Construction Update - Week 3 - Slab is poured and Frame is started

We were expecting the slab to be poured on Monday and it was.  What was a surprise is how much work has been done on the frame, even though it has been a pretty wet week here in Melbourne.  It's actually quite exciting.

We have engaged an independent building inspector who performed a slab inspection for us.  The report he sent through was pretty comprehensive and included photos of a couple of cosmetic issues that he thought we should be aware of.  Having had a good look around myself now, I think what he is referring to is very minor.  But it is really good to have someone involved who can at least point these things out to you, as I would never have noticed.

With the slab poured, we also now have the joy (not!) of dealing with Porter Davis' Accounts Receivable department.  The slab was poured on Monday and the invoice was emailed to us on Monday before the concrete had even settled.  I suppose I can live with that.  What we are finding a bit obnoxious is the twice-a-day calls from Porter Davis demanding payment.  Literally, twice a day if you don't call them back straight away.  And all this, for a payment that is not (at the time of writing) actually due until tomorrow.

Here are some pictures.

From the Front

From the Rear

From the Rear

The Afresco Area

Looking down the main hallway and out where the front door will be...

Looking out the windows of what will be my home office...

Here are a few extras.  The picture below was raised by the independent inspector and is an example of how detailed their inspections are.  I'm not so fussed, but it is good to know...

Apparently there is something wrong here...

 

Having been an owner builder previously, I thought lintels needed to not have joins in them, but most of ours are made up of two pieces of timber.  

 




Construction Update - Week 2 - Preparation for Pouring the Slab

We are building a Porter Davis Wembley 35 and it looks as though the preparations for pouring the slab are complete.  All the timber form-work is in place, as well as the steel re-enforcement and the polystyrene blocks.

Interestingly, in terms of volume (as you can see by the pictures) the slab itself will be mostly polystyrene.  I guess it saves on concreting costs, particularly as the slab only really needs thick where it needs to support the weight of the house - that's around the perimeter where the outer walls will be.

The other piece of work that is obviously done is the laying of pipes that go under and/or through where the slab will be poured.

Underneath the slab, a layer of think plastic has been laid down, which I presume is the termite barrier.

All good progress and,fingers crossed (weather permitting), our slab will be poured in the coming week.




Preparation for the Slab (from Front)





Preparation for the Slab (from Rear)



A Sign Put Up by our Neighbours - Need to ask them about that...

'Let yourselves out'... I presume that says
something about supervision...

 

Yep, I get the impression that not a lot
of supervision is going to take place

Construction Update - Week 1 - Levelling and Piering

Finally something is happening!

After an originally scheduled site-start in January was scuppered by problems raised by the council (I'll post about that later), weeks had drifted by and suddenly we found ourselves in early March.

With our council problems finally resolved, we had been told by Porter Davis that we could expect a "site start" of 12th March, and, sure enough, an excavator turned up to our block on the morning of the 12th.

These photos were taken on 15th, and it is pretty clear that some real progress has finally been made.  The cut-back and flattening of the block for the slab has been done.  But also (I wasn't expecting this) the piers for the slab have been put in.

Porter Davis have also told us that, weather permitting, they will be pouring the slab on the 24.

Happiness


This is the block on the 15th.  It is pretty clear (especially looking at the shot from the rear) to see where the excavator has done its work.

Excavation Viewed from Front of Block

 

 

From the rear of the block, it is really clear where the excavator has been doing its work.





Excavation viewed from Rear of Block

 

 



 My new front door will be here!

Piering

 

 

And this is going to be our "Alfresco" extension - I can't quite yet visualise the "luxurious in-door/outdoor lifestyle options" the Porter Davis sales rep was talking about, but I'm sure that will come.

More Piers



Construction Update - Week 0 - An Empty Block

Ok, so it has been absolutely ages since I last posted anything (to this blog at least), but I have decided to make some effort to keep this up to date from this point forward.

We have ended up choosing a Porter Davis design - the "Wembley 35" -  as our new home and we have cleared the block for its construction.  Building started this week (or so I am told, I will drive out to check later today), so I will post some photos of the Week 1 progress shortly.

Given that we have started construction this week, there is obviously a lot of back-story to our journey with this project.

• Designs
• Demolition
• Local Council (sigh)
• Contracts
• Colour Appointments
• Tiling
• Electrical
• (and lots of little modifications)

Over the coming weeks I will share some of the fun and games we have had with Porter Davis and the Council - there is a lot that can be learned for other people wanting to build from our experience.  Having said that though, overall, we are pretty happy with the mob at PD at the moment and our decisions so far.

Here are some photos.  First up, the old house, which we knocked down in December

The Old House

I know, I know, from the outside, it's actually quite and attractive house.  But the interior was terrible - it was pretty dated to start with and the house had been rented out for several years.  Plus, it was only two bedrooms, which was never going to work for a family of 5.

We have been down the renovation path previously and thought that this time around, it would be easier to just get someone else to do all the work.

So this is the block as it is on Week 0



Cleared block from front

Cleared block from rear