Garden Installation Started

The contractor for Peet (land developer), Landworks started working to install our garden. This is the layout chosen by wifey.

Updated Photos

It's been quite a while since I last updated this blog. Here are some of the latest photos. Will try to post more and also provide some updates later next week.

Ducted Vacuum Installed Finally - Day 199

Apparently the ducted vacuum unit which was delivered and left at the site was stolen so Simonds had to order a replacement although it was a different model. They have installed it last 23 May but there was a certain part missing. I had to call the supplier itself to have the part delivered, it was the connector from the wall outlet to the vacuum unit itself. I had to connect it myself as I could not wait for the person from Simonds to return from his holiday. Finally, we were able to use it just this morning, 28th May.

This is how the unit looks like:

Model is Electron FB2606B

http://www.electronsystems.com.au/Vacuums.htm

EVS VACUUM MODEL TYPES

Model Type Air Watts Motor type RPM Electrical Watts - BUILDERS RANGE

2606B 340 2 stage Amekek Italia bagless unit 24750 1400

Rangehood installed - Day 191

Finally, the range hood has been installed. What was paid for was the ducting to ceiling space but we asked the installer to make it all the way to the roof vent. We had to pay extra for this as this was not included with what Simonds has paid for.

We're still missing the ducted vacuum unit. SS promised to deliver it today but it didn't happen. Not even a phonecall from him, which is quite annoying. I'll need to make a follow-up on Wednesday. Hopefully it gets done this week.

I have erected the letter box at the front of the property so hopefully I'll be getting my mails soon.

Will post more pictures later.

Furnitures Delivered, Appliances Installed - Day 189

Simonds's supplier delivered the following on 14th May - 900mm Cooktop/Oven, Dishwasher, Centralized Solar/Gas Water Heater. Central Heating/Cooling which has already been installed previously was also commissioned.

The oven range hood was delivered but the Site Supervisor forgot to book the person who's going to install it so this has to be done next week. Centralized vacuum cleaning unit will also be installed on Tuesday next week.

We have ordered for family room sofa and dining sets and these has been delivered on 13th May.

We plan to choose the mailbox which needs to be put on the front of the lawn, and other things that might also be needed next week.

Handover at Last - Day 183

After seemingly not knowing when the outstanding items will be fixed, we finally had handover yesterday.

There's only a few minor things left with the house and most of them are just cosmetic so we'll just have to claim them after the 90 days maintenance period.

Pending things include:

1. missing handle to vanity cabinets in bath and ensuite - they might have been stolen
2. door stopper to be placed in Bedroom 1 door
3. Patch mortar to bath outlet, alfresco and RHS of garage - not really noticeable
4. Infill to Alfresco (this is not according to building plans) - to be discussed with Construction Manager

Rather than wait for these to be finished, nobody knows when, we decided to have handover as we're now paying 100% mortgage plus rent, so we're losing money each day.

Removalist is booked on Saturday and appliances will be installed next week. We have our electrical appliances so we'll just use those first in cooking, heating, etc. I'll be having week off next week so most of that time will be spent in settling to the new home, moving the kid to a new school, etc.

Coloured Concrete Driveway done - Day 168

PCI completed - 21 April 2009

PCI was originally scheduled 2 or 3 weeks ago but it had to be rescheduled. Finally, it was over today.

There were about 20 minor items that needs to be fixed and 1 item which was not made according to the plans. The site supervisor was very accomodating and didn't really have any problems highlighting to him what needs to be fixed. I have signed the PCI form which stipulates that they will fix the defects within 7 days so hopefully I'll get a call next Tuesday to schedule the final inspection, after which I can schedule final settlement.

Once silicone has been applied on Wednesday, the building inspector will be able to issue the Occupancy Permit and in turn I need to submit this to my lender so they can process the final cheque which I'll be holding on to until settlement.

Hope everything goes on smoothly and hopefully there'll be no delays.

Permanent Fencing Done - Day 165

As part of the developer Peet's flying start promotion, free colorbond fencing has been provided although it didn't include the one at those portions at the left and right sides to close off the property. I asked the installer to have this included and paid them extra.

Landscaping will also be provided by Peet but this will be scheduled after we have moved in.

Permanent Fencing Started - Day 163

Permanent Fencing being Installed, portable toilet removed


Major Item - the sliding doors should have been placed side by side as per drawings, note gap in between the sliding doors

We're near the finish line now I supposse. Visited the site and found the plumbers doing the plumbing fit offs. Also noticed a few minor defects and missing pieces inside the house such as.

a. missing door stopper in Bedroom 1 door
b. common toilet door not closing properly
c. Bedroom 3 door not closing properly
d. unpainted portion in the garage
e. touch up painting needs to be done in some areas
f. power outlet at the left side of the oven not in place yet

Major item:

a. unbricked portion at the alfresco area near lounge & garage. it seems that there was a mistake committed with the placement of the sliding doors. will discuss this with the site supervisor during Initial Inspection booked for Tuesday.

With just 1 working day remaining before Initial Inspection, the following items still need to be done. If they can't be finished by Monday, they have to be done definitely before handover.

1. Painting of downpipes, paint touch-up.
2. Sound system installation
3. Bricking of small portion of Alfresco area (near lounge and garage)- major item
4. missing door stoppers, doors not closing properly
5. power outlet at the left side of the oven not in place yet
6. unpainted portion in garage
7. Concrete paving to driveway (to be done after PCI but before handover)
8. Final house clean. (before handover)

Plumbing Fit Offs, Door Knobs, Shelvings, Splashback Installed - Day 158

Practical Completion Inspection (PCI) - Rescheduled on 21 April 2009

I received an e-mail from my Customer Service Officer (CSO):

PCI has been booked for-Tuesday the 21st of April at 9am with my Site Supervisor.

Site Cleaned, Temporary Fencing Removed- Day 154

The site looks clean now with all the rubbish and debris cleared and the temporary fencing removed. All that remains is the portable "loo" which might still be needed by contractors who will be working to complete the job.

We also have a young tree planted at the nature strip infront of the house. I wonder if it's a fruit-bearing variety so I could at least have some fresh fruits for free :-)

From what I've seen, only the following remains to be done:

1. Painting of downpipes, paint touch-up.
2. Plumbing fit off - showerheads, mixers and taps, toilet bowls
3. Sound system installation
4. Bricking of small portion of Alfresco area (near lounge and kitchen)
5. Concrete paving to driveway
6. Final house clean.

I have contacted the permanent fencing contractor and was informed that they will install the fence after Easter.

Deer Park Bypass now operational

When we visited the site yesterday, we noticed that Deer Park bypass has opened so we used it going back to where we are staying at present. It only took 12 minutes from our lot to Kings Way (it usually took 20). This translates to City travel time saved of at least 8 minutes with no traffic lights from our place up until we reach Kingsway.

Some excerpts from Vicroads site:

Project overview

The Deer Park Bypass is a four lane freeway link extending 9.3 km from the Western Ring Road at Sunshine West to the Western Highway at Caroline Springs.

As the principal interstate road link between Melbourne and Adelaide the Western Highway at Deer Park carries over 70,000 vehicles per day with 10 percent of these being heavy vehicles.

The Bypass will allow traffic to and from the Ring Road to travel at freeway speeds, avoiding 20 intersections and many traffic signals compared with the old Western Highway route. When completed, peak period journeys will be reduced by up to 15 minutes.

In association with the Deer Park Bypass works, the Western Freeway/Leakes Road intersection at Rockbank has also been eliminated with a new freeway interchange opening in August 2008.

The $331 million project which is due for completion by mid-2009 is jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments as part of the AusLink agreement.

Features

Two lanes in each direction, with provision for an additional lane each way in the future when needed
Freeway interchanges with direct access at the Western Highway, Christies Road, Robinsons Road and at the Western Ring Road
Overpasses of the Melbourne-Ballarat railway line and Riding Boundary Road, Ravenhall
A bridge to take Mt Derrimut Road over the Bypass
Noise walls at some locations to help reduce traffic noise impacts on nearby residential areas
A shared path adjacent to the Bypass route for pedestrians and cyclists


Benefits
The Deer Park Bypass will benefit the local community, motorists, the road freight industry and its customers. Motorists will avoid the delays currently experienced on the Western Highway, reducing travel times and transport costs, as well as improving road safety.

Traffic congestion on the Western Highway through Deer Park will be eased. This will help reduce delays and traffic noise within the local community and improve safety for local traffic and pedestrians. Urban amenity for the community within Deer Park will be enhanced with the reduction of traffic conflict between local and through traffic.

The Bypass will provide better and more direct access from the Western Freeway to the Western Ring Road and to Melbourne’s ports for both local and interstate produce.

Other benefits include improvements to the environment through reduced emissions from vehicles idling at intersections, and increased regional economic growth through improved freight efficiency and freight and logistics.

Elimination of the Western Freeway-Leakes Road intersection at Rockbank will improve safety and reduce delays for local traffic and freeway users.

Vanity Basins, Splashback, Door Knobs Installed - Day 151

After several exchanges of e-mails with my CSO and after discussing the issue with the Site Supervisor, the vanity basins has finally been installed. The issue was escalated to the Construction Manager and they managed to get stocks from a different supplier with ours getting high priority. Props and kudos to Simonds for a job well done and for making this happen in a short span of time.

Also noticed that the splashback and door knobs has also been installed. Will post photos as they become available.

There are still a few outstanding issues remaining and we're hoping that this gets finished soon. We're almost a week delayed now from the Practical Completion Inspection (PCI) originally scheduled on 03 April.

Oustanding work to be done:

1. Unbricked portion on the kitchen/lounge alfresco area.

2. Sound System Installation

3. Plumbing fit off - showerheads, mixers and taps, toilet bowls.

4. Touch up painting - I guess this will be done once internal work is finished

5. Concrete pavement to porch and driveway - this will be done before final handover as they don't want contractors to be driving into it.

6. Final House clean and site clean

7. Removal of temporary fence and lavatory

My personal estimate is that this can be done in less than a week but knowing how builders operate this might not be the case.

Can't wait for handover.

Vanity Basins - Major supplier delays

Cerabo W36300 Above-counter vanity basin.


According to Simonds, there are some delays and this has affected the availability of the vanity basin that we have chosen. No definite date was given as to when they will be available.I have posted some updates on the homeone.com.au forum and got some feedbacks:

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Vanity Basins supplier delaysPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:08 pm

I was suppossed to have my initial inspection done on 3rd April but then it was moved indefinitely because according to Simonds, the supplier of their vanity basins are facing some delays, thus Simonds is unable to do the plumbing fit off.

We've chosen the overbench basin from Caroma/Stylus - http://www.stylus.com.au/default.asp?pa ... t&id=12311 . I called the supplier Hardings myself and they can't give a definite date as to when the stocks will arrive.

Now I'm thinking of sourcing the basins (just 2 of them anyway) from other suppliers or just buy a similar one and then give it Simonds so as not to incur any more delays with the house. They can just give me what I have chosen when it arrives from their supplier and maybe I'll be able to sell them off. This would be better I guess than to wait for something which I don't know when will it arrive, and continue wasting money down the drain each week with the rent I'm paying.

Has anyone experienced the same issue and have done what I think of doing?

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Possumchops Post subject: Re: Vanity Basins supplier delaysPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009

Location: Wide Bay QLD Caroma/Stylus are horrendous when it comes to supply issues. One style we used to use regularly has currently been unavailable for 8 months now. We were constantly told 4 weeks over and over, until I went to our state levels head office and demanded more info. I got some bull about the kilns in china. Still doesn't take 8 months.

There are other options of very similar versions of that basin. To make things easier, ask your cabinet maker the maximum diameter you can allow and see if you can get something else to fit.

For supply issues like this I always contact my builders and let them know what the problem is and offer an alternative. Depends on the builder, there are some out there who point blank refuse alternatives no matter how long the wait.


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behw Post subject: Re: Vanity Basins supplier delaysPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:14 pm

I have the same problem as well waiting for the Caroma Cosmo Above Counter. the builder said that ti sout of stock and asked if we will wait. We rang Caroma and they said that there is nothing for the enxt 6 months. So we change to a differnt mdoel and the builder recost and now they are installed. We have to pay a few hundred dollars to upgrade. But that is beeter than delay and pay more interest to the bank.

behw




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billdsl Post subject: Re: Vanity Basins supplier delaysPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:24 pm


Location: Ipswichy in QLD our builder includes the cosmo as the upgraded basin type as well, we're a few months off needing them but if they are taking 6 months to turn up that might bite us when we get there

hope you sort something out

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