Vienna Q1 build in Capestone, Mango Hill (Plantation Homes)

Did you end up requiring piering for your slab? Have conflicting information from the two builders we are talking to as to whether this is required or not?

I don't know why but whenever I try and quote and write a reply, since the site has been upgraded, the reply does not appear.

Qldben- Plantation submitted our covenant approval for us and they included a 'typical' landscape plan which they have on file, it is pretty simplistic but surely your builder could do the same?

If you want to see what it looks like just PM me your email address

bug82- we did not require any piering- why are they saying you require it?
We did have to construct a retaining wall on one side near our garage and if we didn't do this I believe we would have required peirs however we opted for retaining as it was significantly cheaper.

Estate Update

A walk around Capestone today shows some ongoing changes. Stage 17 is very much up and moving now with lots of houses having begun construction. The below photo is standing on our block- we cannot wait to be one of the houses under construction!



We are also very pleased to see the park down in one of the earlier stages is complete! The fences are still up but it is looking fantastic.


The stage immediately following ours is also coming together with the pegs put in place and the size of our closest park taking shape.



The curse of the shops has withstood but we were very pleased to recently take possession of an antique wingback armchair designed by CoQuelicot Designs. Along with Emily from CoQuelicot we selected the chair, the fabrics and how it was going to be designed. It was a great experience and we are super excited with the end product!

The original chair;


And now our creation;




Alas, at the moment it will stay wrapped for transport until we move into our new house---the first item to be unwrapped and given pride of place in our wonderful new home!

Loving that chair ? What a fantastic transformation!

Thanks Mec06- I cannot wait to unwrap it in the new house!!!

Construction begins!

Site scrape- October 5th
We arrived on site to discover the site scrape had occurred today- the first step in a long building process.




Plumbing- October 12th


Slab preparation- October 13th


Slap poured- October 17th




These first few steps of the process all ran smoothly and we were really pleased with the pace of the progress. At the completion of slab (what plantation called 'base stage') we paid our next instalment and employed KSPEC to conduct a stage inspection. We were provided a report from KSPEC on the quality of the job- we will definitely be using them for the continued stages of our build.

After base stage the block was legally handed back to us by Plantation in order for us to construct a side boundary retaining wall- see ensuing saga!

The Retaining Saga

We had known from the outset that we required retaining- in order to have it done when the builder wanted it done we had to have the site handed back between slab and frame- thus our timeframe to complete the retaining was quite limited.

We decided to do it ourselves due to significant savings and organised a bobcat to cut and level the land and dig the post holes. Below is what the block looked like before any work.



Friday afternoon the bobcat arrived and started work- and BAM, hit solid rock. The bobcat could not get through and we ended up requiring a 4 tonne excavator to come in and do the holes. This set us back a whole day and thus we spent Sunday concreting in 28 posts.
Step 1: Level land and clear excess soil
Step 2: Set up a string line and measure/plot out hole locations
Step 3: Dig post holes



Step 4: Mix concrete (lots and lots of shovelling)
Step 5: Level and place all posts- ensuring they are straight and in correct position (very time consuming)
Step 6: Concrete in posts, re-checking to ensure level and straight (no going back now!

Step 7: Level first layer of sleepers (this may involve digging out or proving up some depending on the original land level- you want them all to line up nicely!)




What started out as a one weekend job progressed to the next weekend (handing the block back in between so as not to prevent builder working). Luckily once the holes were dug this was the last of our problems and we proceeded much more simply.

Step 8: Stack sleepers (which are really heavy!!)


Step 9: Lay black plastic to prevent weed growth, tape to posts and cut on inner side to required size
Step 10: Lay drainage ag pipe down length of wall
Step 11: Cover ag pipe with drainage gravel
Step 12: Set in drainage using piping/gravel
Step 13: Back fill wall with gravel/dirt
Step 14: Cut black plastic and tuck in edges

It is great to now see the fruits of our labour and we hope the wall never moves!!!

Frame Stage

After we completed the retaining wall the block was handed back to Plantation to continue the construction.

Frames were delivered on the 30th of October and started to be assembled on the 31st.


Full frame was constructed by the 3rd of November.


The roof trusses were then added and full frame was complete by the 8th of November.


Very quickly guttering and roofing were completed on the 10th and 13th of November.



After roofing was completed our independent inspectors came and did the frame inspection. At this point it was noted that there was no doorway into the main bathroom and the frame was incorrectly assembled at the factory stage. The problem was immediately rectified. It was also during this stage that our external contractor was allowed access to install the large ducted air unit in the ceiling cavity. He also noted that the outdoor slab for the unit was too small- which Plantation has since rectified also.



The work continued at a fast pace with frame straighten, construction of the bath hob, installation of all windows and doors (including temporary internal garage door and front door), full internal electrical fit out, gas and plumbing installation and placement of internal insulation. Lastly the exterior wrap was completed ready for bricking.

Wow! It's gone up so fast, good thing you had the private inspector.. I wonder when they would have picked it up?
Who are you going through for your inspection if you don't mind me asking?
It's looking good!

Hi Mec06,

We cannot believe how quickly it is going up also! Our site supervisor assured us it would have been picked up but at least this way we avoid future delays
We are using K-Spec building inspectors- so far have been very happy with them.

Lock-up

The build has continued at a fast pace and with some small hiccups along the way.

We are now past lock-up stage and beginning to consider internal fit out.

The bricking was delayed by a week as a result of a mix up at framing stage. The frame inspection report came back with a requirement for additional cyclone tie downs. By this stage the internal plasterboard was already up and as such some had to be pulled down in order to the additional tie downs to be put in. However, once rectified it was moving quickly again- bricking was completed and plasterboard and architraves completed.

This meant the house was fully locked up for the christmas break, ready to begin again in January. Below are some pictures of lock up stage.

Exterior:




Open Plan Living Areas






Main Bedroom



Media Room

Wowsers! I can't believe how fast your build is going! Fingers crossed no more hiccups and that it's all smooth sailing from here - it looks great!

Any updates? Hopefully you've had some good progress over the last few weeks

Thanks Mec06- I will do an update this weekend for sure there has been lots of progress so looking forward to getting some more photos to share!

Fit out- Update 1

We are excited to report that the build is progressing well with only a few minor sidetracks.

We are completely locked up now and internal fit out has begun. On the external side of things our front facade has started to be rendered, cannot wait to see the whole thing done!




The kitchen and bathroom cabinetry has been installed and a final coat of waterproofing has been done in preparation for the tiling (loving our dark grey kitchen! Can't wait to see the white bench tops in).

Kitchen being put together


Kitchen in!


Including our pull out bin- its funny how excited you get about the small things!

Ensuite:



Main Bathroom



All internal plasterboard is up, patched and had undergone electrical cutout. The architraves/door frames and doors are all in and the walk in pantry has been fitted out with shelving and bench tops.


The temporary front door has been replaced with our actual front door (we are super pleased with the decision to go for a larger door and slightly smaller side light).

All laundry cabinetry is in (again super happy with the colour choice here & for bathrooms- called Washboard-our colour specialist suggested it and it is perfect, super neutral so will go with any colour tone if we change our mind on soft furnishings but also enough of a pattern to not be boring or plain).





We met the tiler on site Friday to discuss all the details of wet area tiling and tiling started today with our Laundry floor and rear alfresco.

Its all starting to come together!

The only setbacks or minor mistakes in this stage have been:
- A powerpoint was cutout in the laundry approx half a metre above the bench when we wanted it just above the bench line (cut into splash back) this has since been rectified when we bought to the attention of our SS.
- The water tap in the fridge recess was plumbed into the side of the fridge space rather than in the small recess at the back of the fridge space. This has also been rectified.
- The gas hot water system (which was altered from solar after the panels would not meet the pitch requirement on the roof, resulting in a credit to us- YAY!) was put on the outside of the brick. We requested it be recessed into the brick so it is not an eyesore- this has since been rectified).

We are very pleased with the attentions of Plantation, even when a supplier makes a little error (which is to be expected with so many different trades all the time) our SS has been great about getting onto things and sorting them out. She is so proactive and helpful-- couldn't have asked for a better SS!

We have also just sold our current house and now the countdown begins until the move!

Awesome! Looking real good.
I saw your house as i drove past to go to my lot over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised to see how much it had progressed. Was wondering how much there wasnt much of an update on the thread. ?

It's looking soooo good! I love your bin also, haha, I'm wondering if I should have added one.. might wait til we get our PCV back from colours so I can see how bad it is first ???
I also love all the draws in your kitchen! If you don't mind me asking what was the upgrade price for those? They look great - very practical! The pantry looks great too - I love the dark timber look feature.

Hey guys,
Thanks QLDben- I have been lazy about updating it!! How is yours progressing?

Mec06. Thanks heaps. We are so excited about the bin hehe, small things! We went all out with our wish list then once we got out PCV back we removed a few things we felt were excessive. We also looked at doing the bin post handover as it would be quite a bit cheaper however it would pull out separately to the cupboard and we decided for cleanliness this way was just simpler!

We upgraded the two side cupboards to 2 banks of 3 pot draws - it was $890 for the two sets. We decided it was worthwhile. We are also super excited about a walk in pantry, cannot wait till we are actually living in the spaces!