After much to-ing and fro-ing back and forth between Powercor, we have finally achieved something that resembles acceptable.
Opting for a three phase supply, Powercor initially offered 40 Amps per phase, three phase. The calcs for the house load came in at 100A, but that was before we added two external air conditioning units, a Sauna heater (40A for that alone!) and the pool equipment provisioning.
I requested 68A per phase, and Powercor offered 63A per phase. I can live with that.
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Reach for the sky!
As a follow up to a previous post, Does size matter? we learned that both our building plans and height exemption have been granted and approved!
The building permit however, has not been issued, as their appears to be some technical matters to sort out. For example, they have requested the flow rates of the storm water discharge, so that they can be checked against the council requirements. A Hydraulic Engineer will need to provide them, and they have been ordered.
So, that withstanding, the building permit should be issued, hopefully soon.
As far as we know, the site start date is still in February. We have asked for an exact date.
The building permit however, has not been issued, as their appears to be some technical matters to sort out. For example, they have requested the flow rates of the storm water discharge, so that they can be checked against the council requirements. A Hydraulic Engineer will need to provide them, and they have been ordered.
So, that withstanding, the building permit should be issued, hopefully soon.
As far as we know, the site start date is still in February. We have asked for an exact date.
Monday, 19 January 2015
Drilling to China!
Today was our second soil test. Porter Davis perform an indicative preliminary soil test before the demolition of a Knock Down and Rebuild job. This allows them to have some idea of prospective costs. However, a second more complete soil test is performed post demolition to establish a better representation of what really lies beneath our feet.
So we drill to China to find out.
As an aside, our block was also being resurveyed on the same day. I took the time to have a quick chat to the guys and I (as they were) quite surprised to find that the area had not been resurveyed since the original 1950's site establishment surveys! This has happened because it is not mandatory to survey a block of land for a single dwelling, however, it IS mandatory to survey if you are subdividing. Our entire area still has a surviving covenant in place that prohibits subdivisions! So no units in our area, which really adds to the tranquillity of the area!
Back to holes. Porter Davis request six holes to be drilled so that they (or really, the engineers who work out the slab designs) get a better overall picture of what is needed. I was surprised to find out that some other builders only request three holes to be drilled.
So, Ennio arrives with his mobile drilling rig (don't we all need one of these?)
There is a small petrol engine on the back of the truck that powers the hydraulics that allow the drilling rig to be tilted into position, raise and lower the drill bit as well as turn it.
The deepest we got was about 1.7m, indicating no rock there, however, from what we can work out, the soil is mostly clay with basalt floating rocks in it. The bigger those rocks, the more costly it will be to remove them.
With the soil attached to the drill, you can see the soil at different depths. Here it is all mostly clay.
If you were not present when this occurred, all you would see are a couple of these on your block.
Ennio was happy for me to video him and his work, so here is the entire process as a video.
So we drill to China to find out.
As an aside, our block was also being resurveyed on the same day. I took the time to have a quick chat to the guys and I (as they were) quite surprised to find that the area had not been resurveyed since the original 1950's site establishment surveys! This has happened because it is not mandatory to survey a block of land for a single dwelling, however, it IS mandatory to survey if you are subdividing. Our entire area still has a surviving covenant in place that prohibits subdivisions! So no units in our area, which really adds to the tranquillity of the area!
Back to holes. Porter Davis request six holes to be drilled so that they (or really, the engineers who work out the slab designs) get a better overall picture of what is needed. I was surprised to find out that some other builders only request three holes to be drilled.
So, Ennio arrives with his mobile drilling rig (don't we all need one of these?)
There is a small petrol engine on the back of the truck that powers the hydraulics that allow the drilling rig to be tilted into position, raise and lower the drill bit as well as turn it.
The deepest we got was about 1.7m, indicating no rock there, however, from what we can work out, the soil is mostly clay with basalt floating rocks in it. The bigger those rocks, the more costly it will be to remove them.
With the soil attached to the drill, you can see the soil at different depths. Here it is all mostly clay.
If you were not present when this occurred, all you would see are a couple of these on your block.
Ennio was happy for me to video him and his work, so here is the entire process as a video.
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
And the walls came tumbling down...
The demolition started the week before the walls actually came down.
The first step was to have the asbestos removed. In our case, the good old 'fibro-cement' sheets that we all used to play with as kids, needed to be removed. They were only present under the eaves. So it was a fairly simple process.
I went to pick up some paper in the letterbox, and I found out that it was their site operations guide/details; just in case WorkSafe stopped by. By the end of the first day, they had completed their work.
The following day was there the skirting boards and architraves were removed. The concrete roof tiles had also reached the end of their operational lives, so no salvage value and there were also removed.
Then the next crew came through and they removed all of the wood (that was usable). This included the floor boards (with a chainsaw!) What was left over was to go to the tip.
Over the weekend the digger was floated in.
The demolition itself was scheduled to start at 7am on Monday. My boys, and to be truthful, myself as well, could not wait!
We really had to make sure that it all came down before the National Trust got a hold of that picture on the wall (comprised of 6 A2 pictures wallpapered onto the wall).
It was raining slightly when we got there. Fortunately, it had stopped by the time we actually started.
By the end of the first day, it was just a pile of rubble. What was once a happy home of 50 odd years was gone.
The rubble had to be sorted into different piles as each pile (brick, concrete and the rest) each went to a different location. The house could have been brought down in 20 minutes, but to demolish and sort it took around 3 hours.
By the end of the first day, we still had a lot to do, mostly the driveways and other concrete bits.
By the end of the second day, most of the remaining rubble had been removed.
Here is some video.
On the morning of the third day, it was pretty much done. I arrived in the morning to see some expert backing up of a long trailer and the final load being loaded.
And for the boys.
There was considerable rock in the loads, as they had bound in with the concrete footings. So hopefully given that some 70-80 tons of a double brick house had not moved at all in 50 years, that our slab will not either!
So, at the end of a week of effort, we are left with one very vacant looking block of land, which looks a lot bigger with nothing on it.
So, next step, the power pit! Ideally before the build starts, which is still due in February.
The first step was to have the asbestos removed. In our case, the good old 'fibro-cement' sheets that we all used to play with as kids, needed to be removed. They were only present under the eaves. So it was a fairly simple process.
I went to pick up some paper in the letterbox, and I found out that it was their site operations guide/details; just in case WorkSafe stopped by. By the end of the first day, they had completed their work.
The following day was there the skirting boards and architraves were removed. The concrete roof tiles had also reached the end of their operational lives, so no salvage value and there were also removed.
Then the next crew came through and they removed all of the wood (that was usable). This included the floor boards (with a chainsaw!) What was left over was to go to the tip.
Over the weekend the digger was floated in.
The demolition itself was scheduled to start at 7am on Monday. My boys, and to be truthful, myself as well, could not wait!
We really had to make sure that it all came down before the National Trust got a hold of that picture on the wall (comprised of 6 A2 pictures wallpapered onto the wall).
It was raining slightly when we got there. Fortunately, it had stopped by the time we actually started.
By the end of the first day, it was just a pile of rubble. What was once a happy home of 50 odd years was gone.
The rubble had to be sorted into different piles as each pile (brick, concrete and the rest) each went to a different location. The house could have been brought down in 20 minutes, but to demolish and sort it took around 3 hours.
By the end of the first day, we still had a lot to do, mostly the driveways and other concrete bits.
By the end of the second day, most of the remaining rubble had been removed.
Here is some video.
On the morning of the third day, it was pretty much done. I arrived in the morning to see some expert backing up of a long trailer and the final load being loaded.
And for the boys.
There was considerable rock in the loads, as they had bound in with the concrete footings. So hopefully given that some 70-80 tons of a double brick house had not moved at all in 50 years, that our slab will not either!
So, at the end of a week of effort, we are left with one very vacant looking block of land, which looks a lot bigger with nothing on it.
So, next step, the power pit! Ideally before the build starts, which is still due in February.
Saturday, 22 November 2014
Does size matter?
Evidently it does.
We found out at our contract appointment that Hobsons Bay council has a 9m building height limit.
Our Waldorf with the 2590mm first floor ceilings comes to 9070mm.
So, is 7cm too big?
We're hoping not and we've applied to the council for dispensation. That is a 6-8 week wait. Hopefully that can be considered at the same time as the submission of the plans for approval, as they are somewhat related.
If they do not budge, then the only (not utterly expensive) option is to revert back to the standard first floor ceiling height of 2440mm.
The expensive option is to lower the roof pitch from 30 degrees, to less, which we'll consider if we need too.
We found out at our contract appointment that Hobsons Bay council has a 9m building height limit.
Our Waldorf with the 2590mm first floor ceilings comes to 9070mm.
So, is 7cm too big?
We're hoping not and we've applied to the council for dispensation. That is a 6-8 week wait. Hopefully that can be considered at the same time as the submission of the plans for approval, as they are somewhat related.
If they do not budge, then the only (not utterly expensive) option is to revert back to the standard first floor ceiling height of 2440mm.
The expensive option is to lower the roof pitch from 30 degrees, to less, which we'll consider if we need too.
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
The frustration about Porter Davis's Tender Process
One of the most frustrating things about dealing with Porter Davis are their processes.
Particularly the Tender Process.
So much of it is shrouded in secrecy until the day of the tender itself. It is only then that you get your first view of the plans, and the tender document itself, which is basically pretty much the same as your sales quotation. It is also where you are informed of the site costs, which may be an unpleasant surprise.
I believe in getting things early. Early access allows for greater (unrushed!) time to review and spot mistakes, and avoid the correction merry-go-round. However, PD will not send the tender documents out, and they are quite open as to why. They will not send them out because you have not paid your money yet. Some people have taken the site costs etc, and use that to bargain a better deal from other builders. Whether this is true or not, is irrelevant, as PD believe it to be so, and they control this.
It's their game, and you are forced to play by their rules.
So, to that end, I have included ALL of the pages of the tender diagrams that we received. UPDATE: It was pointed out to us in our contract appointment that these drawings were ordered especially for us, as our build was flagged as an out of the ordinary one. So please don't expect to be presented with the same type/number of drawings. These are simply what were presented to us in our particular circumstances.
Hopefully, this will help people and ease their anxiety about what to expect from the tender process.
I particularly like page 16, the Slab Layout, which states that it is only for construction and not to form a part of the client documentation.
Particularly the Tender Process.
So much of it is shrouded in secrecy until the day of the tender itself. It is only then that you get your first view of the plans, and the tender document itself, which is basically pretty much the same as your sales quotation. It is also where you are informed of the site costs, which may be an unpleasant surprise.
I believe in getting things early. Early access allows for greater (unrushed!) time to review and spot mistakes, and avoid the correction merry-go-round. However, PD will not send the tender documents out, and they are quite open as to why. They will not send them out because you have not paid your money yet. Some people have taken the site costs etc, and use that to bargain a better deal from other builders. Whether this is true or not, is irrelevant, as PD believe it to be so, and they control this.
It's their game, and you are forced to play by their rules.
So, to that end, I have included ALL of the pages of the tender diagrams that we received. UPDATE: It was pointed out to us in our contract appointment that these drawings were ordered especially for us, as our build was flagged as an out of the ordinary one. So please don't expect to be presented with the same type/number of drawings. These are simply what were presented to us in our particular circumstances.
Hopefully, this will help people and ease their anxiety about what to expect from the tender process.
I particularly like page 16, the Slab Layout, which states that it is only for construction and not to form a part of the client documentation.
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| Tender-Page01 |
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| Tender-Page02 |
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| Tender-Page02A |
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| Tender-Page02B |
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| Tender-Page02C |
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| Tender-Page03 |
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| Tender-Page04 |
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| Tender-Page05 |
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| Tender-Page06 |
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| Tender-Page07 |
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| Tender-Page08 |
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| Tender-Page09 |
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| Tender-Page10 |
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| Tender-Page11 |
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| Tender-Page12 |
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| Tender-Page13 |
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| Tender-Page14 |
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| Tender-Page15 |
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| Tender-Page16 |
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