Week 9 - Summary

Monday 16/1 - Sunday 22/1

Our SS was back on deck this week, and it was good to get a grip on where we were at.  Plenty of activity on-site, and our house is starting to take shape -- we love it!!

The roof tiles kicked off on Monday, and they look fantastic... great colour and flat as a pancake! We also noticed that there is sarking up there to protect the roof cavity from moisture damage, as there is no air flow with flat roof tiles.  The water leak also got fixed on Tuesday after a chat with our SS to make sure he got all the information we sent our BC over the Christmas Break (Water leak, door handle placement preference and that we still don't crossover protection).

We got our Independent Inspection done on Wednesday morning, and the general consensus was that the framers had done a really good quality job, and there were no issues with the slab!  The items that needed attending to were minor and to our surprise were all rectified on Friday, along with finalising a few other things such as the portico cover and more framework to the alfresco ceiling.

The biggest issue in play at the moment is the brick delay.  We're at the stage where only minor activities can be completed until the brickwork starts.  Our SS spoke with his manager about the impact of the delay, and they are fine to stop the build until the bricks turn up, and if a 'reverse build' was to occur it would be our decision, not PD's.  We're not interested in going down that path, but the internal things that are safe to do with a roof on and wrapped external walls, we will do - ductwork, electrical, vacuum.  Hopefully Austral have the bricks available by 6 Feb as advised to minimise any delays.

By the end of the week, we had a 95% completed roof (some capping and pointing to go), solar panel fitted, smart wiring roughed in, and all framing faults rectified.

One gripe - we are left wondering why tradies can't put their food scraps in the bin... it's just a bit gross, and it's not that hard!

Monday 16/1:

Roof tiles started

Sarking

Day 1 Roof Tiles on North side

Tuesday 17/1:

Roof tiles mostly completed, and the plumber has fixed the punctured pipe in the kitchen.

Roof tiles now complete on South side 

Wednesday 18/1:

Slab /Frame inspection with NHI.

Thursday 19/1:

Phone catch up with SS to organise site walkthrough in a couple of weeks, and decide on approach due to brick delays.  We'll wait for our brick and do what is safe internally.

Friday 20/1:

Got the Building Variation document from our BC, and to upgrade to the Elements Magnesium (cat 9) is a further $2,785 (in addition to the $4,237 already paid to get cat 6).  I confirmed that this figure includes the free upgrade from cat 6 - 7, that there is no variation fee and that we are not being charged the upgrade cost for rendered areas.

The solar panel has been fitted (very happy with the location and 'squareness' to the section of roof, the smart wiring has been roughed-in, and the framers came back to do the portico and also rectify the items from the inspection, along with a few other things our SS says he found.

Awesome roof tiles, and solar panel

Cabling through the Alfresco

Family Room smart wiring. Notice the graffiti scratched into the wrap?

Smart Wiring hub in garage

Plan for next week:

Finish roof tiles (capping and pointing)
More electrical rough in
Ducted heating and cooling
Ducted Vacuum

Week 8 - Summary

Monday 9/1 - Sunday 15/1

It's been a little while since we've had much progress, and we're starting to get keen for something to happen!  Sadly, this wasn't really the week for that, even though the roof tilers were booked in for Friday 13/1.  The sisalation wrap is done, the roof tiles delivered, and the safety barriers fitted ready for the tilers, hopefully on Monday now.

We had more water leak problems too.  It seems like tradies from other builds come to our block to use water (which doesn't bother us), but because of the hole in the kitchen plumbing, when they turn on the mains we get flooded!  So I've cable tied the mains tap shut until the leak is fixed.

Also spoke with Austral, and the Magnesium brick has been delayed until 6/2 from 10/1. And that is no guarantee either.

Thursday 12/1:

Wrap, roof tiles and safety barriers.

Roof Tile - Monier Cambridge in Soho Night

Plan for next week:

Roof tiles fitted
Independent Inspection (booked for 18/1)
More brick discussions
Internal plumbing fixed / finished?

Week 7 - Summary

Monday 2/1 - Sunday 8/1

Nothing this week, as expected, however we did have a little issue with water.  We popped by on Thursday evening to see if anything had happened and found pools of water throughout the house! I turned off the mains water, while Leanne looked for the source of the leak which she found to be a small hole in the black internal plumbing pipe which runs from the kitchen bench to the kitchen island. The hole was near the top of the cable, just under the capping.

We have no idea how it happened, but there are a fair few nails 'floating' around on site, so not sure if it was some rat bag kids...?

Anyway, took a couple of pics and sent them through to PD to get the pipe replaced.

Went back on Friday and it's pretty much all dried out.  Cleaned out some of the wet saw dust which had accumulated around the framework so it can all dry out properly.

Aside from that, our blog clicked over 10,000 page views!! Thank you to all who read our blog... hope you enjoy it!!

Thursday 5/1:

Plan for next week:

First independent inspection (slab / frame) with New Home Inspections
Roof tilers to start on Thursday
Contact Austral on Friday to see if the Elements Magnesium brick is back in supply (should be available from 10 Jan)

Week 6 - Summary

Monday 26/12 - Sunday 1/1

Didn't really expect anything to happen this week, however on Thursday, the internal plumbing was completed, and the electricity Smart Meter was installed as well.

The Main bits

Breather vent

Smart Meter

Plan for next week:

Not sure - not expecting anything really. Could they start the electrical rough-in, before the roof goes on the following week?

My Fantastic Husband

It was my birthday the other day, and Rups surprised me with the most fantastic gift for our new house. It is the light for our dining room that I have been dreaming of. I am so lucky !

I just can't wait to see it up.

Skygarden by Marcel Wanders (900mm)

Week 5 - Summary

Monday 19/12 - Sunday 25/12

A nice roll into the Christmas break this week, with framing complete, a site clean and the gutters fitted off.  We also resolved the lingering brick matter in our favour, which is a relief!  There won't be anymore action on-site until mid January when our roof tiles are scheduled.

So far, we are very happy with our progress, and look forward to seeing it all come together next year!

Monday 19/12:

Framers on-site finishing off the roof, adding in our extra noggins, and fitted the doors & windows. The foyer window that was delivered was the wrong size (2100mm tall instead of 2400mm tall), so that will need to be resolved next year.

Alfresco

Master BR window (from inside)

Family and Dining 1800x1800 picture windows

Entry - waiting for the 1200mm pivot door

Completed Frame

Invoice received by email at 3pm!

Wednesday 21/12:

Site has been cleaned, with all building rubbish removed from the block and surrounding areas, and the cage emptied.  Crushed rock has been delivered all around the site as well.

CB Monument gutters and fascias have been delivered to the garage.

Thursday 22/12:

Received a call from our BC confirming that we can use the Elements Magnesium brick! Good one PD, common sense has prevailed! However, it comes with a couple of disclaimers.

1. Austral are out of stock and do not expect availability until mid-February.  This will most likely result in PD claiming delays.  Not a big deal for us, as it may extend handover by a week or two, worst case.

2. If Austral do not provide the bricks by mid-February, and we are delayed until March / April, PD may apply penalty interest to our contract. Slightly annoying, but we will cross that bridge when / if we get to it.

3. They cannot lay Cat 1 bricks to the rendered areas due to the fact that most of the render work finishes on corners, however, they have decided to not charge us for the upgrade to Cat 9 where there is render underneath. This is a fair compromise in our opinion and a great gesture on their behalf.

To validate the delivery date, I contacted Austral.  They advised that the entire Elements range is due for new stock on 10 Jan, so all going well, they will be available prior to the roof tiling starting, which is scheduled for 13 Jan.  I will be calling Austral on the 15th to confirm availability.  I think PD were hedging their bets when they said mid-Feb for availability.

All in all, a good outcome... although we wish the Hawthorn brick was still available...

Friday 23/12:

Gutters and fascias fitted off.

Plan for next week:

Nothing!!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and best wishes for 2012!!

Week 4 - Summary

Monday 12/12 - Sunday 18/12

Just like last week, great weather kept things moving along.  We kicked off the week with an 8am onsite meeting with our SS.  This was the first time we were meeting him and wanted to put a face to the name and vice versa for him.  We're both very comfortable with him and his approach to the job at hand.  So, big tick for him and PD!

We also ran through some of the little things we wanted done, and how best to tackle them over the course of the build.  Most things he could take care of, some he could assist with (such as getting an extra course of tiles around the ensuite shower to take it up to the ceiling, by leaving a couple of packs of tiles on-site and the tiler's details) and some we just couldn't do (like bringing our own, bigger rain showerhead).

We also dropped off some fruit mince pies for him and the framers, who seem to be taking a great amount of pride in their work and doing a wonderful job.

By the end of the week, we have 95% of the framework complete (including the roof), and have some facade features and the windows / doors to go.

Walking around the house, in its barebones frame, is wonderful.  It feels just like we imagined it would and some of the features such as our raked ceiling are just fantastic!

Monday 12/12:

External wall frames start to be erected whilst we were on-site in the morning.

And when we came back in the evening, all external walls were complete and some internal walls were up too.

View of facade. Master BR on the left, Garage on the right

View from edge of Portico, just waiting for our big pivot door!

Kira and Chester being builder's assistants... View from Lounge / Alfresco to Kitchen / Family

Tuesday 13/12:

Framing continues with internal walls completed.

Looking good!

Looking at the Home Theatre room, with the city skyline in the background

A lot of the internal walls around the bedrooms and bathroom

Wednesday 14/12:

More framing around the garage and wall bracing completed.

View of Alfresco and Dining from side yard

Thursday 15/12:

Roof trusses started, and timber door frame and windows delivered to site.

Raked ceiling in Lounge, looking towards Alfresco where we will have a 5 leaf timber bifold

Side view

5 leaf and 4 leaf bifold

Timber window frames ready for fitting. Timber door frames right at the back.

Friday 16/12:

After having a good look at the frame work on Thursday, we believed a slab of beer for the guys was definitely in order.

I popped in on Friday morning to see how they were going and to drop off some beers, and they were putting the garage roof together.  They think they'll be all done by Monday and were waiting for the aluminium window frames to turn up.

We're so happy with the work these guys have done, and a slab of beers was the bare minimum we could do for them.  They were very humbled by the gesture, and were hoping all goes well with the frame inspection! With the care they've taken, I'm sure it'll pass with flying colours!  We hope all our trades are this awesome!  They also wanted to know when we'd tell them where the additional noggins would go, so we'll get onto that on Sunday afternoon and go see them on Monday morning.

Saturday 17/12:

The aluminium window frames have turned up.  These are going in the ensuite toilet, lounge, bathroom, toilet, Home Theatre sliders, and BRs 2, 3 & 4.

Glad that they are stacked neatly and with some protection.

Sunday 18/12:

Popped in to mark up the noggin locations for a handful of weighty items... ready for Monday!

Plan for next week:

Finalise our bricks - yes we're still screwing around with them. PD are reluctant to let us choose the Elements Magnesium... but we're not backing down on it. They don't have a good reason, and we've done our homework directly with Austral.
Complete framing
Install windows and doors
Break for Christmas!!

Week 3 - Summary

Monday 5/12 - Sunday 11/12

Great weather this week ensured we got plenty done!  We are very happy with the pace and quality of the construction.  We also got a chance to meet the framing guys who were working on Saturday, and interestingly are building the frames by hand.  We got our first invoice this week and got our head around the progress payment process, along with putting in the last of our own contribution to the build cost!

Awesome week!

Monday 5/12:
Reo and waffle pods laid into excavation.

Ready for concrete pour

Tuesday 6/12:
Slab poured.

Taken from Master BR (front of house)

Taken from Rumpus Room (rear of house)

Wednesday 7/12:
All the excavated dirt has been spread out around the site and all rubbish removed. The electricity meter box has been fitted and framing wood has been delivered.

Thursday 8/12:
Framing started with the outline of the walls marked out, and template lengths cut.

Taken from Dining Room

Taken from Ensuite

Friday 9/12:
More framing work with the majority of the studs and noggins cut, ready for nailing.

Saturday 10/12:
Frames nailed together ready for erecting early next week!

Framers hard at it on Saturday

All their good work - looking at the Home Theatre

More of their good work - Looking at Master BR / Ensuite / WIR

Plan for next week:


SS Meeting on Monday to go through some of the finer details
Mark up of additional noggin locations (towel rails, cocoon heater, etc)
Framing completed
Gutters and fascia (?)