Build it up, build it up, build it higher, build it up, up , up , up ,up into the sky!

The title is a line from a kids song, in case you didn't know!  Not one to be frivilous, the build is still moving along at a snails pace.  The brickies were there for a week, left for a week while scaffolding and top floor wrapping happened  (and they completed another job they are working on) and have just returned to do the top floor. In the meantime, they delivered the plaster (as modelled by the stunning Eve and Lily above!) and put in external doors ready for lock up.  I was told the first fix electrics would go in once ground floor had been bricked - apparently the elec company are yet to even recieve our plans or book in the job! My SS has predicted we will be in for the start of June - that is a mere 11 weeks away and I am tempted to hold him to it!!  We are feeling the financial strain now and every day counts!  Despite that, spendaholic Liz  (if I talk about myself in the third person it really helps the denial!) has spent another $500 on extra electrical as I had forgotten a few integral points.

Unfortunately someone has been on site and helped themselves to our piles of top soil  (inside our temp fencing mind you)- I haven't bothered to fight it but it is really disappointing to think a neighbour or their representative are so dishonest.   I am also struggling to get fencing quotes.  I have no idea why a tradesmen would bother to come on site and spend half an hour looking at a job to not quote.  Fair enough if they didn't want the job, but after chasing him up he insisted he was keen and would send it through - still nothing.  We are also looking at a bitumen driveway - we have major cracks (more like canyons!) from the rain and its a real concern.  We hadn't budgeted for this, so this could be a bit of a blow . That's tomorrow's meeting and I'm really tired...

A couple of pics - the wrong vs. right mortar and inside living/dining

Bricks and mortar

The bricks (Boral La Mesa) arrived Feb18th as promised, but the house hadn't been wrapped, problems with windows hadn't been rectified and the brickies weren't ready to start, so another week and a bit on my brickies finally came on site!!!  What a lovely bunch of fellas they were too - local lads who seem to work at a cracking pace for just the 3 of them.  While bouncing around in excitement to finally see solid walls growing from the ground, out the corner of my eye I noticed big sloppy cow pats of dark grey 'mud' (aka mortar) being applied to the wall.  While trying not to ruin the relationship I was trying so hard to build with my new best friends I coyly enquired about how dark it looked.  You see, I had ordered off-white mortar which has a creamy appearance but all I could see was prison cell grey.  After much assurance it would lighten up in a week or so, I went away with a niggling feeling and felt not so pleased with the way my $6k bricks looked - it wasn't what I had spent many sleepless nights imagining.  After some advice, my new neighbour Jo suggested I check out the dry mortar on the ground to get a more accurate idea of the finished result- how clever was she?!  That also meant another visit to site the following day and yet again my reputation for stalking preceding me.  Smiley, smiley with donughts and coke in hand, while sneaking  looks toward the ground, I mentioned that the mortar despite its amazing lightening up potential didn't seem right.  Sure enough the mortar being applied was natural and not off-white, semi relieved I asked the brickies what could be done to fix it and he said 'we'll just have to pull the wall down and start again'...WHAT??!!!!  But he said don't worry, it was my house and I was entitled to have what I'd paid for.  Aarghh, not another delay!!  Still smiley, smiley, I hot footed it off site and speedily got on the phone to my SS...who was off sick!!!!  Nooooo!!!  Thankfully he was picking up messages and called me back pronto apologising for the error and said that the brickies would continue laying with the correct mud and the rest would be bleached - PHEW!   Despite all the dramas, I am beside myself with excitement watching this process and cannot wait until the day we move in...well actually I'm a witch on moving day, so maybe the day after!!!