3 Month Maintenance Inspection

Hasn't time flown?  On the 15th November, we'll have been in our new home for 4 whole months!!  Feels like we've been here for years and only 5 minutes all wrapped up in one.

True to their word, Eden Brae came over on Tuesday to conduct their 3 month maintenance inspection.  Tim couldn't have been more helpful and happily wrote down everything on our list.  Even the missing toilet roll holder from the granny flat which technically was our mistake for missing it prior to hand over!

So, "How has the old new gal held up since moving in?", I hear you ask.... Pretty well.  Nothing major, really.  Here's our list...

1) Carpet in our bedroom still rippling and not secured at the edge near ensuite

2) Carpet edge in Living Room not secured properly and is fraying.  Di Lorenzo Carpet were really the weakest link in our whole home building experience.  Shockers!

3)  Few spots need to be re-grouted in all 3 bathrooms

4)  Some timber quad (trim) lifting in the kitchen

5) Patch & paint dent on pantry ceiling

6) A service and some sanding & re-staining required on bi-fold doors.  They're a bit 'sticky' to open which causes the doors to scrape on the bottom door frame.  Also, where they've patched some nail holes before staining is showing as a different colour.

7)  Patch & paint some damage on the Alfresco ceiling

8) One of the touch catches in the kitchen isn't working

9) Some of the floor boards near laundry are a little springy & one other spot seems un-even

10) Door lock on internal garage door doesn't work

11) A few cracked roof tiles that had never been fixed but should have been prior to handover

12) Cracked tile in Granny Flat ensuite where they've secured the shower screen

13) Toilet roll holder missing in Granny Flat ensuite

14) Repair brickwork at front of the house (this section has never been right!)

15) Point up some brick sections at front porch and clean down bricks

16) Stormwater pipe broken at end of driveway

No cracks in walls, no leaking pipes, all major appliances work i.e. air-conditioning, oven etc, so not too bad really.  Majority of these things were picked up within a couple of weeks of moving in so it's not like things have continued to deteriorate or anything.

You only get one chance to make a list by the way, so it helps if you write things down as you notice them.  Also, best to keep a few bricks just in case you need some replaced like we do at the front of the house.  If they had to order some more bricks, chances are they'll look a different colour as each batch slightly differs.  Also good to keep some spare roof tiles (make sure yours don't get taken away by the cleaners like ours did!)

Our Maintenance List has now been handed over to MGH Contracting to coordinate the relevant trades to do the repairs.  I heard from them the same afternoon Tim had been out and twice since.  Everything has already been pretty much confirmed and lined up for a few weeks time.  They ask you to provide about 3 dates within a week or two and then they try and get all the trades to come on one, maybe two of those days and then organise the painters to come on the last day if required.

Assuming all goes well from here, I'm impressed.  Again, this has been straight forward with no hassles.

Faux pas

Well don't I feel like a boob?!  All this time I've spelt the title of my blog - Keeping up with the Jones'.  When the correct plural of Jones is Joneses.

Sigh.... and I pride myself on my decent spelling and grammar.

*hangs head in shame*

Well looky here....

Three cheers for something other to look at other than boring colorbond fences!!!  Yes, that's right.  We couldn't help ourselves and bought a few plants.

The garden bed alongside the alfresco is in the shade majority of the day so we chose 3 Dracaena Tricolour plants as a bit of a feature.  They are extremely hardy, slow growing, love sheltered positions and require very little maintenance.  Ticks all the boxes.  I think someone at the Nursery mentioned "thrives on neglect" - SOLD!

Try to picture some small plants to fill in some ground space, dark mulch, bamboo screening to hide the fence etc etc.  This little spot is by no means finished.

 A close up of the colours on the leaves.  The more sun the plant gets, the more the red features.

Next to the barbie is a little spot that came about quite by luck - just the way the retaining wall heights stepped down - and it's the perfect spot for the sculpture my brother & sister in law gave us for our wedding.

I'm in love with the little green / purple decorative plants around it too, called Rhoeo. They're only $2 each from Sydney's Plant Market (best Nursery...seriously!)

And I just had to get a pic of 'B' cooking our first BBQ last Tuesday night...in the rain....

Picked up this fab pot & Dracaena Marginata for inside too.  Has livened up the rather bland corner and ties the inside in with the outside.  My sweet little boy who is 2.5 years old has been quite diligently saying, "Play in dirt outside, not inside."  to anyone who'll listen.  Brainwashing - tick. 

So what's next?  Some Little Gem Magnolia's along the back fence, some Daphne for the garden bed outside the Family Room window (have you ever smelt Daphne flowers? AMAZING!)  and some citrus trees continuing along BBQ fence line (lemon, lime & mandarin). Oh & I haven't forgotten about the vertical herb garden I've wanted all along outside the Dining Room.

One step at a time...  Got to save some more $$$.  Lots more $$$!

Bit by bit it's getting there

Haven't had much to update lately - boo - (not for lack of wanting) however there's been a bit of activity over the last week or so!

I last left off showing the finished deck out the back.  'B' has now given it a sand, a wash down and oiled it - and wasn't that a job and a half!  Would have been easier & quicker to hire a floor sander but 'B' was happy to do it to save a few $$$.

Here it is in it's pre-oiled glory

"What's taking you so long?" I'd shout through the glass intermittently when walking past...

(kidding haha)

But I'm jumping ahead of myself.  First he built up the BBQ area and hooked up our barbie to natural gas.

 Here's the deck all sanded and freshly scrubbed.

And here it is after 3 coats of oil!

All the rain we've had lately has really helped to establish our lawn.  So nice seeing something green outside!

Turn away now if you're a BBQ snob because this little beauty only cost $148 on sale from $380 at Bunnings!!

Cannot wait to get some plants in!!!

Support

My favourite blog is Enjoying the Small Things.  Every post, without fail, makes me smile.  Kelle's photo's of her beautiful family and her love of living in the moment is so inspirational.

I'm writing today to spread the word of support for little Nella.  This beautiful little one was born with one extra chromosome.

Kelle is trying to raise $200,000 in support of Down Syndrome and so far she has $115,026!

I dare you to read the blog.  Double dare ya!  You'll fall in love with the Hamptons without a doubt.

And now, in Kelle's own words....

On October 22, we will be joining with friends and family to walk in our second Buddy Walk, supporting the thousands of individuals with Down syndrome and their families. This walk is personal to us for we were welcomed to this new world when our second daughter, Nella Cordelia, joined our family in January 2010 and brought with her some unexpected magic...that little extra 47th chromosome. What began as a shock ripple-waved into something more beautiful as the opportunity to learn more about life and happiness unraveled for our family and many more. We are learning more every day, and through Nella and many others we have come to know, we've discovered a new world of acceptance and opportunity for individuals with Down syndrome.

What do we want for Nella? We want the same things any parent wants. We want our daughter to be recognized for her abilities, to be granted opportunities to reach her dreams, and to be accepted for the amazing little girl she is. The National Down Syndrome Society helps our family and thousands of others in the challenge to spread knowledge and awareness, to show the world that we are more alike than we are different, and to create opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome and their families to live their best life possible. 

Special thanks to all of the generous donors who contributed to Nella’s ONEder Fund earlier this year. Your collective contribution has helped us to set our greater goal of $200,000 by the time Nella turns 2. Please help us this month as we continue to make efforts to reach our goal. In turn, you are helping thousands of others reach theirs. 

The National Down Syndrome Society works to create a culture that fully accepts and includes the more than 400,000 Americans with Down syndrome. As the national advocate for people with Down syndrome, their goal is to ensure that individuals with Down syndrome are full participating members of our communities. 

We are happy to join NDSS as advocates for people with Down syndrome. We invite you to join us as one of Nella’s Rockstars by making a donation to NDSS and making a difference for people with Down syndrome. Your tax-deductible donation will help support the vision of a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life and realize their life aspirations.

Every dollar helps, you can donate here!

Spread the word!!

* permission was given to post Nella's photos *

And then there was grass...

The backyard is really starting to take shape now!!

Since my last post we have continued the merbau up the retaining wall on the bottom level to give it more of a finished look and we're so glad we did.

Much nicer than before!

Ready made bench seating all the way round or as the boys see it, a ready made road for their cars!

Our new outdoor setting looking all sorts of awesome in it's new home

But of course before there was turf, there was turf underlay and a whole lotta levelling going on.

And here is Sir Walter himself!  Doesn't look like much does it?

Daddy's little helpers!  Bless.

Love being able to see the whole backyard from inside

So, what's left for out the back?  We're letting the merbau sit for about 4 weeks before we sand and oil it.  Apparently this lets the excess tannins bleed and stabalise (or is 'B' just feeding me a line to have a break haha).  The remainder of the treated pine retaining walls need to be stained to blend in a little more. Some plants are desperately needed and then some nice outdoor lighting and that should just about do it! Oh, don't forget the BBQ!  Need one of those too, we ditched the old I've-seen-better-days one when we moved.

I must add that for all the "we's" going on in this post, it's actually all been 'B' and my Dad.  Thanks guys for working so tirelessly to create such a beautiful space xxx