The outside of the house is almost complete!
Second Storey Scyon Cladding
In the past week or two, the exterior Scyon cladding to the upper storey was installed and painted, almost as soon as it was up. It makes sense, I guess, to make use of the scaffolding, while it was still there. And naturally the soffit was also painted. ‘Soffit’ – such a strange word. I wonder what its derivation is?
I can now get an impression of the final look of the house – less the rendering on the front outside corner, of course, which will be a lighter colour, to lift the darker wall shades.
Roof
Meanwhile the Roofer has also returned to complete the flashing around the vents on the roof. That means the roof is finally finished and with Spring around the corner, (if not here already), we will have no worries with the oncoming storms, that are prevalent here, in Springtime.
Not that Queensland really has much of a Spring. Usually it jumps straight to a mild summer around mid September!
Inspection of House
Last week we met with our Site Supervisor to have a walk through the house so far, checking layouts and seeing what has been done. We are not supposed to enter the property unauthorized due to insurance and legality issues. Until the stairway is installed the only access to the second floor is via a ladder! A bit of a risk for those without WH& S training.
No one seemed to worry so much about that in days gone by, did they?
Outdoor Alfresco Ceiling Installation
When we came to inspect the ceiling in the outdoor patio area, we noticed the wooden feature ceiling that cost me SOOO much money, to include in the design, had been installed – the wrong way!!!!! What????
It was an error as they had not seen it with a “castellation” or routed profile facing out before! It WAS them that drew our attention to it, so we couldn’t complain they were not totally upfront in the matter.
To be fair to the carpenters, cedar lining is often laid flat, but with a beveled intersecting edge and a flat profile in high-end homes and boats. However, there wasn’t any beveled edge to the way they laid this profile, so I was pretty disappointed.
The Site Supervisor has been brilliant, though. He and the Company don’t want their clients to be stressed, so they reassured us that the installation could be reversed, if we wanted that. Although I am worried about any obvious nail holes……
I decided that I couldn’t leave it as it was, given that it was the routed, “KIT KAT look, that says ‘COASTAL Scandinavian’ style, that I wanted in the original design.
What do you think? Would you leave it or get the builder to reverse it?
These things happen at the Home by the Sea.
To be continued….
A Home by the Sea 
Interesting update, the house is looking good. I think you should get the ceiling reversed, as your Scandinavian / coastal style looks great.
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Thanks, Marion. I value other’s opinions, as sometimes one is too close to the issue to see clearly!
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I second reversing the ceiling, Amanda! For that much money it should be done right. I appreciate the workers being upfront with you about their error. Love the giant windows and the look of the house. Do you know by when you’ll be able to move in?
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Thanks, Sabine! I value your opinion. I could have made some of the Windows larger again – I like full length glass but every change would have been an ‘upgrade’ and would therefore have cost more. I wanted a house with plenty of natural light- this fits with the Scandi-coastal theme. I was worried some rooms might be dark as the estate is small blocks.
I have put a moving day milestone date on my blog’s sidebar. It is still approximate but Oct/November seems likely at this point. There is still a lot to do before then!!
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A lot of new homes being built here are also on small lots. We looked at some and noticed that they have smaller windows and were therefore quite dark inside. Yours looks like it should be bright and sunny!
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Being on the laneway on one side and the street on the other helps. We also chose a north facing block so we would still have sunlight, even in winter, Sabine! Small blocks are now helpful for planners. Less infrastructure costs, less urban sprawl, shorter commutes, less maintenance costs for homeowners, more availability of useable land, and more. I think it is a good thing, even if it seems like the urban jungle is getting thicker.
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All those reasons for smaller lots make sense, yet I love space around me. Your choice of location in your subdivision sounds perfect!
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It is a balancing act between some yard which we don’t have here at all, in the town house and not to much for us as we get older. We shall see if we got that mix right, Sabine! I hope so.
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We’re thinking about similar stuff in our lives. Your location sounds perfect to me! Anytime you’re right by the beach, you can’t go wrong!
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Yes, there is always a breeze at the beach. Have I asked you whether you want to stay in the same area, Sabine?
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We’re not entirely sure where we will end up! The head and the heart are pulling me in opposite directions. Most likely we’ll end up across the river in Washington State. The tax cut took away some of our deductions that helped offset the high cost of health insurance and state and local tax write-offs on the federal returns. Washington doesn’t have a state income tax! We’re taking our time to figure it all out.
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No state income tax! Wow that’s amazing. Everyone must want to move there?
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There are seven states without state income tax in the US. But all states have to pay a federal income tax
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I see. Okay. Different to us. Every state pays its share.
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Sorry about that! All states pay the federal income tax and with the new tax “cuts” we lost our local deductions. This mostly just affects the “blue” (democratic) states. Oregon has no sales tax on goods, but a roughly 10% state income tax; Washington has no state income tax but charges a sales tax on everything and California has both! It’s sad because the rates of poverty are climbing. We traveled through rural areas over the last few years and many towns are in utter disrepair. Add the opioid crisis, the seemingly never-ending mass shootings and the hate against anyone who’s different makes for a depressing picture. It seems like the moral fiber of our society is slowly unraveling! 😢
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You are right to be concerned, Sabine. Society is changing and with the size of your population I guess you see the worst of it. The tax system sounds awfully complicated and expensive to administer, but I hope that things will turn for the better perhaps things have to be so bad that folks will alter their attitude for the good?
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I keep thinking that it can’t get worse and then it does! I feel fortunate that we are okay, but so many people aren’t! The next election in 2020 will show us what kind of a country we really are!
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An important election indeed. You might be on a rocky road for a while! Hold on tight!
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Will do!
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If you don’t reverse it, every time you look at it, you will think that you should have. It will be worth it in the long run. It looks like a lovely home already.
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Thanks, Marlene. I am going to ask the builders to reverse. You are, of course, correct in saying I would look at it and think, I should have told them to change it! You are always so spot on in your judgement!
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It comes with age. 😉
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Age and a healthy dose of intuition, Marlene.
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You need to have things done right. When we built our coast house (1991), part of the kitchen was done wrong. You bet I made them change it.
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I know, right! Otherwise, I would regret it forever. Still waiting for the cedar to be replaced…..
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