But the big deal today was our frame walkthrough with our new SS Monique - very impressed with her knowledge and thoroughness! Here's the issues we picked up on, and her answers. This won't make any sense to you guys, it's just so we can keep track of how these issues are being fixed!
TIMEFRAME - Next things to happen is that the chippies will be back onsite to install the front, rear and internal access doorframes either Thursday or Friday. Needs to be done before the brickies start working, which should be this Friday or following Monday. Ground floor should be bricked in 7-8 days, then scaffolding appears so the first floor can be wrapped, then first floor bricking will take another week, then cladding and eaves go in. Electrical roughin will happen about the same time as the first floor bricking, maybe. Hopefully full lockup will be at the end of April, and then we'll get a better indication of how long the remaining stages will take. With no delays so far in tiles or bricks, things are going well!
LOCKUP INSPECTION - Our SS is fine with having a lockup inspection, providing it comes after the Metricon lockup inspection. She'll keep us in touch every week to let us know when we need to organise that. The inspectors that M are using for each stage are Checkpoint Surveyors, and apparently their inspection was only just done and should go through to Monique tomorrow. Change to electrical plan: can upstairs leisure light be moved? See next.
LIGHTING - I realised that one change I made to the lighting plan upstairs wasn't really a good idea, and wanted to change the lights in leisure room to be one light point in leisure and one in passageway, which is the standard Nolan lighting plan. No worries - gave Monique a printout of the changes, signed it, and she'll pass it onto the sparkies. Also, Tina wants to finetune the position of the downlights over the kitchen island, and we'll do that at a later walkthrough once the kitchen goes in.
GROUND FLOOR ISSUES
Timber poles front & rear only held in by one bolt - not load bearing poles, only there to hold up frame until bricking done.
Floor waste to laundry - will be moved to correct position under washing machine location
Torn/open wrapping at sitting room wall - will be fixed prior to bricking, just needs more tape
Stud at meter box unsupported & loose - will be fixed (Friday?) when chippies fit doors
Missing noggin to study/family wall - will be fixed at lockup
Rumpus room door too low (needs to be for 2340 door) - to fix Friday
Also front door & internal access too low – will be fixed when doorframes put in.
Home theatre double doors: Changed so that the left door opens, the right door has mushroom stop.
FIRST FLOOR
Ensuite rainfall head wrong position – will be fixed after ensuite shower floor put in (currently a big hole)
Bed 4 door to bathroom - will be fixed - need to move over about 2 feet.
Roof access door - will be placed in Bed 4 robe, as Bed 3 access blocked.
Master bed doorframe stud unsupported & loose - will be fixed by door installers
Possible to move light position in upstairs leisure room, to have one in leisure, one in passage - done!
Other issues: Keep an eye on water patch near outdoor room - there's no plumbing in that area! Monique also pointed out the reinforced trusses we upgraded for a future evaporative cooling unit - about 5 trusses with 120mm thickness instead of the usual 90mm.
So, pretty happy with how today's walkthrough went, and Monique certainly seems well organised, and quite knowledgable about our house and aware of most of the issues we brought up.
All we have to do now is sit back, and wait for the doors to go in and then a few weeks of watching bricks going up - yay!
T&T
Wow, things are really moving along nicely! Great feedback on the SS and what to expect, as we move forward with out build!
ReplyDeleteApart from the xmas shutdown, there's always been a little bit of work going on, so we hope that continues! As for our SS, we only met our first SS once - he just seemed a little "disinterested" with the build, our current SS seems a lot more enthusiastic which is a good sign!
ReplyDeleteT&T
Hi Tim and Tina,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for all the work you put into your blog, it is extremely helpful to read about the experiences of others building Metricon homes. My wife and I are building shortly in Croydon (a Tribeca 40). I notice that you guys elected to look at cooling after the house is built. We are unsure which way to go as Metricon have explained that there is no chance of providing cooling to the ground floor. Was wondering if you guys have had discussions with cooling installers about whether it is possible to have ducted cooling to downstairs in Metricon homes and whether it is necessary?
Thanks again for sharing your experiences