More on blinds

Last week, Abbey Blinds recontacted us to see where we were at with the selection of our window coverings. I told the that we had sought other quotes and as Abbey's figure wasn't close to the other two, we had selected someone else. As we hadn't actioned that other quote, they asked if they could try to match it. Certainly was my answer especially as Abbey have the rights to enter the house for measure up and to install BEFORE handover. This has the advantage of not having to dress the windows with temporary coverings. Abbey came back with a figure within $800 of the other quote we were going to accept, saying that they could not go lower as their timber is a superior timber (poplar) to the other company's. Fair enough.
Unfortunately I did read on my building forum today that one Eden Brae customer has experienced issues with Abbey installing the incorrect blinds and doing it after settlement on the house. I have sent back an email asking for an explanation and asking what measures will be taken to ensure that this does not happen in our experience with Abbey ;-)
I am still trying to work out what sort of coverings will go on our 2 stacker doors. Leaning towards sunscreen roller blinds

Example of roller blinds for the stackers

Plantation shutters throughout the remainder of the house

Finally ALL good!

.....though I am worried about DiLorenzo supplying the goods when it comes time. I mean, if they can't get a quote right on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th attempt, will they be able to supply the correct tiles & carpet in the correct quantities??
Dealing with DiLorenzo has taken up soooo much time - almost as much as Kitchen Culture did. EBH, in my opinion, really need to look at the outside companies they work with. For mine, they are letting down the process and ultimately EBH.
Cooks Plumbing - by far the best & most efficient.
Abbey Blinds - seem to be better at the moment & depends on your consultant.
Outback Landscaping - offered me an outrageously expensive quote for a driveway. No thanks!
Kitchen Culture - based on my experience lacking customer service & a headache to deal with
Electricals - no complaints here but a tedious appointment
DiLorenzo - dodgy marketing (my opinion), time delays on quotes, incorrect quotes, time delays to amend quotes, lack of customer focus (well they have our custom already, don't they?)

All quotes are now in. Waiting for them all to be converted to PCVs and sent to me for signatures - electricals, staircase, tiles, carpets, extra externals taps.

Quotes - demolition & blinds

Will we regret it? I hope not. We received a quote today from State Demolitions which was in the ball park figure I was expecting (actually a little lower at $14.5K) This includes council application & tree removal. We decided to go ahead and accept this quote rather than mucking around wasting time & energy getting others for comparison. More quotes also mean inconveniencing our tenants which we want to avoid doing.

We have had a rush of blind quotes over the past few days:-
For the entire house in basswood plantation shutters......
Abbey Blinds - $14K (Eden Brae associated)
GR Blinds - $11.4K (highly recommended by friends)
Shade Elegance - $10.2K (approached me via HomeOne)
I am loving all these quotes as I was expecting a figure more like $25-30K for shutters.
No decisions need to be made for ages. Filed away for future reference.....

Blinds, tiles, carpets, demolition & hose cocks!

Today has seen me spend inordinate amounts of time emailing various companies to tie up loose ends.

I wanted to see the quote come in for carpet upgrades for 3 weeks ago so I got Eden Brae and my contact at Di Lorenzo both onto that. The quote came in and of course, it was incorrect. This was quickly rectified. The quote now contains upgraded carpet throughout the house ($5 per sqm more) to one that is a little softer under foot than the scratchy ones that were standard. It also contains a medium upgrade to underlay downstairs and the top upgrade for upstairs carpet (I am hoping it helps to muffle the elephant herds upstairs). Sleeping on the quote before I decide whether to accept it...

I had decided that the blind/shutter appointment I had with Abbey Blinds was a waste of time as I had heard they never respond to emails nor do they actually send the quote through unless you hassle for weeks on end. I was already armed with window measurements so thought it would be something I look into next year whilst the build is happening. Much to my amazement, I received the quote from Abbey today and it was very, very reasonable. To put plantation shutters on every window in the house, I was quoted $14K. Now given 11 years ago, we were quoted $13K for Venetian blinds in our current, much smaller house - this quote is too good to be true. This company also have access to the house before settlement as they work with Eden Brae.

Someone from a demolition company rang today to ask if he could quote for us.....within an hour!! Nothing like a bit of notice particularly when we have tenants that need to be notified via a property manager. Fortunately, it all worked out, thanks to my lovely tenants.

I decided that on a house our size we need more hose cocks (where did that name come from??!!). Waiting for a quote for 2 more to give us pretty much one on each corner of the house.