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

Stacker door issue

Last week, the day before our stacker doors were instaled I received a message from a friend who has recently built with Eden Brae.
"Check how the bottom of the alfresco doors are sited...ours are not flush with the tiled family areas so you have to step over them onto the outside alfresco. We were never told about this and there's absolutely nothing they can do once fitted. Might be worth a chat with someone... We are now putting aside money to redo the doors (panoramic instead of existing stacker) with flushed finish"

I quickly sent off an email to Troy that night knowing that the doors would be installed the next day. Unfortunately the reply came back that night unfavourably.
"That would be correct. There is a track running across the base of the door. This track is the guide for the door panels and it will sit above the finished floor levels. At this stage it is too late to change this. The way they are designed means that there needs to be a substancial track to support the doors. The product is not specific to Eden Brae and you would find that a number of builders using the bifold doors in their homes will have the same thing. Thanks."

A little disappointed as I am already unhappy about having a 'step down' to the tiles. Now we have a step-over and then a step-down! Maybe we will need to put money aside too just like my friend.

Miscellaneous

1) Stormwater issues - None of the neighbours responded to the request for a stormwater easement over their property (not even a negative answer!) This means we have to go with the absorption trenches in the backyard. A statutory declaration has been completed to send to the hydraulic engineer. Our neighbours have saved us a LOT of money upfront (legal fees, compensation etc) but not sure about the effectiveness of the trenches.
2) Laundry cupboard - Felt a little stuck in the middle between EBH and Kitchen Culture about our extra laundry cupboard. At tender, EBH told us it was Kitchen Culture's responsibility and of course, Kitchen Culture told us that we were much better off getting EBH to do it so that it would be the same as the cupboard currently in the plan. My CSO has asked for a sketch of what I want so hopefully we can get it sorted.
3) I found a discrepancy on our plans as far as the direction of one of our stacker doors to the alfresco. The ground floor plan has it going one way (the way we want) whereas the elevation drawings have it going the opposite direction. An easy correction, I hope.
4) Changed my blog address too. As this is public, thought it best to get my full name out of the address.

External Colours

Two days later and my head is still swimming with colours, designs and choices. It was a long and exhausting day, made that little bit easier by having Anastasia by my side. Here are the external colours we are using

BRICKS - Chocolatto

ROOF, GUTTERS, FASCIA, WATERTANK ETC - Colorbond Monument

RENDER, CLADDING & BARGE - Taubmans Mountain Shadow (no image)

FRONT DOOR - Taubmans Viking Grey (no image)

GARAGE DOOR - Colorbond Dune

EAVES & ALFRESCO CEILINGS - Bristol Greylocks

LAUNDRY DOOR - Taubmans Surfmist

WINDOWS & REAR STACKER DOORS - Airlite Bond Off White (no image)

Let's see how it actually turns out when on large areas, with shadowing, full sun etc. You can get the basic idea though...