17/04 - External completed. Internal more progress!

Looking like we're almost there. Another month to completion.

07/03 - Bricks half done & Internal progress

SS informed wrong family pictures will be replaced next week. Tilers will also start next week.  All cabinets are already installed.  Lockup stage completed end of next week and fixing stage completed the week after. We could be in by end of April or early May.

If that's the case,  I'd be very happy!  Hopefully there will be no major issue from here onwards.

14/02 - Bricks delivered

Blackwood was supposed to be burgundy in colour but somehow turn up as chocolate brown!!!  Looks more like Homestead Tan.  Not sure if I mind about this variation or not.

12/02 - All Wrappped

Brickies was supposed to start this week.  However, there might have been delayed in delivery.  SS informed that they're planning to start plaster next week. This means plaster up before bricking completed.  Our inspector called this Reverse Engineering.  It's important to inform builder the intention to perform pre plaster stage inspection otherwise everything would have been covered up. In which, we did.

06/02 - Frame Completed

Our independant inspection was done on this day. It took ~30mins to inspect and would not think more than a couple hours to write the report.  What a great business it is.   A few minor issues to follow up.

We realised that the standard roof pitch was a bit low for future maintenance, especially lighting is going to be difficult to install.  Perhaps worth asking for upgrade with bigger angle for roof pitch.

17/01 - Frame Construction Started

Construction business fully back to normal operation from 14/01/2013 officially and here is what we found on this day:

18/12 - Slab Completed

All this work was done in one day yesterday (17/12/12)

This is what we have today:

Even though still no contact from Site Supervisor.  It is still great progress!

03/12 - Site Start (unofficially)

Drove past the house and surprise to find out out site has been scraped.  The fence was up the next day.
Our post contract variations after Contract Signing has been extremely slow for only minor changes.  Still yet received the latest Post Contract Variations form in almost a month time.

Despite admin slow communications,  it is exciting to see something happening on site!  We're expecting the Site Supervisor to contact us soon.

DEMOLITION Rectification work for Council Footpath has been very frustrating.  Promise after promise .. still not done (a month time).  Now the Asset Protection Permit is under our names and we will have to chase both Vic Wide Demolition and MainVue builder AFTER Building Completion (~6-7 months time) for any further damages to council asset before we can get our security bond back.  What a hassle !!!  Not only that, we already paid in the building contract for the Council Protection Permit.

02/11 - Finance Approved

Unconditional loan approval letter recieved. 
Balance of initial deposit paid.

All we're waiting for now is the Building Permit from Council for a site start.

24/10 - Demolition Final Inspections

So frustrated with Monash Council today,  rang them up a month ago just right after demolition complete for final inspection and release of Asset Protection bond,  they have no record of my call and request in their system !?! 

LESSON LEARNED:  Always get a call reference number from Council, which they can provide upon each important call request.

The building surveyor who issued the demolition permit will also need to complete final inspection.  However, they are quick.  They're attending the next day after my call.  Whereas Council required 2-3 weeks time for such inspection to be arranged and completed.

22/10 - Contract SIGNED

Done deal and sorted !!!

We enjoyed contract signing today.  Admin girl was helpful even though there were still mistakes and the handling of the documents weren't so great (wondering if it's because she has to look after 100 clients and it's getting out of hands sometimes).  Since they were few minor errors anyway, we had them all noted in the Post Contract Variation form signed today as well. 

Such a relieve to have things finalised finally!

We should be contacted for update on building permit approval progress in approx. 2 weeks time.  Then our admin girl said that she will give us weekly update once construction started.

We were also told that we will have one construction manager through out the project and there're normally 5 site supervisors in which they could be rotated around due to their personal availability / location to sites.  They do have meeting weekly to keep themselves on top of things.  Hope that this will not be so much of an issue for us as clients to follow things up between one and another SS.

16/10 - Contract Still NOT Signed

Two months on and contract still not ready to sign.  Too many things were not updated accordingly to markups in the last contract appointment, plus others  :( 

The admin girl is working to resolve this asap since they were simple changes.  Hopefully, all will be corrected today. 

15/10 - Proposed Contract Signing - 2nd attempt

Two weeks on and second soil test could not be completed due to the land is too wet for drilling. I recall it has only been a few days over the two weeks that it was raining. How unfortunate that the day when they visit site is the wet day. Weather has been fine this week. I'm so hoping that they get the test done. I'm still hoping that we could sign on 15/10 as proposed by the admin girl. Cross fingers !!!

14/09 - Demolition Completed

It is now one empty vacant land ready for a new era!

12/09 - Demolition Commence

After a couple of days delay from the proposed start day, it actually happens today

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 It was a nice surprise to have called up Jemena for progress update after a week job was raised to them by AGL and found out they have actually done it. Nothing should be hindrance to demolition now. Touchwood!

20/08 - Proposed Demolition Date

Demolition NO GO for next week :( 

Application to AGL for gas abolishment has contained error.  They rang Vic Wide Demo office number and no answer.  They just left it as that without reattempt !!! Now I discovered that our gas meter has not been removed after a month .  Got Vic Wide Demo to ring AGL and found out what was the issue on the form. New form has to be re-submitted.  Now have to wait for another month before demolition can happen !!!

LESSON LEARNED :  Always follow up with a phone call after application submission to make sure everything is correct for processing (even follow-up calls for progress ) ... can't rely on third party to call back ... what a wasteful month of idle !!!

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Guaranteed by Sam from Vic Wide Demolition to have job done by Friday 31/07/12.  That is an assurance but we're still behind one week than previously planned.  Hope that they'll do a clean job so that there is no hinderance to site start.

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Vic Wide Demolition has been very helpful through out application for demolition.  They're waiting on permit of their Surveyor.  However, they've proposed to our council asset protection permit application that demolition to happen on 20/08, which is on Monday week.  

Cross fingers that it will happen as proposed !!!

17/08 - Contract Appointment - Not Signed

Contract Signing has been postponed until after second soil test is done.  This way we can have a more defined site cost as well as slab design ready for council building permit.

As soon as Demolition is completed (which will be by Friday 31/08/12), we'll inform our Admin girl to book second soil test. Results and slab design will take ~2weeks, contract signing will be the week after.  So it's looking at third week of September now to sign contract and site start would be early to mid October.  Hope that there will be no further delays to site start. 

Even if we have signed contract earlier, MainVue would still need to wait for second soil test and slab design. Therefore, it would not make no difference apart from contracting more/less to the provisional lump sum for site costs.  Therefore we decided to wait until all costs refined.

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So glad our admin girl who's filling in for the sale consultant is based in Mount Waverley office.  We will be signing up the contract with her in MW, which is much more convenient for us than at Point Cook.  Before tender, we requested to do paperworks at MW.  The sale consultant told us MainVue stopped offering clients to do so as they wanted to separate the business with Henley.   I suppose there's always exception!

16/08 - Electrical appointment

Electrical Appointment did not start too well with Argus refused to do downlights to kitchen bulkheads as they say they saw it burns holes to overhead cupboards.  Even if we accept the liability and take the risk, they just would not do it.  We intended to do this as kitchen features like displayed.  Now we just have to fall back to plan B with the 3 x pendant lamps over the kitchen island bench. 

Otherwise, everything went well and the Argus girl was quite helpful in working out how many lights and provision we can have to not breach 6 star energy requirement. 

We invested all downlights to ground floor as they would be too hard to do after hand-over and keeping first floor standard, apart from the light in the niche, which would be hard to do after hand-over.

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So glad to have called the admin girl today to book in for an appointment with Argus. Even though tender has note for MainVue to organize however it would have been forgotten.  Argus is all booked up until 16/08. Since it's only 1 day before contract signing, it still has to come as post contract variation.

15/08 - Contract Document Received

So much to read and check through ... Already found a few mistakes:
1. Did not delete standard bath tub as requested
2. Did not add to provide replacement rangehood as requested
3. Husband name spelt wrong
4. Door dimension incorrect in drawings.

23/07 - Settlement

The new property to be demolished has been settled today. Abolishment of services are being organized. 10% Deposit has been paid to Vic Wide Demolition Pty Ltd. Awaiting certificates and permits now for demolition. Contract appointment is coming up. Hopefully can sign in mid August before hubby going oversea.