Slackety McSlackster

This poor old blog is feeling sad and neglected. Oops.

Yes, the three month maintenance stuff finally got done. Only....some of it isn't really up to an acceptable standard. The biggish crack in the family room cornice/ceiling has been so badly repaired that it actually looked less of an eyesore before it was done. Some patched-up mortar along the brick sill under the French doors is a bit of a dog's breakfast. The tiny damage that the plumbers did to the wall in the ensuite hasn't been repaired at all, in spite of being on the list and being specifically pointed out to the maintenance guys. And the plaster that they did fix in there still looks a bit ordinary, plus they only did a paint touch-up, after we had a discussion about how Wattyl ID can't be touched up and the whole wall has to be repainted.

*sigh* So guess what's going on the top of the list for the 12 month maintenance inspection? No doubt we'll go through a similar farce in November...

We've also had it confirmed that there are no insulation batts under the steel deck roofing at the front of the house. Hmm. I'm sure our contract says "batts to ceilings" and not "batts to ceilings except where we can't be arsed". Something to discuss with Porter Davis.

On a more positive note, the front garden is growing well, and once my tax refund arrives, I plan to hurry down to the garden supply place and order materials to do that strip of landscaping along the back fence that I was going to do at Easter. Oh well, you don't want to rush these things. ;o) Then I can have some more fun with plants.

I may even use my PD Rewards card and get down to Plantmark to take advantage of trade prices.

I've also finally made a decision on blinds for the bifolds. Type, anyway, but still no idea about colour, fabric or plain/patterned. I used to be indecisive, but now I'm just not sure....

I'll try to update again soon(ish). If anyone's still reading.

Three month maintenance. At the seven-month mark

We've had long delays in getting our maintenance stuff sorted. There was an initial flurry of activity shortly after the three-month inspection was done, waaay back in March, but then, nothing.

About half the items on our list were fixed in March or April. Two cracks and numerous nail pops in the ceiling were supposed to be fixed, but when the guys went to paint over the patch-ups, they discovered that you can't do touch-ups to our upgraded non-white ceiling....the whole thing needs to be repainted, otherwise the patched areas stand out. They weren't authorised to do a full repaint of two rooms, so they proposed that they'd request a new work order from PD and they'd have to come back on another day. Fine. Except that almost four months later, our ceilings still look like they have the measles.

Several phone calls and emails elicited promises to follow up, but nothing eventuated. We were given the excuse that there was a problem matching the render colour - Rockcote was taken over by another company, and Dulux colours are now used, rather than the custom colours previously offered. We were a bit stumped about how that was holding up the interior painting, a tile that needs replacing, some mortar that needs tidying up and the other odds and ends on our list. And anyway, so there's a problem - how about coming up with a solution? Or offering us some options?

FINALLY, we have things moving again. We hope. I've had the maintenance guy back again today to re-inspect, and we've been promised a phone call by end of week to book in times for the work to be done.

As for the render, they have an almost-match. I'm told that the colour is very close, just a bit darker than the original. So, since it's only the column that needs redoing, we've agreed to give that a try. I figure that since it's separate from the other rendered areas, the difference won't be noticeable. If it IS, we'll have to come up with a plan B. I have some ideas there, but we'll wait and see how plan A turns out first.

Hopefully, we'll have everything completed within the next four weeks. Fingers crossed.

Before we know it, we'll be booking in our 12-month maintenance inspection. Boy, this year is flying past!

A post about nothing

Not much happening on the blog at the moment, because there's not much happening around the house. It's been a busy time for one reason or another, so we haven't actually made any progress at all for a while. I did get my trees planted along the side boundary of the front yard, but still have to get a few more plants to finish off out there.

I really need to sit down and write myself a list of jobs to be done and then aim to do at least one each weekend. The thing is, weekends fly by so quickly.

Our maintenance work from the three-month inspection is STILL not finished. It's more than a little frustrating, given that in two week's time we'll hit the seven-month mark since handover. Time for another email or phone call....

I think I'll make it my goal to finish the front plantings by end of June, and do the strip of landscaping at the back by end of July. That's hardly asking a lot.

From the "What were they THINKING?" files

I know that taste is an individual thing, and that when it comes to choosing house colours, we all have our own ideas of what looks good. I'm all for variety - the world would be boring if we were all the same. And around our way, many streets definitely ARE boring, as you go past house after house after house that look a bit like they came off some sort of factory production line.

BUT. I've been watching a house going up behind us, and was keen to see what colour render the owners had chosen. The bricks are a brown/tan colour, window frames black and the roof dark grey (no choice with that one, dark grey roofs are an estate requirement). The spouting and fascia went up and I thought ...er... oh-KAY... Looks to me like Classic Cream fascia and Woodland Grey spouting and downpipes. Not what I'd have chosen, but whatever....

This house has infills over the windows, so I thought that perhaps those might be matched to one of the other colours. Maybe the classic cream? Nuh-uh, looks like Jasper to me, or something similar anyway.

This morning I opened the blinds in The Baby's room, glanced out the window and OH MY GOD!! This is what I saw:



My eyes! Aargh! It burns.......

*************

Yes, I know that nobody elected me the Queen of Good Taste, and there are no doubt plenty of people who think our house is repulsive. But at least we made an effort to make sure our colours actually coordinated.

The owners of this place might have done better to stop some random guy with a guide dog on the street and ask him to stick a pin in a colour sample sheet.... Oh wait. That may be what they actually DID.

Finally! Something got done.

Progress on the landscaping and decorating and the thousand-and-one bits and pieces we need to do is moving along at the pace of a snail on Mogadon. *sigh*

We have been achieving things, but it really doesn't show. Time is a major issue, and some things have turned out to be quite difficult. Even seemingly simple tasks like finding an integrated rubbish bin for the kitchen is far more complicated than you'd think. We have a skinny cupboard at the very end of our breakfast bar that we want to use, but finding the right bin and sliding mechanism to fit has so far stumped us. I'm completely fed up with looking at the kitchen tidy and assorted bottles and recyclables as you walk into the kitchen/family room! Not exactly the decorator statement I'm going for.

I have a few decorating ideas in my head, but as is always the case, when you set your heart on something, you can never find it. That vase, mirror, plant pot, wall hanging or cushion that you know will be just perfect and that you saw a couple of months ago is nowhere to be found. Whatever you can find is the wrong colour, wrong size, wrong style...or a ridiculous price.

Part of my problem is, I have so many ideas in my head, and try to do them all at once. The result, of course, is that I end up with nothing completed.

So this weekend I decided to concentrate on just a few small things. Number one was to get a few photos and artworks up on the walls. They've been sitting around on the floor for weeks now. This is an abstract triptych I painted for our bedroom (the colours have washed out with the flash though, I really should have taken this in daylight. They're not grey, the main colour is lovely greens):



Number two was to finish off the retreat. I bought a coffee table and side table at IKEA the other week, and managed to find a few decorative bits and pieces, and it's actually turned out well. Relaxing and comfortable and - well, somewhere to retreat to:



I hung a few more pictures and am still going with the office organisation - that's mainly involved shredding tonnes of old paperwork this weekend. Next on the project list is to get the remaining shelves I need and finish that area off.

After that, I think that bit of landscaping at the back of the house ....although I have been drooling over wardrobe fit-outs. This is nice:



Or perhaps this:



Hmm, maybe a bit grand. I'd settle for something like this:



One thing at a time. Must remember that.

Rumpus room transformation

Whew! It's been a busy week. I've become an expert at assembling IKEA furniture, been away for the weekend, caught up on some sleep and got my gym equipment delivered yesterday, and it's just about all set up.

There are one or two extra things I need to get, and I have to do some rearranging of the room, but today I'll be testing it out for the first time. Training at home - yay!

Here's a quick pic:



I have a LOT of work to do to get my office area perfect, and will be doing some of that today. I still need some shelves installed, but that's a job for the weekend, and there are a few things I've yet to buy.

I'm holding off posting photos of that end of the room till it's all just how I want it....

I've been to IKEA

Yes, I braved the horrors of the car park, the one-way labyrinth (and all the people WITH PRAMS who clearly don't understand the concept of ONE WAY) and the unpronounceably-named furniture for some Swedish ingenuity. Oh, alright...... it's really because it's cheap.

Number One Son actually wanted to go to get an armchair and a couple of shelves for his room. Of course, everything he wanted was out of stock, in spite of the website claiming that the items were IN stock. But I brought home a heap of flat packs. :o)

I now have a half-assembled office (still waiting on the rest of the stuff I need) and somewhere to put our coffee cups in the retreat.

Photos will be forthcoming, when the new equipment arrives for my studio and I have it all set up. Meanwhile, I'm running off to Sydney for the weekend.

Bye!