Contract Signing ........ a full day of it!

8th February 2013 was the big Contract Signing day.  After delivering one child to a friends at 8am for Kinder drop off, then 2 more children to another friends for School and Occasional Care Drop Off, we raised over to the Narre Warren office for our 9am Contract Appointment.

This time I came with a stash of chocolates, fruit and beverages to keep our blood sugars well in tact for ALL the information....

To be honest, the day was very full on and frustrating, which is why it is taken me sooo long to get to writing this post.  I nearly forget where we started on the day.

I think we started going through a list of issues we had noted on the plans from when we were at the colours appointment.  We quite quickly hit an issue in that they did not have the prices for us for Casement windows we are wanting to put in the facade instead of awning windows.  DH is dead against awning windows and has been clear about that from the start. It was frustrating as there was 3 weeks between our Tender and Contract and and excuse given that the estimator was away with food poisoning and they were trying to get into his laptop to get the information.  I have to say it is now 10 days later as I write this and I still don't have the pricing!!!!!

We also very much want sliding windows with double-glazing in the remainder of the house (as discussed and written in Tender), however the plans show awning windows.  We were told that the window company can't do double-glazed sliding windows.  This whole window fiasco probably took 1-2 hours of the contract time.  Issues that they could have discussed with us prior to arriving on the day, especially when I emailed them 4 days prior to appointment alerting them to the awning window issue on the plans.  Part of this fiasco was that at Tender, we were told that if we raised the ceiling height of the 2nd storey and put in 500mm high windows, this would alleviate any overlooking issues for us, so therefore we could have the sliding windows.  The window sill needs to be set at minimum 1700mm from floor to avoid this issue.  So at Tender, we agreed that we would go with this solution to get the sliding windows and unobscured glass.  At contract, then told that the window sills were at 1650mm with 600mm high windows and we couldn't make these smaller to the 500mm due to ventilation/light issues.  So by the time we headed off for our lunch break, we were pretty upset with the process.  So much for a 4 hour meeting!

We called Stegbar whilst on the break, they confirmed that the can indeed to double-glazed windows in sliding windows.  Hubby also got their pricing for Casement Windows.  How hard is it PD to give us a price!  

I was given their feedback form to complete whilst on our break - well I had a field day completing that form.  Then one of the Managers had a chat with us and I let him know it all as well!!!

After 2.5 hour break, we were called back upstairs.  Then told that they solved the sliding window issue and we can have 510mm high windows.  Relief from DH at that point.  Still didn't have pricing for Casement windows.

The main time for this appointment was going through questions and issues we had previously identified and could have sorted out before the day.  The actual part of going through the HIA contract was fairly quick.

My husband can't take any more time off work, we needed to get through this all in the day and don't want to hold up application to council.  So we agreed that we would sign the contract and we would do a Post Contract Variation on the types of windows.

We left at 5.00pm very annoyed with how the process went for the day, but happy that things are moving forward...

Stay tuned on how long it takes to get window pricing - I emailed BC today (20 Feb) to chase up............

Tender Meeting

The Tender Process is for us to define any structural changes and variations to the plans.  Following this meeting, our individualised plans for council will be drawn up.

We are excited to have now finished and signed our Tender.  You spend so much time researching and thinking about it all and wondering if some of your changes are possible.  It feels great to have this all locked in now.

We took 6.5 hours at our first appointment, but ended up having to leave due to commitments.  I then went back for the 2nd appointment which took 2 hours.   As our Tender Presenter advised though, it is all about getting it right, if this takes a bit of time, then so be it. We plan to be living in our house for a very very long time, so want it right now.  So for others out there, just allow yourselves extra time.  It does take time going through the Tender Agreement line by line ensuring every word is correct and everything is listed.

I have been advised for Contract stage to make sure that we check everything on the Tender Agreement against the plans very carefully and ask them to show us where the changes are on the plans.  A great way to cross check.

Some of our Changes:

• Site Costs - these actually ended up being cheaper than the quote (exciting!) - it was good to have realistic quote for this
• 450mm Eaves
• Grand Alfresco
• Guest Suite with Ensuite and Separate Powder Room, instead of Lounge.  As all the other bedrooms are upstairs, we thought it best to have an additional bedroom downstairs for guests or family
• Guest Bathroom - added a window as it didn't have one
• Wembley 35 Amended Pantry - as displayed at Leopold (Standard option is different)
• Garage - 2m extension with roller door at rear
• Removed window in Pantry - don't want food getting hot and also want to utilise the space for full shelving all the way around
• Bi-Fold door - we have recessed the frame - this means there won't be that raised area that people can trip on.
• Double glazed windows
• Changed some of the types of windows - how they open
• Hebel
• Added doors to WIR, Rumpus
• Front door - changed from 2 doors to 1 door
• Colourbond roof
• Niches in bathroom
• Media Unit in Dining Room - as per display
• Gas connection in Alfresco for BBQ - this also then entails upgrading the gas line to the house
• Upgraded Ducted Heating unit to more efficient model

Clearing the land and preparing for Tender

Following from my last post, still no closer to choosing exterior colours..........

However, after the Christmas and New Year break, I hit the phone on Monday morning to line up Tree Removalists and Demolition Companies to provide some quotes on helping to clear the land.  We have also been looking at trying to remove the house instead of demolishing it.  I still need to get 2 more demolition quotes this week and then we will make a decision as to which way we will go - remove or demolish the house.  

Exciting news is that we have received council approval to remove a tree that is centre front of the current house and would have been very difficult to try and build a new house around. We are very excited about the approval.

Yesterday we went to visit the Wembley display again, unfortunately it is all the way round the bay near Geelong.  So I took heaps of photos and worked out some finer details as we prepare for our Tender Meeting this coming Friday.......Yikes!

We are planning another trip to Hopetoun and National Tiles next weekend in preparation the selection appointments.  

I have loved reading the homeone blogs from many other people and also the following ones titled "Porter Davis Homes",  "Things You Forget" and "Porter Davis Upgrades and Costs", they have been invaluable in preparing for the meetings with PD.  How did people get all this information 10 years ago!