Bricks Baby

February 21, 2015February 21, 201523 Comments

After a flying start with the wall and roof frame being completed in super quick time, we had a week of playing the waiting game for bricklayers to start on our house. Apparently there is a shortage of bricklayers in Sydney and we have to wait our turn in the queue! In the scheme of things, a week of idle time is not a big deal but when it’s your dream house on the line it’s still a frustrating exercise.

Anyhoo, our team of brickies showed up to work on Tuesday (17/2) and by noon on Friday (20/2) they have almost finished bricking the ground floor. The scaffolding is booked to be erected on Monday (23/2) and brickwork to the second floor scheduled to be completed by the end of next week. Woohoo!

Here are a few snaps I took yesterday.

Family Room

Side looking to the front

Kitchen Window Splash

Butlers Pantry Window

Powder Room Picture Window

Side of the house looking to the Garage

Outdoor Room

Kitchen – external duct for rangehood

Frame Stage Report

February 9, 2015February 9, 20154 Comments

We received the construction report from Houspect for the wall and roof frame complete stage that our inspector Tim conducted last week.

The following items were checked for compliance and workmanship and all were deemed acceptable.

Check bonding over openings inspected
Floor Framing to AS1684
Sheet flooring squeaking, peaking
Strip flooring – squeaking, joins, cramping adequate
Flooring secured as per AS1684
Expansion Joints to floors
Correct thickness and type of flooring to wet areas
Wall framing level and plumb
Wall framing straight
Wall framing to AS1684
Room dimensions checked
Windows and external doors flushed
Ceiling heights correct
Holding down straps secured correctly
Slab edge exposed

Tim told us he was impressed with our site manager J. He rated the site safe and tidy and most importantly he found no defects. He did note that some items were being finalised on the day of inspection which we’re waiting on J to confirm have since been completed.

Rear balcony steel column to be installed prior to the tiled roof being installed

Valley boards to be installed prior to the valleys installed

Concrete rebate to be cut prior to the stacker doors being installed

6 holding down bolts to be installed in the bottom plate to rear of the house

Plumber to install waste caps to upstairs and downstairs

So there you have it, another huge milestone ticked off. Well done Metricon👍

Here’s a sneak peek at our bricks. Weather forecast for Sydney is looking dandy for a solid week of brickwork. Roll on the next stage!

Austral Whitsundays ‘Orpheus’

A Slight Bump

February 7, 2015February 7, 20159 Comments

After my recent visit to the Laguna showroom, I realised that I completely overlooked a major design feature in the master bedroom balcony. Whilst the plans show the balcony to be cladded in Scyon Matrix (like the Laguna’s), the South/West walls outside the WIR will be cladded in Scyon Stria.

Hudson Elevation Plans

These pics show all external bedroom and balcony walls are cladded in Matrix panels.

View from the Balcony into the Bedroom

Love love love the Parents Retreat off the Master Suite

I am flabbergasted that I didn’t pick up such an obvious discrepancy. I must have looked over the plans a million times! I just assumed our balcony will be built just like the Laguna balcony. Assumption really is the mother of all screw ups!!!

I discussed the oversight with our site manager J when I met him for the frame walk through. He was sympathetic but a stickler for the rules! So being the straight shooter that he is, he suggested I raise my concerns to our construction support coordinator A. Damn, I had hoped J was the flexible type and he could accommodate the change off the books. Cheeky I know but surely it can’t be too hard to swap the cladding materials over?

Having experienced Metricon’s inflexibility in the past, I didn’t have high hopes of getting a positive outcome to my request to rectify the oversight. A’s reply confirmed Metricon’s policy of ‘no further variations during construction‘. I sent another request to escalate to management for a review but I’m really not holding my breath. It’s the downside of going with a volume builder!

I’m trying to channel my husband’s cool as a cucumber attitude to this latest hiccup. He doesn’t think the Stria will look too badly and he reassures me when we move in I won’t notice the little things. Hmm I’m not so sure that I could gloss over something as glaringly obvious as the different cladding materials in the balcony! But here’s hoping, and I guess if it doesn’t grow on me it can’t be too hard to fix after handover right?

What do you guys think?

Display House Tour – Laguna

February 2, 2015February 2, 20154 Comments

Before deciding to build the Hudson, we spent countless weekends visiting display villages and checking out almost every project home builder in Sydney. Although we liked some of the designs of Clarendon, Rawson and Wisdom, Metricon was always the front runner.

We fell in love with their beautiful, light-filled spacious contemporary designs and in particular the Laguna. We got so close to building the Laguna that in fact, had we not stumbled upon the video showcasing the Hudson the day before our initial appointment, this blog would probably be named “ourlaguna”. Hmmm it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as “ourhudson”.

In the absence of a Hudson display home, the Laguna showroom in Kellyville was a great substitute. It featured a lot of the variations and upgrades that were on our wish list so it was fantastic to see them in the flesh. After our tile appointment on Saturday, we took the opportunity to have another visit so, I thought I would share some of the photos I took:)