Busy busy busy

So much is happening it's all so very exciting.
The panel lift door did get installed on Saturday. At first the colour choice seemed wrong, but after getting used to it,  I think we have done the right thing.
Yesterday the tiler finished- at last- and the plumbers began their fit out. They got lots in, although there was a slight mishap with the kitchen tap - which is now sorted, and the ensuite toilet of course couldn't go in due to the tiles just being laid. They will be back on Thursday to finish up. I so want to run a tap, but don't want to waste any of our precious water.
The electricians were back again today, and have been fitting off the pre mounted lights and also lots of the power points. Also today the door handles have been put on, the shower screens installed and the remaining shelving for the WIP is also up.
I forgot to check the external painting, it's so easy to get distracted looking at what has been done!
Still no sign of the AC people hopefully they turn up soon. Electrical will be continuing on tomorrow, windows to be washed Friday, and carpet due to be laid on Monday. So so close now...

Bathroom shower

Bathroom 

WIP

ensuite

Garage door

2 weeks to go, countdown is on!

The tiling is almost finished. It would have been finished by now but the quantity of tiles required was underestimated so we have been waiting for more to come in. They finally did late this afternoon, but KB couldn't get on to the tiler so looks like they won't get finished until Monday which is a shame as the plumbers are coming on Monday to do their fit off. It is only the ensuite toilet that hasn't been finished, plus both the shower niches still require some waterproofing.

bathroom shower. More painting has been done since this was taken

Ensuite 

The painting is coming along and looking pretty good too. The final coat for the passageway will not be done until after most of the other trades are finished - which looks like happening at the start of the week. On Monday we have the heater people, the plumbers, the electricians and the painters on site! It's going to be madly busy there. Although the painters should be starting on the external rather then doing more internal.
The panel lift door for the garage is supposed to be installed tomorrow, and the last few minor touches for the cabinetry should be done next week too. All that is left there is some adjustment to the kitchen cupboards and drawers, and a strip from the benchtop in the walk in pantry needs to be added plus the extra  shelving in the pantry too.
We now have the inserts for all our cupboards and wardrobes and they have come up pretty good. My linen cupboard looks absolutely enormous!
Looks like handover will be occurring around 3:30 on the 31st. Can't believe we are only 2 weeks away from getting our house.  We still have so much we need to do, apart from landscaping we also really need to get going on installing a temporary fence to keep Ruby in the back yard. I'm also really looking forward to topping the driveway with some more rock, and can't wait to get a path to our front door sorted. Going to be a very busy few weeks that's for sure.
Stuart plans to be out there again this weekend, sorting some stuff out and fitting off the phone and data. Not that it looks like we will have phone connection out there for quite some time yet.

Electrical fit out started

The painting is going well despite only one person doing it all. The ceilings are now all finished and hopefully the interior will all be done by the end of this coming week, our painter will have someone working with him this week which will help speed things up.
The tiler has started and seems to be going pretty quick. He thinks he will be done by the end of Tuesday at the very latest. We couldn't quite put the feature tile where I had pictured it, but I think it should still look pretty good.
Most shelving for my walk in pantry has now been installed, as has the shelves above the fridge cavity. The handles have also been installed and I think they have come up pretty good!  Only waiting for the final shelves and the bench top in the pantry and the cupboard doors for the powder room then all cabinetry will be complete.
Electrical fit out started yesterday. Stuart worked along with our electrician, by doing some mounting of the lights which the electrician then connected. In a few hours they managed to do 11 lights completely. Stuart then went on later to mount 3 more, but these ones still require connection.        

ensuite - the line in the shower is for the feature tile

WIP shelving. Another wall unit for left  side still to come

lights in the passage

bathroom tiling

kitchen with upstand, handles and one pendant

So this week tiling, internal painting, A/C fit off all to be completed, and hopefully a bit more electrical fit off too. Builder believes that handover should happen on the 31st August.

Paint started

Paint finally got started on Friday of last week, but when we looked on the weekend, they hadn't even managed to undercoat all of the ceiling which was a bit disappointing. They have now done undercoat on all the ceilings, most walls and lots of the skirting and archs as well. Stu thinks the walls are coming up a bit yellow, but he said the same thing of the benchtops which were installed over the weekend, which I think look pretty good.

taken with my phone so not the best quality

looking very long from this angle

dining looking through to kitchen

Loving the light streaming into the living room

Before Stuart left the house, he saw the tiles being delivered. I have no idea when they will start to be laid, but probably won't take too long as we don't have a lot of tiled area.

We are hoping that the electrical fit out will start this weekend.

Alfresco concreted

Our alfresco, front porch and back porch have now been concreted in 'pompeii' flyash concrete. We chose the colour to match the inside floor, I didn't really think about seeing the colour from the front of the house, but I think it has come up alright.

front view

close up of back porch concrete

The breakfast bar is now in, the upstand is a bit longer then I expected but I think it looks great. Can't wait to see it with the benchtops on.

sink will be to the far right

The cabinet in the powder room has been replaced and all the basins have been installed and so is the laundry trough

powder room

ensuite

laundry - also has cupboard doors now

The painters have still not returned, but are expected back tomorrow. The HWS is finally installed, and they have upgraded our storage tank to Stainless as a freebie.
The wardrobe inners are all completed and are waiting to be installed which will happen after the painters do their thing.
Stuart and I have to finalise what is to go above the fridge tonight, I'm thinking an open shelf so I have a place to display a few objects, and that's about it for now.

Rain at last!

So the rain has started and the sound of the water falling into the tank was wonderful. Stuart and I were working out there in the rain today, he slashed the higher part of the backyard and then we got to work planting out all our fruit trees - excluding the citrus which we will do when it warms up a little. We ended up using the kanga to carry some extra dirt up there to help build the trees up, so its gone from looking slashed and great, to looking trashed and muddy.
I'm sorry to report that there wasn't really much progress at the house at all this past week. The builder met us on site on Friday and greeted us with 'I'm so embarrassed'. It seems after completing all the bog fill, sanding and getting down some drop sheets the painter was called away to another job - and neglected to tell Glen.
The kitchen guy was supposed to return Wednesday, then Thursday, then Friday - but still hasn't shown. Something weird is going on there. They have put vinyl wrapped panels on the back of my breakfast bar (which I didn't ask for and not sure I want but am waiting to see it set up properly before deciding for sure), and now the kickplate for the breakfast bar which was in place has been removed from the site completely.
Can't remember why the outside concrete didn't get done - the weather until Friday night has been pretty good, but Glen assured me that is booked for Monday.
Our kitchen sink, basins and laundry trough have arrived though, and Glen thinks the plumbers will be installing the spa bath next week too. So painters, joiners, plumbers and concretors are all set for next week - maybe!! I'm glad the plumbers are coming as today watching the rain I saw that a gutter has been put on angled the wrong way, so water was pouring out of it onto the ground rather then going down the downpipe so hopefully that can get fixed too.
The HWS people did return on Friday - the system itself is still not installed but the evacuated tubes are, very  slow installation this one. They keep saying its too wet - even after a couple of weeks of barely no rain at all.
We have finalised our curtain selection and they have been measured and ordered, we've ended up choosing quite a few colours, hope they all look good.

Fruit trees at top corner, planted along top fence in an L shape

The leaky guttering. Wasn't even raining hard when I took this

The evacuated tubes for the SHWS

Half a kitchen!

Spoke to our builder yesterday and as a second thought, after telling me nothing had really happened at the house this week, he remembered the joiners had been in and started installing the kitchen. Despite having a meeting there tomorrow morning, I couldn't wait all that time, so dashed out during lunchtime today to have a squiz.
The breakfast bar is not installed yet - it's piled up in the Walk in pantry. Benchtops are also not on yet, at the moment it's just chipboard.

I'm guessing that's the upstand part of the breakfast bar sitting on the bench

the blue sticker on the drawer is because the rails are missing

The study desk is also in place now, as are the shelving. I think this colour has come up great, I'm really pleased he edged the shelves to match, I hadn't expected that, but it finishes it off nicely.

They have also prepared the boxing for the concreting for the alfresco, front porch and back porch.

Look at all that beautiful winter sun, perfectly sheltered from the wind. Can't wait to use this area!

More winter sun flooding the house and warming up
the concrete brilliantly. Love it.

Now to update on a few things that have been brought up in the past.
The sliding window that had those little beads in it has now been replaced; the cupboard in the powder room has been removed as it was made larger then it should have been which is why there was no space for the toilet; and the big 'X' in the living room will be staying. They think it was caused by the trowelling machine back when the concrete was poured. To get rid of it would mean grinding down the floor so much that it would have a dip in it. Looks like we now have a very special character mark and talking point!
We also managed to finish choosing our lights last weekend, and are currently working out what to do curtain wise. Looks like some compromises will have to be made due to budgetary restrictions. I'm disappointed but not devastated.  The hose is still connected to the septic. I'm hoping that can come off soon and then the rain can start properly and get our tanks filling.

A nice surprise

Septic got installed yesterday, and there have been a few issues regarding getting enough water into the tank in order to stop it from 'floating up'. Stu put 400 litres in last night, and today the plumbers have attached a hose from our water tanks to feed direct to the septic. Nice that the septic is sorted, but not really happy that our tanks won't be gaining from any rainfall we get. I'm probably the only person around here that is hoping for a lot of rain in the next few weeks.
I did get a nice surprise going in the house. I had expected lots more fit out to be completed. That hasn't progressed (although when I went back this afternoon to get some photos, the fit out man had started working and was still there when I left). However, some of the cabinets have been installed already!
We now have the bathroom cabinets, the laundry cabinets - except for some doors, and we also have the bookcase installed. Pretty exciting stuff.

The bookcase

Ensuite

Powder room. VERY concerned with the proximity of the toilet plumbing

laundry

Girls bathroom