19-08-2010 (Day 50)

So.. Good news and bad news. Good news is the guard rails, gutters and fascias were installed today and our roof tiles have been delivered. And if you were wondering what the black gooey stuff around the pipes are (sorry for the upside down pics), that is some kind of termite "shield"! All i know is that its some rubber polymer mixed with natural plant extracts and its meant to seal off the gaps between the pipes and concrete so termites can't get through. They could have made the job look neater though, some others look like the BP crude oil disaster! The next step is to install a reticulated chemical system around the house but i am not sure when that will be done.

Now for the bad news! The inspector we hired found defects! However we are glad we went ahead and hired an inspector because all the defects he picked up would have easily been missed by us. Our builder's site supervisor has been pretty much useless in picking up defects, and we also found out that a Building Surveyor only really assesses safety standards, not quality or defects. We are now waiting for the builder to act on rectifying the defects before we make any further payment :) Wish us luck!

Frame complete (or so it seems..) 14-08-2010

Nice day to take photos :) Windows and sliding doors are in and gutters, fascias and roof tiles were meant to be installed this week but due to the 150km/h winds, tornadoes and crazy storms Melbourne has had, no work was accomplished the past few days :(

The builder's surveyor has apparently given the green light to the frame but we are conducting our own frame inspection in 2 days using "New Home Inspections" so we shall see what they pick up. We know the builder's contractors were never going to get everything right hence we are taking extra steps to make sure we pick up as many defects as we can, before we live in it! Defects are inevitable when it comes to new home ownership so the more we pick up now the less we have to worry down the track.

And the Termite treatment i was worrying about before was indeed justified because the builder didn't do it! Don't know the reason why because it should have been done but i had to ring them to push the issue before being told it will be done on the 18th this month so lets wait and see.

Frame almost complete 6/8/2010

28-07-2010

Slabs down!!! (It was laid the day before.) Now just investigating if our Termguard termite treatment has actually been done or not. It cost us $1500 so they better do it! Slab penetrations are meant to have termite shields and at the perimeter there is meant to be a re-treatment system installed. From a distance it doesn't look like it has been done so i will need to investigate and make sure.

25-07-2010

Our waffle-pods delivered!

Our wire mesh delivered to our driveway.

Our house taking shape.

Week 3 (Post Site Start) 22-07-2010

These are the latest pictures taken 3 weeks post site start. There has been some progress but the past week or so the weather hasn't been too kind. Anyway here are the latest pics :)

New bustops getting built around Aurora. These are approx. 50 meters from our home.

Pipes laid and ground levelled with gravel.

Recycled water and regular tap at front of house.

Finally we have Site Start!!! 01-07-2010

errr this is me, updating this blog on behalf of my dear hubby. So...the following photos are updates of our building. Finally, things have started moving. Hooray! The end. :p