OMG! The kitchen is now 95% complete! 
The cabinet makers have done a great job and we’re totally chuffed with our colour selections. Progress continues on the upstairs hallway storage unit. And they’ve installed the mirror door in the downstairs bathroom/laundry.
The ceramic tiles for the kitchen splashback, which have been on a sloooooow boat from Italy for the last three months, will finally arrive next week some time.
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged bathroom, doors, home, kitchen, mirror, renovations, tiles
Not much to report today, except:
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged bathroom, cabinets, doors, home, kitchen, lights, renovations
Big day today!
)Saturday, and a quick trip up the freeway to see the folks. While I was there, I asked for Pete’s help with the wall plate cut-outs into the metal insert for the outdoor AV enclosure. Of course, he generously obliged and Pete worked his handyman magic on the challenge. The end result was brilliant. 
Pete had also picked me up 20m of grey conduit and lots of elbows, t-pieces etc for running the speaker cable in. His ability to still buy at trade prices saved me more than 30% on retail. Let me say it again – you’re a top bloke, Pete!
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged audio, conduit, home, pergola, pete, renovations, wall plates
A few weeks ago, I visited Altronics to have a listen to their range of outdoor speakers. See, part of my plan for the new pergola includes a 5.1 audio setup for outdoor movies and entertaining. Weatherproof speakers added to renovations shopping list. 
I must have auditioned almost a dozen pairs of speakers before settling on the Opus One (aka Redback) C0911 (IP54-rated) 45W model. At $225.00 per pair, four speakers would have worked at at $464.90 including delivery and insurance. They had no new ones in stock and the salesperson was terrible at closing a sale. So, I decided to hold-off until a little closer to when I needed them in the hope they might have them on sale.
Fast forward to Wednesday last week. I was having a poke about on eBay and decide to have a look for a suitable centre channel speaker. Didn’t find one that I liked but I did stumble-upon this listing:
OUTDOOR SPEAKERS NEW COMMERCIAL & MARINE 2WAY 90W PAIR
The photo piqued my interest and then I read, in part:
These high power Redback® Monitor Series music speakers feature exceptional sound quality for professional sound reinforcement…
…sealed speaker with 5.25″ bass driver and mylar dome tweeter. Best suited to foreground music systems and PA music extension speakers in commercial applications….
Power Rating Each: 45W RMS, 90W MAX, 8 Ohms
SPL (1W @ 1m): 88dB
Freq. Response: 61Hz – 20kHz
Dimensions: 180W x 150D x 238H
Weight: 2.5kg/ speaker…”
Hang on. Major déjà vu moment. Where have I read that blurb and those specs before? Oh, that’s right – HERE! It’s almost word for word and number for number. No branding shown in the photos, but most certainly looks the part otherwise.
The seller, “Audio Australia” seemed to have a great reputation, and I knew I could always do a credit card chargeback if I got burned with a cheap and nasty rip-off item. So, I took my chances and ordered two pairs for $258.00 delivered (just under half the price quoted by Altronics).
Today – just two days later – a box arrived, with one particularly intriguing label on the front. “ALTRONIC DRIVER (0050)”. WHAAA?! I ripped the carton open. There were two boxes of Opus One C0911 speakers and, in between them, an Altronics box used for extra padding!
I have no idea what Altronics is playing at, but I know that I’ll never buy from their website or store again without checking eBay first. 
Posted in Consumer, Gadgets, History, Renovations, Shopping
Tagged C0911, home, monitor, opus one, outdoor speakers, pergola, redback, renovations, speakers, weatherproof
A short week, following the four day Easter long weekend, but a long list of items ticked off the list!
)
) painted in outdoor areaPosted in Home, Renovations
Tagged dishwasher, electrical, floor, home, lights, outdoor area, oven, painting, renovations, toilet, walls
I didn’t get home until late this evening. It was rather dark and I wasn’t expecting to see a lot. How wrong I was!
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged basin, bathroom, benchtops, Caesarstone, home, kitchen, LED, lights, renovations, sink, toilet
Welcome to week number 12 of the renovations. We’re very much on the home stretch now and, according to the builder, we should be able to move back into the house by the end of April. 
Time for a quick look at progress since the last update:
Despite the heavy rain today, the builders and cabinet makers made solid progress again – both inside and outside the house.
)I would like to thank Beacon Lighting for saving us more than 50% on the cost of this light for the dining room. Bad (read: no) customer service at the Beacon Lighting (Alexandria) store gave me enough time to get all the important markings from their display light fitting and then Google-up this one on eBay. Look familiar? Yup!
Ordered Saturday – while standing inside Beacon – and was delivered today (Wednesday), with an extra $500 left in our bank account. 
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged bathroom, home, kitchen, lights, outdoor area, pergola, renovations
I’d planned to install a Samsung UA32D5000 in the new kitchen as an upgrade from the current 22inch display.
That was up until Friday when the Panasonic TH-L32E3A (reviewed here)appeared on the amexconnect.com.au website for a paltry $249.00.
DEAL! 
Posted in Home, Renovations
Tagged home, kitchen, panasonic, renovations, samsung, TH-L32E3A, TV, UA32D5000
