Yes we were alive

Ages since we blogged - Why

Couple of reasons -

1. We have been crazily busy esp with work ( I know some of you saying "Whatever") but we sure were
   
2. We have been sharing info witha few through other means and so this blog was sadly neglected.
3. We have been researching schools.......
   "DS" has to go to new school and so we were in the process of determining which school. Lucky for us he got a scholarship and so is off to a private school on a scholarship till Year 12. "DD" also managed to get a scholarship to same school as "DS" for the next 4 years. "DD"s was a bonus that we did not expect. Thank God for this . This is a relief especially now that we are building. Lucky we did not have this prior to starting to build - we may have just gone overboard on our upgrades.
4. Researching for the tiles for the house. Ceramic tiles are nice but we were after the glossy finish. All gloss ceramic tiles were lighter shades than what we were after. We were after a Latte colour. After hunting we found the Latte coloured tile. It was Polished Porcelain and Of course the price of polished porcelain was much more. We found the cheapes t price in Johnsons Tile based at Bayswater. This was cheaper because it was made in China and the other supplier tile was made in Spain. So we did the spill test - We tried writing on the tiles with textures, dropped beetroot, Red Wine, Fizz drinks and of course cherries on the tiles from all the supplier. The only one that came out with no marks was of course the cheaper ones from Johnson tiles. Now we have to work with "Roseleigh" to see if we can supply the tiles for the wet area.
   

Sorry to all the people who have been sending mails asking about our home - From now on we will make a determined effort - Expect an update at least every Friday - Either with last weeks news - If no progress or no news then at least a whinge about lack of happenings - How about that for a promise

Building has been going slowly - Bricking was finished on 17 April 2008

With all the roof struts for the Alfresco, "Roseleigh" realized that they cannot brick the first floor in the back of the house. So after negotiations we agreed to the Unitex System of render for the back wall of the house that would be visible from the street. Unitex was also to be used around the front windows and gables.

For all our overseas friends and family - Unitex is a lightweight cladding system - Foam with a metal mesh and layer of concrete and finally rendered to our choice of colour. Down in Oz this seems to be getting popular - especially now with all the new energy rating requirements it seems to be more thermally efficient and guess easier to do and build with. When we think we are building a home with foam Mmmm seems a bit scary - Especially where we grew - even all the internal wallls were built with brick.

What has been completed in the house since the last post:-

• Bricking Complete
• Eaves in the first floor completed and painted
• Gutters and fascia done
• Rendering complete except for the gables
• Electrical wiring
  
• Ducted Vaccum Wired
• Plumbing wired
• Telephone outlet done by Telstra (Finally after about 10 calls)
  

"DH" and his mate wired the house for the following

• Home theatre 7.1 cabling
  
• Projector wiring
• Plasma Wiring
  
• Wired for ceiling speakers to the Kitchen, Alfresco, Lounge and Play Area
• Cat-6 cabled for data to all the bedrooms and entertainment areas
• Wired for Security System - PIRs and sirens and keypads and remotes and dialler
  
• Wired for video door bell
• Under the stairs area is going to be the central server point
• Added acoustic sound insulation batts in the home Theatre Area ( work in progress )
  

What is pending

• Roof Tile spending in verandah, Alfresco and Garage
• Render for the Gables over living and garage
• Wooden Posts in the verandahs and Entry - 4 posts ( 1 post was stolen )
• Ducts for Heating
• Ducts for Cooling