settling into position

The house move went without a hitch. We had to go with steel piers (instead of brick)which meant a slightly different order of events but the house movers had leveled out the house in (set) concrete by day 6-7. New piers had to replace every old and crumbly pier so we now have a total of 70 steel and concrete piers under the house - it ain't going anywhere!!!

Rain has turned our dust bowl into a muddy, clay-sticking mess.Gum boots, work boots and thongs are lining the doorways in and outside of the house - so glad we don't have small kids in the house throughout this ordeal.



Leaving their 21 tonne monster-sized earth mover on our front lawn for a week, the earth movers gave us some time to salvage timber, fixtures and equipment from our external laundry / bathroom, sheds and garage before it was to be demolished. Timber bearers from the garage have come in handy repairing the (now extinct) chimney and all laundry components in the new inside laundry. A big score by my brother who found new, un-circulated coins hidden in the rafters of the garage!

Demolition day was swift. You can see why these guys love their jobs...big trucks, smashing noises, even bigger trucks to haul it all away. By 4pm, the site was cleared and a ginormous amount of tiles, concrete, timber and plaster was taken away. It's only now that the sheds have gone and trucks are off site does the land suddenly look big enough to host another house. But subdivision seems a LONG way off yet. There's so much to do in the mean time...



Current tasks: connect all services properly (we have some power to the house through a power pole and lots of extension leads), build driveway to service both lots, dig stormwater drains and survey the land.
Oh, and build a laundry, repair internal cracks, construct decking to get into the front and back of the house (using a ladder was getting tired), maintain full time jobs, cook using a plug-in fry pan or microwave, get quotes, meet contractors, manage bank account...this is not for the faint hearted!

Let me just say: we could not have done this without the support and assistance from our family, friends and mostly, my dad. (I got really stuck here on how I could possibly put this into words) He has moved mountains for us and we are so thankful. A big thank you also to my mum for letting us hog him for 2 weeks.

Back to getting the laundry sorted and ensuring we have all of the trenches ready for the conduit to be laid...this has become my new life.

5 workmen, 4 feet, 3 days and 2 (near) meltdowns

4 days into the house move and things are progressing well. I can't get over how weird the house looks jacked up 4 feet off the ground with no verandah, decking or even piers underneath it. We're using a ladder to climb in and out of the house - not the easiest task to tackle with a arm-load of ice to chill the (soon to be turned-off) fridge contents.

Here's how this week has travelled:

Monday: steel beams delivered (to support the house), verandah / decking pulled down and turned into a MASSIVE pile of rubble, new house space cleared of turf / gardens, some piers drilled.

Tuesday: all piers are drilled, chimney exterior removed, monster-sized earth mover brought in to manoeuvre steel beams into position.

Wednesday: hydraulic jacks lift the front, then the rear of the house house off the ground (not feeling like a fun show ride but more like a weird dizzy spell). Cracks in walls and ceilings have started to appear and dust has littered the floor. Along with the dirt brought in from walking outside = messy!



We're still sleeping in the house, though services are limited. We're lucky we can use a separate bathroom as the sewerage has been disconnected. A temporary water line has been positioned to feed the house and power is still on until the house actually starts to move away from its old position today.

Though disruptive, it's kind of cool to witness the house up off its old legs and moving onto new ones . Still stressing out with too many balls in the air but we're doing O.K.

long time, no speak

A friend recently commented on the adjectives we were using to describe our current situation (frustrated, obstructed, confused) saying that she didn't think that it sounded like an enjoyable process...and she's right. Planning to move the house has taken around 12 months, lots of trips to council, plenty of engineer's drawings and many bottles of red.

In fact, it's really taken its toll. Many times I would have happily gone back to living on a big block in an aging house but we've come too far now - and paid too much to council in "contributions" not to go ahead. So here we are, standing on the precipice, ready to move our house with all of the construction certificates, tree fencing, certifying signage and contractors in place.

Here's how next week should roll (pun intended):
Monday - the new piers on which our house will be moved onto will be drilled into the ground. Council to inspect.
Tuesday - concrete is poured into the piers and the fender wall (the brick surround to the bottom of the house) will be started.
Wednesday - the house will be lifted and rolled into place over the new piers. This is where we lose services (power, water, etc) until new connections are made.
Thursday - final fittings and positioning. Council to inspect.
Friday - clean up of the site (this includes removing the old piers) and a couple of coldies before the weekend. Council to inspect.

We intend on staying on site during the move - maybe overnight one night at a friend's place if we don't have the water / sewerage connected quickly. The dogs have a new dog yard and all of our shed and garage storage has been moved into the house as these buildings will be demolished shortly after the house move to make way for a new driveway.


We've spent the last couple of months lifting pavers, salvaging materials from the garage, re-positioning gardens, cleaning out old crap and (of course) preparing all of the paperwork to get to this stage. The last week has included flying my dad up to help us sort through engineer's drawings, deconstruct fixtures, dig holes, shift more pavers and book in contractors. Not nice work in 35-40 degree heat!



I've glossed over the paperwork stuff but this was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. If I could pass on advice to anyone thinking of embarking on a similar path, I'd start with:
1. Don't believe anyone's time frames - add several weeks to any estimate.
2. Call on a regular basis to check on the progress of drawings / submissions / quotes.
3. Be prepared to jump through council hoops. It's like another language and you need to learn how to speak it...and quickly!
4. Budget for the unexpected. Teeny, tiny little D.A conditions can turn into big expenses - and there's often no alternative.

There are a million things going on at the moment. I think the only reason we're sleeping well is because we're so dog-tired from all of the digging / lifting / running around. So many calls to make...so many conditions of the D.A to consider...oh, and I hope the house survives the move!!!