TomCat's new digs!

[blackcat20]

Still waiting, told we will get our "final electricl" on Tuesday. A little confused as to what would have changed from the final documents that we signed as part of our contract back in October I do wonder why they do "final plans" after settlement rather than in the months beforehand.

Decided I'd like a coffee table in our front sitting room. It's the first room people will see when they walk into the house and we don't really have any plans for it at the moment. I'm thinking it'd be a nice spot to sit with a glass of wine and just chill out (no tv). These are a couple of options I've come across.

We already have a black leather couch to go in that room but nothing much else.

 

[Denali]

I was wondering when is it too soon to start buying stuff for a house thats not built yet.

I follow a few people on instagram thats building and some have stuff in storage for 12+mths, but they are buying stuff on sale.

 

[blackcat20]

I was wondering when is it too soon to start buying stuff for a house thats not built yet.

I follow a few people on instagram thats building and some have stuff in storage for 12+mths, but they are buying stuff on sale.

Some of the stores will hold furniture for six months, so probably a little too soon for most things. Smaller things we can store ourselves. Hoping for some good EOFY sales.

 

[Denali]

And how do you feel about shower niche? I like the look of them but ultimately I know Im going to be the one scrubbing shower crud out of the corners and spraying with exit mold so Im thinking no shower niche for us.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Whatever you put into showers has challenges . We put in a glass shelf in the kids and we have a metal one in ours with little holes in so any water drains out, I have found both easy to clean and keep mould free. The less grout the better as far as mould goes .

 

[Hvr]

And how do you feel about shower niche?

My current renovations (toilet and bathroom) have a shower niche included and I love the look of it. Currently being tiled.

 

[blackcat20]

And how do you feel about shower niche? I like the look of them but ultimately I know Im going to be the one scrubbing shower crud out of the corners and spraying with exit mold so Im thinking no shower niche for us.

I'm looking forward to it; it will run the full length of our double shower.

Whatever you put into showers has challenges . We put in a glass shelf in the kids and we have a metal one in ours with little holes in so any water drains out, I have found both easy to clean and keep mould free. The less grout the better as far as mould goes .

We have the glass shelves currently and they get scungy/scummy quite easily. I'm not a fan. Plus they seem to be at an awkward height.

My plan for the grout is to seal it so that it requires less maintenance.

 

[QF WP]

blackcat20, given you stated you have a black leather couch in that room, I like the top table - it isn't black and may be a better contrast - however what colour are the floor coverings and paint on the walls?

 

[Flying mermaid]

I'm looking forward to it; it will run the full length of our double shower.



We have the glass shelves currently and they get scungy/scummy quite easily. I'm not a fan. Plus they seem to be at an awkward height.

My plan for the grout is to seal it so that it requires less maintenance.

Yes they do tend to be an awkward height. Sealing sounds good - grout and selastic drive me crazy. We put really big tiles on the floors to reduce amount of grout

 

[blackcat20]

blackcat20, given you stated you have a black leather couch in that room, I like the top table - it isn't black and may be a better contrast - however what colour are the floor coverings and paint on the walls?

Grey carpet, antique white USA walls.

 

[cove]

I wouldn’t leave a purchased item with a retailer ever.It is too risky that they could close. Retail in Australia is pretty sick at the moment.

 

[blackcat20]

Conveyancer refusing to respond to broker to sort out stamp duty mess. I've ripped them a new one

 

[Denali]

. Plus they seem to be at an awkward height.....

I hate our bathroom basin, I swear it was placed for Oompalumpa's to use.

My plan is for basins and kitchen benches to be slightly higher for us 6ft people.

 

[blackcat20]

I hate our bathroom basin, I swear it was placed for Oompalumpa's to use.

My plan is for basins and kitchen benches to be slightly higher for us 6ft people.

We raised all our benches to be a reasonable height. And got lovely square sinks (like these, same taps too). The timber is the same as all our bathroom and laundry cabinets, same handles as well. But we went with a different bench top. .

 

[RAM]

In the tradition of forewarned is forearmed.....

You will probably soon start to enjoy your introduction to 'progress payments'. Similar to enjoying 4 wisdom teeth out in one go that is.

If not already at near top of your agenda - make it.

Ask your builder (if not already in hand) to see the detailed work required to be completed by them to qualify for each progress payment. Often they will try and give a 10 to 30 word vague sentence like 25% framing and ancillary work finished' = $30,000.

When doing our work we insisted in it all being spelt out. Amazing what pointing out that the trusses had not been drilled for wiring and so $50,000 progress payment was not due (for example) does to the work rate on a job.

Ensure final payments are not forked out too rapidly as is common - the last 1 to 5% of any project can be when the problems surface - such as a new roof leaking ONLY when the rain came from the NE. Every other direction was fine - just when from the NE it was like a slow running hose in one area. Took 7 months for builder to solve (needed NE rain before able to check if they'd fixed it. Finally I found the problem, which they said could not possibly be the cause.

Turned out that it was the cause.

So, bone up on detail (or get great detail added) for each progress payment.

Otherwise sub-contractors for some reason are loathe to come back and fix problems once they've been paid - funny that!

 

[QF WP]

Grey carpet, antique white USA walls.

Then I love the contrasts of everything - black (sofa), brown (wooden low table), grey (carpet) and antique white [with a off-pure white fleck] (paint on walls).

 

[Pushka]

Conveyancer refusing to respond to broker to sort out stamp duty mess. I've ripped them a new one

Dislike. I hate being caught between two numpties and there is nothing I can do.

 

[love_the_life]

And how do you feel about shower niche? I like the look of them but ultimately I know Im going to be the one scrubbing shower crud out of the corners and spraying with exit mold so Im thinking no shower niche for us.

I loved the look of the niches but the tiler who did our bathroom reno at the last place hated niches as he said it was almost impossible to make them totally water tight so that eventually they started to let water in. He was referring to the tiled ones not the ones that are made in one piece and slotted into the shower. Like FM we have metal shelves with holes but I still use a container to hold the soap and shampoos etc. It is much easier to clean - just wash it well or even pop in dishwasher.
That said, BC, you obviously have a plan to make sure they are water tight - and full length will look great.

In terms of the table, I like the darker one personally but it depends what type of 'feeling' you want in the room. IMO the darker one looks a little more formal/sophisticated than the lighter one. Both are lovely.

I wouldn't buy furniture etc for a new build (or even an established one) until I had moved in and had decided on what I wanted where. Did that last time and even though it meant 6 months without a formal dining setting or lounge suite, what we bought were exactly right for the rooms. Luckily they transferred to our new place really well.

 

[blackcat20]

In the tradition of forewarned is forearmed.....

You will probably soon start to enjoy your introduction to 'progress payments'. Similar to enjoying 4 wisdom teeth out in one go that is.

If not already at near top of your agenda - make it.

Ask your builder (if not already in hand) to see the detailed work required to be completed by them to qualify for each progress payment. Often they will try and give a 10 to 30 word vague sentence like 25% framing and ancillary work finished' = $30,000.

When doing our work we insisted in it all being spelt out. Amazing what pointing out that the trusses had not been drilled for wiring and so $50,000 progress payment was not due (for example) does to the work rate on a job.

Ensure final payments are not forked out too rapidly as is common - the last 1 to 5% of any project can be when the problems surface - such as a new roof leaking ONLY when the rain came from the NE. Every other direction was fine - just when from the NE it was like a slow running hose in one area. Took 7 months for builder to solve (needed NE rain before able to check if they'd fixed it. Finally I found the problem, which they said could not possibly be the cause.

Turned out that it was the cause.

So, bone up on detail (or get great detail added) for each progress payment.

Otherwise sub-contractors for some reason are loathe to come back and fix problems once they've been paid - funny that!

Our contract spells everything out quite nicely. We're also engaging an independent inspector to make sure everything meets the applicable standards.

Dislike. I hate being caught between two numpties and there is nothing I can do.

It seems to be getting worse. The guy who isnt our conveyancer rang and insists they need the build contract. SRO says thats false, he refuses to believe me. You're perfectly entitled to buy a block of land without having a build contract, and as first home/land onwers we were entitled to a stamp duty discount. But they have to fix the problem so if he wont listen to me, what on earth do I do? I told him to ring the broker. Might be time to talk to the owner of the company.....

 

[blackcat20]

I wouldn't buy furniture etc for a new build (or even an established one) until I had moved in and had decided on what I wanted where. Did that last time and even though it meant 6 months without a formal dining setting or lounge suite, what we bought were exactly right for the rooms. Luckily they transferred to our new place really well.

Wont be waiting that long, I want stuff for when we move. We've been through the display so we have a pretty good feel for the space and what we want in it.