1 day after touchdown in Brunei

31st July 2008

Exactly 24 hours after I arrived in Brunei from Brisbane, I eagerly went to the site to look at the progress of the day. To date, most of the aircon conduit and piping has been installed apart from 3 specific areas that need further consideration by the supplier. Tomorrow afternoon, I will met with the aircon supplier to discuss on the best alternative of the position for those aircons. The workers on the other had started plastering the wall in the Master bedroom. Today I took the opportunity to take the whole overview of the house from different angle. Overall, I am very satisfy with the progress so far...

The whole overview

At the side towards Syafi's bedroom

The door from the Study room to the balcony

The balcony

Plastering work in the Master suites

Outside the Master suites

The Study room adjacent the walk in closet

Latest Updates!!!

30th July 2008

Just arrived from Brisbane. Here are the latest pictures of the new house.

The whole overview

The poles to the formal living...

To the Master suites...

The kids bedrooms...

My sister and my brother in law at the site after picking me up at the airport...Thanks alot...

The balcony at the back of the house

The Indonesian and Thailand workers showing off their new caps freshly arrive from Brisbane

Shopping for the new house in Brisbane

28 July 2008

Opsss... Don't get excited yet! I'm still in Brisbane, so still no updates on the house. However, this past three days, I have been renting a car and went shopping at Bunnings Warehouse and IKEA. Yup... definitely lots of shopping, and we have spent around AU$1,000 for the new house. I guess it's a big figure because we are buying lots at one time! But it's definitely fun and worth it!

Here are some pictures from Brisbane... Hope you enjoy!

Shopping at IKEA yesterday. We bought kitchen taps, six bar stools, and some dinnerware too!

Syafi and Safiya with all the stuff that we bought...

I got more exhaust fans for the kids' bedrooms. The last time I was in Brisbane, I only bought two to show to my architect. Now with approval from him, we bought more!

To date, this is the most costly fixture that we bought. This in-sink erator can grind even chicken bones so that the dustbin would not be full of wet and smelly leftovers. My wife insisted on buying one to avoid mess in the kitchen... I guess she's already used to having one here in Brisbane... Hehehe...

These lights are useful and affordable. They recharge during the day, and automatically light up at dusk. I hope the garden will look better with them.

Decorative beam

18th July 2008

My wife and I have been visiting the site yesterday and today afternoon. Today is also the last day that my wife will be on site since our flight to Brisbane is early morning tomorrow, at 1.45 a.m. To help finalising last minute preparations, I took the day off. It's quite sad for my wife ... I can tell from the looks of her face (although she tried to hide it from me). But at least she and the kids did have the chance to view quite a lot of development in the construction process. I think by the time they are back for good in Brunei in December, the construction would be in the final stage. I guess that's why it is hard for my wife to bid farewell to our house!

The house from the front as at today. The view would definitely be different by the time my family comes back in December.

Back view ... with brick walls on both floors.

One of the bedrooms taking shape. All the bedrooms will have in-suite bathrooms.

Besides brick layering works, we also notice that the workers had started putting the decorative beam along the outer walls of the house. Frankly, this detail is easily to be overlooked, but thankfully the workers pay attention to every details of the house plan. The decorative beam, although a small detail, but adds feature to the house, as designed by Faizal, our first architect. It looks exclusive too.

Decorative beam under construction, as at 17th July 2008.

The decorative beam as at today.

Constructing more beams at the other side of the house.

Another look at the beam that has been finished.

A closer look at the beam.

As a final note, I will be in Brisbane with my family until 30th July 2008. So... this is it for now, there won't be any updates until August. Until then, enjoy viewing this blog ... and my kids' BLOG site too!

Dilemma solved

16 July 2008

Syafi likes to have his picture taken.. and keeps on asking me "Daddy, is our house done?"

After much thought, and getting advice from Mr. Lai, we made our decision. And it's... affirmative! We will end up having a balcony at the back of the house. It's a good decision too, because the huge space will not be put to waste since now we can enjoy afternoon rests on the balcony. In the future when my dream of having a swimming pool is fulfilled (not sure when), it would be even better!

With regards to the brick works, more progress is carried out. It's unfortunate though that the wall at the study room which has been nicely done will be hacked to make way for the door as an access to the new balcony. Anyway, enjoy these pictures for now!

Progress in brick works

Look at that huge space, it's worth it to have a balcony, right?

Air-conditioners piping works all installed at the first floor.

Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik

15th July 2008

Happy 62nd birthday to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah of Brunei Darussalam.

"Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik"

More complete news coverage? Visit the official WEBSITE!

Brick layering works on the first floor

15th July 2008

Today is the royal birthday of His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei. To commemorate this historic day, today is a public holiday, and everyone in Brunei enjoys the celebrations. The construction workers at my house are no exceptions and they take the day off.

Nevertheless, one of them came up to me when we visited the site today to discuss the idea of transforming the spacious a/c platform at the back of the house into a balcony. If we're interested, the workers would prepare a door from one of the bedrooms. For now, my wife and I are still thinking about it, and issues of convenience versus security makes it a tough decision to make. The pros and cons has to be looked at, and we will probably tell the workers our decision tomorrow.

What a beauty... The house as at 15th July 2008

Our majestic towers and arch.

For now, we are quite satisfied with the progress of the construction. The waterproofing and cementing works at the roof gutter is finished, and now they have moved to layering bricks at the first floor. Looks like my wife has the chance of viewing the house with walls on both floors after all!

Enjoy these pictures!

Piping for electrical wiring and sockets on the first floor.

Brick layers... at the master bedroom, master walk-in-closet and library / study.

Syafi and Safiya posing on the heaps of bricks. I'm really going to miss having them around!

Waterproofing works

11th July 2008

The house as it was today.

Now that the concrete roof gutter is ready, waterproofing works entails. I notice the workers are using special chemicals which is mixed with cement and is applied on the concrete gutter floor. When this layer has dried, another layer of pure cement is put on top. It takes them around three days to complete the work.

More pictures next time!

The water proofing chemical.

Cementing works on the roof gutter.

Cementing works finished... and notice also the cover of the water drain pipe.