Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3784Dec 06, 2011 10:50 am 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3793Dec 28, 2011 9:01 pm mr.21 hello my future neighbourssss, i have recently bought a block of land in mernda villages stage 29 and I have just signed the building contract and everything and construction is about to commence... soon! Everything has been fun and exciting up until last couple of weeks. First, i read in the newspaper about the Waffle Slab and western suburbs issues. Then, a colleague of mine who lives in melton started telling me all these nightmares that he's going through due to cracking and twisting etc etc. Now, i know I am not building in west (phew) but we are going to have waffle slab and we do have highly reactive clay (our soil test came back as H). My question is, should i be worried that I will have all those cracks in walls, twisted doors issues? Perhaps those in Mernda or Doreen who also have waffle slabs could help me here? Thanks! I have a waffle slab and my soil test came back as H and P and I've been in for over 2 years and have no real issues 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3794Dec 29, 2011 9:36 am Hello all, Very happy to be a Doreen resident. We moved in to the Ridge Estate from Mill Park, last Friday 16 December just in time for Xmas. Built with Carlisle Homes and amazed with the speed they completed the build. I'm astounded at how many people I have seen walking dogs in Doreen, and how considerate and friendly they are of other dog walkers. I'm out every morning from 6am walking my two labradors around the water reserve on Lakeland Drive and loving it. Still have landscaping and driveway/path to do as the top priority for the new year, if anyone can recommend someone they've used themselves it would be greatly appreciated, have spoken with Galea Landscapes so far who are also local residents. Still getting used to living in a bigger house and finding a new groove for my routine but am absolutely in love with the area, kids love the playgrounds scattered all over the area and when we took a drive to the lookout from Hilltop Drive the scenery is breathtaking as well as surprising as there is extensive land available within Laurimar for future development. It reminds me of Mill Park Lakes before it exploded into what we now call South Morang. Drove around the area on Xmas Eve and was blown away with some of the Xmas light displays in the area, better than the Boulevard in Ivanhoe and the Myer store displays in Bourke St. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming after the mad rush of packing, unpacking, fixing the odd thing that was wrong in the house, Xmas shopping and the like, that night finally felt like Xmas had arrived and I rediscovered my Xmas spirit. Only two downsides - a lack of internet access. There is no fixed line available as Telstra are currently upgrading the distribution cabling in our area due for completion on Feb 24, 2012. Using a mobile broadband service in the interim with my provider iiNet but it's a big drop from a 1TB monthly plan to a 4GB plan not to mention the difference in speed and reliability. Not sure what upgrade to distribution cabling means in real terms for us, is it copper? fibre? a new exchange? Fortunately work pays for all my mobile calls and my wife is on a $20 month iiNet mobile plan so phone calls are sweet and we're only paying extra for the mobile BB service. Second downside is public transport to Greensborough or Epping station to commute to the city. Bus takes almost as long from Doreen as the train from the station to Flinders St so am forced to buy a second car just to get to a train station! Can anyone recommend a company they've used for smart wiring? Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3796Dec 29, 2011 7:55 pm We used Mark from Impact Paving Services. He did an absolutely wonderful job - very professional and a good guy. He ended up doing our 4 car garage slab, dead side of the house and back of the house with a concrete retainer out of computed concrete. He did a slab on the side of our house for drainage purposes. An he did our driveway and path to the front of our house in exposed aggregate. We will need to get him back at same stage to do another concrete path at our meter box Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3797Dec 29, 2011 8:51 pm Steely Dan Only two downsides - a lack of internet access. There is no fixed line available as Telstra are currently upgrading the distribution cabling in our area due for completion on Feb 24, 2012. Using a mobile broadband service in the interim with my provider iiNet but it's a big drop from a 1TB monthly plan to a 4GB plan not to mention the difference in speed and reliability. Hi Steely Dan, I'm currently building in the Ridge on Roaming Road, due for completion March. I am currently in Mill Park on the 1Tb plan too, so was wondering what I would be moving into and that doesn't sound good :\ Hopefully the cabling 'upgrade' is useful! I have the Telstra grey isolation box on my house, I wonder if it would be useful to get a connection so I can begin applying for ADSL once the upgrade has done to secure a port..? Looking forward to moving in! Cheers Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3798Dec 29, 2011 9:25 pm Adamantium I'm currently building in the Ridge on Roaming Road, due for completion March. Hi Adamantium, glad to make contact with a future neighbour. I'll keep you posted on progress of internet access after Feb 2012. I also have the grey Telstra isolation box but it's missing a particular cable running out of it that will enable an ISP to provide you with a fixed line service for phone and internet. Feel free to send me a PM. Enjoy your plan and current speed in Mill Park while you can, there's no guarantee of what will be eventually available here. That aspect aside there's a lot to love about living in the area. I don't regret it for a minute. Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3799Dec 29, 2011 9:29 pm Bam We used Mark from Impact Paving Services. He did an absolutely wonderful job - very professional and a good guy. He ended up doing our 4 car garage slab, dead side of the house and back of the house with a concrete retainer out of computed concrete. He did a slab on the side of our house for drainage purposes. An he did our driveway and path to the front of our house in exposed aggregate. We will need to get him back at same stage to do another concrete path at our meter box Thanks Bam, will give Impact a call. Unfinished driveway and paths is treacherous when we have heavy downpours like on Xmas day. Re: Ladies and Gents, step right up! Mernda & Doreen Residen 3800Dec 30, 2011 6:42 am I know what you mean, we did all our concrete before we had even funishe our home for that very reason. The last thing you want us to bring mud through a new home Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! 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 11835 Do I need to concern about this pattern of crack? Is this crack showing some signs of bigger problems? Thanks for any suggestions! 1 1914 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 9385 |