I drove past the block just before lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see the site cut and level had begun!
It does look like it goes down to a deeper depth than I had anticipated, but I suspect this will be the first of many things that will not be as I imagined (especially the engineering/mechanical stuff anyway).
This is a quick post as I'm trying out the new 'blogger' app available at the iTunes store for use with an iPhone.
Monday at some time the site is going to be cut and leveled. Then the drainage guy will do his thing later next week.
Finally, our slab is booked in to be poured on Thursday 6 Oct. It does seem like a while away. Is this normal? Hopefully we get good weather, but you never can count on Melbourne weather can you? So we shall see.
We are yet to meet our site manager Doug but I'm assured that he will be in contact soon. Let's hope so!
It’s taken awhile but we have been advised
that our job has been handed from pre-construction to construction….
So after weeks of reviewing largely the
same plans (small variations made by M – mostly by their hand without any
discussion) we have signed off on final plans as pre our requirements and requests….
QA, Drafties and to a lesser extent Studio
M have a lot to answer for. Illogical
and unrequested changes without any discussion as to why or communication as to
what had changed is unacceptable – there... I'm feeling better already. DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING!!!!
Well, we also took advantage of their
multiple versions and requested a number of small changes ourselves. I look at it this way – it’s not final til
it’s final. M can change items around
without any fuss, so why can’t we…. So
while reviewing the plans, for the god knows how many times, we decided to move
this, change that, etc etc. “Just make this change to the next version if
you wouldn’t mind”
On a more positive note, our CSC has been
great and followed up all our queries and ensured any illogical / unrequested
changes were reinstated. Felt a little sorry
for her a few times, as she was the ‘middle man’ the majority of the time – but
that’s what her role is I guess.
So, the next step is to wait for our construction
service consultation (made that title up) and / or our site manager to contact
us. We have been told its usually 2
weeks b/w pre-construction and construction til you see anything actually
happen. The construction team has already
made a start on our job so work on the slab could be as early as this time next
week.
We are still in pre-construction and it is taking its sweet
time to get everything signed off. We have had another 3 versions of the ‘final
plans’ and ‘final contract variation’ and if there is one piece of advice I can
give to those of you building and at this stage is that you need to check,
double check and then check again. We have picked up a myriad of mistakes and
changes this week and they have not always been logical, nor highlighted to us
by the builder.
The biggest error was the removal of the provisions for
future evaporative cooling (a powerpoint, capped cold water point and upgraded
roof trusses). This for some reason was on the electrical variations and the
plans but didn’t end up in the final contract, in fact in the last version of
the plans ‘QA’ had it removed altogether from everything without informing us.
Lucky we went over everything with a fine tooth comb!
The other issue that we have been dealing with this week was
post-demolition asbestos residue. All homes built about the time our original
old house was, have asbestos in one form or another. We had asbestos removal
done prior to demolition but some more residue was spotted along the fence
boundaries by out site supervisor last week and we needed that cleaned up
before Metricon will send anyone to site start, and that’s fair enough. Jim the
demolisher was onto it quickly and to cut a long story short, we have had
another site clean and Metricon is now in possession of another independent asbestos
clearance certificate.
The good news in all of this is that by Monday once the
office receives our signed final plans (they are about 99% correct with only 1
small correction remaining, which doesn’t require a plan redraw), the ordering
will commence. Once the ordering has finished (by the end of next week at the
latest), we will be at site start… FINALLY!!!!
As I said above, slow progress is better than no progress.
We are happy to take the time to get things done right. You can never look
through your contracts enough and our toing and froing has all been by email
which has put everything in writing (a great tip!). I have no doubt our pedantic
behaviour will be worth it all in the end!
They say, whomever “they” are, that patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. Timing is everything. And according to my beloved… patience is not a virtue that I possess. I get impatient waiting for the toast to pop, for the lights to change, for the family home to be built.
As I wait I become more and more consumed by the decorating that is to come. I subscribe to blog after blog on design and decorating and my latest obsession is lighting and thinking about how we are going to make the space that will be there into something family friendly but relaxing and sophisticated at the same time…
These are a few more ideas that I have had recently.
In our powder room, we have gone with a glamorous dark tiled wall and I was thinking a black chandelier might be a nice touch.
Something like these…
Or maybe even something a little more out there like this…
BUT...What’s actually been going on with our build as we wait in anticipation for the real stuff to begin.
This week we have finalised the following
Council Permit received (snaps to Booroondara Council for fast turnaround)
Final site plans received and signed off on
Selections confirmed and signed off on
Resurvey/soils test/reestablishment done, and
Final engineering completed
We are still waiting on the following to occur this week –
·slab design/cut and fill/provisional amounts finalised
·sewer point finalised
·asbestos clearance from our demolisher to go to M
·final sign off is booked in for the end of next week.
After that the files will be handed over to construction and we will no longer deal with Cassie our CSC but be handled by another staff member.
We have also just regained access to our “My Metricon” account and have found out our site manager is a guy called Doug. Anybody know of him?
Time wise we are still looking at site start in 2-3 weeks. Too long in my book. Perhaps all I need is just a little patience...
Kirsten
PS…“What we wish we knew then, that we know now !” - New builders pre- construction advice post – TOP 10 tips to come next week… stay tuned.
