Wednesday 30 October 2013

Wallpaper!

The hallways are finally getting finished. That is pretty good timing as far as I am concerned given that most of the 4th floor has only been in a couple of months.

Paper looks really nice, you can see some shots here:

(Photos courtesy R. Black 2013)

I imagine the carpeting will follow shortly. The place is certainly on track to being finished by Christmas as promised.

Monday 28 October 2013

New plants, driveway finishing

The place is really starting to come together outside. The fence is going up and will look really nice I think. Far better than the chain link that was there. Fencepost holes are dug all along the back now so the fence should also be done all the way around in a few more days.

New plants have been added to the back entranceway as you can see in this picture:









 
The back entrance is finally getting fixed up as well which should be nice. Curbs are ready to be installed and the sidewalk across the drive will be paved as well. Not sure when they will fix the remaining sidewalk all along Sutton but hopefully soon.


 
I am away for the next 9 days so hopefully will have lots to report on when I return.

Sunday 27 October 2013

Furnace Filters

My neighbor has been asking TAG and the builder who looks after filters. So far it looks like we own the furnace and so will be responsible for maintenance and filters.

She also tried to find filters, as did we. unfortunately, they are an odd size 15x28x1 and regular stores do not seem to carry them. If anyone finds a source please let us know as I am sure many of us would like to replace the current ones now the building is getting a little more settled and the dust is settling.

Thursday 24 October 2013

Hot Water - UPDATE

The last few days the water has only been warm and not hot. Made for not very nice baths. This is now fixed and so everyone should be  back to getting hot water.

So please be careful if you have gotten used to sticking your hand under waiting for it to warm up as you might get scalded. Not sure if they have also fixed the time needed to run the water until it finally gets hot. Will check tonight and tomorrow and let you know.

Well, as you all likely know by now they have fixed the hot water situation. Now it gets hot enough and also gets hot fast. Thanks goodness, I am sure many of us were getting tired turning on the shower and walking away while we waited for it to get hot.

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Fencing

It is finally getting a little busier around the building after what seems like a hiatus the last few weeks.

I talked with the fencing contractor yesterday and it seems we will be getting the same fencing we have surrounding the 1st floor balconies, all around the perimeter of the yard area as well. Nice! They hope to start putting it up along the houses starting at Upper Middle and working all the way back and around to Sutton. The chain link section at Sutton was left deliberately to allow for easier sightlines as we drive out onto Sutton.

I think we will see the fencing along the west side (where the houses are and the road that ends at our fence line) done by the end of this week weather permitting.

As an aside, I notice that the back doors finally close and lock properly. Now, if we can get the childish graffiti in the elevators to stop that would be nice.

Sunday 20 October 2013

Lamp Posts??? (update - and new trees and shrubs) further update

In case anyone was wondering, it appears we are getting four more light standards: 3 in the back entrance (where it is much needed I think) and 1 more at the Upper Middle end of our driveway. You can see the large square holes that were dug this past week. The one in the corner where our entranceway turns into the back of the building will be especially useful I think.

NEW NOTE: I may be wrong here. The holes look far too large for lampposts and in talking with folks around perhaps they are dug for other purposes. I will update when I see or hear more.

NEWER NOTE: definitely lamp posts, they have placed the iron bars in for the cement post.

This should be helpful especially during the winter  months when it gets dark sooner.

Now, if we can get the builder to put up a concrete post in front of that gas pipe on the corner, it would be really good. I am afraid someone barreling around the corner in the winter could easily swerve to miss a car coming the other way and crash right into the gas fittings.

This is looking towards the corner, the far red protects the corner laneway hole.


Also noted that they are putting in new trees and shrubs along the back. Will look nice shortly.
You can see them on the truck in the middle-left of the picture

Sunday 13 October 2013

Introduction to Managemnt group meeting

Our management group, TAG, held an introduction meeting in the amenity room on the 10th October. While I was to able to attend as I was travelling, my wife and sisters did and made some notes for me. If anyone else has items they can add, feel free to comment please.

 There will be an official Turnover meeting on November 13th 7pm at Tansley Woods Community Center, 1996 Itabashi Way. It is really  important as many of us as possible attend this meeting as this is where we "take over" the building by electing our own Board. Information packets should arrive soon detailing this and the process for becoming a Board member.

We will have, in accordance with our Condo Rules, 3 Board members. They will serve 1, 2 and 3 year terms so there is always an annual rotation of the Board. I am not sure how each of the initial three members will be assigned to the 1,2 or three year term.

TAG mentioned that Haven plans to have all work completed within the next 90 days, so by year end. I am sure this is good news to us all and especially to those on the first floor who have yet to see their balcony areas finished. It will be nice to see all the halls carpeted for instance and should help cut down on noise.

One item of note was parking. All outdoor parking is Visitor parking and is not for Residents. This was highlighted with the knowledge we all knew coming in (even though we didn't like it - I for one have tried to buy an additional spot since the day I first signed to buy my unit) there is only 1 spot per unit. TAG will begin  monitoring all parking and after a grace period Burlington Police will ticket any cars parked illegally. While it would be nice to have more parking there just isn't the space  - the City determines how many Visitor spots a building must have, not the Builder.

There is a bicycle share program on the honour system so that will be a nice addition, for those who want to cycle through the paths or even Bronte Park. Please remember as we start to use these facilities, the cost will be borne by us all, so we need to take care of what we have.

Procedures for parking, moving bicycle use Amenity room use will be created I believe by the newly elected Board shortly after (I would hope) their election.

So, this is what I have at this time, remember to book the 13th in your calendars as it is important to support our building and have your say.

Friday 4 October 2013

Unit pictures

Since I have been asked, here are a couple of pictures of our unit. We love the hardwood floors, a tawny port color. Painting is ongoing as we speak and cleaning up all our pacing boxes will likely take another year, LOL (we did downsize from a large house)

The pictures are off my phone so not the best. Our entrance hallway is very nice:



And we have started painting. (It is a little hard to see)



We are thinking of some sort of ceiling design in the living room. We like this sort of thing:



And my wife loves her kitchen:

 



Tell us what you are doing and share some pictures.