Roof Tiles & Windows

We have a roof!  And all our windows are in!  (Colours choices can be seen here.)

We've gone against the trend and gone for a lighter coloured roof which should hopefully be somewhat thermally efficient.

We're really happy with how everything is coming together so far.

Looking up from the road

Looking in from the backyard (a truer colour of the roof tiles)

Our brick delivery - yay!

Windows in Bedroom of unit

Living area of unit

Main bathroom

Looking in towards kitchen and dining room

Looking into kitchen - sink & dishwasher will go where those black pipes are

How beautiful was tonight's sunset? This was taken looking out the front entrance

Happy surprise

"B" couldn't help himself and went for another house visit early last night and while checking out all the plumbing that had gone in, he was met with a happy surprise!  Our heavenly bi-fold doors had been installed!!!!  We can't believe they're in already!

All the windows had been delivered to the site too so today is going to be super busy!

Feast your eyes on these babies...

I wish we had the room inside to have them stack inside but they're quite large and they would have bumped furniture and forced odd furniture placement, so outside it is.

Hello sunshine!

After my rather premature rant on Monday about the recent down pour in Sydney, we now have glorious sunshine and not the wet week of weather I was expecting.

We met our SS on site this morning and sorted out the missed drainage point.  Seems head office had taken it off drawings given to SS but on official drawings it's there - go figure!  SS seems like a nice guy, only too happy to help and appears (and by all accounts does) run a tight ship.

Our gutters and fascia were put up yesterday (and look awesome!), sarking & roof tiles are going up tomorrow.  The plumbers were there doing their thing too and they needed a few things clarified so it was a good morning to be there.

Windows are being installed tomorrow and bricks will be delivered on Friday with the likelihood of going up mid next week.

So exciting!

More on Vertical Gardens

Exactly one week after my post on vertical gardens, Better Homes & Gardens did a television episode on how to make them!  What were the chances?

I thought I'd share their short video on how to simply make your own if you missed it.

Bugger off rain!

Mini update...

I spoke to our SS this morning and apparently our roof, fascias and gutters were scheduled to go up today.  Wasn't expecting the roof so soon - imagine what my delight would have been on my Wednesday morning drive-by!!!  Bricks were originally to be delivered this Wednesday however windows won't arrive until Thursday. 

Unsurprisingly, in this weather the roof tilers won't be doing their bit till who knows when and due to window availability and brickies availability, bricks will now be delivered on Friday.

So we could have a flurry of activity by the end of the week or perhaps no progress at all...

On a side note, we should be finally meeting our SS on Wednesday morning!  About time.  He wants us to tell him exactly where the missed drainage point should go and I've also noticed they've got the backyard taps in the wrong spot.  Considering all our changes though, damn impressed that's all.

Bugger off rain!

  

Are you ready for frame overload?

Words can't describe how happy I was to be wandering through our home today.  We have spent so many hours trying to get the plans just right and to see it coming together is unbelievable.

And without further ado... here are the pics!

From street level looking up where drive way will go

Side on from a distance

Front entrance

Looking in through "front door"

Looking into entrance of self-contained unit - french doors going here

Standing near study nook looking towards family room

Down front hall, looking into mudroom / laundry

Down side of house - surprised to see how much higher we are

Looking into the playroom - french doors will go here

At corner of Alfresco looking in towards dining / family / kitchen areas

Next stop... to buy gum boots!

Bricks are scheduled for mid next week!

Anticipation...

My drive-by was met with success this morning!  I was greeted with all the house frame completed and the builders were 1/3 the way in completing the roof.

There may just be a little bit of this going on at the moment...(by 'B' of course, I'm much more composed...he he)



Photo's to follow afternoon drive-by!

Fruit Salad Trees

Have you heard about Fruit Salad Trees?  These trees are a great idea for smaller back yards if you want to grow some of your own fruit but not look like you have a market garden going on!

There are 4 different types of trees available:

1. Stonefruit - peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and peachcots (combination of a peach / apricot)
2. Citrus - summer & winter oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, grapefruits, tangelos & pomelos
3. Multi-Applies
4. Multi-Nashi fruit

They can be grown in pots and you can choose what number of grafts you want on your tree.  For only $25 per graft, it's pretty affordable.  I wouldn't mind the top 3 trees mentioned above.

For us, it will be all about maximising the space we have available, as mentioned in my earlier post on vertical gardens.

Denture Cleaning Tablets....Who Knew?!

Check out these awesome handy tips I just picked up from Jazz and Brett's Blog!  Had to share!

Other uses for denture cleaning tablets

Glass Vases
If you have a glass vase with a hard spot to clean, drop in a denture cleanser tablet, then fill the vase with water. The cleanser will clean the glass as the stains soak in the water. Later, spill out the liquid, rinse the vase with fresh water and dry.

Dried Cheese on Dishes 
If you have a dish with dried cheese on it, put the stopper in the sink and fill the sink with warm water. Drop in a denture cleanser tablet. Place the dish in the sink water. The denture cleanser will eat away the dried-on cheese. Rinse the dish with clean water and let dry.

Coffee Mug Stains
If you have a coffee cup stained from coffee, fill it up with warm water. Drop in a denture cleanser tablet. Wait 20 minutes and pour out. Then rinse the cup with clean water. The coffee stains should be gone.

Clean a Clogged Drain
Drop 4 tablets of denture cleanser into a stopped-up or slow-running drain. Pour 1 cup of white vinegar down the drain, then fill the sink with hot water and let it run down the drain. The stoppage should open up.

Casserole Dishes 
Don't scrub casserole dishes that have hard, crusty food left in them. Drop a denture cleanser tablet in them and fill the dishes with warm water. Let the water sit for one hour. Pour out and wash clean.

Baby Teething Items
Denture cleanser tablets can remove dried-on baby formula and germs without scrubbing. Place baby teething items and pacifiers in the sink. Fill the sink with warm water. Drop one denture cleanser tablet in the sink and let the items soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the sink and rinse the baby items clean.

Diamond Jewelry 
Denture cleanser tablets can make your diamonds shine and sparkle again. Place diamond jewelry in a glass of warm water. Drop in a tablet. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Pour the water out of the glass and rinse the jewelry. Your diamonds should be sparkling again.

Toilet Cleaner 
One easy way to clean a toilet with no scrubbing is to drop a denture cleanser tablet into the bowl. Wait about 25 minutes, then flush the toilet. The bowl should now be clean

Source: see here.

Do you have any handy tips to share?

Vertical Gardens

We're going to have a reasonable sized backyard but not huge by any stretch (gotta love the small blocks and exorbitant land prices in Sydney).  We want to use every square inch of space outside possible just like we have on the inside.

I came across a picture of a vertical herb garden in a magazine aaaages ago and have wanted one ever since.  So next to our Alfresco and outside our Dining Room we plan to have a gorgeous wall of herbs. Mmmm I can smell it now!

Not only functional but it will look and smell gorgeous through our dining room windows or while sitting outside.  I'm quite excited by this little project!

And here are some examples, starting with one of my favourites!

This one below actually has vegetables, strawberries & herbs growing in it!

 

And here's a couple of really cheap ideas to maximise a hidden spot.  Side of a shed perhaps? 

 

Not just limited to herbs or greenery.  What about flowers?

And here are some great links if you're interested in setting a vertical garden up for yourself...

Eden Now
Ezine Article
How To Build A Vertical Garden

Silly for slabs!

'B' and I met up at the slab this afternoon and I stepped foot on it for the first time!

We were so excited pacing through the 'rooms' and having a good squiz at everything (well, a good squiz at the slab, backyard and positioning to neighbours anyway!)

Our little lot is in such a private position which is just so perfect for our plan.  Dad will have his privacy at the front by not opening up right onto the street (Rumpus & Bedroom 5 are his areas).  All the houses surrounding us are single level and our neighbours are stepped down about 800mm too which just adds to the all round privacy.

If the frames weren't going in next week I think our SS would have found tape marking out the floor plan by 'B' just so we could really get a feel for it.

How did you find it when you first stepped foot into your soon to be home?

An update...

No, not the update I just know you were just hanging out to hear (ha ha)!  But an update all the same.

I spoke to our Site Supervisor (SS) for the first time today!  Didn't he call you before your slab went down, I hear you ask.... No, seems there was a little stuff up at Head Office and they somehow missed releasing our file to him until I mentioned the missing drainage point.  Oops!

Either way, due to file being released a little late, it means the frame, windows etc were ordered a little later than usual so our frame should be delivered next week.  Once the frame is up, he wants to meet with us on site to get the correct spot for missed drainage point.

No dramas in the big scheme of things (unless you count me being all sad every time I do a drive-by and having nothing new to gawk at!).  The upside is our slab will have had a good chance to cure before anything is placed on it.

SS sounds like a nice guy - here's hoping for just as good an experience going forward as we've had with our brilliant CSO, Sara!