Day 16 of 266

Slab pour today and we were blessed with a mostly sunny winter day! Thank you Lord for granting my wish. When I left the site, the tradies were almost finished with their work. The base supervisor rang me and said that they will clean up the site tomorrow. Now, I hope they will let the slab set properly for a few weeks before they start with the frame :-)

Day 15 of 266

After 15 days and 2 inspection cancellations, we finally had our pre-pour inspection today with Darbecca. Our consultant found a few minor issues

such as :

• There was one beam that had been widened beyond the engineering design.
• A number of areas where the pipes were touching reinforcement mesh or within 20mm of touching reinforcement mesh
• One of the bottom reinforcements had not been lapped with the requirements of AS2870 Section 5.3.2
• A few reinforced steel that had not been secured in a manner to prevent the reinforcement to move during the concrete pour.

The consultant said they were very minor and were rectified on the spot. We're ready for the slab pour tomorrow and hopefully, weather cooperates until the slab has set enough!

Day 12 of 266

The pre-pour inspection which was scheduled for today was cancelled again and has been rescheduled for 28 August and the slab pour to be on 29 August :-)

Day 9 of 266

We're supposed to have our pre-pour/steel inspection at 3PM this afternoon, but when I messaged our base supervisor he said that they'll need to move the inspection due to the rains. The new inspection schedule is on Friday, 25 August and then the base will be poured on Saturday and Monday.

I still went to the site to have a look at the progress. No one was around when I arrived. I just noticed a few new pipes and an electrical box, otherwise it doesn;t look like much has been done yet.
 

 

Day 7 of 266

 More pipes and some wiring for Day 7..

Day 4 of 266

It's Day 4 of 266 of our construction. It rained early in the morning, but the sky cleared up and became bright and sunny at the right time. After seeing my GP, I thought I'd drop by and see how we are progressing .

There were 2 workers on site who were both very busy digging.

266 Days of Construction

Our BC sent us a Site Start letter to officially advise that our construction has commenced and it will take 266 days to complete. Great! Our move in date will be May 2018 provided that there are no unforeseen circumstances that may cause delays.

Today is Day 2 of 266. My husband and I were on day off and had errands to do so we dropped by to see what has been done in 2 days. There's more soil scraping and water taps had been installed so far :-)  The fence was left open, not sure if someone will be coming back to do some more work as this was already late afternoon. 

We're so happy that the weather had cooperated today despite the 100% possibility of rain forecast. It was a dark and cloudy day, but not a drop during construction time :-)  

Our Construction Has Officially Started!

I got a call from our base supervisor yesterday to introduce himself and to advise us that they have officially started our site cut yesterday. Good vibes, good omen...the weather yesterday was the best winter day we've had so far and I hope it continues this coming weeks until our slab has been poured and has set, then they can leave them alone for a couple of weeks to set :-) 

I told our base supervisor that clueless and hopeless us, are getting independent inspectors. We are getting the best in town, Darbecca! I was busy last week getting quotations and sending them their requirements related to the house such as:

• Soil Report
• Engineering Plan
• Stamped and Approved Building Plans and Specifications

Below is the price list they sent me. They highlighted the most important ones and the ones that their clients usually request.  They discounted column is for those who will request for 3 or more inspections.

Stage Inspections	Double Storey – Standard Pricing	Double Storey – Discount Pricing
Pre Pour/Steel Inspections	$490.00 + GST	$470.00 + GST
Slab Inspection	$330.00 + GST	$0  (combined with frame inspection)
Frame Inspection	$539.00 + GST	$490.00 + GST (inc. complimentary slab inspection)
Pre Plaster	$539.00 + GST	$490.00 + GST (inc. complimentary frame reinspection)
Pre Paint/Fixing Inspections	$539.00 + GST	$490.00 + GST
Waterproofing Inspections	$430.00 + GST	$390.00 + GST   ($120.00 + GST if combined with Fixing)
Final Inspections	$730.00 + GST	$590.00 + GST
Re Inspections	$425.00 + GST	$390.00 + GST

As they advised, we requested Darbecca to do the inspection for all the highlighted stages:

• Pre Pour/Steel Inspections $470
• Slab Inspections $0
• Frame Inspections $490
• Pre-Plaster $490
• Final Inspections $590

TOTAL : $2,040

Our first inspection, pre-pour and steel inspection, is on 22 August at 3PM. I was told that the day after this, they will do the pour. 

Price Watch

Last year in August, we went to Mernda to have a look at Forsyth and fell in love with it! Given Forsyth 35's low base price at that time ($238,900), we cancelled our booking with Carlisle Homes' single storey, Amberley 27 ($226,900) and decided to build our dream house!

We were so lucky to have signed up then as the the price increases that has happened in the last 12 months is just unbelievable.  Last night I just saw that they increased the price again by $8K to $278,900 after their $17K increase in July (from $253,900 to $270,900) :-(

I don't know how new buyers would be able to build this house knowing the cost of upgrades that it needs to make it look half as pretty as the display homes. Here's the list of what I think you should know about  PD Advantage Range where Forsyth is classified:

• You need to add all the promotion packages (Indoor, Outdoor and Flooring at least) in your budget to make the house look modern and comfortable. 
• Most of the windows in the displays are not included or are not the same size. 
• The stairs, alfresco and extended kitchen are not included in the cost. 
• There's only free facade and the other choices are upgrades. 
• The master ensuite shower is small and the shower bases are not tiled. 
• Additional budget must be allocated for site cost, 6 star energy rating, council and developer requirements, electrical and kitchen/laundry cabinets. 
• Bathroom accessories are not included (toilet roll holder, towel rail, robe hook)
• For the ground floor, you need to add LED lights or request for provisions if you want LED lights for your new home. Provisions for pendant lights and alfresco fan must also be added for ground floor. Wiring for TV wall set-up must also be added if you want wall mounted TV.  
• Other nice to haves are: cooling system, heating and cooling system with zoning, NBN wiring, security systems, boutique sliding doors to alfresco. 

Another unbelievable thing is the price increase of blocks in Woodlea. In the latest release, Stage 32, the price for a block the same size as ours is now $345K, we bought ours for $242K. That's a huge $103K increase since April last year :-)

I guess seeing how Woodlea has been creating a beautiful estate with playgrounds, greenery and open spaces, facilities such as learning and training centres, cafe and childcare facility at the early stages of development, they can afford an they have the right to demand high prices at this this point. 

All I can say is we are so, so happy and so, so lucky to have bought our land in Woodlea and paid our building deposit with PD last year! 

Site Start!

And so after a painfully slow paperwork, drama with our ex-BC and 3 months of delay, we finished all our contract and building variations and signed our life away with Westpac a couple of weeks ago.

Last week, my BC told me that our site start will be this week, if the weather conditions are good. When we visited our block yesterday, look what we found!

Our Kitchen, Galley and Vanities

Kitchen and Galley

Stone: Category 3 Yukon

Drawers and Cabinets in Kitchen and Galley: Parchment in Silk Gloss Finish
Shadowline to cabinets
Drawers with soft closer
Terranda CC Cabinet and Drawer Handles

 

Powder Room, Bathroom and Master Ensuite

Stone to Powder Room: Category 3 Yukon
Stone to Bathroom and Ensuite: Category 1 Blanco Matrix
Vanity in Powder Room, Bathroom and Ensuite: Formica Idyllic
Terranda CC Cabinet and Drawer Handles

Powder Room

Bathroom and Master Ensuite

Laundry

Laminate Bench to Laundry: Formica Velour Pure Marble
Cabinets in Laundry: Formica Idyllic

Kitchen Culture Total Cost $12, 675

Our Final Tiling Plan

FLOOR TILE: NT16-2100FL ELITE TRAVERTINE BEIGE 

WALL TILE: SPAWP-1025 MASIA BLANCO

Tiling Total Cost: $8,002

***covers cost of upgrade to porcelain tiles and additional tiles to non-standard areas