more bricks, more rooms

All of the brickwork (prior to the slab being poured) has been completed. Now we can actually see all of the rooms / levels / outdoor spaces / views from each room. It's fantastic! I think the earth will be removed tomorrow ready for more formwork. Can't wait!

We're still having to be onto the builder constantly. The brickies weren't aware that there was a different brick for the column (see last blog entry) or that we were after a flush mortar finish...just as well we live close by!

brickies bricking

Finally we're moving ahead! We've had 3 weeks of delays due to silly negotiations...hopefully that's the last of the messing around and we can now get on with the build.

As I started this blog to help others, I'll tell you what happened so hopefully you can avoid our mistakes...(if you don't want to hear the drama, skip to the last paragraph).

Our home building company gave us an allowance to choose a brick style ($1 per brick). Our builder gave us the number of bricks required to build the house, including a break down for the front column - the main focal point of the house from the front. With this information we went shopping.

We selected a house brick and a feature brick for the column. At $3 per feature brick, we would need to pay the difference for the quantity required. We were happy to pay this extra expense as we thought the column would look awesome in a retro glazed brick.

Upon detailing our selection to the builder (just in time of his deadline for ordering), he changed the quantity of feature bricks required - from 1000 bricks to 2500 bricks, bringing our out-of-pocket expenses from $2000 to $4500...totally out of our budget.

We questioned the change (how could he miscalculate by this much???), had an engineer check the quantities (who came up with another, much lower number), then entered 3 days of back-and-forth negotiations of actual numbers required (disappointing and frustrating).

To add insult to injury, the builder tacked on an extra charge to lay the glazed bricks ($300 per 1000 bricks)...adding even more to the overall cost. By this stage we decided to drop the idea of a feature brick and just go with a slightly different tone to the house brick.Worst case, we can just tile over / render if we don't like the finished look. Not a good start, but at least a final decision was made.

Unfortunately by this stage, the builder's tradies were onto another job and we had no choice but to wait until they had finished. 

So finally we've had some movement!!! The slab should go down this week (weather permitting) and we can get a real move on. My husband and I have vowed to keep ahead of any product / building decisions to prevent any further delays. We just hope it's not the start of ongoing changes and hidden charges on what is supposed to be a fixed price contract.

On the upside, we LOVE the look of the bricks we've chosen! With the foundations in place we've got a firmer idea of the house / yard space and it feels good. It's really happening now!!!

a week of dirt and diggin'

Monday's works included the sewer line encasement. Tuesday the concrete was left to cure. Wednesday our yard was filled with trucks and utes when the builder marked out our house and the foundations and piers were dug out using an excavator (see pic above of big piles of dirt).

Thursday new tradies were on site to receive a truckfull of reo, form it into long rectangles to fit into the channels and then pour concrete over the entire thing. As you can tell from my articulate explanation, I'm not a subject matter expert on this caper...but you get the idea! It's now Friday and no one is here, so I guess the concrete will cure over the weekend.

It's interesting to note the difference between our site works last year and the builder's this year. Council made us follow sediment control, erosion planning and cyclone fencing to the letter. Apparently as a builder, all you need is some plastic tape strung up between two bins!

At least I we no longer have to deal with council / Principal Certifying Authorities / surveyors / arborists / etc. Although it is worth noting that along the way, we will have a third party (of our choosing) to certify all works prior to advancement / next progress payment. It's good to have someone looking out for us.

breaking ground

Hooray! It's the start of our new home.

With high hopes of beginning before Christmas, we were told in December that we would start last week. Unfortunately the builder could not coordinate the start date with Sydney Water *sigh*, therefore works commenced today.

So what are we looking at? The new house is to be positioned over an underground sewer line. This means digging down to locate the line, replacing the old pipe, encasing the new pipe in concrete and covering it over to make way for the new house foundations. It's hard to tell from the picture but the pit is around 2m deep.

nearly there...

Maybe we were a little ambitious thinking we'd be further ahead. Council and Sydney Water have taken their sweet time approving the Construction Certificate. We should have it out of council by next week (the week before Christmas). Thinking we were going to get the slab down before Christmas may have been a little ambitious too...

We've signed the contract with the builder now - 9 months after the initial contract was drawn. Getting in by our deadline of April next year seems slim but not impossible. The house designer / project manager has subcontracted the builder (hence we've just signed with them now) who will (as of next week) use the CC to get moving.

Luckily for us, they're not taking the whole of January off. We should start making some real progress soon. Look out for pix to come!

D.A through!

Woo Hoo!! The D.A is through, so now we're onto the C.C. Looks like we could get he slab down before Christmas!

(In case the acronyms are too much, the D.A is the Development Application - the planning side of the build lodged to council. The C.C is the Construction Certificate - the detail and specifications behind the build, also lodged to council for approval. Both take weeks to approve, but the D.A is the big one and stipulates all the overall conditions that must be adhered to - hence our celebration!)

 Luckily there were no objections (thanks to our neighbours) and our special request of a fence was approved. So it's back to Bunnings and specialty build stores to start picking tiles / floors / doors / skirting / colours / finishes...here we go again!

...building a new one..

Yes, we're finally up to this part!

Over the last 4 months (since selling) we've been engaging with building companies, finalising what kind of house we could afford and what kind of house will fit on the new block. It hasn't been easy: sorting out the 'final' cost of the house varies across companies. I'm still wondering how a 'finished' house doesn't include flooring??? That's an 'extra' or 'upgrade' apparently...

Buzz words aside, we decided to go with a building company outside of the major ones with show homes and abysmal decor. This company were happy to work with our brief (3-4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2 living areas) and design a house that not only works on our block but suits our tastes and budget. We started with a list of wants / needs (scullery, room for a large bath, extra insulation, extra large garage for a workshop) and whittled down what was really important to us versus the $$$ it would cost. Overall, we've come up with a house design that we feel good about, with builders and designers we are excited to work with.

We've paid two installments so far. One to start the design process (after several early sketches), and the other to submit to council. So here we sit, waiting for any objections (if any) to come back from council and a full set of drawings to start moving (...make that digging). It's nice not to be dealing with council this time.

There's just one little thing...one little deadline...we've got 8 months to build and move in, or we're going to have to move out of this house and stay somewhere (???) until the new house is finished. I'm really hoping we don't have to move twice. Couple that with an expanding family, we've got lots going on again this year. We don't seem to do things by halves...