Who would have thought that one week would bring so much change to our house? Who would have thought our house would have been bricked and walled in one week when the previous week was looking so glum? I certainly did not!
As of today we have plastered walls and a fully bricked house – yes, a FULLY BRICKED HOUSE! There is a little story behind the bricks that is worth mentioning. A dear friend’s husband from my mothers’ group is a brick layer. He isn’t sub-contracted to our builder but he does do a lot of work for other big builders. Anyway, I was mentioning to her less then two weeks ago that with all this rain it was not looking as though our house would be bricked anytime soon. I advised her that the brick layers were way behind. She mentioned that her husband was 2-3 houses behind too.
Anyway, the next night she rang me and she said that she had been telling her husband, Dan, about our house, and well, he offered to brick our house. I wasn’t sure how that would work because obviously our builder had lined up a sub contractor to do our house. I thought it would be worth a shot though, to maybe see if we could get Dan to do our house. So with some gusto, the next day I telephoned our builder and put it to him. At first he wasn’t to keen saying that he had sub-contractors lined up who were relying on the work. I spun the whole argument that if it were true, as he had noted previously, that his brickies were as far behind as he was alleging then I was in affect reducing his work load – freeing some room for another house. It took a little while but he finally came around and I said I would have Dan give him a call.
Dan agreed to the builder's terms of payment even though the money wasn’t the best. He was doing it because it was us (which is very sweet) and within two days he and his boys were at our site and had bricked the base of our house. That was last Saturday and one week later, they had finished. In all I think it took only two and half days (Saturday, Thursday and Friday) to brick. Not bad. Admittedly, the job wasn’t as tricky as other brick jobs because it was double height bricks and a brick job for a rendered finish (so no raking the mortar or anything like that).
The house has really transformed over the last week – so much so it feels like ages since we had a frame and a roof. It is some what deceptive really. That is, the speed of noticeable change is not really relative to when we might move in. I mean…even though it looks like it is sailing by at the rate of knots there is still so much left to do, or so I have been told.
They are supposed to sand the plaster back next week and pop up the cornices. I imagine that the garage door will go on in the next week or so and the house will reach lock up stage. I am really looking forward to that but it also means no visits by us. We can’t access the house at any time when it reaches lock up stage - only when the builders are there. We won’t have the keys until hand over.
Speaking of handover, the scheduled contract date for completion is 22 May 2008 (the day before my 30th birthday). I can’t get my head around the fact that they allege it will take some 14 weeks to finish the house off but unfortunately the builders are so vague in this department that all they say is that we should rely on the contract date. Surely, it won't take that long?! Trevor and I have set a little bet (although there is no prize) as to when the house will be finished (hand over). He says April 13 and I say Anzac Day – what do you reckon? I guess we will see.
3 comments:
OMG!! Bricks!!!!
Woo hoo!!
You're getting closer, Nic, you'll be in it in no time!! and now that it's all enclosed, who cares if it rains????
(Though, that said, you just watch the sun come out and shine all day every day PMSL!!)
Karen x
are you using rain water tanks? if so atleast they would be full by now.. lol
Looks awesome mate!!! Can't wait to see the inside starting to transform and for all of your decorating ideas and selections to come to the fore!
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