Week 19 - Windows, doors and weatherboard

This week some of the new windows and doors were installed. After they went in the builders carried on installing the new weatherboards around them. It's starting to look like a house rather than a construction site!

The big sliding doors onto our deck are 2.7 metres tall, so 30cm taller than the ceiling in our last house. Oddly because the opening is so wide, I think they look shorter than a standard door.

We had an on-site meeting on Friday with the electricians - to go over the lighting and power plans. You might remember that we changed our walk-in robe layout so we also had to change the lighting and power for that room, as well as the ensuite and master bedroom. We also made some tweaks to the final positions of switches, powerpoint and the circuit organisation based on how we think we will use each room. Nothing beats that feeling of always having somewhere to plug in the vacuum cleaner!

On our architectural plans we had included roof-tiled window hoods over the windows down the sides of the house. These would have matched the existing 1930s hoods on the front elevation.

We made a last minute decision on Friday (much to the builder's annoyance) to ditch them. It was so nice seeing so much sky through the windows upstairs, I think it would have been a shame to reduce the light and views with a window hood. We are still doing them to the front, to keep the house looking right - but the sides will be uncovered and much more modern looking.

The pace seems to be picking up now - we are heading quickly towards lockup, which means a stage payment will become due (damn) but it will also mean that the interior elements can get started (walls, air conditioning ducts, ceilings, flooring - all the nice bits).

Off-site, I continue my hunt for the perfect kitchen handle.