If we were paid a dollar for every time we've been told our steel will be on site tomorrow, we would be moving into a mortgage-free house.
Our frustration came to a head last week when for the first time in the process, I got a bit annoyed with our builders. I'm a pretty laid-back guy and avoid confrontation if possible, so on a scale of irate homeowners, my venting to Haven Renovations boss Ray Sale was at the timid end.
I was simply over being told our steel would be on site on a certain date, then for that day to arrive and discover it was another week away.
Each time I asked why and it seemed the reasons were never ending:The steely hadn't finished. The zinc coaters were booked up for weeks. Or the engineer's design didn't work so it needed to be re-done. On and on it went. Cue my mild rant at Ray when I learned of yet another delay.
Ray pointed out he was as frustrated as we were. He explained he was at the end of a long supply chain involving engineers, steel fabricators, hiab companies, zinc coaters and powder coating suppliers, over which he had no control. He was pushing them as hard as he could and offering them our beer bribes, but in the end he was just the messenger back to us.
He also pointed out that it was in his best interests to complete our house as soon as possible too, allowing his guys to move on to a growing list of new projects.
So we consoled each other with our mutual frustration, then hugged (via email) and made up. And hoped like all hell that the latest "your steel will be on site tomorrow" was in fact true.
And it seems miracles do happen. This week that hiab backed down our drive and craned four giant steel beams into place, forming the huge cantilevered section over our garage that houses our open-plan kitchen and dining area. Then within 48 hours, the Formance SIP walls were up and ceiling panels were in place, allowing us to take in the amazing bush and stream views from this side of the house for the first time.
What was nothing but foundations two days earlier was now very house-like, reinforcing the advantages of prefabricating our home in this method.
Not to be outdone, our bedroom pod just keeps getting more beautiful too, thanks to the installation this week of the huge skylight running above our passageway.
The skylight itself was designed and built by skylight specialists Adlux. Call me naive but I just assumed we could whack up a normal window in the void, but apparently there is a host of additional requirements when it comes to skylights.
However the Adlux guys made it a breeze to navigate through these nuances and were able to virtually replicate our wall windows, colour-matching the frame and double-glazing the unit with the same high-performance Planitherm glass.
Walking into the hallway for the first time after it had been fitted was awesome. The once dark corridor was now awash with beautiful, natural light and the unit itself looks stunning, a visual treat in itself.
It finally feels like we're entering the home straight of our build. We're hoping the balance of our steel will arrive this week so the rest of the living pod can be completed. Then it's on to the fit-out.
• Find out more about Ben and Kylie's dream home at ourdreamhome.co.nz
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For more information on the Kiwibank First Home Buyer's Guide visit: kiwibank.co.nz and search for "first home".
