Thursday, December 27, 2007

A Quick Update.

There has been very little progress since the last blog entry.Allworth had aimed at pouring a slab before Xmas but we had an overabundance of rain which brought the proceedings to a soggy halt.
At this stage the block has been cut and filled and work should resume on the Seventh of January if the weather is acceptable.

More Later.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Eureka



A fair bit of progress over the last week,even though there was some rain about.It is good to see things moving along.The current situation as follows.
  • Water meter installed.
  • Portable dunny delivered.
  • A dozen large trees evicted from the block - say goodbye to $1500.BUGGER.
  • Excavation of block almost finished now.
It looks like next Monday we may have a slab poured.That is assuming the weather Gods are kind to us.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Timeline So Far.

Major highlights from the moment we decided to build with Allworth Homes.

  • 17/6/07 - We gave Allworth $500 for the contour survey of our land.The result was good so Terry the consultant from Allworth drew up a plan to our specifications and sent it to head office for quotation.
  • 13/7/07 - Back to Allworth to review the quote with my mate Terry,the price was acceptable so we didn't have to compromise on any of our ideas.We gave Allworth $2000 to draft the plans for our new home.
  • 9/9/07 - The plans came back a few weeks overdue because the contract drafting office was flooded with work.They do not work overtime when there is a backlog of work and so I have been delayed by someone else.THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
  • 26/9/07 - Plans sent to Shoalhaven Council after our approval.We expect council to take six to eight weeks.They send us more paperwork to fill out for firezoning and a flora and fauna study.The council has DA tracking on the internet so we can watch the progress of the paper trail.A very good tool for the home builder.
  • 10/10/07 - Off to Allworth for colour selection,electrical layout etc.This is usually a three or four hour appointment but because my wife and I planned ahead we had finished our selections in around one hour.
  • 1/11/07 - According to the website we have council approval. A few minor changes to be made because of the firezone but I can live with that.
  • 20/11/07 - Signed contracts at Allworth,I have never signed my name so many times in one day.I was told construction should start within twenty working days so I am hoping the slab will be laid before xmas.
  • 30/11/07 - The water meter was installed and a portaloo delivered.I have been told excavation will start soon.
  • 6/12/07 - Work should have started tomorrow but around an inch of rain has fallen,hope they can start next week.
I really need to see the slab in place before the builders and suppliers go off on holidays.The extended cure time wouldn't hurt and it will be good to see a reward for the six months of stress we have endured so far.

DON'T LET ME DOWN ALLWORTH!!!!