Report Card
Today I looked at the Terrace, shop and half done house. The terrace was the stand out winner - hard to fault.
Terrace.
I rate 9/10. Good feel throughout, nice finish other than a few minor points such as the original upstairs double doors onto the balcony having 100 years of uneven old paint underneath, drains in the courtyard, and the ensuite shower screen door catching on the wall - hopefully just hinge adjustment. The hollow in the bedroom floor under the carpet has not been fixed yet - almost need towing out of it
The shower was a bit small for a double - looked a bit cluttered. Kitchen area and courtyard very nice. I think anyone other than with school age kids would be happy to live there.
Shop
I rate it 6.5/10. Considering all the working bees at this house it is an embarrassment in some ways. The hallway is terrible - ceiling should have been re gyprocked (or was it just done badly), cornice in the same boat. Where the rendered wall meets the gyprock a speed bump is almost evident, plus not to mention the big hairline crack on the wall inside the front door. The floor - ugh!!! They have used the shiny self leveling cement finish - with float sweep marks evident (which would not be easy to get perfect I suspect) and outside the bathroom and toilet they have ramped it up like a skateboard ramp instead of putting in a step - looks like a temp job on a building site. When I say ramped up I mean about 70mm. The terrace house had a step into the bathroom of a similar height but done nicely with a tile strip below the aluminium edge.
The middle side windows look too low and should have been replaced with 400mm higher windows to match the end ones. The original kitchen pressed ceiling adds so much character - really looks good although not consistent with the rest of the house's modern feel. Stepped down living area is reasonable as is the back yard with nice balance of deck, grass and garden. Really need some tall trees or pines to shield from dbl storey house over the back fence and from the public area next door - although privacy is not too bad. I could count the wheel nuts on the jets wheels as they flew over - several planes in 20 minutes. Workers were also replacing the storm water system down the side of the house, was not done properly. Overall it does not feel like a shop or look too much like one from the street. Neighbouring houses are only set back about another 2-3 m, the new 1m setback from street with garden helps a lot. Driveway down side of house is a bonus - access to back yard and adds some space between house and side fence/public area.
Half done House
Rating 7.5/10. Good street appeal, well finished other than bathroom grouting - what did Peter use! Living area is too small for the rest of the house, nice and light and airy but too small for the height of the room. The backyard is .....lets start again!!!!!!! Useless, like sitting in a sports ground car park. The side courtyard is however much nicer - and you can look out to this while laying back in the bath with the glass doors open and shower curtain billowing out in the breeze - pass me another champagne! The ensuite in the wardrobe - brilliant, would not know it was there ....oh I can think of so many jokes you could play on vistors
Chris Gray was there, did not realise it was his red Ferrari parked out the front with adverting all over it. He did a Peter Ho and sat down on the lounge on the back deck to test the atmosphere. I was going to ask him which house he liked the best but I don't think he was interested in talking to anyone than than the agents - getting peoples feedback. As usual, dressed like he was going to a wedding.
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Putting profit aside, unless the Parramatta weatherboard has come up brilliantly, the Glebe Terrace will be the winner for finish and practicality. It's not in a bad street either - outlook across the road is reasonable. Considering they were behind the 8 ball waiting for DA approval, it is very well finished - and complete. I think Cherie Barber would be quite impressed!
