I have some news...

[PHIL069]

More work was done on the house and shed this week.
I will do 2 posts, house post and shed post.

House...

The deck was built, the eaves went up, the first fix electrical went in, the internal and external wall insulation went in and the gyprock was done.

Issues...We can't go a week without something.
The site manager called me Wednesday morning while I was at work demanding that we install water access close to the house for his trades to use.
He said no work can continue until this is done.
I went off!!!
We asked Sarah Homes and the site manager if they required water or power at the house months ago.
We were told then that water and power won't be required, and the water meter at the front fence will do. If the trades need water closer, then Sarah Homes will provide a hose.
Now he wants water...and he wants it now!
I didn't know what to do, I couldn't just leave work and go buy 120 meters of garden hose + there is no tap to connect it to anyway.

Solved...So I called my plumber for advice, my awesome plumber went up to the block later that day and installed a temp 25mm poly hose from the water meter to a temp tap near the house.

Sue went up to the house on Tuesday morning and asked Sarah Homes' electrician to install some speaker wires in the wall frames for us. He did, at no cost, we supplied the wire.

Pics...

Day 19

Day 20

Days 21 - 22

Day 23

 

[PHIL069]

Shed...

The shed was delivered, the footings poured, frame went up and 2 walls attached.

Issues...None

Pics...
Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

 

[Guest]

Looking good mate. You must be proud!

 

[trotty]

I'm jealous of that shed. When can I move in?

 

[PHIL069]

There has only been 3 days work done in the last 2 weeks.

House...
Plaster was done (1 day), cornices went up (1 day) and plaster was sanded (1 day)
The second fix work is starting this week.
I won't be able to take daily pictures as I'm heading to Port Lincoln (5 hour drive) for 3 days...TAFE course through work.
Then we are heading to Sydney for a week on Friday.

Shed...
The shed construction has been completed, it took a further 2 days.
The cement slab will be layed in approx 2 weeks...ish.

We had a visitor to our block today, I took some pics.
I also managed to get a pic of a crow in flight with my big fat camera lens.

Pics...
House
Days 24 - 26

Shed
Days 5-6

Visitor

 

[NuffNuff]

forget about the house

man, that shed is beautiful

 

[PHIL069]

It's been a few weeks since the last update.
The house sat for near on 3 weeks without any work done, but they got back into it.
Again I will do 1 post for the house and 1 post for the shed.

Just before our trip to Sydney the kitchen and vanities went in. It took 1/2 a day.
During Easter the cabinetmakers put in the architraves, skirting boards, internal doors and laundry door. It took 2 days.
Since the laundry door is now in, the house gets locked up and we can only get in when there is a trade working.
This week the screating, waterproofing, tiling and laundry tub went in. It took 3 days.

The only issue was the tilers put the main bathroom's shower soap holder tray into the onsuite.
Main bathroom tray is a ceramic one to be glued like a tile, the onsuite tray is screwed in glass/chrome to be installed later.
I showed up while the glue was still wet and they corrected their mistake without a fuss.

Now it's pic time...

Day 27

Days 28 - 29

Days 30 - 32

 

[PHIL069]

Shed...

Tuesday saw plastic and reo installed on the shed floor, and form work installed.
Yesterday the concrete was poured, the concreter spent the whole day at it.
He poured and levelled in the morning, let it dry a bit, then went over it with his trowel.
Let it dry a bit more, went over it with his helicopter and his trowel, let it dry some more, went back over it with the helicopter and his trowel...this happened for hours.
Finally he brushed the front apron with a broom to get some texture into it.
The slab is like a mirror, Sue wants a pair of roller skates.

Pics...

Shed Day 7

Day 8

 

[Nitephyre]

I have so much shed envy right now :O

 

[NuffNuff]

please keep us updated on the shed, maybe start a separate thread lol

what will you use to insulate the walls? (of the shed)

 

[PHIL069]

please keep us updated on the shed, maybe start a separate thread lol

what will you use to insulate the walls? (of the shed)

The walls won't be insulated, the roof insulation drops the shed temp by 10-15 deg on a 40 deg day.
So I will be able to use this shed during summer, and the cars don't have to cook.

I went up there today and the concrete is set enough to walk on.
I touched and rubbed the concrete with my hands. It is so smooth I got half a fat.

 

[Nitephyre]

Hahaha love it!

Any reason why you didn't slab first, shed on top?

 

[PHIL069]

Hahaha love it!

Any reason why you didn't slab first, shed on top?

In SA they build shed first and then slab.
Doing this the cement seals around the inside base of the walls, filling all the shapes in the steel.
This reduces the amount of dust/dirt that enters the shed, it also stops snakes/spiders getting in.

 

[Tony_T]

This Kiwi is following your story with interest (and wish you well, of course).
I'm so glad we don't have snakes here, you don't even think of such things but I can see where you'd need to be constantly on the lookout.
Health and Safety aside, if I had paid for a house to be built or modified I would expect access 24/7 as it would be MY house. I'm surprised you tolerate not being allowed on your own property: your patience exceeds mine considerably!
Won't you want the shed insulated to keep the temp up a bit in Winter, or doesn't it get that cold there?
Won't you want the floor roughened to reduce the chance of slipping?
As an aside, I can't get over how red the soil is there.

 

[PHIL069]

This Kiwi is following your story with interest (and wish you well, of course).
I'm so glad we don't have snakes here, you don't even think of such things but I can see where you'd need to be constantly on the lookout.
Health and Safety aside, if I had paid for a house to be built or modified I would expect access 24/7 as it would be MY house. I'm surprised you tolerate not being allowed on your own property: your patience exceeds mine considerably!
Won't you want the shed insulated to keep the temp up a bit in Winter, or doesn't it get that cold there?
Won't you want the floor roughened to reduce the chance of slipping?
As an aside, I can't get over how red the soil is there.

Thanks Tony
Only one trade didn't like us on the property, but he got told by his superiors. We can go as often as we wish, although the house is now locked up so we can only get inside when a trade has it open.
Winter isn't an issue, it's rare to get to 0 deg. Summer is the issue, regularly over 40 deg. I could only afford roof insulation at the moment.
In my work as a John Deere tech I am always having to work on rocks/dirt. I wanted a nice smooth floor in the shed for ultimate comfort while working on my own projects and it will make it easier to clean off all the red dirt/dust.
We will just have to be cautious when bringing wet cars in.
Yes good old Aussie desert red dirt, that's what you get out here in the middle of nowhere.

BTW, I am a Kiwi too. I have been in aussie since I was 6 months old though.

 

[Guest]

So, @PHIL069 how is the build going?

 

[PHIL069]

So, @PHIL069 how is the build going?

Thanks for the interest in my build, hang on to your hats because here comes the updates....

 

[PHIL069]

Yes I'm still alive
I have been soooooo busy, I haven't had time to scratch my butt or update the progress of our home.
I have spent all my weekends either working, studying or doing work on the house.
Now that seeding season is over and I'm back to regular working hours I finally have a minute to do some updates, well it has taken me all day to prep all the photos

Here we go...

There was a last push from the builders to get us to hand over the Friday before Anzac weekend, 22nd April.
It was fantastic getting the keys to our new home, you should have been there!
The house was painted in and out, a team of 4 painters got the job done in 2 days. They stayed at the house overnight and had themselves a campfire.
The cleaners came and did a half arsed job
The maintenance guy came and fixed a few issues.
We had to wait for shower screens and mirrors to be installed a week after hand over as there was a mis-measurement.
....and....Sarah homes finally moved the mountain of dirt away from the backdoor

Pics from before handover....Yes it's BLUE

Then we got our trades into action, we gave them 3 weeks to get trenches dug, power and water connected, septic and soakage installed, water tanks installed and down pipes connected, shed connected and wired(lights and power points), and airconditioning/oven/stove installed.
They done a great job...

I only got a few pics of this process...

 

[PHIL069]

The story continues...

We got the keys on Friday, 22nd April (Anzac long weekend).

We could afford carpet for the bedrooms, but we couldn't afford floor coverings for the main living area.
So I came up with a solution to get the house ready for moving into.
I purchased a heap of stainable putty and sealed the base flooring sheets, it took a lot more putty than I thought it would.
I hired a floor sander and borrowed a generator from work, sanded the base flooring, and stained and varnished the floor.
It will do for now.

We worked 18 hours each day of the long weekend to get it done, boy were we buggered.

Pics...

 

[PHIL069]

I had to work out a way to move all our stuff in, when we can move in.

I came up with another solution for this problem too

I got a couple of shipping frames from work, frames that front end loader frames and buckets are delivered on.
I spent a day at work with the welder and grinder and turned them into something useful, brought them to the property and Sue and I painted my invention.....this was actually done a couple of weeks prior.

I spent the following 2 weekends installing my inventions, lucky my earthworks guy was there to help with the install
I did have to buy some supplies to get the job completed, $800 worth of supplies
...and I did have to work out how to install them, I kind of made it up as I went along

BRIDGES

Pics...