Landscaping ideas

OK, now that handover is so close, it's time for us to start making plans for the garden.  Of course, this is something we've been talking about since the beginning, but I want to start writing it all down.

So, first decision we made is that we will try to do as much as possible ourselves (except maybe the odd fence and retaining wall). 
The second decision, made very shortly after I realised just how much we need to do, was that we needed to break it down into small sections, and work on one at a time.  We don't expect to do it all in a month, or even in a year.  But we can continue with the overall planning as we go.

Here's an overview of our plan so far (thanks to nearmap for the overhead shot, taken on the 12th April)

Section 1 is easy - Simonds will be paving the driveway.
Section 2 we want to be a bird attracting native garden.
- hardenbergia to grow up the 2 brick columns supporting our balcony
- hops to grow as a screen beneath the balcony in summer, and cut back in winter to let sun in and be made into aromatic beers.
- other natives such as a flowering red gum, and a few grevilleas

Section 2 & 3 will be separated by a path up to the front door.
- we will plant fragrant flowering bushes such as lavendar, rosemary, gardenias, and wax flowers as a border along the path
- we have two dwarf apple trees currently in pots that we will plant between the path and the fence line.  We had a good crop of apples from them this year, but I think we will add to these with some different varieties to extend our apple season.

Section 4 will get a lot of shade, so we're looking at putting our pond here if we can fit it, with a few ferns and other plants that like shade.  We also want to enclose this area with netting so it can become an enclosure for our two indoor cats to enjoy.

Not 100% sure what we're doing with section 5.  We will install a water tank along the southeast wall, and initially we'll just leave it as an access to get equipment into the back yard.

Section 6 will need a bit of a retaining wall on the west side, and this is also directly outside the kitchen, so we might try some planters with herbs that can be picked through the kitchen window.
On the east side we will level out a section to use as an outdoor entertaining area.  We may deck or pave this eventually, but initially we'll probably just cover the area with some nice redgum wood chip.

Section 7 will be our vegie patches and chickens.  We plan to build the vegie patches the same size as the chicken enclosure so that we can rotate it around the beds and feed back into the soil.

Section 8 will be grassed, with more fruit trees scattered throughout.  The grapfruit tree is already there, circled in blue.  We also have a lemon and lime tree ready to plant.
We also need to fit a clothes line in somewhere.

Of course this is only the plan at the moment.  Once we move in and see where the sun goes, we might move some things around, particularly out the back.

Home Stretch

After failing to get any information via email, we organised a site meeting on Friday morning.  As we arrived, a couple of guys were getting ready to do the caulking in the wet areas.  Apart from that, there had been some progress during the week, but mostly just finishing touches to various things.  The biggest change was that the house had been cleaned!  All the blue plastic had been removed from the windows, and everything looked shiny.
The best news was that they have booked in their QA inspection for 5th June.  Assuming nothing major is picked up, our PCI, or final inspection, can be booked in after that, and (again assuming all goes well), settlement is usually a week after PCI.  So, we're looking at handover at around about the 15th June. Yay!!!

Getting closer

There has been good progress in the house, with our 'to do' list shrinking rapidly.  (Although our 'to be fixed' list is growing).

Electrical and plumbing fitouts have been done - this includes lights, power data and tv points, sinks, toilets, taps and showerheads.  Only slight problem is they've put a few downlights in the wrong location - we will have 3 batten lights over the kitchen bench so we can put pendants in, and the downlights they have put there should be in the row between the two benches.  Should be an easy fix, as they haven't put any holes where they shouldn't, but another thing to add to the list.  Sigh.

Kitchen downlights.

Ensuite plumbing

They've also completed our robe and cupboard shelving, towel rails, toilet roll holders, door handles, shower screens and mirrors.



Ensuite wir

Towel rail and reset ensuite door

 And finally, they've started on some of the fix items. The ensuite door has been put on the correct side, although they still need to reset the frame and paint.  The missing overhead cupboard doors have been installed.  One of the downpipes that was not connected has been redirected to flow into the storm water, and the downpipes have been partially painted. 

Overall I'm very happy with progress, as every time we visit (which is usually twice a week), multiple items have been ticked off.

Tiling

We managed to get in for a sneaky look at the tiling, which appears to be complete, although it needs a good clean.  I'm really happy with how the colour scheme has come out.  We reversed the colours in the central shower, as I thought it would be a bit too dark in there with the charcoal coloured tiles.  The dark stone niche is a bit darker than I expected, but I'm hoping it will lighten up a bit once the grout has been cleaned off.

Main bathroom:

Spa bath (inset shower is to the left)

Feature strip of stone tiling

Inset shower in main bathroom.

Feature tile in niche.



Upstairs wc

 
Ensuite:

Ensuite

Ensuite shower with feature niche

Downstairs:

Downstairs powder room

Downstairs powder room vanity

Laundry

The garage door was down, so I took a photo in better light.  The facade is almost complete.

May day

We've reached May, and it's getting really hard to get pictures in decent light as we head towards winter (apart from weekends).  End of May was my estimate of completion at the start of the year, and although April progress was a lot slower than I'd hoped, things are picking up, and they could be very close to finishing in a few weeks.  Here are some pictures of recent progress:

Painting complete

Waterproofing started

Garage door installed



Balcony installed