Bricks - Almost done, Truss fixed, Front Door

The bricklayers have almost finished. They have finished brickwork in the alfresco including the ledge for the bottom of the sliding stacking door, the alfresco piers and the front window ledges.

The truss company has been out to fix the gutter truss that they decided to fix by previously by making the below wall load bearing. They have cut up the truss and laminated new timber next to it. They have used some fairly large bolts and metal plates so hopefully there will be no issues with the way its fixed.

The fixing carpenter has also visited today and has finished shimming out and planning the walls in the Garage / Lounge wall, he even ripped the insulation in the process so hopefully this gets fixed up correctly.

The front door was also installed today. The front of the house now really stands out with this new door installed. I can't wait to see it finished with the stain added.

Tomorrow I expect that the brick layers will be finished.

Front Facade - Bricking Complete - Notice the difference in colour in the mortar on the left side of the Garage

Window ledges have been added

Portico finished up

Brick work and ledge under windows completed for Study / Family windows

Alfresco Pier done. I'm glad we moved the water points to the same side as the Gas point

Alfresco / Family room Door. Notice is not actually there?

Alfresco is looking good.

Whats going on here, recycled and mains joined at side of the house? Shouldn't it be joined at the taps?

The Garage wall has been shimmed and one of the studs planned back.

Notice the insulation ripped open where the carpenter planned the wal..

Repair work done on the gurder truss. Notice the extra wood laminated.

Here is an obvious cut

If you look carefully you can see the cuts on the original truss work

Truss has packing added and next beam has wood laminated to create straight edge.

Notice the wall below is no longer load bearing.

Bricks - Garage Front Completed, Frame Truss Issues

Today another section of the garage has been completed, the portico piers have also been done.

I also spoke to the SS today about some of the outstanding items, and he mentioned that the stacking sliding door has been returned, but they have even touched it. He was pretty annoyed at the company that is supposed to fix it as now the bricklayer is getting delayed as the door isn't installed. He said they will install the door brick around it and then lean it out so that it can be sent to be fixed. He has spoken to the managing director of the company and said he wants this fixed by Friday. Ha I doubt it, but good on him for not letting it go.

The gurder truss that was identified in the Pre Plaster Inspection report has also been fixed by the truss company. But they have fixed it by making the wall below it a load bearing and lifting the truss to sit on top of it. I'm not happy with this approach as if someone in the future wanted to remove the wall for what ever reason the roof is going to drop 2cm and crack the entire ceiling in the study/dinning/family room. Add this to the lounge wall that is load bearing that wasn't supposed to be and I'm more than annoyed with the fix. I'll be following this up with the SS to have it fixed properly.

Another section of brickwork on side Garage wall

Front of Garage Brickwork complete

Portico brickwork almost completed. Master Bed and WIR windows done

Front facade is looking good. If you look carefully you can see the slacking sliding door that has been returned.

Closeup of Brickwork above Garage

Close up of Portico / WIR window

Gurder Truss - Fixed. But now wall is load bearing. Noticed the laminated studs that have been added and the piece of wood chock.

Noticed this one today, stud completely split in half in Ensuite wall.

Fixing Carpenter Completed - Solar Hot Water

The carpenter has finished straighting all the walls and also installed modules that house the cavity sliding doors for the pantry and study.

The brickies have also started the brickwork to the portico, which made me realise that I need to make up my mind for the intercom soon as I might be having one that sits flush with the brickwork, in which case I need to ask the brick layers to leave some bricks out for me.

I also noticed that solar hot water unit was installed, but I don't really know which day it was.

I lost my video camera, the one that I have been using to take all my photos, I didn't have it on me the last few days and thought it was at home, but when checking again at home and the car and the house for the 20th time I realised where it was.. Sitting on the brickwork near the laundry door where I put it down as I was contemplating getting on the roof to have a look at a broken tile, then got distracted.

That was 3 days ago.. After visiting the site today I had a look and it was no where to be seen. It was after 5pm but I left a message for my SS to call me back ASAP. He called me 10 minutes later to my amazement, he probably though the house was on fire or something! I explained my situation and he was a little annoyed but told me the guys are honest but none would have taken it and they would have told him anything turned up. He said he will follow up with them on Monday. I was thinking it could have been only one of two people the brick layer or the fixing carpenter.

He called me back 20minutes later and told the the brick layer has it in his car!! He put it in there in the morning and forgot all about it! He said I can pick it up of him on Monday. Now how awesome is that of a follow up from our SS and what a great block the brick layer is!

Fixing Carpenter - Bath Frames

Today the fixing carpenter has been and started straighting out the walls. He had also installed the bath hob frames. It was nice to see the ensuite's hob. It's huge, we can't even lean over it to touch the window! I'm glad we ended up moving the mixer in our last building variation to the side wall as you walk in or it would have been impossible to turn the tap on/off with out getting in the bath.

The brickies have completed more bricks along bed4/games windows and also started on the brickwork in the alfresco.

Today I also drilled a few more holes in the noggins for the future 240v cabling, easier to do now than try and do it in the roof once the plaster is on!

More bricking along bed side of house.

And underneath Bed4/Games Window

Bricking started in the Alfresco. Note the stacking sliding door missing that has gone for repair, also note how I've moved the hot/cold water points on the alfresco pier to the same side.

Bathroom bath hob installed

Ensuite bath hob installed

Roof Completed - Frame Issues Fixed

We had some good progress today!

The roof has been finished with all the capping done and it looks awesome. The carpenter has been and fixed up all the issues from the Frame Inspection report, I'm really happy about this as this has been dragging on for ages. The door frames for the garage, laundry and front door were installed but the sidelight on the front door has completed cracked, I assume from when the carpenter installed the frame he twisted the frame to much, but not to worried about this as it can be fixed at any time.

I also received a call about upgrading our heating unit to support AC add on after handover, I'll probably give this a miss as we will be replacing the entire heating/cooling system with a Actron ESP Ultima system. I'll have a think about this tonight as the Actron system is nearly $20k!.

I also had a look and a think about how I'm going to do my theatre cabinet, specifically what type of cabinet I'm going to use and how its going to be mounted. Also thinking if the network cabling should go into the theatre rack or a seperate dedicated comms rack. For the theater rack I'll probably use a Middle Atlantic Slim 5 rack, as its made for installing into walls. For those of you interested google this one there are heaps of example setups.

Plumbing in the alfresco. The gas is one side of the pier and the hot/cold water points are on the other side. It ended up this way as I was told they couldn't fit these all on one side at contract, but they can easily be moved, I will probably move them as I don't like where they are. I'll ask the SS if he has any issues with me moving them.

I've also been thinking that I want to add an Intercom but I need to understand what one so I can add the cabling.

 Summary:

* All Frame Issues Fixed
* Front, Garage and Laundry Door Frames Installed
* Roof Finished with all Capping Done
* Front Door Window Smashed
* Can I move pluming in Alfresco?
* Large Metal Lintels delivered
* Received call about upgrading heating unit to support add on A/C
* Planning completed for Data, C-Bus, Home Theatre Cabling cabling lengths estimated and orders placed.
* Noggins, time to add these for towel rails, toilet holders, TVs etc. Need to think about which side and how high they need to be mounted.
* Theatre Cabinet, can I get the Middle Atlantic rack in AU?
* Intercom wiring requirements?

Front with capping done

Master Bed, Ens, Bed2, Ldry, Bath

Ens, Bed2, Laundry, Bath, Bed3

Ens, Ldry, Bath, Bed2, Bed3, Bed 4, Games

Bed4, Games, Alfresco, Study, Lounge, Garage

Alfresco / Lounge / Garage Side

Garage / Portico

Our Smashed Side Light

Example of look I'm going for with Theater Rack

Another Example: Thou mine will be twice as tall.

Frame Stage - Independant Inspection

Frame Stage Independent Inspection.

Today I went down to meet my Building Inspector. I wanted to highlight a few concerns that I am pushing to get fixed. Below are the items I raised to the Inspector:

• Paint Chip on Stacking Sliding Door from Family to Alfresco
• Concrete Blow out on Rear Corner of House (This was already fixed when he arrived)!
• Frame Overhang on front of Garage (He wasn't concerned with how it was fixed)
• Windows that were not installed (we found out that they are damaged most likely from when they were installed and "fell out" and broke the hinges on them)
• Frame Overhang Inside Garage next to Entrance Hall (Again this was already fixed)
• Split frame on toilet, and unsecured Bed2 door frame (said most of this gets fixed at fixing stage)
• Spoke about the dusting of the Slab (He said he would write this up as it can be a problem for people with allergies, asthma and tiling)

 
 

Fixed - Slab Blowout on Rear Corner of House (Bed4)

Fixed - Frame Over hang on Garage / Entrance Wall (Note wet Concrete)

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Frame Stage Complete - Fascia Installed

Frame Stage Complete.

Today we received our Invoice for the Frame, which I find a little unfair as they still have frame issues to resolve but based on our contracts we are only allowed to hold the last progress payment. So I quickly organised for the payment to be made.

Fascias Installed

Today the house had all the fascias and gutters installed.

Front Facade

Front / Master Bed Side, Bed2, Laundry, Bath, Bed3

Closeup of Master Bed

East Side, Ensuite, Bed2 Laundry, Bath, Bed3

Alfresco, Family, Study, Lounge

Alfesco, Family Study Lounge

Front / Garage

Alfresco / Games / Family

Alfresco Games, Family & Study