Mini Slab Day

We needed a slab to accommodate the big mother Panasonic split system external unit. We asked our super if we could arrange this over the break and he said ok. Looked at a tradie but decided to employ ourselves. laid out a 500 x 1200 timber template, mixed up 13 bags of concrete and applied some expertise (guesswork) and hey presto....

After this we realised we could have done the house slab ourselves, only trouble is that it would have taken about 1000 days.

100 days

Well here we are 100 days since start day on August 28th. House looks buff and bold. Everything on the outside is essentially done. Plaster is all done and painting is WIP and we awaiting the commencement of laying the porcelain. Here are some pics of outside inside.

Comfordable

Stumbled into Freedom Furniture yesterday and picked up an Andersen MKII Modular 2.5 Seat Left Hand, Corner, 2.5 Seat (Armless) & Chaise Right Hand NEW, NOW $3299, was $4299 now $2499 respect!. Bought this yesterday and will go great on the upstairs leisure room.

The fabric is great and the colour is called Nappa Bark! who names these things?

Should fit out the Leisure Room (here's the display home pic) perfectly.

Reindeer Up

So relieved that the world didn't end yesterday otherwise the house would have never got finished, those Mayans were always such practical jokers. Anyway the work re-fired up today and surprise surprise the rendering went on. Looks similar to the imperial in Balwyn as it's the same colour DUNE on the Oak Park Facade and with Tawny Heritage 50 mill bricks (thin Bricks)they are a perfect replica. Painters were also back for the final prep before they go full bore. Friday saw the Garage internal walls painted so it's becoming very real and very close. Here are some prick of the Almost finished Oak Park Facade.

We headed down to Bay Swiss Leather Republic today and caught a glimpse of what may be our next furniture option.

Spaciously Humungious

Plaster went into the Garage this week, so glad we upsized the garage to 3 car size but turned the 3rd into a storeroom. The extra space means no sharing of car accommodation with "stuff", no squeezing past things no "stuff hanging above to wall on "stuff" falling on cars or becoming a home for wasps or other creepy crawlies.

The store room option was expensive as we added windows, extra light fittings and power, but i'm sure it will pay for itself in convenience and flexibility. We also retain the option of making this an extra room as it's insulated top and side and would only require a stud wall and hey presto, that could be bedroom number 6, which could be handy if a village comes over to stay for the weekend.

We also opted for the a roller door at the rear of the garage meaning that you can drive right through making the rear yard super accessible.

Tiles where also delivered yesterday, so cant wait to they start to go down. We chose 600 x 300 porcelain in Alto Beige with Artic Charcoal for feature shower walls, Verbatim to the Imperial display home in Belmore road Balwyn.

Here are

shots of the tiles from the Beaumont tiles site

Adding a Nest to the Nest

Earlier this year saw the launch of the Nest Home Thermostat. Quite simply the coolest looking thermostat on the market.The guy behind it is ex Apple, so it was always going to be brilliant design and functionality. The elusive question is will the Metricon Breamar unit accommodate the new nest learning thermostat? If not why not?

www.nest.com

WATCH THE VIDEO here...

http://www.nest.com/inside-and-out/#how-nest-learns

If anyone has any ideas I would be keen to know

Painting Time

Well here we are on Saturday December 8 and painting is well and truly underway. Makes one hell of a difference. It opens up the canvass and lets you imagine the final product. I notice that Metricon only use top quality paint, including Dulux professional and Intergrain professional wood finishes which is a very pleasant surprise. You can see they don't cut corners, probably only coat one of thee but love the colour selection which is grand piano and grand piano half for the wall. looks great! and so far the quality is brilliant! Well done Metricon. We may add some feature walls in the future but best to see the effect before those decisions are made. Painting takes 5 full working days so i'm told.

Our site superviser Andrew T, would have to be the standout of the build, site is totally clean and highly organised. Respect!

Roof-a-Licious Garage

Garage, trusses and roof went up this week, plus balcony floor, additional plumbing and work continued in pre-painting and plastering. Brick left overs from the site were retained and we arranged for them to be moved to a good spot at the rear of the property. We have almost enough bricks for an extension (just kidding) but we should have more than enough for 3 brick posts and outdoor room perimeter walls, which we plan to do after handover.

The Roof plumber mentioned that the steel roofing system is fantastic, very strong, undermount system which is meant to be cyclone proof. Luckily this is Melbourne so I guessing we wont have a chance to test it.

Looks like well have enough spare bricks 50ml and 100ml for an extension (just kidding). Its amazing how the simple act of installing the garage roof adds a whole new dimension to the property. Because its a 3 car garage or 2 plus storeroom, it make a massive space. After all how many so called 2 car garages can fit two cars in them? I'm guessing none, because people fill them up with crapola. We already have a medium sized shed down the back corner so this space will be clean and clear(he thinks).