Now we're living the dream...

It's a year since we started this blog about 'The Big Build' and we now feel it's time to move on. Fear not, my desire to 'blog' hasn't disappeared but we feel the blog has reached a natural closing point as we move into the next chapter of our adventure.

We hoped you've enjoyed reading about our building adventures and that you will move with us to our new blog, aptly titled 'Living the Dream'...

We arrived, we built and now it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy the view!

Where do I start?.... We're in!

The blog has been a bit neglected over the last few weeks as we have been busy moving in! We had no internet connection until yesterday either which has been a bit frustrating but kind of nice too!

We got the keys for the house on my birthday which was a lovely present. It was quite a drama on the day as we had our handover at 1pm where we needed to present our final 10% payment in a cheque but there had been delays with the bank (a whole other story about a naughty valuer). We had to attend the handover with no cheque in hand so weren't able to get the keys which was both disappointing and worrying as we had to move out of our rental that weekend. We finally got the cheque from the local bank at 4.30pm and it was relief all round!

Anyway, enough chat... here are the photos from the night we got the keys...













And a few days later...

So near, yet so far...

I'm not sure if I can express how completely and utterly shattered we both are! We've spent the week packing, cleaning ready for the rental inspection, arranging the move, arranging things at the new house not to mention keeping up our busy work schedules and committments!

We were supposed to get the keys today but in order to get the keys we need our final payment in the form of a cheque which we weren't able to get in time. No cheque, no keys.

The general story is that to get the final payment released by the bank they send a valuer to the house to check it over and make sure its actually worth what they are lending us I suppose! There is no doubt its worth what we've borrowed (and the rest!) but because the floor coverings weren't quite finished and the tiler hadn't yet sealed te edging (it was all booked in to happen), the valuer didn't give the go ahead for the cheque to be released.

So... all week we've been chasing up the valuer, via our mortgage broker, via the bank. The house was fully finished on Tuesday and now on Thursday evening the valuer still hasn't given the go ahead. I've got it in my head that the valuer has been side tracked by all the lovely vineyards and is drunk somewhere...

Crunch time is tomorrow. The site manager can't meet us any later than 1pm so we've got until then to locate the valuer (via the mortgage broker, via the bank) and get the go ahead and then go to the bank to pick up the cheque. I'm not 100% it is going to happen but the mortgage broker is prett confident that it will happen - as long as the valuer calls in to say he's checked it out and it's all fine to go ahead! Throw in a meeting that I have to attend in the morning for work, someone coming to clean the rental carpets at 10am and a certain someones birthday (that'd be me!) and we've got a crazy day! Arghhhh.

The worst thing is that we have to move out of our rental this weekend as the landlord has sold up and we've prearranged the date. Not quite sure what we'll do if we don't get the keys tomorrow but we've got a couple of plans up our sleeves... watch this space.

Getting disconnected from the world tomorrow morning (phone line and internet) and connected up at the new house but obviously if we don't have the keys it isn't much use! Will hopefully be back online before you know it.

Who knows what the next 24 hours holds...

Stuff

We had our first 'official' walkaround the house on Friday. Wow. The floor was in the process of being laid and the lights were in - it suddenly felt more like home than ever. I must say, the floor is looking particularly stunning. So stunning in fact that I purposely didn't take any photos and I don't want to share it until it is officialy OURS! 3 sleeps to go!

Instead, I shall bore you with photos of the packing 'at the other end'. How can two people have so much stuff? I'll be glad when this weekend is over if I'm honest...!

An update!

I presumed that because we now have our final completion date (a week tomorrow!) and have arranged a 'walk around' with the site supervisor this Friday, that we wouldn't get anymore email updates.

So I was nicely surprised today to get the usual weekly email with our update! Henley Homes just doens't stop communicating! Our update was as follows -

* The carpets are being installed from today
* The build cleaners are booked to go through the house next week
* John will meet you on site as arranged for the pre-handover walkthrough
* All appliances installations are booked for the date requested by you

Oooo, carpets! Yeay! Getting VERY excited now!

Big decisions

This weekend we've focussed on choosing our driveway! We met a local landscaper on site yesterday who is giving us a quote. Today we've been busy visiting various paver display centres (I didn't know such things existed until we built this house) and have chosen to go for Austral Clay Pavers in Toasted Charwood...










We've been obsessively holding the pavers next to our colour plan (in my little scrap book) to make sure it all looks ok but I think the most accurate test is to see if the above image looks good on the blog... yeahhhhhh!

All systems GO!

Yesterday we received the call that we have been waiting for... "You will receive the keys on Thursday 11th June!" Yeayyyyyyyyyyyy!

Now it's all systems go arranging everything - finalising stuff with our rental, planning the move, and arranging all the final bits and bobs for the new house.

All EXCEEDINGLY exciting!

Doors, Handles & Essa Stone Benchtops!

Another good week of progress... The only things remaining to do now are the electrics, the plumbing and the flooring... eeeeeeek!

Oh my oh my... it's the garage door!

Today we took our beautiful guests (from the UK), Aneesa and Nadine to our house. It was a fantastic visit as the garage door had been installed along with mirrors, air conditioning, and shower screens. The painters have also started glossing.

AWESOMENESS!

It's a funny feeling now as our house is really starting to look like the 'artists impression' that Dan put together for the header (at the top) of this blog... clever!

As usual, the photos do all the talking:

Cupboards and shelves... how exciting!

We popped to the house yesterday (when I say 'popped' I actually mean 'spent two hours there') to check out the latest progress.

It was great to see the tiles were almost finished, the wardrobe fittings and cupboard/pantry shelves had been fitted and that the first coat of paint was on. Great also to see the external paint work completed (other than the front door).

Do weekly updates get much better than this?

Dan and I say that we won't be happy with the weekly update we receive by email until it says "your house is ready, please pick up the keys" (though actually we have LOVED the weekly email updates our builder sends to us!).

However, I reckon this might have to be the best yet...

- The tiling has been completed
- The painter is starting on site this week
- The stone benchtops are about 2 to 3 weeks from being installed
- The carpets and timber flooring are booked to be installed in due course
- The handover will be before mid June when your rental agreement runs out

You beauty!

We had the penultimate bill yesterday too which means we are now forking out 90% of the cost of the house (thankfully interest only) on top our our rent. Being the optimists we are though meant that we actually cheered to receive this bill as it means we really are on the HOME STRAIGHT!

The final countdown...

Yesterday we were advised that the house is about 6 weeks from completion. This is a rough estimate but is still something worth getting excited about!...

Tiles and tourists

Popped to the site on Sunday to check on progress. Great to see the tiler had ben busy at work and was in the process of tiling the ensuite, bathroom and laundry.

Great news that our back garden had finally been flattened. Next door have started their site preparation now - the interesting news being that it is going to be two-storey! We have mixed views on that!

The best bit of the trip to site was that my mum and dad had arrived the day before (from the UK, via the USA and Cook Islands) and the last time they were there it was a flat piece of land!

Mum, Dad & Dan in the newly flattened garden!


Grey bathroom tiles


Matt white ensuite tiles (grout not yet added)


A perk of building a house in a wine region - lovely lunch after site visit!

And we're in! (and so is the kitchen)

We could tell you how we managed to get into the house on todays visit, but then we'd have to kill you. Instead it shall remain a tightly held secret...

But anyway, today we managed to get into the house to have a look around and I would like to declare that the visit today was THE BEST YET!

It was great to see such progress since we'd visited two weeks ago - our amazing super-wide front door had been fitted (still to be painted); the gorgeous 'Espresso' kitchen units had been fitted and looked stunning; the beautiful 'Fudge Stream' bathroom units and basin had been fitted; and my favourite of all our 'Olympia Red' ensuite units and double vanity basins had been fitted and look stunning!

I will let the photos do the rest of the talking... PURE AWESOMENESS!

Banished from our own home!

Today we popped down to check on progress. Since reaching the official lock up stage about a month ago we've been reliant on a top secret way into the house that until yesterday had never failed...

However yesterday, for the first time, we were well and truely locked out. Of course this is actually great news as it means our house is nice and secure and it will be much harder for things to go walkabout. For us however, it means we're banished to substandard update photos and beer in the garden!

I hereby declare this meeting underway...

We've had a sudden realisation that we're on the final countdown of our house build (well, another few months to go but it's closer than its ever been!) so today we held a meeting to discuss the key things we need to do in the coming weeks.

For those of you with an interest in the build (as opposed to just the gossip) the key things we are currently pondering over are

1) Stormwater provision - we need to get this installed but not sure at what stage (we think it's now!)
2) Retaining wall - where to take it up to, how will it impact on our future garden design
3) Rainwater tank - how big, ground prep required
4) Fencing - contacting neighbours, getting quotes, liaising with our neighbour who is willing to do the work
5) Driveway and paving - getting quotes, contemplating design etc

It's all getting very serious now!

Now that's what you call progress!

Have just returned from a visit to a place I think I can officially now call our HOUSE! The guys installing the plasterboard have been working very hard all week and we were overwhelmed to see such progress. They had pretty much finished all of the plasterboard and it looks like the next bit for them is fixing in the coving!

This was such an EXCITING visit as we finally had the opportunity to get the 'feel' for our house and each room... We LOVE it!

Can we move in now?

That warm and fuzzy feeling

We made a special mid-week trip to the house today to see the insulation that had been installed. This will be our last chance to see this as the next step will be plasterboard! Yeah!