Week 24: All hands on deck - Electrical Rough-in, Carpentry and More Roofing (5 - 10 October)

Week 24: All hands on deck - Electrical Rough in, Carpentry and Roofing (5 - 10 October)

You know the supervisor is under the pump when the site has multiple trades working at once. He is still telling us we'll be in by Christmas, but making lots of quips about handover during Christmas dinner at our place. It really looks too tight to me, and we keep reassuring him it's quality over pace that matters, but the way deadlines keep whooshing by, it's not a bad thing for him to be working to a deadline. If we go past 22 Dec, then Fowler shuts down to 11 Jan (and some trades even longer) so we won't be moving in until February. I'm on site most days directing trades on the fine print things like positioning of power for heated towel rails to try and move things along faster. Both the carpenter and roofer were working late on Saturday!

ELECTRICAL ROUGH IN
This is what an electrical rough in looks like - pink graffiti all over the floor to direct a team of about 6 where to cut in the power and switches, lights, fan wiring.

 Upper living showing BN (bullnose plates for TV wiring), data switches,, downlights and power points. This is looking through to bedroom 4 where you can see markings for downlights and fan.

 The kids main 3-way bathroom - vanity room on the left with markings for switches around the double basin. On the left is the WC room with markings for downlights, exhaust and courtesy LED light low to the ground to guide people to the loo at night (I love this energy efficient and kid friendly feature). Looking through to the shower/bath room with heated towel rail, underfloor heating thermostat, IXL heat light, downlights (on a dimmer so you can drop the lighting if soaking in the tub - love it!).

 So complicated for a simple WC room!

The first wires on day 1 of wiring - 2 more days to go!

CARPENTER
More trouble in paradise, with the other carpenter taking a more lucrative job and having to be replaced mid way (despite us leaving them with two slabs of beer to thank them in advance for doing our extra fireplace frame - doh!). Our new guy Luke says all he does is cut wood - takes the plans home and cuts it all at night so he can be speedy with install. He was there from 7am - 4pm on a Saturday to fit us in at short notice so I believe him! He said it was no trouble to add in an extra storage cupboard frame in the guest room so we thought some Gold Class movie tickets were in order to thank him. We also ditched the coffered ceiling, partly because we were not confident it would look right and partly because he was running out of time.

Here is his handiwork on our fireplace frame

 and a heap of small adjustments with noggins in various places to reinforce the study desk, to mount the Dyson in the walk in pantry, to wall mount TVs, to mount heated towel rails and cupboard internals and light fitting areas and where I want to put up picture frames (like the entry to the master bedroom). Mostly he did things that were important tweaks before the frames inspection by Fowler's inspector and our own inspector next Wed (Tyrrells - Carl Le Breton). He also swept up (bless him!). I've been itching to go clean my house but I am not allowed!

 View from alfresco into the meals room, then playroom to the left behind it and family room to the right.

 View into the family room towards the fireplace and the staircase and guest room behind it.

 Looking toward what will be a 2 storey void (temporary flooring) where we will mount pendant lights visible from the street. Master bedroom behind it.

 From the master bedroom looking at our wardrobes and the ensuite beyond.

3 way ensuite...


ROOFER -

Busy Saturday with the roofer also doing the low roofs.

 Rear low roof

 Finally got a feeling for how the alfresco will feel - it's actually quite cool in the late afternoon despite being South West facing .

 Finished product - rear low roof

 And finished product the front low roof

Starting to look like a house!

Big few weeks ahead, scheduling looks something like this:
Week 25 (12-17 Oct):

• Jay finishing stone cladding (Mon, Tues), 
• Electrical rough in (Mon, Tues)
• Carpenter back to do more noggins and guest room/office storage frame (Wed), 
• two site inspections (Wed), 
• insulation (Thurs), 
• gyprockers starting (Fri). 
• Start kitchen cutting off site - about 3 weeks lead time

Week 26 (19-24 Oct):

• Gyprockers continuing (4 days work, unless they work through the weekend), 
• waterproofing bathrooms (Thurs), 
• carpentry (Thurs/Fri... wet areas and bathrooms first... hopefully in time for me to measure windows for plantation shutters on Friday - the last cut off date to fit before Christmas!), 
• laying underfloor heating (Fri), 
• check measure shutters (hopefully Fri). 
• We have also scheduled an excavator for the rear yard to start landscaping work there independent of Fowler so we will hopefully have lawn for the kids to play on when we move in (Sat 24th). 

Week 27 (26-31 Oct):

• Continuing carpentry work (I think a weeks worth?)
• tiling delivery (Thurs?)
• tiling wet areas commences (fri 30th Oct)
• garage door fitted sometime (was 3 weeks lead time from about 30 Sept)
• starting garden edges (Sat 31st... then hopefully play area and turf base Sat 7th, and assembling play area Sat 14th, ready to lay turf by end Nov).  

We're trying to get the back yard ready before move in so the kids can play.

Ideally we will also form up concrete steps and tile the porch and alfresco but will ahve to see how busy the site is and if Scott will stay so flexible as his stress levels increase. 

At this stage fence will have to wait until move in because the security fences are in the way and there will be some cutting in when the driveway is laid...

Week 18-23: The Three Little Pigs and the Neverending brick story (24 August - 2 October)

Week 18-23: The Three Little Pigs and the Neverending brick story (24 August - 2 October)

And so... at last the long awaited brick layers arrived. All ready for the big 3 days of teamwork and then our brick long saga would be behind us... it would be nice if that was how the story ended. 

Day one of the new team started well with a big crew there escorted in their chariots of lowered brightly coloured cars and utes.

5 weeks later and although there were days with patches of good progress, we now are left with just a few rows to go on the alfresco. Here are the progress photos...

First, the towering wall on the low side went up in a flash...

 Then work started at the front facade... until they got in trouble for forgetting the row of brick corbel. Then they stopped again out of protest!

And we waited, and waited and waited. They left their trusty tools on site but no sign of workers.

 Then finally returned to do the front... but left a few rows off the garage just so we knew they were unhappy!

Then they started on the rear of the house...

There was great weeping and gnashing of teeth when they were made to rip down a wall at the rear that was sub-standard. They left a big mess to let us know they were unhappy... and then a few rows missing off the alfresco and no windowsills so the job was not complete (still missing mid Nov! even though its only a few hours work!). This might explain why I call them the three little pigs... they left the place like a pig sty (this was after the carpenter swept it out).

 Punched a hole in a wall for us as a little goodbye gift?

With much lobbying from management they came back to "finish the work" but only did the missing strip around the garage, so at least we could measure up for the garage door... but the alfresco and sills remain unfinished. My poor site supervisor is pushing on with the next tasks regardless but he is very frustrated by it all.

The missing rows of garage bricks... and then finally completed and ready for check measure for the garage door.

In the meantime... this is what has happened:

• We sold our house and moved out to a rental on the 9th Sept

• The site was cleaned 11th Sept

• We went on holidays to Hamilton Island (complete with making some art for the upper living room)

• Downpipes were installed and roof sealer visited
• The upper bricks were cleaned on 24 Sept
• Carpenters installed eaves and facsia to the upper roof, and then the painter painted them on the 28th Sept.
• The scaffolding came down on 30th Sept and the build was revealed (except for around the columns).

Week 21-24: Super Jay and the Stone Wall (14 Sept - 13 Oct)

Week 18-22: Super Jay and the Stone Wall (14 Sept - 13 October)

We found Jay from Jayscape as the most highly recommended installer at Eco Outdoor (our stone supplier for wall cladding). He actually installed the walls in their show room.

He has been a breath of fresh air to the build - such a meticulous, tidy, reliable and hardworking craftsman. His stone work is a thing of real beauty. After disappointment after disappointment with brick layers not showing up and underperforming, it meant so much to us that Jay was there everyday he said he would be, on time to the minute and working so hard and with perfect precision. Such a great communicator too. He is a credit to the industry! Thanks Jay!

I had no idea how complicated and time consuming the process was to clad a wall with granite. It's a real work of art and 10 days plus of labour for two skilled guys. It is such an awesome feature to the house and Josh loves it compared to the render we had originally planned. 

CHOOSING STONE... we had Eco Outdoor highly recommended to us by friends (thanks Mirella and Matt) with a 3-4cm thick stone cladding. we also considered Amber and Sareen Stone. Here are our final 3 choices... 

Grouted Random Ashlar Clancy (left)

 Random Ashlar Coolum (right)

and Alpine (Granite Dry mounted) with our brick colour against it. It is certainly the most 'on trend' which worried us a little that it would date, but also the best colour match and we liked that it is dry mounted rather than grouted.












Here it is coming to life under Jay's skillful hands...

Once it is complete, it will be offset with a nice travertine natural stone paver (cheap as chips through a wholesale supplier but direct from Turkey and the quality looked pretty good). The columns will be framed by a low pillar by the front fence and a tiled pathway drawing the eye to the columns and oversized front door. Hard to imagine with a front yard full of rubble, tools and portaloo!