PCI fixing week

A lot of work is happening this week to fix the issues and get the house ready by Monday for final inspection.

Below are just some of the issues that have been fixed. There are still others namely numerous paint touch ups everywhere. Hope this will be done to our expectations.

Electricity meter sealed



Built in wall speakers in theatre room

Wall mounted TV pre-wire

Fixing of the slab issue to support the bricks

Concrete pour to strengthen the slab

Concrete setting

Alfresco drain now smooth



Water pipe fixed with 90 deg angle fitting

Weatherseals on main doors



Drilling of holes for washing machine pipes to connect to under cabinet taps



Fixing of rough patches on staircase



Fixed staircase, restained

Fitoff of 3-1 bathroom lights

PCI day.... finally

Finally, we are in PCI session... 5.5 months into the build. The finishing line is almost there.

This is the time for the SS to present the house to us formally, not that we haven't seen any of it. To start off, our SS want to discuss our inspector's report first, go through the list of issues and put an action point against it. Our SS has been very genuine with us and reassured us that although thte list of issues may seem challenging, it is not dauting to him and he believes they can be resolved within a week in time for handover by next Friday.

After the inspector's list, we also raised our own long PCI checklist of issues to be fixed, we have been grateful that our SS acknowledged the issues and added them to the growing list to be fixed. We chose not to publish or rant the issues on the internet forum as we wanted to give the SS time to get it fixed. And we do have reason to believe to trust in him.

Here are some of the issues that has been mentioned to the SS to be fixed:

Water pipe coming into the house

Alfresco concrete drain

Patched up mortar and colour not matched

Slab not enough to support the brickwork

Tip: To all those who will be doing PCI, if you have a chance, do your PCI checklist prior to PCI time as you will not have enough time to go through the house in detail, to pick up little issues. We did our checklist on the day of my inspector's visit, had the house to ourselves that day.

Inspection time

Time to get one last independant inspection done before PCI, which is booked for Friday. Our SS has confirmed the PCI date and he want to get the inspection report asap.

For those interested, Kevin from New Homes Inspections did the inspection and we believe it was worth every cent spent. Although no one will get a 100% perfect house, in average according to Kevin, most of the house will be around 80%. By getting an inspection, it will push that figure between 90-95% perfect, which is our aim.

Kevin has been thorough during his inspection and also highlighed the issues with us. There are some major issues (according to us) but Kevin believes it's fixable and will not cause too much issue.

Once inspection done, we had the house to ourselves (our SS trusted us). We took the time to go though the house in fine detail knowing that we won't have the time to do so during PCI. We also mentioned to our SS that we will be attaching post it stickers on areas to be fixed.



Hole somewhere?

Week ending 30th June

Here is the weekly update for the work done so far.

From a previous post regarding the solar panel, well, finally, we have our 2nd solar panel installed.

2 solar panels side by side

Alarm has also been fitted off, but what is that hole next to it? Looks like someone poke a wrong hole during the installation process. Anyway the SS is aware of it and will get it patched.

Alarm strobe and.... a hole?

Garage door has been fitted. Selection is Panelmasta Caprice. View is partially blocked by the scaffolds.

Front view of garage door

Garage door opener

As we walked towards the back of the house, we noticed the small antenna sticking out on top of the roof.

TV Antenna

The Alfresco has also been cleaned, the sides have been sealed off with proper wood to cover off the metal beams. The painter has been nice in asking us to choose a colour to paint that piece of wood.

View of Alfresco from the back



Week ending 23 June..... getting close now

There has been a flurry of activities this week with a number of tradies onsite for their respective work.

First up, the carpets have been installed. We were a bit concerned during the selection process of the colour and thickness, but thank God that it turned out to be what we wanted.

Carpets upstairs

We also wanted to carpet the staircase, here is a picture of the staircase with the underlay which we upgraded during the selection process.

Staircase with underlay

And voila, here is the completed staircase with carpet.

Staircase with carpet

Floorboard installed was next in line to install our UTF floorboard. Our selection of floorboard was the Kempas 3 strip timber floor.

Timber floor



View from top of staircase

The spa has finally been installed and tiled. However to our dismay one piece of tile is missing and there is a big hole underneath. According to the tiler, this has to be done to allow access for plumber to connect the pipes. Now any normal person would say why didn't the plumber do his job when the tiler was onsite to avoid this awful hole. And I do wonder how this hole will be patched up? For the spa taps, we elected to stick with the standard that PD supply so we can keep cost down.

Spa fitoff

Spa taps and tap

If you remember from an earlier post about our missing 2nd solar panel, well, the SS has it under control. He has to order the scaffold to be setup again so the installers and put in the 2nd solar panel. Any sane person would think why didn't the solar panel get installed when the scaffolds were still there when bricks were being done? Anyway I'm sure the SS has his own reason.

From the side of the house, the Gas pipe has been dug from the mains and connected ready for the gas meter.

Shower screen fitoff. We elected to stick with what PD supply as standard.

Master Ensuite



One of the ensuite

Mirrors fitoff

Mirror mirror... who is the fairest of all?

Render done to the front porch. Due to the light and glare, the colour of the render didn't come out too good. Will try to take another set of pictures next time.

Front of house

Door handles fitoff.

Noticed an issue where the skirting has come off the plaster. I think the SS has also noticed the same thing as there is a big blue tape.

Garage roofing done with S flashing.



Garage roof

And finally, an updated view of our kitchen.

Kitchen view

Week ending 16 June

This is a short week due to Queen's Birthday holiday.

Finally the ceiling plaster in the garage has been completed.

Inside of garage

This week is mainly painting front, laundry and garage side door and their architraves.



Main entrance door

Painting exterior of garage

And now the piece of resistance. Our grand staircase is being stained. This was the first coat being applied, the painter has reassured me that it will need couple more coats to give it a great finish and colour.




Staircase with the extended landing step



Front view of staircase



Side view of staircase