Now, as it turns out, we didn't have our "official" completion inspection today as our SS wanted some more time to get everything up to his standard, and the QA people hadn't been through yet.
Are we complaining - definitely not! We've said all along that quality takes priority over speed every time, and it's a good thing that our house isn't being rushed for no reason. So we'll have our official walkthrough in a few weeks once our SS believes our house is ready.
Anyway, we had our independent inspector Alex walk though the house today since we'd booked him in on Monday, and his opinion so far? A few little things to fix as expected, but overall, even in its current unfinished state, our house is of generally good quality, no major problems, and good brickwork! Alex also took the time too walk us around the outside of our house to explain the working of things like articulation joints, weep holes, and other construction items, which was very educational to know about. So if you feel like you want an inspector to check on your house build, or an established house, we'd recommend Alex at Urban Property Inspections - tell him we sent you!
And while we were there, a truck rolled up and packed up all the temporary fencing - our house looks incredible without all the wire fence (and portaloo!) removed! Front garage door is down, it's Surfmist to match the fascia, and cladding colour.
Got to find a way to hide the neighbour's exposed garage wall on the boundary. Also going to need some quotes on a double-width driveway, getting a wider crossover, and replacing some cracked footpath squares. And ideas for landscaping, a front fence... rear landscaping, deck... and getting my fencer to replace the fence alongside the garage! We'll also head to Fowles Clayton on Sunday to put a deposit on carpet for ASAP after handover, and also probably head down Cranbourne way to check out some places for timber, laminate, vinyl, bamboo floors - though we may have to wait on putting in floor coverings for the ground floor until the bank balance recovers!
Also got a call from Tru Energy to connect/transfer gas & electricity to our name; so things are moving along now!
So while we have an updated schedule for the final inspection and handover, I think we'll keep that a secret for the time being.. helps build up the suspense, doesn't it!
T&T
Hi T&T,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog. We're having the PCI tomorrow and I was wondering how long it will take. Thanks.
Kay
Hi Kay - we actually haven't done our PCI. But we're thinking it'll take about 1-2 hours, mainly because our inspector has already gone through the house, and given us a list to check off.
ReplyDeleteT&T
Hi T&T,
ReplyDeleteSorry I think I got confused by what is really PCI. We already got our certificate of occupancy as stated on the website last Friday so I think PCI is on for us tomorrow... we haven't been to our house for a while now... so hopefully it'll be ok - will take more than 1-2 hours though!
They also gave the date of handover which is 1st Sept. But hopefully they fix everything tomorrow so we won't have any problems otherwise it could be longer...
But thanks for your help!
Kay
Hi Tim & Tina,
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you. Did you have the inspector report last week ? So you are going to rely on that a lot we suppose. Also, when do you get the keys from here ? is it after the report's items are fixed/addressed ? or after when you move in then they fix them ?
Thanks heaps and good luck,
LeAnne
Well, what happens next is the "proper" completion inspection which we'll do - checking items off our inspector's list plus doing our own checks for paint, tiles, door finish etc etc, then about the builder has about a week to fix any outstanding problems, then we get keys! At least that's my understanding of how it all works.
ReplyDeleteT&T
Wow, that's so much fun for both of you to go on shopping for other stuff for the house now :) We are at fixing stage, it's a mess around the house, plaster is not up yet. We also have a small staircase (Wingrove). We upgraded it to timber style but we wish we could have the one like yours but they didn't let us as it's different structure required they claim.
ReplyDeleteCan you please post the staining/sanding guy for your staircase so we can have a chat with him too ?
By the way, we have never found a blog this amazing and wonderful. Thanks again guys for all the updates and it's always a treat to read your house's progress. Don't forget to update pictures after handover. We are not so good with computers/internet otherwise we could start a blog like yours :)
LeAnne (mom of 2)
If we decide to use this guy for stairs, will publish his details on the blog - not going to recommend any services unless we've actually used them and found them good quality!
ReplyDeleteT&T
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI found the wine rack that you have in the picture.
it is by Lincoln Sentry and the brochure is online at http://www.lincolnsentry.com.au/BrochureItem.aspx?id=314
Kind regards
Paul
Hi Paul - awesome, thanks for finding that for us! No way we could have tracked that one down by ourselves :)
ReplyDeleteT&T