Finally we have something to see!

Well, Friday we met our Site supervisor for the first time... he was very nice! He answered all of our questions and seemed to know everything that was going on - when stuff was going to happen etc. He said that they had done a QA inspection (I think independent - but we didn't ask) which came back with 2 things they have to fix - one being the lintel above the bathroom window that needs to be lowered one course, so the brickwork needs to be pulled down and re-done for that section (I don't care as long as it looks ok when they are finished).
We should have plaster this week and he said depending on which crew he gets allocated it may be 5 days, it may be 2 weeks. After that he has allowed 2 weeks for painting, then fit out, then tiles, then inspections, then handover. All up his estimate (which was erring on the side of caution) was between 10 and 12 weeks until handover. Fingers crossed for 8-10 weeks!!!
To this point I am totally happy with everything (ok, maybe except for the green, growing pond of water that is below where our yet-to-be-installed spa bath is situated - but I have been assured it will be cleaned out before the bath is intalled). I am super happy with the brickwork - the blending of the bricks cannot be faulted, and all of the mortar joins and corners are looking great.
After all of that praise, we are a bit miffed that on driving past Saturday lunchtime (thinking maybe the bricks would be finished, but no sign of the brickies) there were 2 guys doing a site clean. They had a truck, with skip and bobcat and were removing all of the rubble (broken tiles, broken bricks, etc). We noticed the pile of pallets (from our bricks) in the corner of our block, and after failing to see any pile of leftovers, I got Matt to hop out and ask one of the guys... Story goes that they were instructed to "remove everything" and the "leftover" bricks had already been hurled into the skip - no more than 10 mins before we arrived . Ok, so I guess we can't blame them - they were going on their instructions. The guy said that normally there is a couple of pallets of bricks left over that are unopened, which they never touch, but because all of our pallets were opened (and the bricks were blended so well...) there were maybe one layer left on all of the pallets - so they figured they were to be removed.
We had specifically asked that any leftover bricks be left for us (to at least do a matching letterbox) and if they had have said "no" I would have gone and removed some so that they couldn't get taken, but we were assured that any leftovers would be reserved for us at the rear of the block - same for roof tiles (which we did manage to rescue in time!). Ok, so I can live without a matching letterbox, but the problem now comes with the fact that there is the remainder (most) of the upper portico left to brick (from gutter level to the top) and the part above the bathroom needs to be replaced, and all that remains of the bricks is a small pile the brickies had made at the front door - no where near enough bricks to finish the house. There is going to be a phone call in the morning asking what the **** is going on!
We assume the problem has arisen from the fact that the sidelights weren't delivered as scheduled, which has held up the bricking, and the site clean was ordered a while ago in preparation for bricking being finished, but no one has postponed it until AFTER the brickwork has actually been completed.
So it will be interesting to see what is going to happen - will Met ri con now order another pallet? Will it take another 6 weeks wait to get them like it did with our original lot? Will they be different again to the bricks we have (different batch) and not blend in? AAAHHHHHHH!!! Stupid site clean!
I will update as soon as I know.
 Like  ⋅  Add a comment  ⋅  Pin to Ideaboard  ⋅  Share


Oh, and at this stage I don't think we'll bother with an independent inspector, but if we have any major hassles we might think about it for handover.

Ray

That's great news, Ray!

Isn't it that you waited 6 weeks for the bricks before due to the problem with Austral?

Hope to see photos of the inside very soon!

Wonderful news Ray The pics look great.



Dana

... we now have our spa installed in the ensuite (complete with warning sticker stating that trying to remove the spa will result in permanent structural damage - so theves be warned!), and a HUGE pile of plaster board stacked in the kitchen/dining/family. I have never seen so much plaster in my life!
Pics soon...

Ray.