slab time!

OK, so the slab is down. "About time!", I hear you exclaiming. I know, I know, this build is going really slowly. With less then 6 weeks from our deadline, we've had to reassess our lease and figure something out 'cause with the pace of this build, we could be here for a while...

After the initial brickwork was laid, the plumbing waste pipes were fitted (1 week later) and formwork put in place (2 weeks later). Finally, we were ready for concrete!

It took about 4 trucks and 6 hours to pour the slab.

After the initial screeding (smoothing of the concrete), we scattered some white stones into the patio areas so we can polish them at a later date...should look great!

So here's what it looks like 2 weeks later...(I didn't catch the tumbleweed rolling across the slab).
Does it usually take this long to get to this stage? No. So what's the hold up?

Weather has been one delay. The builder went off to finish another job / go on holiday for a week or two. We delayed it for a couple of days by trying to be there when the slab was poured to scatter in the stones...then they ended up doing it themselves :(

The builder has been trying to talk us into using oregon in the frame instead of pine. Pine was fine for us (though we can see the benefits of oregon) as we couldn't afford the extra $7000 expense. Then the cost went down to $5000, then $2000, and now they've decided to put it in anyway...for free. Personally, I think they've gone ahead with oregon as they could get it a lot faster then pine. It was ordered it 3 days ago. Yes, that's right, the slab was poured 2 weeks ago and the frame was ordered just this week.

We (almost) spat the dummy this week at the estimated time frame to complete the build. In November last year we signed on with the builder as they assured us they would be finished by mid April. Now it looks to be the beginning of June.

It doesn't seem prudent to get off side with the builder, after all, we still want this house to be built quickly and expertly (and we're locked into a contract), so we've vowed not to cause any further delays and decisive on any queries that arise.

Tomorrow should be a busy day as the frame arrived today, along with 10 pallets of bricks and a truckload (literally) of sand. Can't wait to see it all come together. I've been told the most difficult part has been done already. Let's hope that person was right!

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!