we are now in full lock up stage with the garage door on!

Looking good!!!!!

We seem to think we have another 4-6 weeks left – coming in earlier than the contracted date if all goes well!

Painting the Town Manhattan and Athena!

Here are some drive by pics of the house – which is starting to get some colour!

Downpipes will be the same colour as the house.

The inside has also been painted in Martini!

Here are some drive by pics of the house – which is starting to get some colour!

You can see our neighbours have cut their block – so things are moving along in the street.

Good News on the Chip

Was informed that the SS had already picked up the issue of the 20mm chip and it will be rectified!

Fingers crossed that it isn’t long to go now.