building – A Home by the Sea

The workers have really ramped up the action a notch.

This is happening just outside our backyard, right now.

Perhaps the tradies are getting a bonus to finish before Christmas? the MotH asks.

Tradies or Tradesmen?

I’m not sure if other countries call workmen on construction sites:-‘tradesmen.’

We don’t either.

In Australia we always like to shorten things, especially names, so tradesmen and not called tradesmen, but “Tradies.”

If someone says they will, “See ya in the arvo,” or “See you thissarvy”– they don’t mean they will meet you in some seedy bar in town, they mean they will see you after lunch, in the afternoon. If I was to say to a friend, see you in the afternoon, I would almost sound British!

But I digress.

Tradies might be Electricians, Carpenters, affectionately also called ‘Chippies,’ Plumbers, Crane drivers, Tiler’s, Glaziers, Concreters or anyone that performs a trade and often this is related to construction.

These guys and girls, do a certain amount of study at a vocational college but most of their training is practical, on the job. It is usually an apprenticeship of three or four years. They are often very fit, strong and heavily tanned young men and their language is often colourful.

So whatever you do, when you visit Australia and the Home by the Sea, don’t ask for few ‘chippies’ with your meal! See you later on thisarvy!

P.S. There goes on view to the East!

building

We’re Cooking

September 25, 2019December 15, 2019 Forestwood

Why we are Moving to the Home by the Sea

I am anxious to receive a Practical Completion date for the Home by the Sea, particularly after a rather intrusive incident at our rental townhouse which was detailed over at Something to Ponder About – [StPA]. Should you be interested in how to save a ton of money in real estate advertising fees and piss off a rental tenant at the same time, for no extra cost, you can read about ‘Mrs The World is My Oyster,’ on my other blog.

Despite not knowing exactly when we might be moving in to the Home by the Sea – we do know that the painting is complete and most plumbing and electrical fittings are installed.

Today, I met with the Electrician to position the pendant lights in the lounge area. He was such a very young man, to be in charge, but obviously highly competent at his job. It is a shame he had a long time girlfriend, as I do keep an eye out for a good quality future son-in-law. [lol]

The taps have been installed and we could have indulged in a shower or bath, if we needed to do so. We passed on that opportunity today as I forgot my towel….

The pendant lights were installed over the Island bench and the Oven and Cooktop are in!

Yay! Hot Christmas dinner – here we come!

The stove is an Induction model, and I am a complete novice in that realm, having only used electric ceramic cooktops for the past 25 years! I had to go out and buy some new utensils and pans. It is wide so I am hoping there will be no more juggling trays to fit in all the roast vegetables my tribe loves to eat on Roast nights.

Still to come at the Home by the Sea: Carpets, minor fixes, hand rails, cupboard shelving for walk in pantry and linen cupboard, mirrors and shower screens, as well as Landscaping and Fencing. And then perhaps, we are done! [excluding the re-do of the Cedar ceiling].

Surely not long now till we move to the Home by the Sea.

building, home

Another Brick in the Wall

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 Forestwood

Bricklaying the First Storey

What a change a week makes. The Bricklayers are all but finished, so we can finally get an idea of what the base of the house will look like.

You might notice the bricks are different on the front of the house – a bit patchy compared to the rest. This is because there is rendering to be done on the front of the house. The rendering and wrapping of the corner of the house, abutting the two street frontages, meets the Estate developer’s covenant requirements – not so our wishes.

Building a house — Clean smart lines on the rendering on the neighbours houses

I suppose it adds a level of interest and a certain look to the estate?

Internal Plastering

The plasterers are finished the walls inside and the waterproofing of the shower recesses and wet areas have been completed.

Cladding the Second Storey

The scaffolding that has now been erected is necessary for the builders to install the cladding to the upper part of the house.

Scaffolding in readiness for the upstairs cladding and completion of pier work

I was very excited to see bundles of vertical lined cladding and my treasured cedar roof arrive ready for installation on the next vacant block.

Of course the cladding is going to be painted.

I have chosen a Dulux Teahouse colour, at least I think that is what it was called. It is a bit hard to remember every paint selection, but in my head I have the colour hue itself, even if the name is wrong. It is a little bit like the cladding on this Stockholm house, (slightly different facade to ours).

Next week, the staircase will be installed and perhaps some cabinetry?

Then we get to walk through our Home by the Sea.

home

The Second Storey

June 24, 2019June 25, 2019 Forestwood

Our weekly visit, this week, brought us a quick reality check. The house now looks large, and we can now get a full idea of its double storey scale on the property with the second storey timber frame going up. The roof will be installed next week, given no issues from Mr. Weather Man.

We are pretty happy with the way it is turning out. Although I expected some more winter sun to be impacting the al fresco area.

But then I ask myself: am I going to be outside when it is cold, or snuggled inside?

The front rooms of the house are drenched in winter sun – good for ageing folk who might ( I hope not ), develop arthritic knees and enjoy a good dose of morning sun, in winter.

Summertime will see most of the sunlight on the rear of the house, however this is the section of the house that will be airconditioned, and shaded by eaves, so I feel sure it will work out in terms of its comfort level.

Micro climate and Aspect

This is why we chose a north-facing property. Ideally, we would have purchased a property with the back yard with a north facing aspect, given that the garage limits half what is open to a northern face, as most garages face to the street in new estates.

However, you can’t control what type of structure is built on the parcel of land behind you in a new estate, and with smaller blocks requiring double storey houses to secure a family’s need in a residential house, the northern sunlight in a rear yard might be effectively blocked out by the neighbour’s build.

This is what happened in our previous home. It also equates to more energy use in keeping a home liveable, in winter, unless you are happy wearing thermals and coats, indoors.

Despite living in a sub-tropical climate, our former house was always so cold in winter; much colder than the northern facing townhouse, we are in at the moment. What’s more – because it is a townhouse, the garage can be located at the rear, so all the living areas and bedrooms can face north. Just glorious.

Days here in Queensland are so perfect during a winter day with cloudless skies, little breeze and low humidity; however, the nights can get down to single digit celsius temperatures. Not pleasant if you have a house style made to cope with sub tropical summers. Read: little insulation; lots of open plan rooms and large opening windows without double glazing.

So, a north facing block is for me, in my retirement.

Does aspect and micro-climate figure in your design for a new home?

home

The Slab is Down!

June 7, 2019June 7, 2019 Forestwood

So this week things started moving on our new little Home by the Sea.

From this:-

To this: –

The Concreting team have been and gone. The Slab was laid last week, and by 3 pm that same day, we were walking on what would soon be our new floor. Woo hoo!

Amazing what quick dry concrete can do.

And this is what is underneath the concrete – Polystyrene Waffle pods.

Our block is all fill. The concrete needs to be able to shift a little when the fill settles, otherwise the slab and walls will crack. Hence we will be living on top of polystyrene.

Ah the wonders of modern engineering. Who would have thought polystyrene, something you can crush with your hands, would hold up a double storey house?

Then we noticed the bricks they had delivered! They looked wrong.

This is the sample we ordered: –

Austral Bricks – Wilderness Blackbutt.

A new range of coloured bricks.

This is what was delivered to our site. A bit different?

Should we question them about it?

We did.

Tim, our Site supervisor followed it up for us, and yes they delivered the wrong brick.

After all the time we took to decide on the right brick for our new home, even checking the sample colours in natural light and on demonstration websites, imagine if we hadn’t of asked for clarification.

We would have ended up with a house that looked very different from what we planned.

Austral bricks will remove the brick and deliver the correct one this week.

Phew! Another lucky break. We noticed it before they were installed!

Did I tell you it is my lucky year! I firmly believe so.

The frame goes up next week!

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Still Waiting

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019 Forestwood

We are still waiting for Council. They have already made us change our plans by moving the house over somewhat. We are now closer to the road and have to fence behind our garage. The change cost over $1000 more.

When Council rejected the relaxation application by the Builder and suggested a compromise, it had to go back to the Developer for their approval. Back and forward. It is painful waiting.

The builder is set to go. They await the green light and have already scraped the block in anticipation. Except the cut for the alfresco area now has to move over 350 mm.