Alfresco tiles

Some of you are aware of the issues that I am having with the tiles on our alfresco slab, in fact some of you have had to enjoy a relaxing dinner surrounded by a sea of dirt which then gets trodden into the house. You may even have apologized for the mess you are making even though you have no control over it.
I clean regularly with 30 Seconds, scrubbing brush and a high pressure cleaner and it is STILL dirty.
If you too are struggling to keep your tiles clean, it may be because you have a textured or structured tile surface. When you think of ‘texture’ you tend to think of a very rough surface, but sometimes the texture can be so fine that it doesn’t look ‘textured’. In this case, you might not even realise that the texture of your tiles are causing the problem! The main giveaway for these tiles is that they mark very easily, and are very hard to clean. Textured tiles provide grip as you walk on them, but as a result the surface will rapidly accumulate dirt and become visibly dirty. However, the tile is doing what it was designed for – making sure it’s impossible for you to slip on it. This was not mentioned ONCE by the sales team at Di Lorenzo - grrr. It was suggested to purchase the outdoor version of our selected tile to prevent slipping.
In my recent actions with DiLorenzo to try and address the issue, they ALL seem to know the issues surrounding this type of tile. How frustrating. On my last visit, I purchased a product to help me clean it up for Christmas guests (NanoScrub) and I was given the business card of a company that will be able to help me problem solve (obviously at cost)

www.slique.com.au

I found this on their website.....

“I can’t keep my tiles clean!”

No matter how often you clean them, or what you clean them with, you just can’t keep your tiles clean. They might even pick up dirt from the soles of your shoes when you walk across, or they might just stay generally grimy, even if you’ve scrubbed them on your hands and knees.
There are a number of reasons why you might not be able to keep your tiles clean:

1. There could be a build-up of cleaning chemicals (see "Sticky tiles" problem page)
2. Your tiles could be textured, so they ‘hold on’ to dirt and grime (see "Textured tiles hold dirt" problem page)
3. They could just be showing signs of age (see "Dirty tiles" problem page)
4. The grout might be dirty, which makes the whole floor look dirty (see "Dirty grout" problem page)
5. The colour might be fading from the tiles (see "Fading tiles" problem page)

The mob at Slique will be visiting our home in the new year for a free consultation to see what can be done - resurfacing I think is the answer.

Maintenance - where are we up to?

Travelling along pretty well at the moment, I'd say. A month after our inspection, we are now just waiting for DiLorenzo to replace a chipped ensuite tile as we didn't have any spares on site and to have all our windows fixed.

This ended up being a little confusing for all parties. ComfortPlus glazing on our windows and stacker doors was part of our package with Eden Brae  - energy efficiency. When the Airlite representative came out a few weeks ago, he indicated that it had been installed incorrectly on all windows bar one. A glazier had put it on the wrong side of the glass. This would be fixed with the damaged ones replaced. Imagine my surprise when I received an email asking if I had installed any film on my windows. Ahhhh NO! A meeting was then called between all relevant parties at our house to try and find out what the issue was and who had made mistakes. Well, it was confirmed that the ComfortPlus was on the wrong side. The confusing thing was that all the paperwork from Airlite indicated that we didn't have any glazing on our windows at all. Yet another mistake from them! Heads were shaking. It will take a day or 2 for them to fix the mistakes made.

Special mention must go to Genneral Stairs. They made a surprise visit on Saturday afternoon to replace the glass balustrade panel that had sticker/suction marks on it (not removable). The lovely company rep then went back out to the truck and brought in a larger panel to replace another one that was scratched (general wear & tear already). He had remembered its condition when he left the factory that morning and loaded an extra panel for what he called a nice customer. It's the little things like that that make a customer happy. I think I declared my undying love & affection for him there and then ;-)

MJH Contracting have done a great job of co-ordinating trades to be on-site. I am fortunate that I don't have to be out of the home for my work but to be honest, I would find it a little frustrating if days of annual leave needed to be taken for all the days when I needed to be at home.

Site inspection

I went to the house to find most of the tiling completed. In fact, the tilers told me that they will have completed it today. They schedule 5-7 days but a large team was assigned our job so they have been able to fly through it.

It was great to meet Matt who seems very thorough and organised. I know our home is in safe hands with him. He is, though, going on leave next week for a few days. He is aiming to get the house ready for our Tyrells inspection as soon as Troy returns from leave.

The new things I discovered today were that the towel rails have been incorrectly installed. Standard for our house is a 600mm double rail in the ensuite and an 800mm single rail in the main bathroom. We requested an extra for the main. Unfortunately the 2 800mm rails have been put in the ensuite and the smaller one in the main. We decided to keep the ensuite as is and order another smaller one to add to the main bathroom. Here's hoping EBH don't slap me with a variation for this mistake too ;-)
The cladding on the front of the house has been painted white as per the eaves rather than Mountain Shadow like the render. This needs to be changed.

A busy day at the house all up with tilers, site cleaners and a carpenter there doing touchups.

PS. Oh and the front door handles?? The door aren't hung correctly so when that gets fixed, the handles should be even.

Main floor tiling

It has FINALLY started about 2 weeks after the scheduled time. There was a delay in sourcing them from China so the tilers had to be redirected elsewhere. DiLorenzo kindly have kept me up to speed on what is happening at their end. When I was taking the door photos on Friday, a supervisor from DiLorenzo showed up to inspect the property. He wasn't sure on the latest but assured me that the tilers would be ready to go as soon as they arrived. The tiles must have been delivered over the weekend as the tilers were there first thing this morning. Yay!

And he is OFF!

On holidays! I wish him all the sun and sand that he can get as he deserves a good rest. Thanks Troy for all your hard work at keeping our job moving along. I am sure when he sees kitchen handles or basin mixers in Bali, he will think of those 2 annoying blondes Kerith & AJ back in Sydney LOL.

I received a phone call from DiLorenzo yesterday updating me on my delayed main floor tiles. They will arrive in Melbourne on Tuesday and be airfreighted up ASAP. The tilers will be ready to lay as soon as they arrive, I was promised.

Troy sent me a parting screenshot this morning with changes due to the delay in tiles. He mentioned the other rectification works that are scheduled to occur in his absence of 3 weeks.

"I have scheduled works as per the screenshot below. Other works to occur include- tiling behind rangehood, rectifying damaged tile to ensuite shower, rectification works to robes and treatment to isolated staining on bricks. I have am expecting to receive an answer on shortening the shelving to the linen and have left the vanity basin mixer query with Rania." 

So exciting!

Wow! The house is looking fantastic. Love, love, love it even without being cleaned or flooring in. We discovered a few issues to fix up.
* The laundry cupboards have been fitted out with shelving when we have put it in the contract to delete it all. The shelving installed is fine though they have not left us anywhere to store ironing board, brooms, mops etc. Troy is going to delete 1/4 of the shelving for that purpose.
* The vanities have incorrect mixers installed. Thanks to AJ for picking that up immediately. They are far too long and, in fact, are bath mixers.
* There is a motion sensor for my WIR missing.

Enjoy the photos.

Powder room vanity

Alarm pad (!)

Study/guest

Formal lounge

Stairs with step lights added

Undermount sink with mixer/vegie spray

Family room

Hallway to front door

My beautiful linen cupboard

Main bathroom (incorrect mixer)

Ensuite bathroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ensuite shower

Ensuite bath

Pantry

Pantry

Half the laundry cupboard

Other half

Alfresco fans

Next screenshot

I received an email from Troy this morning which included this screenshot of the program for the next 2 weeks. Looks like a lot of it depends on how the painters are going.

Email from Troy.....

"Another good week on site. Tiling to wet areas complete and painting has commenced. We did have a bit of a hiccup with the stone tops to the wet areas having to be replaced because a hole was drilled behind the basins when the taps are wall mounted. They were replaced pretty quick and didn’t hold up progress though.
 Did have a complaint from a neighbour re rubbish on site. I explained our policy and procedure regarding rubbish. I had previously scheduled a Yard clean which will occur today. I explained to to the neighbour that we have milestones when rubbish would be removed and it is impractical to have the rubbish removed on a weekly schedule. I also asked if there was any rubbish outside of the site, to which she said “no”. She was purely concerned with the volume of rubbish on site. Just thought I would give you the heads up on this."

Sounds like Troy dealt with the issue. The neighbour is going to have to deal with more building on the other side of her house when it gets developed soon.

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.

And they still can't get it right!

1) The carpet quote was finally returned today with the sums correct but the wording was NOT! How hard is it?? Not rocket science. Just careful checking required. Rather than asking for another to be emailed, I sent the acceptance with my handwritten, initialled amendments on it. Let's see if they send another back to me for resigning....

2) DiLorenzo tiles - This is the email I received "I have just spoken to estimating again, There is a tile allowance for the area behind the cabinetry in the laundry, We will need to adjust our Quantity but the quote price will not change as it is a standard tile." He has totally forgotten that he put a half wall of tiles in our quote that I never asked for. This is what I am trying to get taken out of the quote - about $400 worth. His email is telling me that I am allowed tiles all the way around my laundry bench as standard - yes, thankyou, but take the other tiles out! Waiting, waiting for an response.....

A few mistakes......

Just as well I am trying really hard to keep on top of things. There have been a couple more mistakes made in quotes. Mistakes happen & I am OK with that. It is the way it is handled that concerns me & so far so good - 2 of them have been apologetic and quickly fixed without argument.

1) EBH - We upgraded our doors in the tender process without looking at the doors (oops!). When we actually saw them, we didn't really like them so 'downgraded' them to something more suitable. When the PCV came in, firstly we had to pay an extra $911. Now, I was in 'over it mode' and electronically signed the document. When I had to sign the official document, I thought I would question the line 'in lieu of standard' given we didn't have standard doors in the first place. The estimator apologized that he didn't realise (read check the contract) that we had the expensive Eden 3G doors. A nice credit of almost $2200 coming our way.

2) DiLorenzo carpets - I discovered yesterday that they had done our measurements incorrectly. Based our quote on 259m2 of flooring to be carpeted which I didn't question (as I have no idea how to work that out) After about the 4th attempt at a correct quote (grrrr), Tilly told me to wait as she thought it was wrong. Yes, out by 80m2! The carpeted area is only 179m2. New quote to come tomorrow. I told her that whatever that is, we are accepting and if it is incorrect, they need to wear it! I am so over the amount of time spent on the phone & emailing them....all because of their mistakes.

3) DiLorenzo tiles - I am still waiting to hear back from them with an updated quote to our credit. Chris misunderstood what I wanted as far as tiling the laundry splashback. He thought I wanted tiles from the laundry floor all the way up to the top of the laundry bench and put that in my quote. What I actually wanted is tiling from around the tub right around the top of the long bench area. He informs me that that should already be included in my laundry quote from Kitchen Culture. Waiting for a week now to credit me for the other wall tiling that I didn't want......

Time for demolition quotes

I had a call from Rania yesterday to officially let me know that the plans had gone off to council. Checked today on the tracking device online & they have been received and entered by Hornsby Council.
Rania also wanted to know if we had submitted our demolition application yet....ummmm, no! Next job on the list of things to do.
Mentioned to Rania that I still hadn't received our quote from DiLorenzo after 2.5 weeks and some followup emails. R said she would followup too from her end - we then had the quote within an hour! We are still waiting on the carpet component of it though.

Personally, I think the way DiLorenzo operate with the builder is a little sneaky. Even though they are up front about the charges for laying tiles that are larger than 250 x 250mm, the tile displays they show you for standard EBH tiles are all larger than 250x250mm. Basically, you need to specifically ask for smaller tiles to avoid charges. Anyway, our tile quote came to the amount we allowed for in our contract as I decided to ask for floor to ceiling tiling in the main & ensuite.
It will be interesting to see the figure for carpets as I would like to upgrade the carpet and the underlay!

Kitchen

We finally received our Kitchen Culture drawings this afternoon so I will run through the kitchen selections with you. Enjoy!

THE BENCHTOP - CAESARSTONE OSPREY

THE ISLAND BENCH - SMOKEY SAPELLE

THE FRIDGE RUN & COOKTOP RUN - LAMINEX SILK FINISH WHITE

TILED SPLASHBACK IN A WOODGRAIN LOOK (will be narrower 'planks' and in more of a brick pattern)

TILES ON FLOOR IN KITCHEN/MEALS/FAMILY/RUMPUS etc -

PULLOUT BIN A LITTLE LIKE THIS

DRAWER ORGANISERS

AND THE 3D DRAWINGS!

COOKTOP RUN

FRIDGE RUN

Eden Brae are proving to be SLOW at the moment

And this is being experienced by a few of my fellow H1 members too. This is more a to-do list for me but these are the things that need following up.
1) Quote for a bulkhead in the laundry 07/08 - not needed according to CSA 16/08.
2) Quote for the change in front doors & rumpus sliding doors to Madison 06/08 - received & accepted
3) Follow through on wardrobe shape in main 02/08 - not needed as will leave as is.
4) Quote for extra aircon vents to the laundry, main bathroom & ensuite 14/08

Also waiting on.....
1) Kitchen, bathroom & laundry 3D drawings from Kitchen Culture 17/07 received 22/08 accepted 22/08
2) Answers from electrical guy to tie that variation up 14/08 (DONE 17/08 - accepted)
3) Details from Di Lorenzo for tiles, carpet & kitchen splashback 14/08
4) Quote from Abbey Blinds though won't hold my breath - someone is still waiting on their quote from NOV 2011!!) 14/08
5) Quote from Genneral Stairs for balustrading 14/08 - received & approved
6) Relocation of gas point from inside to outside 14/08
7) Images of wardrobes from HOG 07/08  Received 24/08
8) Image of standard mirrors from HOG 16/08

And more.....

It didn't like my post earlier and I couldn't add anything more to it hence my subsequent post.
So these are some of the wet area combinations they suggest. There would have been about 50-60 suggestions.

I took some photos of some tiles that I might be able to use for a splashback in the kitchen.

And finally the carpet - not a great range. Same colours but slightly different pattern/textures. Pretty rough to touch. I ended up just taking a photo of the few that were at HOG.