Day 94 - Front Brickworks started

From what we can see there has not been much progress. Unsure whether further works have been done inside. Haven't had our weekly update from the SS. Called him Monday to ask about the brickworks and found out he had been sick last week. 

After nearly 2 weeks since the delivery of the bricks, the brickies have finally started work at the front of the house today. It was suppose to have started last week but the original bricklayers could not do the job and another crew had to be contracted. 

There was a meeting yesterday on site with the base supervisor, plumber and council inspector. The future crossover and storm water legal point of discharge (LPOD) was marked out on the nature strip ie 2.5 m from tree and 3 m wide cross over. There will be about a 1m gap between the southern fence and the LHS of the aggregate driveway. Plumbers can relocate the LPOD again with the pipe running parallel and closer to southern fence line but have to leave a gap for a future fence post. There was a suggestion that the LPOD be relocated on the other side of the front nature strip tree (which is well away from the future crossover), however, this will require approval by the council engineer. The council inspector will discuss this with the council engineers.

Things that will need to be considered when relocating the storm water pipes to the opposite side of tree:

• Telstra pit and underground conduit/cables 
• Front garden tap
• Potential impact of landscaping 
• Fence posts
• Have we missed anything!!!

We haven't heard from the building inspector about the overhang correction - whether this was done appropriately. Will need to follow up ASAP.

Day 87

Progress this week:

• Bricks were delivered (need to check they are the bricks we ordered! Can't tell from this distance).

• Overhang issues as described previously was fixed (last week) by timber bolted to the slab and underneath the overhang. Don't know much about this and hope that this meets the building standards. Will need to call our own building inspector.

• Frame inspected by Metricon's independent building inspectors (Group Four Building  Surveyors) - would be interested what they thought about the overhang fix. 
• Capped gas connection at outdoor area done according to our SS
• Storm water discharge remains unresolved. Spoke to the local council civil works inspector on the phone. He said he happened to inspect the site on the day that the plumber relocated the storm water drain. He pointed out to the plumber that the new drainage point will be in the way of the future crossover. Apparently, the plumber responded with a 'shrug of the shoulders' and said he's doing it according to the plans!!!!! (The building plan clearly shows a crossover in this location.)
• We contacted our Building Support Coordinator  (BSC) who has marked this issue as urgent and hopefully we will get a resolution soon with an on site meeting with the civil works inspector, base supervisor, plumbers and us.
• Gutters and fascia installed in the outdoor and dining area

Here are some pics from the meeting with the SS last week.

Family Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Day 80

Structurally nothing major has happened since last week, except that the two sliding doors to the outdoor area are now in. The framework needs to be assessed before the bricking can commence, which hopefully will be late next week.

We met our SS for the the first time yesterday. He took us around the site and answered our questions patiently, which we appreciated. We even got to go up to first floor (via a ladder). 

There is a lot to be said for a face to face meeting - concerns were discussed and general construction questions answered and even if issues were not resolved a follow up plan discussed. So much better than playing frustrating phone tag and relying on ESP to predict the most convenient time to chat.

Issues that our SS will be following up:

• Front entry wall and outdoor/dining room wall overhanging the slab.

Overhang at front entry wall

Overhang at outdoor area

• Front right hand side wall lining ripped.

Ripped lining - unsuccessful patch job!

• There does not seem to be a capped gas connection or pipe in the outdoor dining area as per plan/contract.

Location of capped gas - not installed?

• Sleeper retaining wall in front left hand side of property (on plans but not presently evident on the site).

Things that we need to followup:

• Check that the 'fan provisions' we paid for includes the ceiling structural support for the fan as promised!
• Whether a waste drainage point has been installed near the outdoor room.

In terms of the issues from the previous week, basically we've missed the boat with the roof sarking and the distance from the fence is irreversible. We are still working with Metricon to resolve the storm water drainage point and crossover position.