The unpacking is half done, anyway

Here it is: proof that at least some of the unpacking is complete. My back isn't bending as well as it should this week, but we have places to sit.

Of course, it's not all perfect. The washing machine broke in the move, so that has to be repaired on Thursday.

It's not bad, though!

The day after the move

We had the energy left yesterday to make up beds and find toothbrushes and towels ... but that was it.

Today the unpacking continues.

Good thing the kitchen has many, many cupboards.

I have no comment.

The fish were unpacked yesterday.
They seem happy in their new home.

The outside of the 99% complete house

Pictures of the outside of the house.

The newly-landscaped front garden
(yes, there are plants in there)

Some very dirty front steps and
Gail's magnificent mailbox, newly
attached to the front fence by Tim

Another view of the splendid mailbox

See? - plants! The trees are cherry

Steps down from Deborah's bedroom door

Visitors note: this is the front door
and the bell is on your right as
you come off the top step

The Eastern side of the house,
to be paved in the near future.
The fence on this side was installed
today, along with a gate.

The back patio ... a bit boring at the moment

Another picture of the front garden

An artistic photo of the house

The side alleyway, also to be paved quite soon

This is where the garden will be in a year or so

The site of the garden shed

The back of the house, outside Gail's bedroom

The Western alleyway, from the rear

The pump for the rainwater tank

The house is certified for occupation

It's now official: the house has been certified as suitable for occupation. According to Tim, it's 99% ready for us ... and we have keys.

Today was the official handover day - and the keys came with a bottle of champagne, a charming card, and flowers from our building company. I think they are all as chuffed with the house as we are ... and why wouldn't they be? The testing on the energy efficiency of the house has demonstrated that it is performing very well - the best of those Jigsaw has built to date. The design is perfect for us, and the construction is sound.

The Energy Efficiency Rating is 7.3. Given that the climate in Canberra makes it very difficult to achieve ratings of more than 8 with current technologies, we are happy with that.

Perhaps of more interest is the air leakage test that Jigsaw routinely performs on all of their houses. This test isn't yet common in Australia, although it is used in other parts of the world. Fan depressurisation is used to measure the rate of air leakage through the building envelope. The number for our house is 4.8 (air changes per hour). The UK standard aims for less than 10. At 3, there is a risk of compromising air quality, and mechanical heat exchange ventilation systems are required.

So ... it should be toasty in winter and cool in summer.

Here are some of the photos I took this afternoon.

Deborah's bedroom, complete with Murray's blind

Deborah's bedroom door; the purple and
pink stickers indicate marks in the paintwork that have to be touched up

Deborah's study nook

Tim and Gail investigate the
paintwork in Deborah's bathroom

I took your advice, Allan, and went for a higher toilet seat
Note that Gail has already installed loo roll in both bathrooms

The other end of the bathroom

The Eastern sitting room, complete with
reverse-cycle air-condtioner

The space in the laundry where the washing machine will go

The other end of the laundry

The space in the kitchen where the fridge will go

Lots of glass doors and windows - all double-glazed

The Western sitting room

The pantry cupboard

Tomorrow I'll take some photos of the outside of the house, including the magnificent mailbox.

Waiting for the Certificate of Occupancy

So, no new photos (mainly because I forgot to take my phone with me on the final walk-through). However, they will come soon enough.

Gail and I checked the house over yesterday, marking all the scratches and marks on the wall, making sure that all the power points are in, checking the finish in all the rooms, opening and closing all the cupboards, running the dishwasher to make sure it doesn't leak, plugging a hair dryer into every single power point, and turning on all the heating devices. Great fun.

Both Tim and Tom were there, watching carefully, and Murray the blind man installed the new blinds in the bedrooms.

There are a few things that have yet to be completed, including a spyhole in the front door (because I don't want a screen door to get in the way of the splendid red paint, and Gail doesn't want to have to unlock the door before she knows who is out there).

However, these things are all very minor.

The landscapers are running a few days late, because of the rain. That's not a bad thing, though, because we don't want the plants to go in while we are still getting frosts. That would just be foolish!

We have a fence still to be built, on Mr Ghasemi's side, the gates have to be installed, and Tim is building a step and a slatted screen at the front, on which the mailbox and the house numbers will be mounted.

Once we are in and unpacked (which we hope will be before the end of August), we will count our pennies and see how much work we can afford to get done at the back of the house - perhaps some paving, and the erection of the shed. There might just be enough if we count the coins that have slid down behind the cushions on the sofa.

Here's one photo I took just after the builder's fences were removed last week.

I hope Mr Ghasemi builds a small house, because Scott's house (on the left) is very, very close. On the positive side, our fences are high, and we will have a lovely secret garden to hide in. Eventually, I want to plant things right out onto the public footpath, too.

You can just see Gail's car in the garage ... you will note that she has snaffled the spot closest to the front door ... not that I am measuring or anything.

Nearly, nearly there ...

Gail and I are about to go out to buy numbers to put on the mailbox ... that's how close it all is. We have our final inspection on Thursday next week, which is the same day that the landscapers start on the front garden.

There are still one or two things to complete before Jigsaw applies for the Certificate of Occupancy for us ... a step outside my bedroom door, a fence to erect ...

We won't be moving this weekend, and probably not next weekend either ... but before the end of August, we will each have our own bathrooms again!

The fences around the house have been removed, so I'll post a couple of pictures this weekend.