More plaster hung today, but still some to go. Plaster has been sheeted on the unbricked garage wall (and also unwrapped/uninsulated) which is concerning as it will get wet if it rains or could take on moisture on a cold night. Will be watching this closley.
I estimate 70% of the house has now been sheeted. Gives us a good feel for the room sizes.
About 30% of bricks have been laid. As said before they are very dark when first laid, but show their real appearance about 48 hours later.
Plasterers sheeted the ceiling today and made a start on the walls. Bricklayers are going at a steady pace and quality looks great. Bricks have now became lighter as they have dried and we are much happier with the chosen colour.
Insulation has now been completed. Quality seems ok, I filled in any gaps myself (apart from where downlights are to go) this afternoon.
Brick work is coming along, looks to be only two men bricking, so hopefully it will be a well done job, even if that means it does take a bit longer. Myself and my wife are both a bit suprised at how dark the bricks look from a distance, it could also be to do with the mortar we chose.
Plaster is 10mm thick and Knauf brand, along with top coat etc. Plastering yet to begin.
Brickwork began yesturday. Bricks are looking darker than what we had expected, but I did visit site just on dusk. Plaster has been delivered. Insulators were still at site (all 5 of them traveling in the same van) at 8pm and said they would be finished that night. They had a heap of work ahead of them, and I suspect they would not be completed until midnight or after.
On a different note, I had my wife record a 30 minute video of me measuring stud distances and where water and gas piping is located in the house for future reference.
Suspecting plaster will be sheeted today.
Electrcians are revisiting site today. SS has been good with the issues and Switchboard in halllway is being deleted (all circuits will go to meter box as per drawings). A new cable will be run to future shed location and not cut. I have also left a list of other issues, mainly about cable installation, support and damage that could arise when ceiling is accessed after handover. I have contacted Energy Safe Victoria and they have confirmed the electrical works are well below standards.
Scaffolding has been removed as all roof works are now complete.
Aircon is also being installed today. Looking forward to results tonight.
Solar hot water panel has now been installed.
Being steel frame, it is required to install timber noggins wherever anything heavy will be hung from a wall (such as a TV). I have started installing where needed.
Aircon rep showed up yesturday, and did not fill me with much confidence. Earliest they can rough in is 23rd of March, a date I feel is too late (plaster may be on by then). Could not contaact SS to get a plaster hang date, will try again today.
Roofing was competed on Tuesday. No works on Wednesday or Thursday but on friday the following was achived :
Bricks delivered to site
Plumbing Roughed in (both water and gas)
House wrapped ready for brickwork.
External doors installed (including our large hume front door)
So from what I can see, once brickwork is complete the house will be at lockup. Two issues have arisen this week; both issues with my own contractors not the builder
1. My independent inspector carried out the frame inspection and reported an overall high quality job. What he did not pick up though is the incorrect location of the WIL door that Kings have yet to correct. (SS is aware and guarantees me it will be relocated). Because of this im feeling he is not as thorough as I expect and may need to arrange a different inspector for future inspections.
2. Air con contractor cancelled appointment on Wednesday to meet at site to discuss location of indoor and outdoor units, along with ductwork. He has not contacted me since and I have lost alot of faith in the company. I emailed the contractor today stating that the house was nearing lockup. Waiting for response.
Colourbond roof 80% installed today. Ironstone colour, same as gutters but looks very different depending on the angle.
Progressing very quick
Scaffolding was installed today to assist roofers. A good sign that roofing will begin shortly
Driving to work this morning I realised that the access door position to the WIL is in the incorrect position. The doorway needs to be on the far left as per plans (currently on far right) or access will be hindered due to washing machine space. I have emailed SS with photo this afternoon but am yet to hear back. Looks like a relatively simple fix but I am glad I picked it up early.
Site looks like it was cleaned up with a bobcat today, exervated rock was moved to outside of site area and crushed rock has been spread at base of house to assist bricklayers.
Guttering has now been installed. All frame looks to be competed apart from front and rear garage wall.
No other materials are on site so I am excecting a lull for a few days.
Windows and entry door frame installed yesturday. Guttering also delivered to site.
Frame now looks mostly complete apart from some bracing. Aircon contractor meeting with me at site later this week to discuss internal ceiling mounted unit location.
Happy with progress.
Frame erection begun today, 19 days after slab pour. I was suprised as we had some very heavy rain and thunderstorms , but at least 70% of the frame has been stood up. Garage is still on ground.
Rooms feel very spacious and no surprises as far as layout. Hallway as pictured gives a good indication of the length of the house design.
My only concern is the amount of steel in the roof. We have engaged an external contractor to install a Ducted RC aircon which requires a large unit in the ceiling. It will be challenging for the unit to be installed without effecting the structural integrity.
I wouldn't be surprised if frame is completed tomorrow.
Frame delivered today. JG King uses a steel frame design as oppose to timber. Although it wasn't a deal breaker when selecting a builder, I personally prefur the steel frame as I have good experence working with it in a commercial environment.
Bluescope steel branded, frame seems good quality. Walls are assembled and ready to stand as along with the roof. Sharp edges all around, gloves would have to be used when erecting.
SS expects frame to begin erection this week.
Met a local Bobcat operator at site this morning who I required to spread/level the crushed rock driveway more evenly. Great result.
Charge was $80ph with a minimum of 4 hours, costing $320.
This brings the total cost for the access driveway to $1620
I calculated we required about 40sqm of cubic crushed rock to make an access track to the house location as requested by the builder. Frame is arriving monday so only had 5 days to get it done.
The track will eventually be the base for a permanent driveway after the house is built. I decided on 40mm crushed rock (over the standard 20mm) as it is better suited to heavy vehicles.
I suggest anyone purchasing rock or soil in this quantity try organise a truck owner/driver to source directly from a quarry, it halved our cost compared to a local sand and soil buisness.
An old friend owns a Truck and Trailer and I was able to track him down. Was a paid job, but I knew he was reliable and had an account at a few quarrys. He also was able to put chains on this truck and trailer to slowly spread the rock instead of just dropping it in a pile. This will help alot with spreading the rock evenly.
I have a bobcat and operator arriving Sunday morning to do this.
Total cost of the rock was $1000 (53 tones, approx 38m). This took up 2 full truck and trailer loads, delivered in 2 consecutive nights. $300 cash to my old friend for the delivery was money very well spent.
Slab poured on Wednesday as promised. Footings at alfresco and entry; I assume top of these areas will be done at later stage. House size now seems to look alot larger. SS has promised frame delivered Monday and erection started by end of next week. Things are moving very quickly.
Today slab Waffle Pods and formwork were competed.
This was also the day for the first inspection by our independent building inspector. All seemed well. Upon leaving JG Kings inspector turned up. Was great to be able to meet both. All good for pour tomorrow.
Rock was also measured on site today with 15 metres for electrical and 96 for plumbing. That brings a total of 191 metres. Little less than what was expected although still very pricey!
No more work has been done at site the past 4 days. I recieved a call from the SS on Friday suggesting I need to lay crushed rock from the front of the block to the house site (50m). Am trying to organize this week as I do not want site access hindered if heavy rain falls. Calculations work out to approx 30m/40m of crushed rock will be required along with bobcat hire.
SS also mentioned he will be measuring rock with the plumbers tomorrow. I am expecting 150sqm, but hoping SS can cut a bit of a deal.
Slab will be poured Wednesday 4/2 and inspected by our personal building inspector a day before. The frame will be delivered 9/2.
No works Monday (Public holiday) or Tuesday (RDO) but work seems to have commenced today. Crushed rock has been spread to level the site and packed down. Footings have been excervated around the alfresco and front entrance. Site Supervisor expects slab to be poured next week.
Contractors started back on site on the 12th of January. Plumbers began trenching and this confirmed that rock was going to be an issue all over the property. 60 more metres came out on the first day back, and although I have not confirmed with Site Supervisor, I have measured 100-150 cubes of rock has been removed from the ground since Christmas, bringing us to 200-250 cubic metres. At this point my Wife called Kings and suggested work stop on site until we sit down and negotiate rock excervation costs. Kings did the right thing and proposed a much better deal within 24 hours (which I won't go into) that is fair to both parties. We were very impressed.
Strangely enough, minimal rock came out of the electrical conduit run. We have a meter box ready for Powercor to commission. Electrical work looks a good standard.
The site now looks ready for slab prep to begin, SS expects slab poured in a week.
