Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: About to step off the edge...... 121Sep 27, 2010 6:18 pm Chris, the spanish have a lovely word for you and I cant spell it, only say it but basically means a details man. I am viewing my house build like planning a wedding. There are certian little details that need to be taken great care of and certian ones not as no bugger notices! What goes on under the paint can stay under the paint so to speak! It is the overall impact and effect that is important and I think you have got it spot on. Most importantly it is finished and when your power bill comes in in the winter the cracks will be the last thing you will be thinking of! Just giving yourself one almighty pat on the back for organisisng double glazing. Re: About to step off the edge...... 122Dec 21, 2010 2:21 pm I had to sign just to ask for more updates. I am about to start a new house and was looking at doing a RBV project. I won't to see how your story ends! After reading through seven pages I felt a little ripped off ( in a nice way ) to not have a ending..... Re: About to step off the edge...... 123Dec 21, 2010 9:58 pm Quote: I had to sign just to ask for more updates. I've spent weeks stealing a few hours here and there to do the fiddly jobs, like painting the internal door frames and doors, putting on cabinet handles, fixing this and that, touching up, etc, etc. Finally last week we've moved in. The new house is wonderful. Thermally it performs very well. During the November heat wave the temperature inside never went higher than 28 degs, without any AC, even though we didn't bother to close and open the windows at the right times and close the heavy curtains, so RBV and double glazing seem to be worth the cost and hassle. The ambience inside is great, no chemical smells, thanks to the Volvox clay paint and Eco paints. As for RBV, there're now many alternatives, like various sandwich panels, much cheaper and easier to put up than frame and brick. I'm happy that this prolonged and at times quite stressful adventure has come to a happy ending. We're pretty satisfied with the result, even though there's still a fair bit to do. Would I do it again ?? Yes, most likely with a much better result and for much less money. Like all DIY jobs, by the time it's finished, one knows just enough to start. I wish all other O-Bs best of luck with their projects and that they're as happy with the results as we are. Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 124Dec 21, 2010 11:44 pm congrats chris and co it must be an amazing feeling to be finally in the home you have created im so happy for you guys and have enjoyed the journey with you and picked up quite a few tips and hints from your pics and postings thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us all xxxxxxxxx wooohooo your done stay safe happy building Re: About to step off the edge...... 125Dec 22, 2010 10:00 am Fantastic! I just got through this thread and I have to say, "What are you talking about, it went from a slab to complete in two days!" Love the driveway and LOVE the window sills. You've done amazing work. A question for those of us who are about to throw all caution to the wind and begin our own projects. what are your top 5 tips to saving money and more importantly, grief? thanks again for documenting your build, it's been a great read! prin x - Planning to renovate/extend and add on. Dec 10 - Soil test & Bush fire report completed. Jan 11 - Final drafting plans ready. Re: About to step off the edge...... 127Jan 01, 2011 12:16 pm Blast the silly season!!!! We've been living in the house for 2 weeks now and it's wonderful. There're always flies in the ointment though. The friendly decking bloke run out of planks just before Xmas and couldn't get any more - all places shut down already, until mid-January, so patio's not finished. Then, on the Christmas Day our SHW system went incontinent. It was stinking hot, so we thought that it's just a gasket in the pipe between the tank and panels, like once before, but no such luck. Managed to get a service guy to come on Boxing Day, he hopped onto the roof to discover that the tank's busted. It's under warranty, so no financial loss, but Rinnai won't get going again until the 10-th, and we'll have to wait for replacement for at least 2 weeks and probably much longer. We've got hot water, but there's a constant trickle into the gutters and we can't shut off the cold water feed, 'cause the unit starts to boil like crazy. The sandpit around the house gets hotter than Sahara, but we have to live with that for now. I've had no luck in finding a landscaper willing to tackle it and I won't be digging it myself in the 40 degs heat. This whinge sure helped , but all considering, we're happy as can be in the new house. Happy New Year everybody! Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 128Jan 01, 2011 12:27 pm Happy New Year Chris and congrats on the move! May all the defects end with this one! P. S. It's quite warm here too ... could be > 40 outside, or 60 in the sun My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: About to step off the edge...... 129Jan 04, 2011 12:54 pm Hi Chris - congrats on ur move in - perth weather is giving ur house a good try out - glad ur insulation & climate planning is so rewarding, its a great experience i recon. we had similar prob with Solar HWS, hooked it up in November 2009 just as we were thinking about moving in, when a "normally hot day - 30" system dropped almost 400lt boiling water out - so hot it cracked some of the concrete verandah!!!! - i could only stop it by turning inlet pressure valve on & off -ie let it 1/2 fill to where outlet valve was, then turn off. steamed away all day = we found there was a faulty relief valve on the tank - when it openned, it would not return back to normal setting as the 1/2 "round"flange was more "oval" than round - maybe a chinese way of being round anyway when i went into suppliers, there was another lady who had exactly same experience & was well primed by her plumber to demanding new relief valve kit!!!! just as i was leaving another plumber came in all fired up - obviously a faulty batch!!!!! please pass on my depessed sympathy to ur DW, make sure she does all the full recovery exercises. i had a full reconstruction, open & keyhole surgery, mine done in July by Mr Peter Campbell in perth - wonderful surgeon - excellent after op advice. this week i had my first swim. a neighbouring farmer had another man do his a month after mine, didn't do his post op exercise & is now booked in with my man for a redo....... i hope by now ur wife isn't having to sleeep with sling on - hardest thing i've experienced in my life. please pass on my best wishes. again - enjoy that new home - the snaggs fade into insignificance once ur settled in, well done - cheers Tony Re: About to step off the edge...... 130Jan 06, 2011 3:37 pm Hi Tony, Thanx for your kind words. DW's been off the sling for a month now. She slept with it on, sure enough, but I bought her an electric recliner, it's worth its weight in gold, as it makes ****** down and getting up painless and easy. She still has neither strength nor full range of movements in that arm and it makes her grumpy. Found out that the finish on my bamboo floor started cracking in places. Called the suppliers, it's supposed to have 10 years warranty, they're coming on Monday to have a look. I try not to think of having to replace it, it'd rip the new house apart and I hope that sanding and sealing will fix the problem. DW, grumpy as I mentioned before, now grizzles that we should've chosen cork, as she wanted, or a proper timber instead. The weather's cooled, so I managed to shift couple of tons of dirt this morn, I'm fed up with being turned down or quoted $$$$$ by landscapers and I'll do the job myself. Will probably take me until automn, but so what. Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 131Jan 06, 2011 10:33 pm dam chris you guys have had so much bad luck hope the floor issues are easily solved for you best wishes for you and dw xxxxxxx stay safe happy building Re: About to step off the edge...... 132Jan 07, 2011 10:59 am bingoshelley dam chris you guys have had so much bad luck hope the floor issues are easily solved for you best wishes for you and dw xxxxxxx We've sure had, but then we're lucky in love Here're some pics: half finished decking Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ kitchen Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ dining Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ DW managed to plant some sunflowers, to liven up the sandpit Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ porch Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 133Jan 07, 2011 1:10 pm wow looks great congrats im such a pic junky lol stay safe happy building Re: About to step off the edge...... 134Jan 07, 2011 6:25 pm The pictures don't do it justice. I've just popped past Chris' house and was very impressed. It really is a beautiful house, and Chris is a very nice guy. You've done an excellent job Chris, I'm still jealous of those double glazed windows. Hope you get all your finishing touches completed without any more problems. Thanks for sharing your build with us. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: About to step off the edge...... 135Jan 19, 2011 8:42 pm Spotted Gum decking's finished and it looks lovely Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ . Cheered on by DW I've made and installed shelving in the walk in pantry Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ . It took $130 for the pine, screws, etc, and 5 hours worth of elbow grease, but they look good and clean, smell nicely of the fresh pine and we can finally tidy up the kitchen. Very appropriately my wine supply was moved in first. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Got in some quotes for the security screens. Aren't they expensive About 1/2 of the salesmen didn't quite know what to do with the uPVC windows/doors. One has done such an installation and his quote is the lowest. Guess we'll take him on. Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 136Jan 31, 2011 11:33 am I've made, installed and polished the fireplace mantle. Tassie oak's nice, but it's not as impressive as Tony's bench . Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Next item on the agenda - building in the dishwasher. It's connected, but just standing loose in the cabinet and waiting for the timber frame. And we need to decide on the security screens. I'm amazed by the variance in prices - the cheapest quote is 33% less than the highest. I'm tempted to take it, but I'm a afraid that it's too good to be true. Choosing cheap was quite disastrous for me in the past. 7 muggy-stinko days tested the passive design to the limit. By yesterday it got quite warm inside - 30 degs. If this climate change gets permanent we'll have to consider some sort of A/C. Got the first power bill - utility owes us $320 for the juice from the PV ! It's one off, as for the most of the billing period house wan't occupied, but I hope that we'll be able to break even in the future. Bad news is that the roof still leaks into the eaves in one place and I can't locate the fault. Worse is that it's real hard to get a roofie for fixing another's piddling stuff-up like that. The downpipe outside bedroom window drums like crazy when it rains, real nuisance at night, it'll have to be fixed as well. We're still waiting for the replacement SHW tank. It was supposed to be here last Tuesday. I called about it on Friday, only to be told that they don't make them in my roof colour any more, so I can have a beige one at once or a neutral silver at some unspecified time in the future. In the meantime the busted tank's leaking merrily into the gutters. How I wish all was finished at last and I could turn my attention to something else. Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying Re: About to step off the edge...... 137Feb 14, 2011 7:28 pm If you don't mind, how much extra $'s do you think it has cost you to go to reverse brick veneer construction over a normal brick construction? The reason I ask is that my builder has added $26,000 premium to go reverse brick veneer based on 176sqm area. Single story home. Re: About to step off the edge...... 139Feb 15, 2011 10:14 am aza0 If you don't mind, how much extra $'s do you think it has cost you to go to reverse brick veneer construction over a normal brick construction? The reason I ask is that my builder has added $26,000 premium to go reverse brick veneer based on 176sqm area. Single story home. I've had the estimates done for both double brick and RBV construction. The RBV premium for a 165m2 house was approx $14,500. It's pretty close to what I had to pay to have the masonry walls built and rendered. Seems to me, your builder's quote is rather high. Hope this helps Chris My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.Saudi saying the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 11832 Do I need to concern about this pattern of crack? Is this crack showing some signs of bigger problems? Thanks for any suggestions! 1 1913 Take a pick with a level sittingo n the slab and a pick with a level sitting on the sill please. This will help us diagnose the issue and therefore a solution. RE,… 8 9383 |