tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90263036294145627912009-05-09T22:13:38.212+10:00Hi! Welcome to our Porter Davis Cremorne 41. This site will follow the progress of our home from the start, through every stage until the end. We will try and include as many photos as we can along the way. Why do you care? You probably don't - unless you are building or thinking of building your own place, or unless you are one of our friends or relatives. Strap yourself in - it's going to be a long and bumpy ride!Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.auBlogger171125BuildingOurNewHomehttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-24284844267492143332009-04-14T10:24:00.003+10:002009-04-14T10:40:31.260+10:00

Over Easter we had a milestone birthday. One of us turned 50 on Easter Monday (and it wasn't the person who normally updates this blog).We had some people over on Sunday night, so had to try and make the place look half decent before they arrived.We laid all the decking that we had, and stuck another blueboard sheet up.The we painted with a primer, and put a few flooring sheets down so that the

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-53287859997462791682009-04-08T11:55:00.003+10:002009-04-08T12:07:22.562+10:00

Ok, so it's been a long time between updates. Let's see, what's been happening?Photos and commentary will tell the story.Construction of the next section of decking - this was actually done in February!The posts will form the backbone of a feature wall.The structure is complete.First of the blueboard sheets is up, so we can start laying the deck.The step has been constructed, and deck lights

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-19101298110161304582009-02-05T09:03:00.003+11:002009-02-13T08:44:03.859+11:00

It's been a month! How time flies since the last update (and there's been no movement on some of the other maintenance items), so time for a few photos of the outside.The hot weather here has really knocked the new plants around - some have managed ok, some will come back, and others will need to be replaced.The Santa Ana couch loves the hot weather, and is thriving to the point where it needs to

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-72720938845370078942009-01-14T08:16:00.005+11:002009-01-15T12:11:09.957+11:00

Last Tuesday we had a visit from Dean, who did our 3 month maintenance work. This guy is brilliant! He managed to fix things which we thought may not be possible. For some reason Dean wasn't told he was supposed to be at our place on Monday, and we never got a phone call advising us that we would be there the day after. Just as well someone was home!Apparently all the trades are supposed to be

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-42141929501386194782009-01-08T10:00:00.005+11:002009-01-08T12:55:51.374+11:00

Over the past couple of days we have had the biggest transformation we have seen in our new home. Before Christmas, we made the decision to go with a landscape company to do the work in our front yard. Just before they started, we also asked them to come up with something for the back yard - and the work has now been completed.Photos below show the end result - unfortunately what this means is

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-39211131536530027962008-12-28T15:36:00.003+11:002008-12-28T17:15:41.340+11:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! For us it was back to doing some jobs around the place, and one which had been meaning to do for a while, was to put a big feature pot in place near the front door.A big red pot, some Yukkas and 1/2 cubic metre of 80mm Tuscan mix (and some effort) yielded the following result:A pot, some plants, and some stones.Makes a huge difference to this corner.House is

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-75724679218734560562008-12-24T18:54:00.004+11:002008-12-24T19:13:11.196+11:00

Hi everyone, This entry is being created on Christmas Eve, and as people everywhere scurry around getting things ready for the big day tomorrow, we just wanted to thank everyone for their support and comments on our web site throughout the year.Originally, this blog was created for friends and family to keep tabs on our build, but it's had a terrific unexpected side-effect in that we have made a

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-64296895213930896242008-12-23T08:45:00.003+11:002008-12-23T09:27:40.839+11:00

One of the jobs we wanted to finish before Christmas was the rear deck, and it's now at a stage where it has passed the PCI (Practical completion inspection) and it's ready for hand-over :-)The blocks you can see will be replaced by a single board running the length of the deck.Another thing which has been bugging us (well, mostly me) is the job done by the PD contracted plumbers when installing

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-59814191503510735152008-12-22T07:43:00.006+11:002008-12-22T08:35:37.183+11:00

Well, we now have three tanks on site, and not the type pictured above.Thanks to a visit from Dad and much hard work over the weekend, we now have a couple of new water tanks installed.In all we have a 2100 litre tank for the toilets, a 7500 litre squat tank hanging off the shed, and a 2400 litre tank behind the garage.The tanks were delivered on Saturday, and the only thing left to do is to

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-46262820372475117872008-12-19T08:21:00.003+11:002008-12-19T09:13:12.056+11:00

I realise, of course, that I've probably picked up a whole new audience with the title of this entry - but the type of vibrator we are talking about here is one of these:Yep, after Simon the bobcat guy did his trick last week, it was time to pack down the crushed rock. The "Wacker Packer" cost $55 to hire for the day from the local hire place. Be warned, it's very, very heavy and is difficult to

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-61485177586452593522008-12-09T15:15:00.004+11:002008-12-09T16:03:28.055+11:00

Today was the day that Simon the Bobcat guy came over with his machine to make some sense out of our yard. We have had some bad experiences with earthmoving contractors - ripped off by one and having cables pulled up by another, so we were naturally very nervous about what was going to happen.Simon was referred to us by the guy who will be landscaping our front yard - and we were assured that

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-71046282245242975482008-12-08T09:40:00.005+11:002008-12-08T11:53:04.463+11:00

Well folks, last Thursday we had our three month inspection. The Maintenance Supervisor certainly seems to be a nice bloke, and wasn't worried when we started assaulting him from both sides with our list of issues. He checked them all one by one, and wrote them up (almost all of them, anyway). In addition to our list he noticed a few things that he wasn't happy with and write them up as

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-64636298895859283382008-12-05T14:35:00.004+11:002008-12-05T22:34:43.796+11:00

Ok, not a very original title to this blog entry, but "Of wood and concrete" pretty much describes the latest item to be finished in our back yard.Last weekend was spent putting in a retaining wall next to the shed.You might think that the order we do things is kind of interesting, and you'd be right, but there is some method to the madness. Quite simply, the most urgent job (or part of the job)

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-79628450296958496112008-11-27T14:52:00.004+11:002008-12-02T10:45:46.208+11:00

A while back we posted some pictures of the start of our rear deck. We were held up a little as the availability of 90mm Merbau deck has been an issue - most people building decks in Melbourne would probably be aware of the shortage.Some of the other timbers available don't have the same deep rich look, or are just too expensive.Well, there's been some progress. As I was scrounging for scraps at

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-68325585875457472932008-11-27T13:46:00.004+11:002008-11-28T12:05:39.563+11:00

Warning: This blog entry contains blokie shed stuff.A couple of weekends ago we had a visit from Dad who (armed with his arc welder) gave us a hand to put together a workbench for the shed. I think it's an excuse for him to play with his welder, but whatever the reason, the help is very much appreciated.The process started off with some measurements, and the purchase of some 50mm angle iron

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-13977065919332970492008-11-27T09:51:00.004+11:002008-11-27T11:13:09.281+11:00

At some point in the last month (can't remember exactly when) we installed the speakers into the al fresco ceiling. The wires were already in place, so it was time to cut into the ceiling and fish the wires through.The speakers we bought were a pair of 8 inch 150W ceiling speakers (bought online from Selby Acoustics). See the detail here (opens in a new window)A template comes with the speakers,

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-27187171505817701222008-11-17T11:04:00.003+11:002008-11-17T11:31:06.444+11:00

It's been a while since the last update, and while a few things have been happening around the house, that's not the subject of today's blog post.Yesterday we had a visit from Liana and Rob (Building our Windsor 47). We have been following each others progress for quite some time, and I'm sure many of you will have followed the story of the Windsor 47, and enjoyed the slideshows as much as we

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-12197268546735902172008-10-13T12:13:00.009+11:002008-10-15T18:43:41.356+11:00

Yep - this is all about the visitors, as the people who live here (and have to pay off the incredible mortgage) usually enter through the garage. Visitors will have the privilege of stepping straight from the driveway and onto the decking at the front of the house.Pretty happy with the way it looks, and once the rest of the yard is landscaped, it should look even better. We have some ideas for

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-45275092928343123362008-10-09T13:30:00.006+11:002008-10-09T15:36:57.421+11:00

Here's an updated shot of the driveway - we were lucky in that we can have a 5 metre wide cross over, so the driveway is straight and wide.Don't get us started about being ripped off by the guy who did the excavation... all we can say is make sure that if the concreter tells you how much the excavation will be, that you check it with the guy who does the work before he starts.The colour turned

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-16434701610619916782008-10-09T12:03:00.004+11:002008-10-09T13:23:27.561+11:00

One of the things about a new home is that apart from the big jobs (flooring, decking, landscaping) there are a host of small jobs which also need attention.One of these is some weather strips under the front door. Strangely, the priority for these went up as we started finding crawling insects in the house in the morning, and the old towel wasn't going to cut it for long - not to mention the

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-34350866861424501882008-09-30T21:31:00.003+10:002008-09-30T21:55:55.889+10:00

Wow! Two blog entries in two days. The fact is that things happen less often once you move in, so the entries are less frequent.If you remember back to our listing about the front decking, there were a few things still to be finished - one of the small jobs was to hide the screw holes using timber plugs.The plugs were bought from the same supplier as the Dek-Ties, and are 3/8 inch Merbau plugs.

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-57130884194830330622008-09-29T20:55:00.006+10:002008-09-29T21:37:44.488+10:00

In case you missed it, the weekend just gone was AFL Grand Final weekend.It was also the weekend that we made some progress on the rear deck, thanks to a visit from Dad.Nothing like a helping hand from a retired Builder to move things along! It seems I may have over-engineered the front deck a little :-) It's officially rated at 4 Door to Door Salesmen, and 3 Red Cross collectors....In this

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-64189653862112580332008-09-18T09:13:00.007+10:002008-09-18T17:13:35.539+10:00

Ok, so it's been a while since our last house related post, so it's time for an update.There have been a few things happening, and the most obvious is the driveway, however we will leave that for a later time.This entry is about decking. Merbau decking outside the front door to be precise. We had always known that we wanted decking at the front door, and we also decided that it would be Merbau (

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9026303629414562791.post-43142469325785721402008-09-07T08:57:00.002+10:002008-09-07T09:07:11.199+10:00

Regular readers will have noticed that I don't put many personal items on this blog - after all, it's about building our house. Last time a personal entry went up was August 2007, but today is special.I have four kids who, due to circumstances, call someone else "Dad". Father's Day has always been one of the most difficult days of the year, but this year something happened which makes it

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Pommie Dave the sparkie has been busy at our place installing some of the lights we have bought over the past few months. A while back Dave installed the interior lights (including the stair lights) and now the exterior ones have been installed.As you would know, Porter Davis don't actually provide or install much in the way of custom lighting - so they shove a junction box on the wall and

Bernadette and Perryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08726016247906340793perry_r@tpg.com.au3