Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 21Jan 06, 2015 5:55 pm We have six concrete tanks on our place, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 litres. The oldest one is more than 40 years old and it still holds water perfectly. Only had one concrete tank fail and it now has a plastic liner. On the other hand we have a dozen steel tanks ranging from 20,000 to 130,000 litres and all but two have failed, some have even had several replacement liners and still failed. We now buy poly tanks as they are cheaper and easier to install. Buy several and get a discount. Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 22Feb 09, 2015 1:58 pm Well, we're settled, moved and fully ensconced in our new Parky Palace. Absolutely loving the area, great community atmosphere and fabulous neighbours, not to mention Parkerville Tavern - our great new local First things first... Can anyone recommend good earthworks contractors in the Perth Hills? We're trying to finalise all documentation to submit planning approval and we're getting a bit stuck when it comes to our cut and fill options. I think an earthworks contractor would be able to look at the block and give us a better opinion straight away - especially if they're experienced working with Perth Hill's coffee rock and sloping blocks! The other item that's still up in the air is whether we use the current septic as is (designed for a 4 bedroom house), moving one leach drain out from under the house and reconnecting to the tank (somehow ). This would mean adding another tank and pump as the house is below the septics. Option 2 is moving the whole system completely - take it down the hill below the house level to gravity feed. Option 3 is remove one leach drain and leave the system as is for shed use only. Then add another system for the house. Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 23Feb 15, 2015 8:09 pm I would just get at least two contractors out to look at the site and give a quote. There are several in Mundaring/Stoneville/Mt Helena area to choose from. Long time since we built up that way,can't recall who we used, may not even still be working now. We had a RSHome built in the south, hope your build goes well. I shall look forward to your progress. Good luck. Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 24Mar 23, 2015 2:52 pm Good news - our planning has been APPROVED! Owner builder application was lodged last week and once that's done, we'll lodge our certified plans for building application...all going well we should have all approvals by mid-April!
We've chosen our earth works contractor who offered great rates and once he came out to the block he realised that he actually installed the existing septic system about 7 years ago! He's happy to work with us on a few different options but in terms of the house excavation, we've agreed to cut less and fill more. This will help with easy access into the carport, minimise drainage required at the top of the block and keep our house nice and high to make the most of our beautiful views! Parky put on a beautiful sunrise after the storms last week... imagine waking up to this every morning?? bliss! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I've spent countless hours pulling cottonbush from the creek line and finished this weekend enacting my 'scorched earth' roundup policy against the new cottonbush shoots, stinkwort and (gasp) paterson's curse! The council wouldn't let us put our cross-overs where we wanted and said the only option was at the bottom of the block where there's an existing gate - this means our driveway will be about 100m long which is a bit more than I was hoping but once it's bitumised and lined with jacarandas or amber flames, I think it will look pretty good! Now... can anyone recommend a good Hills plumber? Or suggest ones to stay away from? Quenda We had a RSHome built in the south, hope your build goes well. I shall look forward to your progress. Quenda, which RSH home did you build and did you owner build? Would love any feedback on your building process! Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 25Mar 23, 2015 9:33 pm Just caught up on your thread Wonky - Great to see things starting to come together and I'm really keen to watch this all unfold! Looks like I missed the discussion on selecting earth workers so I won't bother adding to that and unfortunately I have no suggestion on a plumber, so I haven't really helped out here Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 26Apr 02, 2015 11:56 pm Phoenix Plumbing Adam Good old fashion service _____________________________________ Building in Bedfordale Perth WA https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89716 Churchman Brook Electrical Services EC 8659 Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 29May 29, 2015 6:02 pm It's been a hectic few weeks on our piece of Parky Paradise.
Earthworks started on the 15th May with the first job to relocate the existing leach drains. We had used the shire permit drawings to confirm location of the septic tanks but unfortunately they weren't where they said they were, they were actually another 10m away and directly under our proposed house location. We wanted to keep those septics but due to the location, had to have them pumped and decommissioned. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The leach drains and septics had to be inverted slightly due to the clay content in the soil - amazing how much clay they found so far up the slope, not much rock at all surprisingly! The bund for the house pad is almost 2m high Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and for a while we just had a really big hole - looks like a good sized swimming pool. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The boys are still bringing in loads of sand, I think they're up to trip #35 today Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It's starting to look a little more level and I'm loving my view! Water tank was constructed yesterday Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So far, it's been a really great process. It's nice to have direct contact with our tradies, they're full of advice and recommendations. All earthworks should be finished next Tuesday and plumbing pre-lay is booked in for late next week with our concreter starting on the 17th June. The kit components will be delivered around the same time so allowing a week for the slab to cure, we should be able to start putting wall frames up by the end of June Lucky for us we've got our site supervisors, Kit & Choco - in this case the branch manager and assistant branch manager Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ In other news... it's bloody FREEZING in the shed! Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 31May 29, 2015 11:05 pm Wonkywalker Lucky for us we've got our site supervisors, Kit & Choco - in this case the branch manager and assistant branch manager http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah213/katebickley/IMG_4170_zpsh2xixt1x.jpg Adorable. Our slab is due to go in on the 16th, yet we are a bit behind you. Goodluck with yours. Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 32Jun 14, 2015 4:22 pm Have started following your thread We are also building with Ross Squire (modified Avonview) although won't be owner building. Looking forward to watching your build progress Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 33Jun 15, 2015 10:31 am Hey Wonkywalker! What sort of slope did you have on your block? We have about 2.5m over the distance of the house and are deciding slab, suspended slab or combination. Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 34Jun 23, 2015 2:49 pm chalky Hey Wonkywalker! What sort of slope did you have on your block? We have about 2.5m over the distance of the house and are deciding slab, suspended slab or combination. Hi Chalky Out total fall including verandahs etc is a little over 3m. We originally wanted a full pole home but it would've cost an extra $100k to get the 6 star energy rating. The other option we were looking at was a combination, to have our eastern verandah (looking down the slope) on poles but in the end we went with a full slab as we felt this would give us the most flexibility for future extensions and safety for young WonkyWalkers. Our total earthworks cost still came in lower than expected and we're extra happy with our decision to cut less and fill more, which gives the house a beautiful high outlook and cuts down on potential drainage issues. Slab pour tomorrow - will keep you posted!! Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 36Jun 27, 2015 10:49 am Looking forward to seeing your slab!! Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 37Jun 27, 2015 12:13 pm Wonkywalker Slab pour tomorrow - will keep you posted!! Nice photos thanks for sharing From My previous post If you have any design/construction structural concerns..take photos, get professional advice and get them sorted out immediately. Jumping ahead here's a few pointers: 1. Take lots of photos eg, Builders have important selected stages, prelays, siteworks,retaining, concrete slab,etc,etc theses can be broken down ever further, ie ground floor concrete Slab-> trenches, WPM, Formwork, mesh & rebar placement. Site inspection (PHOTOS) concrete placement, Vibration, stepdowns, surface finish, site inspection (PHOTOS) Putting up photos showing a site inspection with the reo sitting on the verge wont help from a structural engineering perspective later if you are trying to identify cracking, poor finishes, missing tensile rebars,bad workmanship etc, etc 2. make sure the photos include reference scales, ie tape measure 3. tranquil distant scenic photos....look great tho, But they arent detailed enough, zoom in and out on details. 4. Remember no one remembers what was buried/ & covered in concrete 12 months later on HTH Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 38Jun 27, 2015 6:54 pm Chalky, I've PM'd you the details for our earth worker - highly recommended. Regarding the pole home extras, it all came down to getting the energy rating to 6*. It takes a lot more to heat a floor from under a pole home (apparently). The guys at Ross Squire were telling us that 5 years ago, pole homes made up 70% of their sales, now it's less than 20%. The slab went down with only a slight hitch - the concrete trucks were ordered 45 minutes apart... But arrived within 10 minutes of each other. Cue mad scramble to get it laid but the finished product looks great. Tapatalk isn't letting me add pics so I'll put them up on Monday when I'm back at work. We have to wait 2 weeks until we can drill in but we'll start marking out this weekend - so exciting!!! We will be booking a slab inspecting this week as well Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 39Jun 28, 2015 11:04 pm Interesting about the warming costs. A local engineer had recommended suspended slab. But with everything, change one thing increases cost in another. Can't wait to see your photos! Re: Ross Squire kit - OB in Parkerville WA - here we go!!! 40Jun 28, 2015 11:47 pm chalky Can't wait to see your photos! Me too I'm about to put down some Merbau. Is it necessary to oil underneath the boards before laying? 0 2714 Building Standards; Getting It Right! Is this acceptable in a new house build. Floors where installed by builder. Already chips in board and skirting is not flush 0 872 |