Going...going....Gone!

Before taking the girls to school on Wednesday morning we went to see some of the action of the house being demolished. When we got there half of the house had been knocked down already. It was exciting and emotional to see. Today I took some shots of the block with all the rubble gone. The block looks so much bigger without a house on it. The demolition team were amazing, they were prepared to demolish the house last week, but told the day before not too because the gas was not abolished, so they re booked for this Wednesday and had the job done so quickly, thanks Pearcedale!! If the building of the house is that efficient we will be in it in no time....all for positive thinking! I noticed today that the underground power pit has been done, tick to another job. Next is the excavation of the block.

The Denver

Prior to deciding to build with Metricon we had plans drawn and approved for an extension. The cost for the extension was more than we anticipated. We realised knocking down our house and rebuilding was more cost effective. Finding a design that suited our block and a floor plan that we liked lead us to The Denver. The only changes we made to the house itself is adding sliding doors to the rumpus room, so that it can become a theatre room in the future and adding  an outdoor room from the kitchen area. Other extras were upgrades, including electrics, kitchen cupboards and bench, etc. Below is The Denver by Metricon.

Demolition postponed.

I was unable to see if the gas had been abolished last week, due to not being able to go onto the block when they were doing asbestos treatment. So I phoned our gas company and was told that the abolishment had been done. I went past the house the day before the demolition was due and the gas metre was still in place! After phoning the gas company again they stated their paperwork shows the job has been done. So a few phone calls later I was able to track down the company who actually remove the gas metre and they stated that it was due to be done in the next 2 weeks! So cancelling the demolition was the next step. I returned to the house the following day and the gas metre was removed. Back on track again! The demolition is now booked for this Wednesday.

Excited about wires...

Who ever thought I would be excited about a wire hanging down from our house? We placed an order for abolishment of power and gas over a week ago and they can take up to 20 days to do the job, after 7 working days the job has been done :) The wire was connected to the street electricity pole and it needs to be removed before a house can be demolished. That means the demolition team can come in and knock down the house. The demo team were there today attending to any asbestos. Not a nice thought, but in a 40 year old house there needs to be precautions. After living in the house for 6 years it is sad to say goodbye. Lots of memories in that house.

We also signed our contracts with M on Tuesday 10th. Our sales rep went through all the documents with us thoroughly. A few minor changes were required but not much when you get to this stage. Once the block is clear and level they will do a second soil test and survey. They will need our documents from the bank (with our increased mortgage details), our septic tank permit and a few other items. Then M can apply for a building permit and  the build can start. Who ever thought there would be soooo many forms, paperwork, permits, requirements and rules when building a house? And of course each form, permit or test costs a few hundred or thousand dollars. I will be at work on Thursday so I won't get to see the demo in progress. Hopefully the kids will get a chance to see some of the action before going to school as the demo team are starting at 7.30am...

Moved me like a Prince at a fraction of the price

Moving Home

They say that moving is a very stressful event...... really??  I have just recovered. We have moved out of our home of 6 years, so that we can take the next step of abolishing our power before demolishing the house. There were 140 boxes approximately, as I was told. It feels like a never ending job. 3 trips to the salvos and lots of things for the bin. We have moved to a 2 bedroom accomodation, that has no wardrobes and no cupboards, besides in the kitchen. So we have 6 porta robes and a few chester drawers. It has been such a challenge to downsize dramatically. And our 40 year old house was only small. We had to put most of our things in storage.
If it weren't for the great removalists we would still be packing today. They were fantastic, thanks Jamo and Prince removalists! On Friday they spent 4 hours packing boxes and taking furniture that was taken to storage. Then they came back early Saturday morning and spent most of the day loading the truck, packing and then unloading on the other end.
We have now settled in, with only the shoes to deal with, they are still in a box!

Tomorrow we are signing our contract!! We signed our preliminary contract on April 1st. So much work has been put into the planning since then. Council documents, color selections at studio M, electrical selection and more. I decided to start this blog once we received our town planning permit. So as I blog the process I may include what we have been through in the previous months to get to where we are at the moment.