Pretty much all the wall framing is done to the first floor. Wonky photo due to me not holding iphone steadily enough. Play "Where's Tina" and you might spot her in the middle of the first floor. Also, most of the wood that was gathering in front of the house has been used, stacked at the rear, or in the rubbish bin - site looking much clearer & cleaner now! Also, the chippies have cut out the flooring for the flush tile base to the ensuite shower.
View of Bed 4 from bathroom. The door between these two rooms is waaaay off! Basically one of the appealing features of our house design is that two of the minor bedrooms have access to the upstairs bathroom, kind of like a shared ensuite. But the way the wall frame is right now, the door is exactly where the vanity will go. Should be an easy fix - pull down about 3 studs, and reposition door frame adjacent to shower.
Note to self; other minor things to bring up with the chippies/SS to fix by frame completion:
- several noggins hanging loose
- internal access, front door and HT room door frames still too low
- bathroom access door frame in bed 4 in totally the wrong spot, needs to be moved to correct position
- beam under bed 4 missing
- beam/sideboard to sitting room side wall missing
Here's a quick photochop comparison of how things look;
basically we wanted something like the standard lindrum design (pic 1), as the standard nolan 41 has laundry access from the kitchen (pic 3). We redesigned it to pic 4, and also enclosed the powder room. Advantages are - not having to go through the kitchen to the laundry, quicker access to laundry from upstairs bedrooms (right near the bottom of the stairs), plus a massive Walk In Linen cupboard, plus the fridge recess to the kitchen becomes larger, plus there's a "linen" cupboard now at the bottom of the stairs, opposite the internal access door, where Tina can store her 38,000 pairs of shoes.I'm not entirely sure what benefits the combined pantry/laundry would give you (pic 2?). Somehow, I would think 52 squares should be enough space for most families without having to combine rooms! My main concern is dirty (or clean) laundry in the same room as food? Possible damp clothes with the cereal? Bringing clothes in & out all the time through the kitchen? My personal vote would be to keep the standard lindrum pantry/laundry layout which is pretty well thought out already, but maybe change the linen cupboard so the door to access it opens from the laundry itself, not from the passageway outside. Anyway that's just my opinion, we just don't like laundry access from the kitchen but it may suit your needs that way! :)
Readers, please feel free to ask questions as Paul did to see if we can help, and post comments/feedback on these issues as it's good to hear what other people think, not just our/my opinions on things!
T&T
Thanks Tim & Tina. I checked thru your blog after I posted the comment and realised you changed it from standard, not the other way around. Doh! We're still debating pros and cons. I agree closing off access to the laundry from the passge may be a problem, but were hoping we can get the builder to put a laundry chute in the laundry cupboard. We want the laundry/pantry to be multi-purpose and an extension of the kitchen. These days laundries tend to be a feature - just check out some displays - and we'd be keeping clothes washing separate from stored food, etc anyway. In reality we're only removing a wall between the pantry and laundry so they're no closer! Anyway - we're not decided either way. Just trying to come up with ideas before our prelim next week! Paul
ReplyDeleteHi Tim & Tina
ReplyDeleteCan you please comment on the preliminary contract presentation appointment? We’re building double storey house with BigM. We’re not having much fun with our CSC who doesn’t return our calls or acknowledge emails. When we mentioned additional changes, she said that these can be signed on the day as a variations document to the preliminary contract. We've since spoken to our sales guy who's been really helpful and he's asked her to send the prelim contract to us before the meeting and also to acknowledge emails. It sounds like we are expected to sign something on the day of prelim contract presentation even if it does not include all our changes. From what we read on your blog this was not the case with yourselves and you came back to sign the prelim about two weeks after the first meeting. Any comments? Paul
Hey Guys,
ReplyDeletehouse is coming up well.
just a general comment on dealing with Site Supervisors and CSC: my own experience has been mixed. I have had one SS who said everything was good but didn't return phone calls and didn't do a lot. My current SS is on the ball but a bit stiff about the rules so we couldn't get the sparkies to fix up some lights we bought.
Site Supervisors - when you do meet with the SS, best to give him(or her) a written list of things of things that are wrong. Don't do it verbally. And to play it really safe, I would send a copy to the CSC so that it is documented and they have no excuses.
CSC - if you don't get any response, just ask for their supervisor or manager. Also put all things in writing (email).
Cheers,
Sean