Holiday break

Our build had drawn to a close for this year. Sadly, nothing planned for the week before the holiday break.  

That said, our site supervisor had assured that things should get back on track when he comes back from the break (2nd week of January).

Roof Tiles - First Floor

Since the start of summer, Elderton was slugging away on the build. They just completed the first floor roof tiles at week 14. It would have been nice if the eaves and cladding were done.  Having said that, the build was still on schedule and no delays yet (touch wood).

One week remaining before the holiday.  So we are not expecting much will be done during that span.

Roof tiles were from Boral, Vogue range. Compared to other classic roof tiles (curved tiles), this roof tile has a flat profile.  Photos below were pallets for the alfresco roof.

.. and here is how it pans out with the whole house.

Fascia, Gutter, Sarking Completed

After 2 weeks, the installation of the fascia, gutters and sarking were completed. 

Photos of the roof sarking. It's the protective skin under the roof. 

Scaffolds for Fascia/Gutters

Scaffold planks were moved into a higher position.  Platforms were now ready for tradesmen to work on the fascia and gutters.

Bricks - Completed

Another milestone here - bricks were completed just before week 11. We love the colour of our bricks.  We just hope that the selected colours for the cladding and balcony would nicely complement the dark bricks. 

Completion of the ground and first floor bricks came almost under 3 weeks ahead of the specified bricks claim date. Can't complain here.

Great to see our balcony took its form.  The balcony parapets were completed nicely.

Stretcher bricks completed for the garage front and side walls.

Alfresco bricks completed...... and just above the alfresco, rumpus wall completed.

Community - Construction Photos

Plenty of house constructions happening in our new community.  It's coming along just fine.

Bricks - First Floor

The first few days in week 10, tradesmen were MIA. We were given a nice weather but it was just a pity that no work had been done. However, at the end of the week, there were some progress. Brickwork for the first floor was almost completed.  With the bad weather, I bet it will drag on..maybe until the first few days of next week.

Brick layers were working on a weekend. On the second photo below, the guy was working on the rowlock course for the rumpus window. Others were working on the stretchers for the bed 4 wall. Some bits still had to be completed i.e. bricks above the alfresco, balcony front door, balcony parapet and bed4. 

Now the solid bricks were installed for the the balcony T-bars.

Scaffolding

In preparation for the brick layering to the first floor, scaffolds were erected this week.  Since we had a bad weather, starting the bricks for the first floor was far-fetched.  It was good though to see the tubes, rails and boards to be assembled.  At least we had progress this week.

Another 3,000 pieces of bricks were delivered to be used for the first floor.

We also had cored bricks (orange colored bricks with holes) which were being used for the balcony piers and parapet. Moroka finish will be applied to the balcony. Another type of bricks below were the solid bricks. These will be used where the balcony T-bar is installed.

Updates from Area Manager

I had set-up a meeting with the area manager today. We had a quick walk-around at the construction site. It was great to talk to him today as he knew all the knick-knacks in building a house. Judging by the number of calls during our meeting, I could tell that he was an extremely busy man. I bet the housing industry pays him the big bucks.

We will have a crappy weather for the rest of the week. But the schedule remains intact, that is, the scaffolding and extra bricks were set to arrive this week. Subsequently, brick layers to start the first floor the next day or two.  If they start the first floor before the week ends, then we're laughing.  Site works should continue even on a gloomy overcast weather. If it pours, it will be a different story. 

Further down the track, there is a high chance that the gyprock plasterboard walls won't be installed before Christmas break.  We're looking at a 6 weeks timeframe which will not cut it. Consequently, electrical wiring won't be installed as electrical wires and other items are likely to be pinched during the holiday break.

Look, we're on cloud nine at the moment. Our construction -at this point in time- has no delays (yet).  Suffice to say, we are really satisfied how Elderton Homes handles our home construction. 

Bricks - Ground Floor Completed

By the end of the week, the bricks for the ground floor were completed.  Our bricks were from Austral Wilderness range - Blackbutt. Some bricks were scuffed. Some had different colors.  But to my untrained eye, looked ok.  Maybe we'll wait after the washing and leave most of the scrutiny-making to my private building inspector.

Photos of the alfresco window, kitchen window splashback and laundry sliding door;

Photos of the bricks at the front door entrance.  Bricks for the balcony were also started.

Rough in for the first floor plumbing was completed.

Bricks

Bricks were delivered early this week. Surprisingly, the layering for the ground floor was started on the same day.  Who said that there were shortages in brick supplies and tradesmen? Touchwood.. lol

Quick photo of our bricks.  The construction site was busy today. Tradesmen were on a roll. No chance to take some detailed photos of the build. Even on the adjacent blocks, a lot of constructions were going on.

Plumbing Rough In

Weather was great today, sun was out. So we thought of visiting the construction site for some sunset photos. Before 7pm, the sun was perfect. The golden hour was upon us.

Noticed that the internal plumbing rough in for the ground floor was also completed. From what I perceived, black pipes were for tap water, red pipes for hot water, green pipes for recycled water and yellow pipes were for gas.

Laundry and Main Water

Hot water unit / Potable garden tap (rear)

Rainwater tank

Kitchen

Meals area plumbing route

Rainwater garden tap (front)

Provisions (gas point, hot and cold water tap) for future outdoor kitchen

Powder room recycled water

Island bench water points

Kitchen gas point

Laundry

Frames - Photos

Well, I took the liberty to enter the site and take snapshots of the completed frames.

North Elevation

South Elevation

South East Elevation

West Elevation

Family Room

Kitchen

Living Area /Staircase

Study Room

Backyard / Alfresco Area

Side Entrance / Frontage