General update

So it seems getting Eden Brae involved does net results from Concept Pools. Within 30mins of finishing my phone call with EBH Management, I had a phone call from the Finishing Supervisor that I have been trying to contact. (He should be able to get to us sometime next week, weather depending.) Thank you for following up, EBH. I was at my wits end with them.

A great segue into how FANTASTIC Eden Brae have been post build. The level of service has been nothing short of fantastic and we aren't even at the 13 week maintenance period yet. All the issues I highlighted in an earlier post have been addressed and today I even had new fans installed to replace the ones that had been acid washed by a tradie. I have never been made to feel that I was not important or to 'move on' as my house was finished as you often hear about the building experience.

And today saw our home turn from cool white to warm white. Yay! What a difference it makes to the feel of the house. So much cosier. The sparkies also installed an extra downlight for us, fixed the motion sensors and put the new fans in place. Yet to come back with the stair lights that they didn't have the globes for.

This morning also saw a guy from New Fidelity come out to double check on our requirements and our cabling for the media room. All looks good to go ahead with a tentative install date of 11/12/13
* 70” Sharp HD TV
·           Custom programmed New Fidelity Smart Remote control system (with colour touch screen) that allows equipment to be controlled through joinery + charging cradle
·           Monitor Audio wall mount speaker package – 4 x white cube wall mount speakers with matching subwoofer in white – centre speaker will sit on joinery
·           Wall mount brackets for above speakers
·           Denon Home Theatre Receiver
·           Apple TV
·           Internet switch for media room
*          Humax Digital TV Recorder with ICE TV
Can't wait to watch some movies and great sporting matches in this room.

Bank cheque

I am the amazed holder of a CBA bank cheque. This is our final payment to Eden Brae and gets handed over to them on a visit to the office next Monday when we pick up the keys. Fortunately the last payment was much easier than the very first payment - probably the most stressful time of the build. We sent off the invoice, a valuer came to the property, we picked up the bank cheque....ready for Monday. As a word of warning, some banks require other documentation (proof of insurance, interim occupancy certificate etc) but CBA only required the valuation.

Today was the final electrical fitoff - outside lights, appliances, aircon unit/control panel, doorbell, hot water service. They were still hard at work at 5pm when I turned up for some photos. I was able to get a riveting photo of the aircon & gas hot water service ;-)

 

I received a call today from Troy informing me that Baumatic (supplier of appliances) are going through some financial difficulties at the moment and therefore there are some issues with supply. The incorrect oven was delivered today (to be rectified) but our dishwasher could not be supplied. Troy offered us a Venini dishwasher which we accepted to get us over the line for Monday. From what I hear Baumatic and Venini are pretty much as bad as each other!
Tomorrow will see the cleaners come through again for a final clean before settlement and Friday, the site will be cleaned ready for the big day on Monday.

A hive of activity today

The sun is shining bright and is expected to all week. GREAT, on account of the house being built and also the school holidays. There were a few tradies at the house today. I noticed that the sparkies had been to change the wiring in the entry way. We changed from wall points to light points at great cost. AJ from re-do my space has plans to install 2 of something like this on the wall just in the entry foyer with a console.

We also agreed to have 2 light points on either side of the house in lieu of the 2 downlights that we cannot have (see previous post)

I noticed today that the insulation has been installed at some stage recently. The photo here is not very clear from my boundary position.

Many guys were delivering copious amounts of gyprock today. The electrical company told me last week that it was due for the start of installation on Tuesday. Actually, you can probably see the insulation better in this photo.

The recent downpours of rain have again highlighted our drainage issue on one side of the house. Given our landscapers don't have access until after settlement, I don't think there is much we can do. I am sure that it doesn't make it easy for the builders nor is it possibly doing good things to the slab.

A very quiet week

All has been quiet on our Eden Brae house - no sign of action mostly due to the rain, I think. I did receive  phone call from the electrical company to inform us of an issue with our job. Our plans have recorded that we requested 2 external downlights in the eaves outside the study window. Um, we don't have any eaves there. Doh! We need to come up with some alternate or get credit for the downlights. I am waiting to hear back from them as to whether we can put on updown light there and one on the outer garage wall to balance it out.

I did say at the end of last week that there were some issues that I needed to get sorted with Troy from my time on site.
1) Our contract states that the shower niches are 270mm in height. I confirmed with Troy earlier in the year that the measurement was indeed the finished height. When I measured them on site, the timber framing is 270mm so by the time they put gyprock & tiling etc up, it will be significantly less. Troy said that he hadn't overlooked this and that it would be rectified.
2) One of our PCVs was to add extra noggins to every wall of the house(easier that specifying exactly which walls) We have some sports memorabilia to hang and want some large mirrors etc. There appeared to be no extra noggins at all. Troy will fix this.
3) I wasn't sure which way the front door would open and indeed which one would open. I wanted to check this before it was manufactured offsite. Tory was looking into this for me.

I am hoping that next week sees a flurry of activity at the EBH house and maybe even our current home sold ;-)

A disappointment!

Last week when  I met Troy on site to discuss aircon issues, he told me that electrical roughin was booked for Monday. We organised for us to meet mid-late Monday at a time to be arranged to go through with my interior designer as per my plan - there is a note on the plan that we are to still advise on placement of some powerpoints.
I sent a message to Troy on Friday suggesting 11am - no answer; sent another message this morning at 8am confirming 11am - no answer; AJ and I turn up to the site and there were no tradies and no Troy. Disappointing that I have paid that money for AJ to come and advise and we have no access and nothing to do. Just as well she is worth it ;-)

Electrical plan

Quite a few people have been asking me of late about our electrical plan  -  what we added for the huge upgrade and how much individual items were. I will add in the cover page for our electrical selections but I warn you, it is quite confusing. Even our consultant admitted that it isn't the easiest document to follow for the average punter. Some items are listed with a cost price even though they are included in our package eg. exhaust fans, smoke detectors. Craig gave me an explanation at the time which seemed reasonable.

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.

Electricals

On a roll today with posts! Tied up electricals from our appointment on Tuesday. Happy with what we did and got everything on the wish list (sort of)

* 5 x Step Lights
* 100 (exactly) LED downlights (at $120 each o-: )
* Provision for 4 pendant lights
* 2 x twin floodlights
* 2 x under cupboard lights
* 2 x Updown lights for facade
* 3 x outdoor sockets
* 14 x single GPO
* 34 x double GPO
* 3 x quad GPO
* 4 x data points
* 1 x phone socket
* 4 x TV points
* 2 x 3 in 1 lamps
* 2 x ceiling fans for alfresco
* 2 x motion sensor lights for pantry & my wardrobe
* 1 x junction box light for pool lighting
* Prewired for surround sound in the theatre
* Prewired for NBN
* Digital TV antenna
* Provision for wall mounted TVs x 2
* Upgrade alarm keypad to touch pad & slimline siren.
* Provide doorbell
* Run HDMI

This was an exhausting 3 hours!