Blind quote

Another item ticked off our To Do list was the blind situation.

We wanted a quality selection of blinds throughout the whole home to match our build upgrades and furniture options. We knew this was going to be an expensive project however we had been setting aside some funds just for this.

We looked a couple of different blind companies however settled with Into Blinds in Thomastown. Our rep was Matthew who was great initially however was hard to get in contact with once they had taken our deposit. It took a couple of meetings and a few phone calls to lock in the items we wanted.

We are still yet to do a formal measure and sizing appointment which will take place on site. We are also yet to formally choose colours however we know what we want in the way of looks. We will probably be going with charcoal/grey colour combinations throughout.

Our quoted price for the below blinds is $9,687.

The below is what we have chosen.

Note:

"Fit In" means the blind will sit inside the window frame (you will see gaps of light down the sides of the blind).
"Fit out" means the blind will sit on top of the architrave/window frame (no gaps for light).

Main Bedroom

"Fit Out" block out blind with Floor to Ceiling/Wall to Wall screen curtain. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.

Wall to Wall / Ceiling to Floor. 
Screen curtain with block out blind underneath

Bathrooms/Laundry/Powder Room

"Fit Out" block out blind. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.
No need for screen blinds in these rooms.

Plain block out blind in "Fit Out"
with pelmet

Office

"Fit In" screen blind with "Fit Out" block out blind. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.

Double blind (1 screen and 1 blockout)
with pelmet

Alfresco Doors

"Fit In" block out blind. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet. 4 blinds in total (2 each door).

As the doors for the alfresco is so big we can't cover this area in only 1 blind each side. This means we will have a gap between each blind. As there is a gap that can't be helped we have chosen the block out blind just for basic privacy. This blind will never be light tight however we chose the "Fit In" placement in case we choose to add a wall to wall / floor to ceiling curtain at a later date.

Alfresco door blinds
(Note gaps between blinds)

Living

"Fit In" screen blind with "Fit Out" block out blind. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.

Double blind (1 screen and 1
blockout) with pelmet

Bedrooms

"Fit In" screen blind with "Fit Out" block out blind. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.

Double blind (1 screen and 1 
blockout) with pelmet

Theater

"Fit Out" block out blind with Floor to Ceiling/Wall to Wall screen curtain. Includes fabric wrapped pelmet.

Wall to Wall / Ceiling to Floor. 
Screen curtain with block out blind underneath

After handover lighting selections

Over the last couple of weeks we have been keeping an eye out for the after handover lighting we will need to have installed. We need the following;

2 wall mounted lights for either side of the ensuite mirrors
2 ceiling fans for alfresco area
Pendant light for the dining area

Last weekend we found just what we were looking for. We had been trawling through catalogs and lighting shops however never really finding what we wanted. This included around 10 separate trips into Beacon. Beacon supply the light fittings for the Boutique builds so we always ended up coming back here.

The below were the selections we have chosen.

2 Airfusion A60 DC Fans.  $695 each

2 wall mounted ensuite mirror lights.
We will change the globe to a crisp white to avoid
the yellow tinge in the photo. $199 each

Our dining pendant light is a little more complicated.

We will be installing a ceiling plate to hold 4 individual pendant lights suspended at different heights in a row. This will match our rectangular dining table. The total cost of this setup is $503.

ceiling plate to run pendant lights

LED globes.
Looks much better than the standard filament
 and last longer. Also puts out more light.

The light fitting. Remove the ceiling plate and
light globe and add our options instead.

*EXAMPLE*
Picture this type of light setuip with our plate
and the lights at staggered random heights

Insulation, Plaster and Bricks!

It has been a week and a bit so time for another update.

The build is really powering along now and it is awesome to see. It really looks like they are pushing to reach initial lock up before Christmas.

In what seemed like only 2 days they managed to get all the insulation installed including the roof space. It was also great to see that they have insulated all internal walls as well as the roof right up to the eaves. This will really help keep noise from travelling through walls and also help keep an even temperature in very warm and very cold periods.

Insulation in internal walls

Insulation right up to the eaves

In a week they have also managed to get 95% of all plastering done including the square set cornices in the living areas and the normal cornice in all other areas. Quality looks great too!

Cornice in laundry (pictured is the

bulkhead for the laundry)

Square set in living/kitchen

Looking towards kitchen/laundry

and entrance hallway

looking towards alfresco with both sides
of the doors in now

During this time they have also worked a lot on the bricks. We were really worried up until this point not knowing if we would like our brick choice. We chose Austral Settler Pepperwood Bricks (Category 3) however were never really sure if it would match our window frames and roof colour. Since seeing a couple of walls now completed we are really happy. It is only a Cat 3 which means on the lower end of the scale (Boutique offer nearly 20 different categories of bricks).

Looking towards garage from pool area

looking at theater room and living room walls

close up of living room wall

living room wall

front porch with cheaper bricks to go under render

front porch (bricks being

rendered on left)

Master bedroom

We are still waiting on Boutique to send us our Pre-Plaster inspection report. Hopefully they can advise that they fixed everything prior to the plaster and insulation going in as we have no way to check it. I guess we will just have to trust that Boutqiue's repuation for producing quality homes is correct!

Frame Progress - Roof on, bricks delivered, Pre-plaster Inspection

Just a quick update to what has happened over the last week and a half.

As a result of the slab/frame inspection the site has been cleaned up a lot and most of the defects have been rectified.

Before site clean

After

The roof has also been installed and the bricks have been delivered to the site.

 

 

Austral Settler Pepperwood (Cat 3)

Different coloured bricks for under the render

They have also started (and almost finsihed) electrical, plumbing and insulation. The heating/cooling has been installed into the roof cavity. Solar heater water panel is on the roof also. It is really moving.

We have been advised that next week the bricks and plaster will be installed. I believe they are aiming for lock up just before Christmas.

Today we also had our Pre-plaster inspection. This report was very detailed and over 30 pages long. I'm very happy that we choose to get these inspections done as I can't imagine what would have happened if these points were not rectified. Part of this inspection also included a re-inspection of the previous slab/frame issues raised. Most of these points have now been fixed with the exception of 2 which is a work in progress.

Some of the issues picked up on the Pre-plaster inspection are;

- The gutters are not installed properly meaning that they are not level and water could pool in the wrong ends. There is also a lot of rubbish and material left over from the tile installation which needs to be removed.

- Flashing and cladding have not been installed meaning the roof is not 100% watertight.

- Sewer vents on the roof have not be insulated to prevent water leaking.

- The masonite packers to straighten out the walls have not been attached with the correct fittings.

- Some of the windows haven't been installed with the correct headspace and gap.

- The laundry bulkhead has been made using the roof truss which is not to code. It will have to be redone.

- There is no clear walkway between the manhole and heater platform in the roof which will need to be installed.

Those are the main points which we have officially requested Boutique to rectify before moving on with the next stages. This may slow down progress on the build however it is important that these are fixed now so to not cause issues in the future.

Hopefully next week I can update the blog with photos of the bricks and plaster!