The Week That Was
A round-up
I’ve had a busy week with new-house-related action points. It’s great to report that things are moving along—I’m almost too busy to write a new Substack. Here’s a summary:
Choosing terrazzo
The Terrazzo Factory
To nail down my choice of terrazzo for benchtops and cabinetry tops I visited the warehouse of Pure Marble at Rydalmere. Not only did I see my favourite – a combo called ‘San Michele’ —beautifully displayed in cabinetry, I was also shown the warehouse floor, where the stone could be seen in spectacular large sheets.
Terrazzo confirmed!
Pure Marble warehouse: the motherlode
Meeting Charles the Electrician
I buzzed off to the builder’s showroom at Waitara to meet Charles, an electrician who seemed to know his stuff, and who was as keen as I to outfit my house with atmospheric lighting. We spent a happy hour choosing solutions to light up my bookshelves, subtly light the outdoors, spread golden beams across the sandstone, and cluster pendants over the dining table. It was practically a love fest.
Charles has headed off to complete a plan—and yes, I assured him, I do need a datapoint out in the writing shed.
The electrical plan. Looks complicated? It is.
Going Over the Contract
I took the train to Lewisham to confer with Evan over coffee in the local bougie café about the building contract. With signing looking ever closer, this was a chore I really needed to tick off. We discovered a couple of issues in the draft contract which we’ll need to raise, and a handful of minor ones.
But though I *used to be* a lawyer, I don’t know what I don’t know about building contracts, so I’m also going to have a specialist look it over.
The Materials Selection Lsit
This hefty list of every single thing in the house is almost done. Just a few tiny items to tweak—think the shed floor, an extra door handle, and a little last-minute debate over LED lighting strips.
Nearly there.
The Re-drawn Plans Arrive
At long last, the builder’s re-drawn version of the plans has arrived. Evan and I have pored over them—checking that nothing important has been altered. Or, in fact, that nothing at all has been altered. There are a few items on our check list to follow up, and the next step will be to raise these and make sure we’re all on the same page.
Just build it like this
That’s the round-up. Where will we be by this time next week?