I have some news...

[PHIL069]

Update...

We got planning approval from council.

We had to upgrade the house insulation and windows to get energy effiency certification
- Change all windows and glass doors to E-Glass, change 1 glass door to double glazing, add sisalation to the roof, upgrade ceiling insulation from 4.0 to 5.0, add internal insulation to all internal walls
= $5000 extra

We got energy effiency certification

We got building certification

We got development/building approval from council

Also I have put the shed planning/building application into council
- I was waiting on the energy upgrade price before commiting to the shed, I can go ahead with the shed I want as it's still in budget.


THE SHED...
7.6M x 12M colourbond, 2 sliding doors in the gable end, 1 PA door, roof insulation, cement floor, 3 phase power connected and lights/power points installed.


Yesterday we recieved construction approval from Sarah Homes, which means they have appointed us a site supervisor and are ready to start building.
We just have to wait for the super to contact us and look over the site.

Yesterday we recieved council planning approval for the shed, now we just need council development approval.

 

[PHIL069]

Update...

Sarah Homes site supervisor has looked over the site and expects the earthworks to start within the next 2 weeks.
He is waiting on the earthmovers to finish up another job.

We got council development/building approval for the shed

We have ordered the shed, it will be built in January 2016.

We had to add some extra stones to our driveway to give enough hard surface to allow the builders (and fire fighters, if required) to turn around and drive out forward.
When it rains the red dirt becomes too soft to drive on.

We ordered a truck and trailer of 28 Tonne of road base/cement and it was delivered yesterday.

That is now 84 Tonne used, which cost $1k.

Yesterday I borrowed my neighbours tractor again to smooth out the stone and spent 5 hours with a shovel getting it just right.

This time I used my new (old) Hilux ute to pack down the surface.

Pics of yesterdays road construction...

 

[Nitephyre]

Looks good mate.

 

[PHIL069]

Good news...
So work has started.
On Tuesday I took a day off of work and Sue, Steven and I spent the whole day at the block of land watching the earthmoving contractor prepare our house site.
It was interesting to watch and now we have a level surface ready for the house.

Rant...
We were told during the sales process that we could have the excavated authentic red Australian dirt put anywhere on our block that we wished, as long as we told the contractor.
First thing on Tuesday morning we asked the contractor to put the dirt up the back of the block near the gumtree.
He told us that was too far away from the house site.
So we asked him to put it near the fence behind the house site.
He agreed, but during the day we watched him put it all directly behind the house thinking he was going to move it at the end of the day.
When he started to pack up I asked him if he was going to move it to where he agreed to put it.
He said his job was to clear the site not to move the dirt.
I said that he agreed to put it near the fence and that he has now put a mountain of dirt right at our back door, I told him we won't even be able to move in to our new home as he has blocked the backdoor and the view from the house.
He reluctantly and angrily said it would take him hours to move it all, but he will clear a meter of it away from the back of the house.
Then he dropped his grater blade onto our new stone driveway and dragged a big chunk of it across the paddock as he headed back to work.
Sue was in tears and I phoned the site manager to complain.
It took us 3 hours to repair the driveway that night.
The site manager took photos the next day and is meeting with Sarah Homes construction manager on Tuesday to see if they will do anything about it.

Rant 2...
I have been asking Sarah Homes since October if they will be waiting until 2016 to start the build, every time I asked I was told no it will start this year.
Yesterday I was told that they will be delivering the construction supplies Jan 5, 2016 and starting the build a few days after that.

Rant 3...
We were told during the sales process that the build will take 12 - 14 weeks.
Yesterday I was told that it would take 20 weeks.
So now it looks like we won't have our new home until the middle of 2016.
We are not enjoying this process, no one will communicate to us what's happening.
I have to phone them when we get fed up with waiting for info, but no one answers their phone, it takes days to get answers to our questions.

...End rant...for now


Pics of the work done on Tuesday...

 

[PHIL069]

We had a delivery on Tuesday.

It was everything required to build our house to lock-up, all crammed onto one semi trailer.
I took the day off of work and Sue, Steven and myself spent the day at the block of land to watch.
Well... I couldn't just watch, I got in and helped the driver unload.

After the job was done we went to have a look at a local electrical retail shop that is closing down.
We grabbed a bargain for the new house, a $900 direct drive inverter LG dishwasher reduced to $600.

Pics of the delivery...

 

[Nitephyre]

House on a truck, love it!

 

[PHIL069]

...and the build begins

I have been going up to the site each day after work to see the progress.
There is 1 carpenter and his dog building the house.
During my first conversation with the carpenter, I pointed out where the shed is going and told him it will be built in the next couple of weeks.
His response..."THE SHED ISN'T GETTING DONE WHILE I'M HERE, I'M NOT HAVING TRUCKS AND MACHINES OPERATING ON MY SITE"
I told him that the site manager has already given the go ahead and my trades have been scheduled.
His response... "IT'S NOT HAPPENING" He also told me he didn't want us going to his site over the weekend when he isn't there.
His site? I thought it was our site!

So I called the site manager and left it with him.
2 days later the site manager gave to go ahead for the shed construction, again.
Next time I spoke with the carpenter he was the nicest bloke..."Come visit the site whenever you want" "Take heaps of photos" "You can have any left over materials, they will come in handy"

Nothings easy

Anyway, it's very exciting to see the house going up.

Pics...
(Note some pics are taken with my phone, sorry for the crappy quality)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Days 5 - 6

Day 7

 

[trotty]

I hope the dramas don't put too much of a damper on this. U guys must be so excited to see a family home come together. And unfortunately. Nothing in construction is easy. Trust me. I know. Just speak up, as we all know the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

 

[PHIL069]

I hope the dramas don't put too much of a damper on this. U guys must be so excited to see a family home come together. And unfortunately. Nothing in construction is easy. Trust me. I know. Just speak up, as we all know the squeaky wheel gets the grease!

It puts a bit of a damper, dealing with dramas that don't need to happen in the first place.
It just adds stress to something that should be pure excitment.
I guess it's all part of the journey.

But in saying that, we are loving what we are seeing and can't wait for it all to come together.

 

[PHIL069]

...and the work continues

This week the wall frames went up, all the bracing went on, and a crane came to put up the steel beam and roof trusses.

The carpenter only got 3 days work in this week due to public holiday and extreme weather on Friday.

This week also saw a start on my shed.

The earth works and pad was constructed.

The earth works contractor I hired to do the job is a great bloke, very friendly and helpful.

He used his Bobcat to level the ground and spread the road base, then he used a laser guided grader attachment "Laser Blade" on his little tractor to level the road base.

He then rolled it out with his big roller.

He let me use his roller for a good hour to roll my driveway stones, it was fun.

I wish I had a roll of bubble wrap with me to drive over with the roller

Here comes the pics...

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

...and Day 1 for the shed

 

[Nitephyre]

Looking good Phil! What's the go with being on stilts? Is it cheaper or does it flood?

 

[PHIL069]

Looking good Phil! What's the go with being on stilts? Is it cheaper or does it flood?

No it doesn't flood.
That's just how they build this type of home here in SA.
It has metal bars/anchours that get cemented into the ground to keep the house on it's supports during any earth tremmors.
It has a 30 year structual guarantee, so it must be OK.
We could have chosen a cement slab but that would have been $30k+ extra and the soil tests showed that it would have also cost another $30k+ for piers/footings for the slab.

 

[Nitephyre]

Ahh ok, unstable soil eh? Makes sense now

 

[PHIL069]

We now own some walls

This week saw some advancements in construction.
The roof frame was completed and strapped down, the windows and glass doors went in, 2 walls got their cladding on, the bath frame was built, the meter box got installed and cement went into the holes.
It is getting very exciting now

It's hard to go through a week without problems though
I asked the site manager when to book my plumber, electrician and earthworks guy in to get the connections and septic done.
We have been told throughout the process that we could connect during construction so the house will be ready for hand over.
The site manager told me he wasn't going to allow my trades on site until after hand over.
We have to do a few days work after hand over and before moving in but not weeks of it.
Now this means we can't move in straight away and would have to pay the mortgage and rent at the same time, which we can't afford.
So Sue called the construction manager and complained (again), he said our site manager has a "bee in his bonnet" and he would sort it out for us.
The construction manager also told Sue that they will move the mountain of dirt for us during site cleanup at the completion of construction, that's some good news.

Pics...

Days 11 - 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

 

[Nitephyre]

Looking good!

I'd keep the big pile of dirt. You own it and it'd probably come in handy to level out/build gardens etc.

 

[PHIL069]

Looking good!

I'd keep the big pile of dirt. You own it and it'd probably come in handy to level out/build gardens etc.

We are keeping it, we just want it moved away from the house.
I intend to level the area it's sitting in for the 6000+ pavers I bought.

 

[Nitephyre]

Ahhh, gotchya!

 

[NuffNuff]

We are keeping it, we just want it moved away from the house.
I intend to level the area it's sitting in for the 6000+ pavers I bought.

I went through so many gloves laying 3000

Good luck!

This brings back good and horrible memories of building our house, all the best.

Interesting to follow this

 

[PHIL069]

I went through so many gloves laying 3000

Good luck!

This brings back good and horrible memories of building our house, all the best.

Interesting to follow this

So you are an expert at laying pavers then.......Hmmmm

 

[PHIL069]

A bit of a transformation this week

No work was done on Monday or Friday. Considering this, a lot got done.
The roof went on, gutters and fascias were fitted, cladding was completed, bath tub and first fix plumbing went in.

All the plumbing goes through the walls and ceiling. I was surprised at this, I thought plumbing went under the floor?
I guess that's how they do it in South Aus.

Issues...The louvre window has a heap of scratches, the office sliding glass door is missing some seals and the roofers left a dent in the roof, I have brought all this up with the site manager.

Solved...They will move the mountain of dirt up to 20 meters from where it's sitting.
So they won't move it up near the gumtree like we wanted. but at least we can get it away from the back of the house.

Pics...
Days 16 - 18
I'm only counting days at which work was done