On Friday Michael and I went to the buyers' preview of some 'home maker's' items at auction near Coffs Harbour and came away with a list of a few things we might want to buy if we could. So this morning I nervously went to the auction - my first - and came away the proud owner of three brand spanking new toilets!
There were almost 200 bidding cards given out and the place was heaving. It seems to be a bit of an outing because people brought along their children, parents, friends, neighbours... lots of people milling around and surprisingly few of them actually bidding.
Once things got under way it went very fast. The auctioneer spoke so fast it was hard to understand and to keep on track with the lot numbers in the catalogue. And I didn't realise how it worked with the top two bidders: where there were multiple identical items the lead bidder won the right to decide how many of them they wanted and if any were left the second bidder got first option on the rest.
The shower cabinet, vanity unit and tiles we were after went for silly prices. The vanity unit went for more than it would have cost brand new! People definitely get carried away with the bidding process, and I can understand why; I didn't even bid on these items because the starting prices were high and the prices went up very quickly.
The toilets I was interested in were in the second lot sold; the first ones were 'sold up' up as being quite expensive and accordingly went for a higher price, but the lot of six toilets I was interested in wasn't highlighted in that way and I got three in the end for $377 each (a significant saving on the $549 each for the ones quoted by Warren's bathroom people). They're nothing special: white porcelain toilets with your standard behind-the-seat cistern. Nothing fancy, they're not wall-hung or with concealed cisterns or anything. But they have a 4* WELS rating and dual flush system which means they're very water-efficient (for a toilet), which is great. These three will hopefully grace our family bathroom, the separate 'powder room' as it's known over here, and the toilet in the studio. We'll get a matching toilet/bidet set for our en-suite but at least the other three will match.
So there you go. I understand why people get carried away: there's a 'buzz' that's to do with anticipation and anxiety and the thrill of 'beating' someone else for the prize. Winning the bid is easy: all you do is keep sticking up your bid card for the auctioneer to see, so that you bid more than the opposition. And it's so tempting when you see the one thing you'd have liked disappearing out of your reach! Being sensible requires planning and a bit of discipline. I could ill-afford the time to research the recommended retail prices of the auction items, but I looked stuff up on the web and came up with some figures. Then I calculated how much I would be prepared to pay, added the 11% buyers' premium charged by this auction house and evaluated the result and, if it seemed reasonable, that was my top price. All I have to do now is pay the balance (after leaving my deposit) and work out how we're going to transport them up to the shed on our block.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Five months later...
And we have a builder! I won't bore you with the entire saga of builder 3 and 4. Lovely people, both of them, but we just couldn't afford number 3, and number 4 could build us a house for the right price, just not the right house! If we'd been happy to do it all the way he wanted i.e. cornices and architraves and concrete floors on the inside, and rendered brick and a tiled roof on the outside we would have been fine. The trouble is that we don't want rendered brick walls, tiles on the roof and bloody fussy detailing around every skirting board, the ceiling and every door. No, no, NO!!!!
Then, amazingly, builder number 5 - Warren Macdonald - came charging in on his white horse to save us. Previously he's been the builder's builder, the one others referred to but said we wouldn't be able to get him because he was too busy working on a smart local development. In fact the owners of the smart local development had warned us off, saying Warren was theirs and not to be contacted except for general advice! But in the current financial situation it seems that people aren't buying into smart local developments and so Warren has less work on with them than anticipated, so although we'd only asked for his advice he offered to do a full costing. Et voila it came in at a price we can - just - afford.
The next hurdle is the bank... Once we've finalised things with Warren and come up with a contract we can go to our bank and ask if they'll lend us the money. If we're successful there is a chance we could be starting the build in June or perhaps July... which gives us an outside chance of being well and truly moved into the new house by this time next year.
Then, amazingly, builder number 5 - Warren Macdonald - came charging in on his white horse to save us. Previously he's been the builder's builder, the one others referred to but said we wouldn't be able to get him because he was too busy working on a smart local development. In fact the owners of the smart local development had warned us off, saying Warren was theirs and not to be contacted except for general advice! But in the current financial situation it seems that people aren't buying into smart local developments and so Warren has less work on with them than anticipated, so although we'd only asked for his advice he offered to do a full costing. Et voila it came in at a price we can - just - afford.
The next hurdle is the bank... Once we've finalised things with Warren and come up with a contract we can go to our bank and ask if they'll lend us the money. If we're successful there is a chance we could be starting the build in June or perhaps July... which gives us an outside chance of being well and truly moved into the new house by this time next year.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Garden/ia
I remember buying Gardenias as fragile, temperamental, and as I seem to recall expensive pot plants in the UK. Well here they're large shrubs, small shrubs, prostrate ground cover shrubs, hedging or - as here - grown as standards! We bought this one not long after we arrived and it's taken us a while to work out how to look after it: lots of water, not too much wind (although it's been falling over in its pot regularly with all the wind), get rid of woolly aphids and scale insects as soon as you see them and water in lots of liquid seaweed fertiliser as soon as the leaves start to yellow... and so here it is, looking luscious and starting to flower again at the beginning of summer. Mmmmmmm what a gorgeous smell.
Scenes of devestation
Hmmm... this is what the car port that was attached to the side of the office/studio now looks like, after three days of severe wind warnings. Michael and I actually didn't hear the collapse and were alerted to it by Patrick, who went off to work and discovered his motorbike was under this lot!
Luckily his bike wasn't damaged and I was able to hold up the roof (with some effort, mind you!) so that he could wheel it out from underneath. I wonder what our landlord will make of this one?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Builder number #3
We have no choice but to look at other builders, so I can now introduce the lovely Jim into the mix. He came to see us last week, saw my models, looked at our plans, went away with copies and will - hopefully - come up with a price. He reckons about $1,500 per square metre, so perhaps we'll be back to sawing off bits of the house in an effort to make it more affordable? We'll let you know in the next exciting episode...
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The bottom line
Well the tag-line for this blog is "Great house: small budget: big ideas", so you could always see that we were heading toward difficulties along the way, and I think we've just ploughed straight into 'the money problem'.
You'll recall that we have two potential builders in our sights, Dan and John. John said up-front that he thought it would cost at least half a million dollars to build our house and Dan thought it might be cheaper. John doesn't want to do a costing exercise but Dan has just finished his, and the bad news is that even he thinks the house - not including the studio - will cost half a million dollars to build, which would be OK if we had the money...
The economic situation isn't helping. Importing anything now costs a lot more owing to the fact that the dollar is weak, and the raw cost of materials for building our house has increased by something like 40% in the last twelve months. While we're trying to use local products where possible, such as sustainably farmed timber from local forests for example, the overall cost of materials has gone up as suppliers have increased prices across their product ranges.
Dan has also pointed out that we have expensive tastes, which probably won't be a surprise to most of you! Mind you, I don't think we've gone overboard with things. If I was being snobby about it I would suggest that our European mind-set simply means we're interested in quality products rather than shoddy stuff. We're not interested in gold-plated taps; we want taps that will work for 20 years and more without discolouring, and with the right sort of ceramic disk technology that will work when the water supply comes from a rainwater tank rather than a mains system. We don't want architraves and a decent plasterer costs more than a bodger who uses skirting boards, architraves and cornicing to hide the defects in his workmanship. We could just build the whole house from cement-rendered brick, but we don't like the look, we don't like the associated environmental issues, and we don't want to be patching cracks for the rest of our lives. We could skimp on insulation but it seems like a false economy, especially when we'll be on a solar electricity system that won't allow us anything in the way of electrical heating or cooling. Spending money up-front on appropriate insulation for walls, floor and ceiling is the only sensible answer... and so it goes on.
I'm not quite sure yet how this leaves us. Michael and I haven't really sat down and done the hard work of reviewing our cash-flow, looking at different mortgage options or trying to trim costs. Our Plan B had been to postpone the office/studio building until later, using the second living room as a temporary workplace until we could afford it. We've already ditched the idea of a swimming pool until much later in the proceedings. But as Dan's costings - and we've been through them properly - mean we can't afford to build the office/studio yet anyway, we're going to have to think of a very difference Plan C, and an extremely creative Plan D as a backup.
Funnily enough I'm not despondent. Things haven't got to the stage where I'm seriously worried that we won't be able to build anything at all: we just have to review things and be creative. Often I find that when I first think of something I can't see how to change it, but after a period of reflection it usually occurs to me that there are more options than I had previously thought. What it might mean is a further delay, although hopefully not a huge one as I think it was a condition of our avoiding Stamp Duty on the property that building work had to commence within two years of purchase of the land, which would take us to the end of March next year. More news when we've come up with some ideas!
You'll recall that we have two potential builders in our sights, Dan and John. John said up-front that he thought it would cost at least half a million dollars to build our house and Dan thought it might be cheaper. John doesn't want to do a costing exercise but Dan has just finished his, and the bad news is that even he thinks the house - not including the studio - will cost half a million dollars to build, which would be OK if we had the money...
The economic situation isn't helping. Importing anything now costs a lot more owing to the fact that the dollar is weak, and the raw cost of materials for building our house has increased by something like 40% in the last twelve months. While we're trying to use local products where possible, such as sustainably farmed timber from local forests for example, the overall cost of materials has gone up as suppliers have increased prices across their product ranges.
Dan has also pointed out that we have expensive tastes, which probably won't be a surprise to most of you! Mind you, I don't think we've gone overboard with things. If I was being snobby about it I would suggest that our European mind-set simply means we're interested in quality products rather than shoddy stuff. We're not interested in gold-plated taps; we want taps that will work for 20 years and more without discolouring, and with the right sort of ceramic disk technology that will work when the water supply comes from a rainwater tank rather than a mains system. We don't want architraves and a decent plasterer costs more than a bodger who uses skirting boards, architraves and cornicing to hide the defects in his workmanship. We could just build the whole house from cement-rendered brick, but we don't like the look, we don't like the associated environmental issues, and we don't want to be patching cracks for the rest of our lives. We could skimp on insulation but it seems like a false economy, especially when we'll be on a solar electricity system that won't allow us anything in the way of electrical heating or cooling. Spending money up-front on appropriate insulation for walls, floor and ceiling is the only sensible answer... and so it goes on.
I'm not quite sure yet how this leaves us. Michael and I haven't really sat down and done the hard work of reviewing our cash-flow, looking at different mortgage options or trying to trim costs. Our Plan B had been to postpone the office/studio building until later, using the second living room as a temporary workplace until we could afford it. We've already ditched the idea of a swimming pool until much later in the proceedings. But as Dan's costings - and we've been through them properly - mean we can't afford to build the office/studio yet anyway, we're going to have to think of a very difference Plan C, and an extremely creative Plan D as a backup.
Funnily enough I'm not despondent. Things haven't got to the stage where I'm seriously worried that we won't be able to build anything at all: we just have to review things and be creative. Often I find that when I first think of something I can't see how to change it, but after a period of reflection it usually occurs to me that there are more options than I had previously thought. What it might mean is a further delay, although hopefully not a huge one as I think it was a condition of our avoiding Stamp Duty on the property that building work had to commence within two years of purchase of the land, which would take us to the end of March next year. More news when we've come up with some ideas!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
A visitor
And not one I'd like to see again any time soon. Michael's been away for a few days and I've had a disturbed sleep every night! First, Michael forgot the time difference and rang me very early in the morning, then I had cockroach heaven, and latterly I've had a little Ella person creeping into bed with me at about 2am. So last night it wasn't much of a surprise when a voice said, "Mummy..." next to my ear at 2:30am. I was very tired and told her to go and get her pillow and then she could come into bed with me for a while, but I woke up damned quick when she said she'd 'trodden on something' in the corridor outside her bedroom while getting her pillow. I thought it was probably a dratted cockroach, so was taken aback when I switched on light to have a look and saw... a snake slithering away from me!
I really did have to look twice in order to believe my eyes, even though snakes are prevalent around her and we do live in the bush so it's not really surprising to find one. But the big problem was then, what to do? I know nothing about snakes! Ella jumped onto my bed and was told to stay there; I put on my knee-length Ugg boots (recalling that I'd read many people get bitten on the ankles, I figured it would be wise to protect them), and then followed the snake, armed with a heavy pillow.
It wasn't a big snake: about 40 - 50 cms long, with a light tan body, markings along its back, and a small head. I guessed it was a juvenile, and hoped that if I could drop the pillow on it, I'd be able to trap it... but it got upset at me following it, and from a position under Ella's bed it bent up into an 'S' shape and looked as if it was thinking about striking me, so I stayed very still and we eye-balled each other for about 20 minutes until it relaxed a bit and I moved gently away to get the phone book and a phone. What do you do when you've got a snake under your daughter's bed at 2:30am on a Saturday morning??? I decided to ring WIRES, which is a national wildlife rescue service for which I've seen posters... the number didn't say it was 24 hours, but they must have an overnight 'on call' service because eventually a groggy female voice answered and the lovely Donna helped me out. I explained that I was an ignorant pom, described the snake, commented that I couldn't secure the room because we have sliding internal doors and it could easily get out, and she said she'd get a reptile expert to ring me back. So about 15 minutes later, during which time the snake decided to move towards the back of Ella's room out of sight, Tom rang me from Nana Glen which is about 25 kms away.
He made me describe its appearance and manner, and then said 'Oh f^%$, I'd better get down there', and asked me to station myself in the corridor to monitor the position of the snake, which I did for half an hour until he arrived. Bless him, he managed to catch the snake and took it away, tied into a pillow-case. Apparently not many people notice the 'S' shape in the neck, but that told him it was either a tree snake or an Eastern Brown snake, which was what was worrying him. The tree snake is venemous but a bite would be the equivalent of a horse-fly sting: unpleasant but not dangerous, whereas a bite from an Eastern Brown snake would mean a visit to hospital - I can't believe Ella trod on it and wasn't bitten!
By the time Tom arrived, Patrick had got back from his Hallowe'en party (earlier that evening I had the pleasure of making him up to look like a ghoul!) and all had been explained. Patrick looked after Ella while we hunted the snake, and once Tom and the snake had gone we all sat down and phoned Michael, whom I knew was in the lounge at LA airport waiting for his plane. I'd badly wanted to phone him while I was sitting in the corridor waiting for Tom to arrive but didn't think it was fair to tell Michael all about it when he would have worried and not been able to help.
So anyway, it was past 5am by the time we all got back to bed, and the phone rang at 8am, 9:30am and 10am, so I can't say I've caught up on much sleep... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I really did have to look twice in order to believe my eyes, even though snakes are prevalent around her and we do live in the bush so it's not really surprising to find one. But the big problem was then, what to do? I know nothing about snakes! Ella jumped onto my bed and was told to stay there; I put on my knee-length Ugg boots (recalling that I'd read many people get bitten on the ankles, I figured it would be wise to protect them), and then followed the snake, armed with a heavy pillow.
It wasn't a big snake: about 40 - 50 cms long, with a light tan body, markings along its back, and a small head. I guessed it was a juvenile, and hoped that if I could drop the pillow on it, I'd be able to trap it... but it got upset at me following it, and from a position under Ella's bed it bent up into an 'S' shape and looked as if it was thinking about striking me, so I stayed very still and we eye-balled each other for about 20 minutes until it relaxed a bit and I moved gently away to get the phone book and a phone. What do you do when you've got a snake under your daughter's bed at 2:30am on a Saturday morning??? I decided to ring WIRES, which is a national wildlife rescue service for which I've seen posters... the number didn't say it was 24 hours, but they must have an overnight 'on call' service because eventually a groggy female voice answered and the lovely Donna helped me out. I explained that I was an ignorant pom, described the snake, commented that I couldn't secure the room because we have sliding internal doors and it could easily get out, and she said she'd get a reptile expert to ring me back. So about 15 minutes later, during which time the snake decided to move towards the back of Ella's room out of sight, Tom rang me from Nana Glen which is about 25 kms away.
He made me describe its appearance and manner, and then said 'Oh f^%$, I'd better get down there', and asked me to station myself in the corridor to monitor the position of the snake, which I did for half an hour until he arrived. Bless him, he managed to catch the snake and took it away, tied into a pillow-case. Apparently not many people notice the 'S' shape in the neck, but that told him it was either a tree snake or an Eastern Brown snake, which was what was worrying him. The tree snake is venemous but a bite would be the equivalent of a horse-fly sting: unpleasant but not dangerous, whereas a bite from an Eastern Brown snake would mean a visit to hospital - I can't believe Ella trod on it and wasn't bitten!
By the time Tom arrived, Patrick had got back from his Hallowe'en party (earlier that evening I had the pleasure of making him up to look like a ghoul!) and all had been explained. Patrick looked after Ella while we hunted the snake, and once Tom and the snake had gone we all sat down and phoned Michael, whom I knew was in the lounge at LA airport waiting for his plane. I'd badly wanted to phone him while I was sitting in the corridor waiting for Tom to arrive but didn't think it was fair to tell Michael all about it when he would have worried and not been able to help.
So anyway, it was past 5am by the time we all got back to bed, and the phone rang at 8am, 9:30am and 10am, so I can't say I've caught up on much sleep... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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