1st August I get a call from the builder telling
me that if we want to proceed with Laminex Metaline for our splashbacks, we
will need to sign a waiver as they have had problems with it warping due to the
heat of the cooktop. We are having an induction cooktop so I don't really
think it will be a problem, but again, after many phone calls and
investigations, we decided we needed to step away from Metaline. That
meant going back to Albury/Wodonga to try and choose a different splashback.
I went back to National Tiles and chose a tile
but didn't feel at all happy with it (again very limited range). I ended
up getting a friend to pick up one of those tiles and got it home to compare it
to the other colours and it threw green really badly. That I didn't want. That meant another trip to Albury/Wodonga and this time I decided to go
to Beaumont Tiles and I didn't care if we had to supply and Hadar install.
I couldn't believe it when I got there and Beaumont were now a supplier
for Hadar! They have SO much better range. I even thought about
changing my floor tile but just didn't want to upset the apple cart of
production any more. We also had a problem with the distance between our
bench top and our overhead cupboards being 660mm and the tile we chose being
600mm. I was also looking into a glass splash back and waiting to
hear. I was also looking into the cost of a glass splash back.
3rd August we got the next set of finals (!).
All was good and we were ready to sign when the SLO permit came back.
UH OH.....
Bottom line - we can't have the roof colour we
want. I couldn't believe it. This one took a bit of getting over to
say the least. I was back to the drawing board yet again.
We had chosen : Monument roof and gutters
with dune fascia and monument windows. Our bricks are Boral Mocha.
I had agonised over these colours and I felt devastated. So it was
back to the drawing board. We weren't allowed to have black, white or
blue. As the windows butt on to tiles I had to make sure the whole lot
worked. I nearly chose Woodland Grey but didn't like the green it threw.
The end result is: Jasper roof and gutters,
Paperbark Fascia, Monument windows and, now garage door. We were going to
go with a timber look garage door, but for an extra $655 it didn't seem worth
it.
10th August - finally a decision is made on the
colours and I had heard back from Regency and the glass splash backs were
definitely out of the question. We've had to go with the 600mm square
tile which will have a small cut above. I'm sure it's one of those things
that seems big at the time but becomes insignificant afterwards. But, I'm
told that I've missed the window with estimating yet again......
19th August - expecting the final estimation and
also expecting to sign on Monday until.....the documents arrive and now we have
an extra $4,308 due to engineering. The most significant part of that
amount is due to the fact that an ugly old gum tree is positioned on our nature
strip and because of it's proximity to the driveway - we need 5 2.5m deep piers
under out driveway. I cried. I've had enough - and this is
ridiculous. We have decided to go down the honesty road and get in
contact with Council to see if we can have the tree removed and we will
replant....but that could take weeks. Either that or we decide to go
ahead with the extra costs...and a bigger mortgage that we just didn't plan on. I'll be on to Council tomorrow and see what can be done.
Now I'm confident in my colour scheme....here it is!
Roof : Jasper
Gutters : Jasper
Fascia : Paperbark
Eaves : 1/4 strength Paperbark
Bricks : PGH Mocha horizon
Kitchen benches : Essastone Sandstone Cape
Lower cupboards : Formica Streetlight
Upper cupboards : Avignon Walnut
Paint : Dulux White Exchange Half on walls and Quarter on skirts etc.
