Resource Consent

Our Excavator is awesome. My husband has been hassling him about getting our section as flat as possible, and he has listened carefully to our requests and is doing his best to give us what we want.

He has also figured out a way that he can save us money AND optimise our views - by getting rid of the proposed retaining wall that we are meant to have at the back of our section. Ben has decided to pack the dirt in such a way that would mean we will not require a retaining wall to hold it together - which is fantastic! (esp since retaining walls are expensive and it would have been a shame to block our view of the countryside in this area.)

But before we get to the retaining wall stage we have another slight delay. The Council will not issue our resource consent until I give them my chosen colour scheme of the interior AND exterior of our proposed house. This is part of the covenants, as they dont want us to clash with the neighbours, haha.

Anyway, if I get the colour scheme to them today, the resource consent should be issued within 7 days.

I have a non-offensive eye for design so decided to just google "exterior colour scheme", and came across this idea: http://www.resene.co.nz/homeown/decorating_inspirations/house_paint.htm

The main colour (Resene Don Juan) is a bit darker than what I'm used to, but I think it'll work.

I have also decided to go with the suggested complementary colour Resene Gallery for the interior of our house, which is a light, neutral colour.

And just because I have submitted my colour scheme to the council, I am now having doubts.

Our Builder and Drainlayer

We went through all the Builders and Drainlayers that responsed to our job postings on TradeExperts.co.nz and we think we have chosen the best Tradesmen with the most knowledge and experience.

The Builder we have chosen is is Nick Neville from Howick. Nick is a very experienced Kiwi Builder who has come in to meet us a couple of times to talk about what needs to be done.

He was a bit more expensive than a couple of the other builders who offered us a quote, but I think we'll get along better with Nick - and its important to have a good working relationship with your crew. Also, I feel that his superior workmanship is worth the extra dollars.

Nick also does that extra bit, such as driving up to meet the Excavator and Steve from Latitude Homes so that they can keep him in the loop.

He also told the Excavator that he would like to be there as the platform goes down so that he can make sure it is done to suit our plans. This is excellent service, considering that Nick does not need to be on site until the frames arrive (which is in about 4 weeks).

The Drainlayer we have chosen is also excellent. His name is Alan Standing, and he's an old school type person with a lot of experience. Coincidentally, he's the Drainlayer that Latitude Homes uses, which says a lot about his knowledge and workmanship.

The Picture above is of our Drainlayer

The Diggers are Here!

Well the diggers arrived on site only one day later than expected, and work started a day after that.

My husband kind of pushed things along by hassling Latitude Homes who took the Excavator off a job he was completing on Waiheke Island, and brought him over to start ours.

The Excavators name is Ben, a good Kiwi Bloke who had to hire some diggers for our job (as his diggers are being used on Waiheke Island). My husband said that's okay, because it is sometimes hard for Tradesmen to schedule in jobs perfectly.

Latitude Homes are really trying to get the ball rolling for us, and despite the delays have always been friendly and approachable.