Lock up stage?

I received the invoice for the Lock up stage on Thursday. After work I went by to check on the house and this is what I saw:

Where are the doors??

Not exactly my definition of 'lock up', which according to the HIA contract is:
'the stage when a home's external wall cladding and roof covering is fixed, the flooring is laid and external doors and external windows are fixed (even if those doors or windows are only temporary)'

I emailed my builder that night and still have not received a reply. And because it is Christmas holiday time, I'm guessing that I won't be hearing from him for a while. But I still have to pay, otherwise I can get penalised.

In the meantime, after I received the invoice on Thursday afternoon, I had to move quickly to get money transferred. From mum's Ubank account to her linked NAB account and then to my account. So I called up Ubank pretending to be mum (she's so technologically illiterate it was easier for me to do it, plus the security mobile is mine), gave all the security answers and security sms. Was asked a few times if I was really her, because apparently I sound younger than the specified age. Eventually though he did put the transfer through. After I saw that the lock up stage was not quite complete I called up later that evening to see if I could delay the transfer - big mistake! They decided to block the account as they had concerns as I sounded too young. So annoying!!! To unblock it mum would have to go to Aus Post to show 100 points of ID. Then mum got an email that night to say that she would receive a letter in 4-5 working days from Ubank that she would need to bring with her to Aus Post to verify her ID and then they would have to send it back to Ubank. And as this is over Christmas time so 4-5 working days is even longer! Especially as I am meant to pay the invoice within 7 days, NOT working days. NOT HAPPY. Anyway mum called up Ubank yesterday and they were able to email the form, so she could take it to Aus Post, but now I still have to wait for Ubank to receive the letter, then organise transfer of the money which can take up to 3 working days, then transfer it from mum's NAB account to mine. Who knows how long that will take. Super annoyed and giving me extra stress. What's the point of having all the security answers and security smses if they still block the account? And it's not as if I'm transferring it to an unknown account, it's to her linked account!

Downpipes

18 December
Downpipes of DW2 upper
21 December
Downpipes of DW1 upper and most of roofing completed

Render DW1 upper floor, stair lights

Rendering of DW1 has been newly completed - not fully dry. Looks like the brickwork is nearly complete. Still some roof tiles to be done.

Aiming for lock up before Christmas...



Lighting
After looking at a lot of LED lights for my stair well, finally decided on this one from Beacon Lighting Nunawading. Warm white silver 10x10. It wasn't even at the other Beacon Lighting shops as Nunawading is apparently a franchise store, so they order in different lights. They didn't have it in stock yesterday so I've ordered 4 for now (still waiting to see if I can add another 4 to my electrical plan) But because I have to wait, I got a further 5% off, so each LED costs $75. Fairly expensive - $300 for per stairwell - but they're meant to last 'forever'. Unfortunately, couldn't find them online. They had cheaper $50 ones at Australian Lighting Clayton but they were bigger and the light wasn't as diffuse - more of a spot.

Fence
Spoke to my right side neighbour about getting the fence replaced. This side is really falling down! However they are a community centre and are planning on moving mid next year, and selling this site, so they are reluctant to pay for a new fence. The site manager said she would present it as a business case. I'll have to just wait and see. Now just need to speak to my rear neighbour.

Upstairs!

10 Dec It was unlocked again!

The stairs have been done, so I was finally able to go upstairs! Exciting!

DW2 stairs
The upstairs retreat - it's small - like everything else! Don't need 2 lights up there... The main bathroom.

The north bedrooms.

With DW1 I just stayed on the stairs. Didn't look as safe! Rendering hasn't been done and pipe work was lying around. It would not be good if I fell through!
Pipes have also been done for the bathroom, laundry and kitchen.
Yesterday they started on the render for DW1 upstairs.

Irks about my builder

2 weeks ago got a call from Mohamed who I had never spoken to saying that they had booked the fence to be put in the following week.
I was annoyed. Firstly, I was told this would be done closer to handover time. Secondly, because of that, I hadn't got another quote. Thirdly, my neighbour hadn't even signed the quote agreeing to split the cost.
I asked him why the rush. He called my site supervisor for the reason and then gave me a nothing answer. Emailed Dan, no reply (who I hadn't heard from in a month and still never replied to my email about the frame stage inspection). It was only after I emailed George that I got a reply via Monika - apparently the neighbour wanted the fence secured before Christmas.
During this time, was trying to get another quote. They were extremely slow, and they said they tried to visit the site 3 times to quote but couldn't get access, even though I had told them to call my site supervisor first. So even though they are cheaper, I'm hesitant to use them.
Anyway on the weekend, managed to finally speak to Andrew to see if he would sign the quote and found out that there wasn't any rush to get the fence completed by Christmas - after all that! This fence has caused me so much hassle! So fence will be sometime around Feb.

Another issue is that I wanted to make 3 amendments to my electrical plan - mainly to have 4 stair lights as opposed to 2. But my builder wants to charge an admin fee of $250 just to write the variation! Not happy about that, especially as I'm already paying about $300 extra for the fence. George said he would get back to me.

It's hard having decided everything early on, as this is where variation charges come in. However I guess it does help speed up the building process.

So my main complaint is the lack of communication. I hadn't heard anything for over a month, and then suddenly they tell me about this fence.

In the bigger scheme of things though, these are minor issues, hence the title of 'irks'. I've heard other horror stories, so in comparison, everything so far is going quite smoothly.

8th December
Portico brickwork of DW1 completed

Render DW2 upper floor

27th Nov

Brickwork continues - DW1 garage, side of DW1 house.
DW2 upper floor render completed.


Some wiring has been done - telephone I think?

29th Nov

Bricking DW1 front of house. Can see the wet cement of the upper brickwork.
5th Dec

Bricking other side of DW1.

Can no longer enter the property - it's locked :(

Cladding DW2

Things are moving slower now.

Brickwork is slowly going up.DW1 garage wall - which will replace the fence that they took down.

Today they completed the upper floor cladding? of DW2.

Solar panel, ductwork, first floor windows

Last Friday they started on the ductwork and put the solar panel for the hot water system for Dw2 on the roof. Yesterday they had started putting on the first floor windows.



Went by on Saturday and did a walk through video. Looks like they smashed a lot of tiles!

Roof tiles up

In the morning walked by and finally met my Site Supervisor Dale.

Was surprised to see that the DW2 roof tiles had been put up yesterday. Today DW1 roof tiles have been put up. They used a little pulley system to bring the tiles up.

Bristile Shake Profile Lunar Eclipse


Was thinking about getting the frame stage inspected (includes frame and slab) especially after I saw this pipe in the slab. But my builders are moving too quick! Foil is on, roof tiles in on, and the heating/cooling and brickwork will be going up soon. So Kevin from New Home Inspections said that I should just wait for Pre Plaster stage.

I think I'm stalking my house - I go there in the mornings and in the afternoons! Even my neighbour Andrew commented this evening!

Fence issue resolved

Spoke to Andrew yesterday. He wanted the back part replaced so I decided to come to a compromise. I will pay full cost of the back fence and we'll split the cost of the front fence. It works out that I'll pay 2/3 and he'll pay 1/3. Not happy with it, but I guess there's not much I can do.

Also was surprised that there were workers there on Sunday - they were putting up the foil in preparation for the brick work. It has the Costas Construction logo.

Went to check on something that had crossed my mind when I was on site last time - the kitchen and dining room windows. On the window schedule they're meant to be at different heights, but as can be seen in the photo, they're at the same level - which I prefer. Good mistake!Had an ADO today, still looking for lights. So hard! Went to Australian Lighting Bayswater, Melbourne Design and Lighting and Maroondah Lighting. Considering this for DW2 foyer light.

Frame stage completed!

As I walk from the station, I can see the side view through the medical centre car park. Yesterday when I got there, not only were all the roof frames completed, I was surprised to see that they had already installed the ground floor windows and sliding doors, and had put up the upper floor gutters and fascias. I'm impressed as to how quickly they're working.Invoice yesterday - 15% - Frame stage completed!

When I snuck in today to take pictures I met Jenny from No. 20. She was impressed by how quickly it's been coming along. She's currently building with NBG in Mount Waverley and says they've been quite slow. She's also planning on knocking down the current house and building, and she also said that No. 4 is too. Further down they've just cleared the site so I'm sure they'll start building soon. This street will definitely be developed soon. I'll speak to her at the end of my build and let her know if I recommend my builder!

Spoke to George yesterday. Neighbour is happy to have no fence with the garage. Now I'll just have to speak with him to see if he's happy to split the cost, otherwise I'll probably just keep it until it falls down! George MMSed me a picture of the rotten posts below the ground, so I'm not sure how much longer it will stay up.

George agreed that I didn't need to pay the 20% variation fee for the council pit which is good. That's why I like dealing with George better - he does't always try to overcharge me, unlike Dan.

Also received my replacement lights - they came really quick - on Monday. Impressive service. Although one was still slightly chipped! But less so than the other one. Also it is such a minor chip at the top I don't really mind. Now I just need to make sure when I hand it over that they take really good care of it as I know how easily it gets scratched.

Scaffolding up

1st November

Went by Cup Day and saw that they had put the scaffolding up - in preparation for the roof frames. Also saw my neighbour and spoke to him about the fence. His main complaint was the lack of courtesy of them removing the fence without consent and the not replacing it with temporary fencing. He also said when they were excavating, they knocked the stumps out - contrary to what Dan said in that the fence fell over. I guess it would fall over, if you knocked it! He felt that the builders should replace the fence. I told him that would be me then. Anyway he was going to speak to George on Thursday with Dale the site manager, who I still haven't met. George has a nice manner so hopefully he will pacify him.

Kameo white pendant lights

I went to the Davoluce Lighting Elsternwick store but they didn't have them in stock, also they were going to charge $59 each, so in the end I ordered them online $41.95 each plus $15 delivery fee - still cheaper than the other stores!

It was a quick delivery, but when I got them 1 of them has scratches, and the other has a tiny chip. I was annoyed as I thought I would need to go to the Elsternwick store to change it, but I rang today and all I need to do is take some pictures and they will send it to me. Easy!Still need to buy 36 lights. Overwhelmed and not sure the style I want. Nothing strikes me. I don't want it too modern or too old fashioned.

Places I've been
- Custom lighting outlet store
- Mattblatt - Limited range, more of a furniture store.
- Ikea
- Bunnings
- Light up Springvale - probably the most cost effective
- Australian lighting
- Maroondah lighting - expensive.

Extra costs

They say you need to have 10% extra for contingencies.

So far things that have come up
- Fences ~$2013. Still unresolved. According to Dan when they were excavating, the fence posts were rotten and hence the fence fell over. Neighbour is apparently being a bit difficult - not sure how, but George left a voicemail needing to speak to me about it. Not quite sure how truthful Dan is, sometimes I feel he tells me "white" lies. The times I've spoken to Andrew he seems reasonable, so I'll try and surmise the courage to go and speak to him. Not quite sure how to do it. Everyone thinks there's little chance that he'll pay half, and I tend to agree - Do you mind paying for half the fence that fell down because it was my fault?! No harm trying. Even if it's for half the cost of the remaining fence that's still standing.

- Council pit ~$1000. Apparently council weren't happy with using the existing pit and wanted a new one installed. On top of that cost, the builder's 20% variation. I'm not quite happy with this extra cost. I realise now I should have clarified it better in the contract rather than leave it so wishy washy. When I asked George about it, he said variations would cost between 0-20%. An example he gave is if more concrete was needed he would just give me the invoice, with the variation. So I'm wondering if the same should apply to the council pit. But obviously I don't have anything to stand on if he says 20%.

Lesson learnt: Clarify in writing specifically what the different percentage variations will apply to.

- Keyed locks. Spoke to Dan and apparently all the locks - internal and external are keyed the same. I know Mum won't be happy with that. As they have been ordered, he says they may be a charge to change it. I'll leave Mum to deal with it, as I can't be bothered. She wants 5 different keys.

Still framing

12th October - DW1 ground frame started

14th October - more DW1 frame
Looking through the front door of DW1Today - DW1 upper started

Fence issue

Today I received an email from my builder about the fence. The contractors had removed the fence, WITHOUT asking my neighbour, and now I am being charged for the replacement. Not happy. In fact I wasn't even told about the problem, but just received an email saying this is the letter that we have sent to your neighbour!

So I dropped by the house after work to see if it could be salvaged. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had already started building the frames for DW2. Also the building of the garage brick wall.
Here's the offending missing fence.
Not sure how I'm going to settle it. Guess I'll wait for the quotes.

Lesson learnt: include the replacement of fences in the contract.

Base stage completed

DW1 slab laid today.


Invoice today - 10% - Base stage completed!