I see trees of green

Well our sales rep at Masterton has come back and found a landscaper for us so we have forwarded some rough sketches we had of what we wanted our gardens to look like... the cost of the plans is a bit cheaper than the original quote so that is something i suppose, oh and we were also told we won't be needing a flood report (did I already mention that?)

Hank looks so big and spacious but when we look at Nora, she seems quite small and tiny but i have read other blogs saying the same thing.

we're really just waiting now for the final drafts to be done and sent to the council.. so hopefully it should be sometime soon. I am assuming that building will not commence until late December or early next year.

Meanwhile, there needs to be some major cleanup to make space for the outlaws!

On a personal note, i start full time work next week... my boy has started childcare last week for 2 days a week and let's just say that this week has been really rough emotionally and physically for him and for me! i'm in his bad books at the moment for leaving him in the care of strangers so am feeling outcast and depressed.

Lock it in ...

Well we have had another meeting with our CSR to finalise details and this will be our last chance for any variations before council submission. Thankfully, we've been told we don't need a flood report so there is one cost we won't have to wear. We're generally happy with the pre-final plans now and waiting on some quotes for getting Hank a bigger door (we have asked for the XS26?) its 1200mm and will be wood with rectangular frosted glass panels or something and we've also asked how much to upgrade to gloss silver window frames... we figure it will make Hank a little more unique and will complement his planned white plantation shutters and vertical blinds... we prefer to keep him looking neat and trim with blinds instead of curtains... still have to decide what dressing we will use for his alfresco doors...

Also, it appears their landscape designer has emigrated so they may be submitting the landscape design for us hopefully without cost! we are going to provide a draft plan of what we want which they will use as a starting point...

on another note, just came back from a weekend at the snows, Perisher and Thredbo and it was beaut weather with fresh snow falling every day! am sore but content from my two days of boarding...

How much is that landscape designer in the window?

Well I rang a couple (ok two) landscape designers to see what their price was like compared to what Masterton were offering with their landscaper. Both claimed that minimum cost would be around $800 from scratch without seeing anything or getting site plans etc. But if they could work with the draftsperson from the builder, then it could be something like $450 instead as the draftsperson would have drawn up part of the requirements already. This price is already fairly close to Masterton's quoted price so we have decided to just go with theirs rather than organise the landscaper to meet with Masterton etc. So this seems like a reasonable quoted cost. Masterton's designer also does not charge for any amendments if required by council though I'm not sure if that happens a lot or whether that is the norm for most landscapers anyway, but I'll let you know.

on another note, another busy day at work, my desk buddy just asked what cinderella's horse and buggy turns into at night, better get our noses back to the grindstone!

its a pumpkin btw!