From Grandview to Newington

During our preliminary tender, I asked our tender presenter if the door on the upper level can be centered and aligned to the door on the ground floor.  One of the reasons I chose Grandview facade was because of the symmetry of the windows and doors in both levels.  If that cannot be achieved, then it's not gonna be the same as how I envisioned it to be. Some may not understand but for an OC like me, this is not acceptable (see drawing below). Carlisle said our request is not possible as there is a void in that area behind the door that they are unable to relocate. The void is there for the duct that runs downstairs in that area.

Another option we asked for was if we can remove one of the windows upstairs and convert the door to 3-panels. The void will still be there but at least I won't expect a symmetry and I'll be fine with it.  The two drawings below were done by hubby in photoshop so we can explain what we want to Carlisle better.

With this option, there is still a void area but it looks much better than what they initially suggested.

Carlisle said this option is still not possible.  They suggested to move the walk-in robe to the other end of the master bedroom. It would not be a walk-in robe anymore; instead, it would just be a built-in robe with sliding doors.  It will also be smaller than the original WIR.  And it would be chargeable!  Why would I pay extra for a downgrade? If it wasn't chargeable I would have agreed to it.

After days of arguing with them, we decided to change the facade to Newington.  This is actually one of my favourite Carlisle facades.  I like its Hamptons look but it was more expensive than Grandview... more than double its price! That is why we didn't choose this initially. 

With Newington, I don't have to worry about the symmetry.  There will still be a void on the right side but the 1st floor will have Sycon cladding and it's a 3-panel door so I think it would still look great. Hopefully there'll be no more issues with the facade.

Soil Test and Survey Reports

Our soil test result came back today and ours is Class H2.

From what I've read H2 is Highly reactive clay site. It may experience high ground movement as a result of soil conditions and moisture changes.  Still waiting for Engineering report.

Survey report also came back; It says all our pegs were located... that means we don't need to pay for re-establishment of pegs which costs approx $1200. 

Choosing our Land

Remembering the day, a year ago, when we had to camp out just so we could reserve a lot.

The engineering plan was sent just several hours before the release. So while camped out, we tried to understand the technicalities of the engineering plan and picked our 1st,  2nd, up to 6th choice.  It was a first come, first served system and we were number 6 so we had to be prepared in case our first choice was taken.  Once inside the office, we were only given 10 mins to choose and complete all paper works.  The wait was not bad at all, they provided free hot drinks and we were able to chat and got to know our potential neighbours.

Our criteria:
- of course, it has to be within our budget

- not too big, because it will be difficult to maintain

- not a corner lot, because of the many restrictions

- not located in a T-junction, because of the risk of its location and many other cons
- no big fall,  because this usually means higher site cost and it is also more prone to movements (as most of the people we talk to say)
- not very close to the playground or splash park because it can be a noisy and busy.

- not very major but if we could get a land that is facing the lake or even a lakefront; that would be a bonus.  Unfortunately, in the stage that was released then, there were no lakefront lots.  And even if there was, it would be too close to the splash park.

Prior to Settlement

As soon as the land was registered,  we contacted our broker and conveyancer to ensure we are ready to settle. 

We inspected our land and made sure no rubbish were dumped on our site.

The first time hubby took the land's measurement, the measurements did not correspond with the plan. So we reported it to our conveyancer.  The developer re-surveyed the land and located the pegs.

When we inspected the land again, we found the 2 pegs in front. They were clearly labeled with our and our neighbours' lot numbers.

However, the pegs at the back were not labeled. The right back corner peg was underneath the fence.  

The left back corner peg was behind our fence.

Since they were not labeled, we were not sure if those were our pegs so we asked the developer to check again.  The developer confirmed that the pegs we located were indeed our boundary pegs.  They also sent the photos below:

Settlement... Finally!

Settlement occured successfully yesterday!  Thanks God!