Plumbing Finished

All the gas and water plumbing has been completed today and the external taps work :) Am not rapt with the way the gas pipe and a water pipe run on the outside of the garage. I realise that with a single leaf wall then this is the only way, but am hoping that some sort of cover is installed over the two of them.

AND

There was a site clean today, the back and the al fresco side have been cleaned of broken bricks and the general rubbish that accumulates, and neatly piled at the front of the house! :)

Now it's the sparkies' turn!!

Roof - Part 1

I have what could be deemed a 'love-hate relationship' with roof carpenters.

I am in awe of the skill that allows them to take 2,560 linear metres of structural pine of various sizes and lengths (I had a look at the cartage note) and create a structure that not only has to conform to the design of the architect, but also has to stand up without additional support, be centred and then support the tiles.

Basically they take this:

And turn it into something that looks like this:

Remember, this is a work in progress and it's only the carpenters' second full day on the job.

So - the hate? Because even with their obvious skills and know-how, they can't help but include what I consider* dodgy aspects; like this;

OR

Just think there must be a more 'approved' method than grabbing a left over brick or two, am thankful they have used solids though!

* Okay, I know absolutely nothing about roof carpentry and am quite certain that the bricks will be able to support the weight and it's something that is done regularly. Will stop being such a queen now :)

Plate High

The bricklayers have finished and everything is in readiness for the roofing carpenters to do their thing. The 'new girl' (as she is known at home) lives up to her name and looks rather majestic as she sits on the block, even if she doesn't have a roof!

The view from where the fridge will stand through to the al fresco area;

And now through the family room towards the home theatre;

And now looking back into the house from the al fresco to be:

The portico, I am guessing that the bricks in the foreground are to be returned to Austral or taken to another build. Shame, I could use them for my barbecue! :)


So, that's the progress so far. Hopefully roof carpentry will begin next week - if the weather is fine.

PS The door to the Powder Room has not been changed yet.

Taking Shape

The house is really starting to take shape right now, there is a little more work to do with the exterior but most of the internal walls are finished. At the front of the house the bricklayers have yet to finish (or even start) the portico, so things look a little 'flat' there.


There used to be external bricks where that pole is, was about 12 courses high. A couple of the bricks were a little wonky, nothing that anybody else would notice, but it would just bug me because I knew the brickwork wasn't right. I was not going to bother calling SPH and ask for it to fixed, it was only minor and besides, two wonky bricks out of around seventeen thousand is not a bad effort. Well, the bricklayers forgot to put this pole in and the existing work had to be removed. So, in a way I had the problem fixed without even having to ask. :)


The view across what will become the al fresco area into the Dining Room / Kitchen. Or, the other side of the pole :)


Looking into the powder room. Yes, that is the door in question. As you can see from the picture, the door will open into the middle of the room. Not something that would make getting to the toilet easy.


The view from my 'computer room'. The gap on the left is the passage leading to the entry, the door fram is for the linen cupboard, which is where I will be keeping a lot of my IT and network gear. The door right in front leads into Bedroom 4. On the right are the doorways for the Bathroom and Bedroom 3.


The ensuite begins to look more the way it should. This is where the vanity will go, the bath is opposite this, to the right of the photo.

Customer Service 1

Rayleen and I are about to find out how SPH deals with rectifying mistakes.

While wandering from room to room this morning , oohing and ahhing over what has been done this week, we noticed the frame for the powder room door has the hinges on the left, not on the right as is on the plans. The door is meant to open against a wall.

Will email SPH later tonight, so I have proof that I alerted them to the issue, then phone early Monday morning. The wall this door is in, isn't completed yet, so getting in early means less fix-it work for the bricklayers.

It needs to be fixed as the way it is now would make getting into and leaving the powder room a pain in the b*tt!

Bricklaying - Part I

The bricklaying started early July, although it has been hampered by the rains we have had this Winter. These shots were taken on the 5th of July.

Standing at the front of where the garage will be looking throught the house to the main bedroom.

At the front door (that's it laying on the concrete in the foreground) looking towards the rear of the house.

Details of how we have decorated the Master Bedroom - we are trying to get the 'under construction' look, and I think it's worked.

The south wall, the frames are (from the front) window for the bathroom, sliding door for the laundry, window for Bedroom 2, dresser window, window for the wc (not installed in this pic), window over the bath and then around the corner to the frame for the sliding doors in the Main Bedroom.

Bricks

A week after the slab was poured the bricks were delivered, unlike our initial impressions about the slab where both Rayleen and I thought it was smaller than we expected, both of us thought that we had enough bricks for two homes delivered to our site.

Since then I have spoken to the brickie who estimated that there were about 17,000 bricks to be laid.


From here it looks rather bare, but then if you will turn left you will see the 'Great Wall of Harrisdale';


I am not so sure our neighbours to be appreciated the new 'attraction' at their front door.

The obligatory portaloo shot;


A word from our sponsor. Apparently these are called partition bricks and are used to give the wall the 'stepped' look - noticable at the top of the wall, the same effect is achieved at the bottom by using 25mm moulding - or so it says on the plan.


One last look over the top of the car towards the slab.