Funnily enough, I never thought about how little of the roof tiles you can see from the ground for a double storey house, particularly if it's on a hill. It makes it very hard to take photos. But here are a couple I managed to get.
We have also spent some time finalising some of our flooring. We've chosen solid spotted gum for our timber floors. We really like the grain features it has, as well as the colour - not much red/orange colour, but darker than blackbutt and tasmanian oak. It also has a fairly high Janka hardness rating, which should mean it's harder to damage.
I had previously thought that solid timber could not be laid over a slab, but we had a long talk with the guy from Perfect Timber Floors, who told me it just has to be laid over some sort of chip board underlay. Unlike previous flooring guys I'd spoken to (mostly at carpet places), this guy sounded like an expert, so I am much more confident in going with him than someone else. The main advantage of solid timber is that it can be resanded and polished several times throughout its life, without having to replace it. You also end up with a much nicer installation, as the finish is applied after installation.
It did raise a potential problem though. He very strongly recommended getting the raw timber (ie not sanded and polished) installed before the kitchen goes in. While there shouldn't be any technical problem with this, I'm not sure if it will be allowed under Simonds site policies. I sent them an email on Tuesday, and I'm still waiting to hear back. It may help that PTF are Simonds usual supplier, so I have my fingers crossed...
