So nothing happened for the first couple of weeks of March. In 32 days (Monday to Friday in Feb and March), we’d had someone there for 15 of them, often for only a couple of hours (Go Eufy “spy” camera!).
The water tank went in, and its bigger than required by contract at 137,500l, but without any vermin proofing or flashings.
The architraves went in, but with multiple holes put in the plaster, and not fitted or cut well, some protruding from the walls, and split.
No BAL resolution or plan.
No site supervision or project management.
We took a bunch of photos and had a meeting with the owner of the building company to complain. He listened and promised to look into it. He’d been told we would be in in April and that there were no issues.
Now
Wow – what a difference! We’ve had hoards of tradies turn up since the meeting, although no one for the last week. The internals have been mostly patched and painted – still a lot of tidy up/repair to be done. The tiling’s been done, the benches replaced, vermin proofing put into the tank (not done well – we’re patching with little strips of foam.) Wooden floor has been polished (but now scratched up a bit). Much of the electricals have been done. A lot of the internal plumbing fit out is done. Garage door is on – although Mark absolutely hates it. It’s not great, but it’s better than I thought it would be. I don’t like the paint colour, and I think some of the bench tops look a little yellow against the tiles, but Mark likes all of that. Wish we’d fully tiled the bathroom – it looks great in the ensuite.
Still need to install AC, one hearth, wood heaters, most kitchen appliances, water heaters, water pump, heated towel rail, a range of controllers, switches and power points, shower screens, external post clean and seal, external painting completion and general repairs and touch up. Still a tonne of work, but you can see the end in sight. Weeks not months of work, if the tradies turn up.
But, we still have outstanding issues that mean we still have no idea when we’re moving in:
BAL rating – tried some flashing on the cladding, but it’s almost impossible to put it in without leaving a gap greater than 3mm in places (max BAL allowance), since some of the panels bow out. Current plan is to attempt to lower the panels so that they all sit on the bottom flashing, leaving no gap there and a larger gap at the top. Then caulk up the top and put a flashing strip over the top to hide it. And flash around all of the windows. There’s likely going to be a problem lowering some panels that are cut around windows so they will try to see if they can easily fit replacement panels. A couple that are fixed in around the garage will likely need to be caulked, but at least it’s only a couple, not the whole house.
Messy, but could work. Only problem is delivery time on replacement panels, and still need to confirm that they can be lowered without damage. And given that it’s the last week of April, we’re still quite away off, with no clear move in date.
Louvre Roof to alfresco
We had been told that it would be arriving in January, but when they actually checked, we find that it’s coming from overseas (they thought it was locally made) and was not due into the country until mid April. It’s apparently mostly in now, with only the fascia outstanding. Unfortunately it goes in first. Apparently, it should turn up in the next few days. And the installers will turn up two weeks later. And after its installed, the bluestone pavers can be done – a week’s work apparently.
They said we could get occupancy without it, but I checked with our building surveyor who says we can only get conditional occupancy, and only if the roof, without the louvres, is BAL 29 compliant. And of course there are fees involved.
We’re happy to move in without it, but I don’t think the builders want to pay the additional fees or do any temporary works. And the tiler doesn’t want to lay the bluestone until the roof’s in and finished…
End May, anyone?
Off Grid Living - Building the Dream 