Greg's Stones Road property

28 November 2013: we first see the site in Stones Road.

7 December 2013: we decide to purchase the land.

11 December: We sign the contract for the land.

17 December: we sign a contract with JG King to build the house.

20 January 2014: soil tests completed.

28 January 2014: Delays from JG King in applying for planning permit.

29 January 2014: We discover that we need a Bushfire Management Statement before we can apply for the Planning Permit.

4 February 2014: After going half crazy trying to understand the bureaucratese, we ask Colin McClelland and Associates to prepare the Bushfire Management statement.

18 March 2014: We get the Bushfire Management Statement.

31 March 2014: After several problems, I finally submit the application for the planning permit.

21 April 2014 (Easter Monday): We meet with Tom Tyler of JG King to finalize things for the final contract.

14 May 2014: Tessa Ambrose of JG King establishes contact by sending an SMS, after being told not to contact the mobile number. She was to prepare the contract, for which we have been waiting for a month.

27 May 2014: Planning permit is issued. I still don't have a contract from Tessa, who ties things up with much bureaucracy.

31 May 2014: we are hit with still more bureaucracy in the form of a Biodiversity Assessment Report.

6 June 2014: First work starts on site, the driveway.

9 June 2014: We still don't have a contract, almost 3 months after they started. We look for alternatives to JG King, but ultimately stay with them.

13 June 2014: My patience with Tessa Ambrose finally snaps after she blames me for the delays. She refuses to apologize, as does her manager. Ultimately we get Tom Tyler as contact person. I write an analysis of the delays.

17 June 2014 (six months to the day since signing the initial agreement): Tom tells us that the contracts could be ready by early July.

25 July 2014: The shed is delivered, and the delivery truck sinks into the ground in the “driveway”. We need to remove 80 cm of quicksand and start again.

30 July 2014: We finally sign the contracts, which have been fully 4½ months in the making.

5 September 2014: Site pegged out, first sign of real construction.

10 September 2014: Site cut starts, but is abandoned because of wetness.

12 September 2014: Site scrape continued, but too wet for further activity.

21 October 2014: Site scrape finally complete.

30 October 2014: Slab is boxed.

4 November 2014: Slab is poured.

11 November 2014: Frame erection begins.

24 November 2014: The roof is complete.

28 November 2014: Plumbing starts.

16 December 2014: Bricklaying starts.

13 January 2015: Internal walls installed.

15 January 2015: House locked up.

30 January 2015: Septic tank installed.

10 February 2015: Plastering starts.

11 April 2015: Electrical installation complete—we thought.

5 May 2015: Despite several issues, the house is handed over to us.

7 May 2015: We start moving in.

8 May 2015: We move in.