Week 4 - Start of Frame Work

We had a meeting with our site supervisor on Friday and when we went to site frame work was close to completion.

First picture shows the view from the back left corner which is where we have our outdoor living area (AKA Alfresco) and the timber post at the corner will be covered with a brick layer.

This is again the view from the back which gives the side view of the left side of the house. Hopefully the roof will be fixed next week.

Last picture shown above is obviously the view from the front of the house. As you can see the brick wall of the garage is already done. This is full brick which is suppose to support the roof.

Week 3 - Slab

Our SS and BC confirmed the slab stage is completed. We were quick happy to hear the slab stage is completed on time. Great work by PD and they seems to be having control over the schedule.

Above picture shows the front entrance of the slab work. You can see the neighbour's house which is pretty much same level as ours. However our block has a deep cut at the entrance. Hope the front garden will be flatten when they finish slab and there won't be inward decline.

Above picture shows some cracks in the concrete after the completion of slab work.

This is again a close caption of the front concrete poured which is the entrance to the garage. It has some inconsistencies and doesn't look great.

As shown in above picture there is a big cut in front of the house probably around half a meter. This also has the neighbour's house which is pretty much same level as the road. Our block also had the similar level and did not have a noticeable slope before the cut.

According to the above picture the other side of the land has a vacant block which also has similar level as ours. This is how our block looked like before the cut.

Above picture shows the slab neighboring to the other house. There is not much gap between the height of two blocks. However there are no retaining walls though it was agreed to put retaining wall according to the engineering plan.

Same as previous picture but this shows the view towards back.

As shown in above picture backyard is not that big. It also does not have much slope.

Again the above shows the backyard but the view towards the neighbor's block.

This shows the left side of the block which is similar level as the neighboring block.

Stage one activities

We went on a weekend around mid February and noticed the water tap is already installed. Few days later we also received the bill with connectivity charges. PD managed the time quite well and they have been working in the background in connecting the utilities while waiting for the building approval. BC gave us a call and informed they are planning to start the construction work by end of Feb. However the dates got postponed due to an approval that has to be taken from the owners of the neighbouring house.

Soon after signing the contract in the second week of January, we informed PD to provide the building approval since that needed to be submitted to the bank. This was a prerequisite from the bank in order to fund the loan.

PD also made arrangements immediately to update the engineering plans to include the partially constructed neighboring house. Here is a list of activities expected to take place during first stage of the construction.

Introduction

Overview

We signed the contract for the land around October and had 90 days settlement. Soon after land is selected, we had a look at different designs from about 4 builders. There were 2 designs we were interested which was from two different builders of which we gave priority to PD design. After few rounds of discussions with PD we decided to go ahead with them mainly due to the initial support from the SC and thought their design is little better than the other.

Colour & interior selection

We had our color appointment in early December 2013. Prior to the appointment we went there and had a look at what's available. This gave us an understanding of standard inclusions and upgrades.

Tile Appointment

Date given for us for the appointment was after the contract signing date. We were quite reluctant to sign the contract without having the tile selection done though later we agreed to do the tile selection later. This was mainly due to not having a free date for the appointment due to busy schedule of PD.

Landscaping Plan

As part of an additional value pack chosen by us, landscaping of front garden will be included as part of PD construction work. They have three types of landscaping plans and we decided to go with standard plan.

According to the landscaping plan provided to us there will be 1 tree and 3 small plants. There is also a small area with mulch which may not be the best approach to add nutrients needed by the plants. This is simply due to the fact that mulch could be termite prone hence it may affect the house structure.

Purple leafed cherry plum (Tree)

This tree could grow up to 6-7 meters hence it may have an impact on the structure of the house if grown too close to the house.

Probably the finest of all purple leafed foliage trees grown in Australia. Single light dainty pink blossoms on fine branches throughout spring. Its rich dark plum foliage never loses its colour and can be used as for striking contrasting effects. 

Though not generally thought of as a fruit tree Its cherry-plum fruit can be eaten. One of the toughest plums and handles somewhat drier and warmer condition suits as a small garden specimen.

Hebe

There are different types of Hebe plants though the landscaping plan does not specifically state what kind of Hebe plants will be provided.

  

Most hebes prefer a sunny position and will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions. Hebes are not fussy about the soil type, provided it is well-drained. Several of the species perform well in coastal situations. Prune after flowering to maintain a tidy compact shape. Leaf spot and downy mildew can be a problem in humid areas.

Evergreen Giant

This plant is not my favourite though in our landscaping plan there is only 4 of them. Perhaps I must check with PD what other plants available to chose. 

An evergreen grass like clumping perennial with tall green leaves Liriope Evergreen Giant blooms with purple spikes through summer and autumn followed by dark blue berries. Able to thrive in poor soil it is a very hardy plant and can tolerate most climates.

Boxwood (Shrubs)

Buxus Hedges or 'Box Hedging' are some of the most popular low growing hedging plantsfor sale in Australia. 

They are a hardy easy care group and varieties include Buxus sempervirens Suffruticosa (english box), Buxus Sempervirens (american box) and Buxus Micro Microphylla. The term "Japanese box hedge" refers fo Buxus microphylla japonica ( Japanese Boxwood ) a fast growing species.