Days up to Demo

Hopefully this is a speedy update because I am super busy with my uni work (studying interior architecture!) and I’ve sadly neglected my blog.  To bring you up to date, we have officially signed the builder on. A fabulous husband/wife duo who are locals; they used to live a few doors up from Almora and have heaps of projects in our area over many years. They are just "on to it”; know every detail, very professional, keen to be signed on, obviously experienced. Exactly what we were looking for! Demo is set to start this week. Eek!! 

We went out to tender and met with about four or five different builders over the last few months. They were builders recommended to us by our architects or friends. Ultimately it came down to professionalism, cost and time. Thankfully our builder duo had the best of all three. I met two of the builders, and knew right away that the ones we signed on would be the right fit because the second builder I met hadn’t even looked at our plans. Tut tut. 

Our builder is really conscientious, pays attention to detail and quality, and plays by the rules. He told us he keeps his construction sites clean, tidy and safe according to the building regulations which is very important. We got to see one of his finished houses also in our area and it was just so beautiful and obviously had been paid a lot of attention to detail. It was probably for me what made me like our builder the most out of them all, getting to see his work in the flesh and imagine our own house built by him too. 

After we signed on our duo, we had to go and talk to our neighbours in order to gain access to their property to build the boundary sides of our house (we go right up to the edge of the boundaries). This involved bringing the finished, council-stamped plans and paperwork for the neighbours to sign. But it can be a tricky process. You see, one set of neighbours signed it with no issues at all, but the other set were apprehensive, but in order for them to actually see our plans (i.e. what we are building, how far out, shadows, windows, etc. - not that they can object any of these now, that time has been and gone), they have to sign the first part of the paperwork. They did this. However, signing that first part puts a time limit on signing the second part - 14 days to be exact. The second part is the final agreement. If they fail to sign the second part our land surveyor automatically grants us access (which also involves the removal of fences/shrubbery in the way). It sort of sounds like this defeats the purpose of even asking the neighbours but I think it sets up cordiality and friendly relations, that is if the neighbours aren’t too pissed off about the building going on. Anyway, they signed the paperwork in the end and we’ve come to an agreement about replacing the fence, etc. 

Before we signed on our builder he and his wife gave us a list of questions to answer about our plans that needed to be confirmed or hadn’t been addressed clearly in the architects notes. I wrote out all the questions he emailed in a formatted structure and typed each answer my parents dictated. Real example:  

DOORS

Doors = three panel door textured (see picture [not in blog]), but exterior grade for noise reducing 

Door handles = pewter colour

Front door = traditional Victorian four panel door, with Victorian style screen door

KITCHEN + PANTRY

Confirm all materials & finishes i.e. benchtops, doors & panels

All kitchen/pantry bench tops = Caesarstone “Snow”

Kitchen cupboard/drawers doors = shaker panel doors, white, 2 pac. Interior of joinery to be timber. 

 Kitchen splashbacks = feature tiles (not marble, not glass)

Above cooktop bench = overhead cupboards (shaker panel), to house the pull-out rangehood

They were pretty comprehensive. You should’ve seen the entire list! It was every single room in the house.

Some of the questions involved illustrated examples, like the joinery for my sister’s and my wardrobes and desks. So, me being the student interior architect, I drew the following plans, and was subsequently told my plans were too expensive and needed to be toned down. I am yet to see what the cabinet maker comes up with, as I was told he/she would be coming up with a new plan that was based on my ideas.

 

We are yet to choose tile and paint colours and all of that fun decorating stuff that I so desperately love. I seriously hope I am involved in the tile selections and door handle selections… super exciting to me. 

So, within the next 9-12 months, you’ll be seeing more progress photos and updates of the actual, physical build! I can’t wait for this time next year when we will most likely have moved in! Seems surreal! 

I’ll leave you with a picture of the spray painted walls my family recently completed (without me, begrudgingly) for fun before demo! I’ll be back soon with a post about the demo! 

 

XO