My new kitchen upgrade
CEHL’s maintenance stimulus project is full steam ahead doing great work with many happy co-op members!
Anette from Eyrie CERC shares her recent experience about her kitchen upgrade.
Many thanks CEHL's Asset Management Team, especially Brad Frost (Property Officer). Their efforts in the last three years have dramatically reduced the co-op's extensive list of much-needed and long outstanding maintenance items. I'm really pleased.
How long have you been at this home?
I first joined the co-op about 15 years ago and was looking forward to having my kitchen upgraded and now it is finally done.
What maintenance upgrades were done to your home?
A new kitchen fitout with additional shelving for one of the kitchen walls, a replacement window and a new light/fan fitting. The new, all-white upgrade looks pretty jazzy for a 'small budget model’ and is a much brighter, and way more user-friendly workplace than the 1950s version it replaced. It was definitely worth the long wait.
Have the works fixed an issue at your home or was it a general upgrade?
After the cabinet makers called in to measure, and to discuss colour, materials and layout with me, CEHL (Brad Frost) approved my first preference for layout and colour... as well as gloss finish for cabinets.
To be honest, I didn't think that any of my 'would prefer' items would end up forming part of 'works approved' for the job. I was wrong.
How was your experience/interaction with the Property Officer? and the contractor?
The builders, plasterers, electrician, plumbers, cabinet makers, painters: the whole crew is made up of lovely people with great work ethics, who work together exceptionally well. They cleaned up the worksite at the end of each day and dealt with one another (and me) in a calm, supportive, and respectful manner. At one stage, there were a total of eight workers on site, but you didn't notice the additional bodies.
They calmly and without fuss worked around the many challenges an old and wonky structure such the place I live in presents. There's a joint in one of the skirts and in one of the cabinet kickboards, and if it were my place and my money, I would have asked them to replace the boards with full length boards. However, I totally get that both contractors and CEHL are working to a pretty tight budget, and that because of this 'waste' needs to be avoided where possible. This is only an observation, not a complaint.
Like with all the previous upgrades our co-op received and Brad Frost organised (numerous), he once again chose a great set of contractors. Brad continues to incorporate tenant and co-op preferences and/or suggestions when planning and organising the works. Great job, Brad!
Is there anything you’d like to share with the co-op community about the works and its impact on you?
Many thanks to CEHL's Asset Management Team, especially Brad Frost. Their efforts over the last three years have dramatically reduced the co-op's extensive list of much-needed and long outstanding Third Schedule items. Our co-ops received a total of:
- 3 bathroom upgrades
- 1 ensuite upgrade
- 4 kitchen upgrades (one of the four is Stimulus; one of the 4 was trashed by tenant about 15 months after installation and was then replaced by insurer)
- 2 roof replacements (plus one to be done under Stimulus)
- 1 glass sliding door replacement
- 1 window replacement (4 of 8 windows)
- 1 restumping works (plus one to be done under Stimulus)
A huge thankyou to my fellow co-op members who approved a replacement window, new light/fan fitting, as well as additional shelving for one of the kitchen walls.
For more information about works in the Maintenance Stimulus project per region, go to the Have your Say Maintenance Stimulus page for updates of projects and member feedback.