Over a month later, we still have a lot of the issues we brought up with Metricon outstanding. The Christmas holidays brought things to a screeching halt, and all the rain that Sydney has been getting caused numerous delays. Even a bit of bad luck delayed the replacement of our ensuite mirror (On their way here, the driver went over a speed bump too fast and the mirror broke!). But with that said, a few items have been addressed.

Things ARE moving ahead. I have to credit Metricon with their attentiveness. Ever since their State Building Manager got involved, we’ve received consistent updates from the head office, regardless of the actual progress around the home. We’ve had a few of the creaks in the floor boards upstairs fixed, the scratched glass in the front door replaced, and a few odds and ends around the house repaired, repainted, and redone. We even got the refund check to cover the extra cost of the CAT6 cabling that was made redundant due to the “street-to-hub” cabling be installed as CAT5. Unfortunately, we had to send it back, as Metricon spelled both of our names wrong, and even used Megan’s maiden name instead of mine (we’ve been married since before we even started building).

While we’ve been a little frustrated about the slower than expected speeds, Metricon’s approach to the remaining warranty issues has been more proactive than usual. The tradesmen that were replacing the scratched glass in the front door inspected our bifold doors in the rear of the house, and noticed additional scratches that we’d missed. An unusual experience, but nevertheless welcomed!

So, it continues. We’re closer to the finish line and, while it IS slow going at best, at least the lines of communication are well and truly open with Metricon.

Finally.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Metricon warranty issues: resolved (sort of)
2. Metricon’s lack of communication
3. Council Approval Issues, Part Deux

Metricon’s Building Manager showed up early on a Tuesday morning and quickly got down to business, sympathetically addressing our concerns in a way we hadn’t seen from their office staff yet. Systematically moving through our outstanding issues, we explained why we believed these issues needed to be fixed, and how each affected our view on Metricon’s quality control. The entire inspection took about twenty minutes, and by the end, we felt oddly comfortable that our concerns were, at the very least, finally being acknowledged by Metricon. Were they, or were we being lured into a false sense of security?

A week later, we received an email from Metricon’s head office. All of the outstanding issues we addressed with the NSW Building Manager were going to be fixed. Well, all but one – the upgraded Ethernet wiring (CAT5 -> CAT6 for you tech-heads) can’t be fixed, so we’ll be receiving a refund for the amount we initially paid.

So finally, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, as Metricon’s office staff has come through and agreed to fix the outstanding issues. These included scratched doors (scratched during the initial clean by the builder), squeaking floorboards, and corroded mirrors (among others).

It may be almost a year late, but our persistance has paid off. Despite being told by the initial 90 day building inspector that some issues (like the scratches on the door) wouldn’t be covered, we will soon be able to confidently say that we’re happy with our home. I guess it just goes to show that social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, or blogs like this one help “motivate” the builder to address issues that may otherwise get clogged up in the red tape of office “guidelines”.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Metricon’s lack of communication
2. Outstanding warranty issues: Update
3. One year on…

In a nutshell, one year on, and we’re still waiting for over half of our concerns from our 90 day inspection to be addressed. What’s worse, is that we haven’t heard from Metricon in over a month, despite regular emails and calls to the head office.

It hardly feels like we’ve been in the house for a year. We’ve done a lot in year – painted a number of feature walls, moved over 30 tons of soil, laid turf and planted dozens of plants in our backyard. We even added to the family just recently! Welcoming Bryce into the home made the house feel more like a home than everything else combined, but I suppose that’s to be expected. We love this home that we’ve created.

But there’s a dark cloud that seems to hang over the whole experience, and that cloud is starting to become much more prominent. 365 days later, items that should have been resolved 275 days ago are still withstanding.

To say it’s frustrating would be wrong – we’re way beyond that.

Items such as warped doors, creaky floorboards, corroding mirrors and scratched window panes still remained unaddressed, despite numerous promises by Metricon’s head office that they will be fixed. We’ve been told doors will be delivered on certain days and we try to make ourselves available only to have no one show up all day long. But that’s only when the office team respond to our emails and calls. Admittedly, they’ve been very good about not disturbing Bryce when he’s sleeping.

It’s easy to sleep when nothing is happening.

So one year on, and we’ll continue trying to have the remaining issues fixed. Our one single home may not be as important to Metricon as the seemingly hundreds of others being built around Sydney at the moment, or the ones that are about to be build – after all, they already have our money. But that shouldn’t matter. This is our home. It’s the home in which Bryce was born into and we became a family.

It’s important to us.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Council Issues? Resolved!
2. Three great Australian home build blogs
3. We’re In!

This winter was, by all accounts, an unusually cold winter. Our neighbour counted 21 frosty mornings this year (at one point 5 consecutive days!), compared to 6 the year prior. While cozy when sitting by the fire, it’s not ideal for the garden. But with that said, our plants did surprisingly well considering the requirements for a tropical garden. The casualties can be counted on just one hand.

To preface this landscape postmortem, we planted our garden last year between late January and March, halfway through the initial growing season. Things got cold quickly – we had our first subzero night in early May. It was a cold snap that lasted almost an entire week that took both us and the garden by surprise. After all, the week before it was a balmy 25c. And without further ado, a list of plants that did not survive the cold weather.

1. Mango tree - No real surprise here. We planted a variety of different plants in various areas of the garden to see what might do better than others, to give us an idea of what we should be planting this spring. Sadly, our hopes were shattered when our Mango tree succumb to the cold quite quickly. Admittedly, I don’t think it liked the clay heavy soil we have here in Western Sydney, so it didn’t do much growing even when it was warm outside.

2. Frangipani - Our much loved frangipani, which we had for a few years growing in a pot, did not make it. Frost burnt and perhaps a bit of root rot brought this plant to it’s knees. We had high hopes for the frangipani, as they’re know to be quite resilient, but we don’t see this one pulling through. It’s worth noting though, that our evergreen frangipani (plumeria obtusa) is doing quite well. A dwarf variety, it was planted up against the house and, with the amount of heat bricks radiate during the night hours, it was somewhat sheltered from the cold winter temperatures. It even had a bit of new growth over the winter in areas that were covered in mulch.

3. Hibiscus - We have three hibiscus plants in the backyard. Well, now two. The two up against the back of the house did just fine, however the one in the far corner of the yard didn’t fair as well. Admittedly, it was the final plant to go in last summer/fall, so it didn’t get a whole lot of time to settle in.

4. Kiwi Cordyline – We have (had) three of these planted around a palm (which survived, but barely) towards the far fence in the garden. They took the frost particularly hard, but two of the three are finally starting to show new growth. These are some of my favourite in the garden, so I’m glad they are surviving, at least somewhat.

We had a few surprises this year as well! Our ginger just wouldn’t quit, and continued to grow over winter, covering much of the corner of the yard. With the addition of a large pot (to cover access to the storm drain), this area of the yard was somewhat protected, and didn’t appear to have been affected by the frosts nearly as much as areas further from the house.

Remember the canna lilies that were so quick to show damage from the heavy frosts we had? These plants bounced back better than ever. All of our canna lilies died completely back – there was literally nothing but mulch in areas where these plants were planted. But like all plants with a rhyzome root system, they flourished underneath the cover of mulch and, when the soil temperatures broke above 15c, they started to grow. As you can see in the photos above, they quickly grew bigger than they were by the end of last summer. We were even able to divide up the plants and replant cuttings in different areas of the yard.

We’re pretty happy with how the yard held up, considering. We look forward to being able to take advantage of an early season planting, and should have some pretty good results by the end of this summer. Here’s hoping!

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. April 2011: Landscaping progress
2. Our Landscaping Progress
3. Drought tolerant, tropical landscaping

As you can imagine, he has become our newest project – one that will persist for years to come. We like our projects. First it was moving to Australia, then getting engaged and subsequently married, followed by building our house. But this project – this beautiful boy, will be my favourite yet.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. How safe is Sydney?

It was only natural for us to try and document our entire build process online. My family lives a good 7,000km away in San Diego, California and I wanted a way to share in our experience and adventure of building a home.

Maybe it’s because I had never even thought of building a home before, or perhaps it’s just a sign of the times, but there seems to be literally hundreds of home building blogs scattered around the internet these days. A good majority of these seem to have been left for dead just a few months into them. Whether it was because it just became to monotonous or too time consuming we’ll never know, but if you look hard enough, you’ll find a few gems that really stuck with it and documented the entire process in great detail. Here are three great Australian home build blogs (other than ours, of course) that we found helpful when we were still building.

Tim & Tina – And I thought I was a regular blogger. These two have documented their build with Metricon in Melbourne down to the Nth degree. Starting a few months before us, we could track our progress based off of what they went through a few months prior. They’ve been in their new home for awhile now, but they haven’t stopped documenting the changes that continue to occur around their home and in their lives. Their blog is definitely a great resource, for anyone who is considering building with Metricon in Melbourne.

Brad & Amanda – Two young professionals (and admittedly our nearby neighbours), built with Wisdom Homes at Stonecutters Ridge in North West Sydney. Not only have they documented their entire build process, they have meticulously covered the steps they took to ensure the native landscape garden took off and their sprawling lawn stays healthy. Keep an eye out for photos of having their 10,000L rainwater tank being installed underground.

Shayne & Jason – There are heaps of build blogs out there, but there aren’t a lot that document a knockdown-rebuild. Enter Shayne & Jason. These two purchased a dilapidated house in Sydney and, over the months, have turned it into a beautiful Laguna 36 home – with Metricon’s help of course.

These are my three recommendations. Do you have a favourite build blog that you think deserves a bit of recommendation? I’d love to hear about it. I think we all learn a little bit from everyone elses experience. Even though we’re approaching one year since we moved in, much of what I read on other blogs is still relevant and very useful to us as we make this house, our home.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. What to look for when building a home
2. Communicating with your builder
3. Visualise 2.0

Here are my top ten not-so-obvious things to look for during your new home PCI.

1. Electrical Wiring
2. Painting
3. Chipped bricks
4. Working locks
5. Scratched counter tops
6. Sealed doors
7. Working Windows
8. Bowed window frames
9. Down light alignment
10. Missing hardware

1. Electrical Wiring – It seems pretty straight forward, but don’t be so sure that just because a power point is where it should be according to the plans, that it’s working, or even wired correctly. We had a few power points that, during PCI, were discovered to not be wired up. No power at the power point. We even found that a light switch downstairs would only work when a light upstairs was turned on. Not what I’d consider to be a feature.

2. Painting – Check the paint. Check it again, especially in the corners of the rooms. There should be at least two or three coats of paint on the wall and missed areas, especially in the dark corners of a room, can be easily missed. Bring a torch (flashlight) to look into the darker areas of a room to inspect the quality of the paint on the wall.

3. Chipped Bricks – Inspect the bricks. Replacing bricks is something that should be done early on. Brick colour fades, and if you wait until years down the road to replace a brick, your brick may be discontinued or will not match the colour of the faded bricks.

4. Working locks – Do the doors lock correctly? Does the deadbolt turn easily? It’s not uncommon for the space between the door and the door jam to not match up correctly or allow for a secure seal. We had  a few doors that had an issue with closing correctly which, became very apparent when the winter drafts showed up.

5. Scratched Counter tops – It seems obvious, but sometimes the scratches are difficult to see, especially if you’ve got a caeserstone counter with a pattern to it. Bring a cloth, wipe it down, and look at your counter from eye level to search out any imperfections that might be hiding behind the dust of construction.

6. Sealed Doors – We had a huge issue with this. None of our exterior doors were sealed on the top and/or bottom. In fact, we’re having a few French Doors replaced because of warping. The builder left the doors out in the weather during construction, and by the time they were installed, they had warped. During the cold winter months, this was a big issue for us as it caused a pretty cold draft.

7. Working Windows – A number of our awning windows didn’t lock down correctly, and some didn’t open the full distance. Make sure to open and close all the windows in the house to ensure they operate properly. Compare one window to the next, to ensure they all operate the same.

8. Bowed window frames – When we had our shutters put in, I had a discussion with the installer who mentioned that it’s common for him to fill gaps between the shutter frame and the window frame, as they’re often not straight. He has seen gaps up to 10mm before, something that isn’t easily fixed after the fact. Bring with you a straight edge, and check the window frames to ensure they’re straight.

9. Downlight alignment – Seems obvious that your down lights should be lined up, but this doesn’t always happen. In rooms where we had a square pattern of down lights, we had to double check everything lined up correctly. Not all of the lights were, and it was because of timber noggins and framing behind the gyprock that prevented lights from being installed where they should be. If they’re not, point it out to the builder before it’s too late. They can move them, and replace the gyprock if necessary.

10. Missing hardware – Check your plans. The house may look finished, but you might have missing hardware. We’re still chasing a towel ring that was overlooked with Metricon. And yes, it’s almost a year later.

In the end, persistance and due diligence is key when it comes time to inspect your new home. Take your time, and don’t get rushed along by your builder. This is YOUR time to inspect your new home, and to ensure the workmanship is at a level you’re happy with. Make yourself a list ahead of time of things to check to ensure everything is completed correctly. If you’d rather download one, you can find a complete checklist of things to look for here. It’s got a few spreadsheets you can download that will assist you in having an enjoyable inspection, for both inside and out of your soon to be new home.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Council Inspection
2. Metricon’s 90 Inspection
3. Yes! Oh sorry, I meant no…

You can read more here.  (Stonecutters Ridge featured on page 62)

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Stonecutters Ridge Development Update – May 2010
2. Stonecutters Ridge
3. Stonecutters Ridge Golf Course Progress

A few weeks ago I flew to San Diego (where I grew up) for a good friends wedding and was very impressed with the venue he and his bride to be had chosen. A home owned by a friend of the bride and groom, this Balinese styled hilltop home had an amazing view all the way to the Pacific Ocean, framed by all the features and landscaping you’d expect from a Balinese villa in the South Pacific.

With a vanishing edge pool framing the spectacular view, it’s easy to see how this ‘hideaway’ could be the perfect spot for a special event. Just outside of Escondido, California, it is surrounded by the desert sage landscape that is synonomous with Southern California, yet styled with tropical plants – many of which we’ve chosen for our home here in Australia because of the ability to tolerate drought conditions. Good thing too, as San Diegians have recently been required to start conserving water, something Australians have been familiar with for years.

Like it? Me too. Love it? You’re in luck. It’s for sale. At a cool $3.3 million, you too can have 5 bedrooms and 6.5 baths of Balinese inspired luxury with a view that stretches to the Pacific Ocean. And you’re guaranteed to have your privacy here. There’s one home on a nearby hilltop, but your closest neighbours will be coyotes, rabbits, and the occasional deer. Heck, the bathrooms don’t even have blinds!

No related posts.

In reality, there’s a lot going on right now. I recently flew overseas to attend a wedding, we celebrated Megan’s birthday, we’re celebrating mine today, and in just a couple of weeks – we should be ready for our little one to join the family. Needless to say, there’s always something happening that keeps me away from the computer.

Not much is happening around the house – Metricon is still trying to fix stuff from the 90 day inspection. We’ll be sure to let you know when we’re finally finished dealing with the builder.

In the interim, here’s a pretty cool website I came across recently that has aided in our decisions around designing our house inside AND out. It’s called Houzz. To take the words directly from their mouths it’s a community of home design enthusiasts from around the world. Consider it an online version of cutting pages out of magazines and stuffing them in a folder – but much easier to search, save, and share.

So with that, I will leave you until I actually finish writing one of the many half completed blog posts I’ve got saved up. Oh, for you airplane geeks out there, I flew on this bad boy last week. VERY cool.

Still interested? Here's a few more posts you may find interesting:

1. Off-lead dog park? Yes please
2. Paying for the experience?