Status @ 10 Oct

Looking at my home pics folder, i realised that over the fasting month i've only took pictures of the house ONCE. Feeling guilty about it, i rushed to the site to snap a few pics, and here's one that compares well to the architects rendition.

Payment?
Manage to sort out the payment issue with the bank, and it seems like process problem alright... can't say much about that, except that i am so disappointed with the delays despite us being cooperative and giving them whatever letters, invoices, receipts for them to proceed with the payment, but Alhamdulillah (Praise Allah) the contractor never slowed down the construction and continued on with their work on schedule.

Budgeting?
When the contractor quote their price, you have to know that it does not include government charges (we still have no idea yet how much it is), aircons, aircon piping (average $300 per aircon unit), alarm (depends on numbers of doors/windows), lights & fans. You have to set aside budget for other necessities too like fridge, cooker/stove, microwave, TV(s), curtains... depends on number of windows and material/design... and for those home theater enthusiasts or those IT buffs, let your contractor know your needs (LAN points, speaker points, cable TV outlets etc) before they quote cos it'll cost more if they charge it as an additional job compared to being included in the outset.


Anyway, here are the pics:


morning pic of 13 Sept, still doing the roofs

afternoon pic of 13 Sept


doing the roof over our master suite

latest pic, status as of today (Wednesday, 10 Oct 07)


till the next update... to friends who cared to visit, Thank you .

I wish my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, from us Pg Hj Azmi Rizal, Hajah Rakayah, Ak Muhammad 'Abdurrahman, Dk Iman 'Aaliyah and Dk Izzan 'Aaeeshah...

i've got other photblogs at gembo and gembo-gembo

Latest Status? Roofed!

Hi friends

Status to date? Alhamdulillah our house is 95% roofed. another 5% will be roofed in a month's time, InsyaAllah, awaiitng next shipment.

I've got pictures here of the developments in July & August, and the architects rendition of the completed house.... the architect is chinese, so his rendition is chinese style with red roof tiles, ours are black.... will snap some shots to be updated before raya.... really need to push my arse to do this updates.... i owe this to friends, with the intention to offer tips to ensure hassle free construction..

Talking about hassles.... Alhamdulillah, we have not got a single complain so far about our contractor, he's been patient despite the delays in payments.... I guess there is always a problem of being the first; in our case we were the first HOS customer of this bank - i hope they will be able to relook at their processes, to ensure contractors are paid when due.

I'll give some experience on budgeting in my next blog... lets hope soon Gembo! Enjoy the pics!

Architect's Rendition of our house when completed



how it looked like at week 1 in July. Remember, piling was done early June.


status @ week 3 July... all in order, Alhamdulillah ground floor beams completed


status @ week 2 August... first floor columns completed


status @ week 3 August... preparing the first floor beams

Quiet on the net, but work continues...

Not been updating as often as i intended... but a quick update of what's happening

On 8th June, we laid down the foundation @ Tiang Seri for us Bruneians, where we invited the local imam to recite prayers as we took turns to pour concrete to the main column of the house. Ceremony was around 5.30 in the morning, just after the Subuh prayers are completed in the local mosque. Muhammad (my eldest son) and Iman (eldest daughter & my second child) didn't want to be left out despite the early hours.



By 10th June, all the columns have been completed, however there was a minor problem as the land under my proposed living and dining room were full of woods - courtesy of a furniture factory who rented the land from my mom more than 20 years ago. They simply buried the excess wood rather than disposing it properly. Our contractor had to dig out the woods and had to order more than 4 trips of sand to fill the void. The good news however is, despite the period the wood spent under the ground, there was no signs of termites.
Anyway, me & mrs flew out to KL for her course on 15 June (Friday), but we took a 2 days diversion on the weekend to Singapore, to look for lights - Blimey! You'd be spoilt for choice at Jalan Besar and Balestier Road to choose the lights - there are just so many choices, and the prices are very competitive. We didn't return empty handed and bought more than $5k worth of lights, and that represents about 95% of our lights. We still need to think about the other 5%....


Got back to Brunei on the 22 June and checked the development of the house. Apparently the wet weather slowed progress a bit, but in good days they sped up the work including weekends. Well, they were then preparing ground beams for the house.




BY 30 June, the ground beam were finally completed with cement and now, hopefully by 7 July the ground floors will be completed... till next update, i promise more photos.