Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 21Jul 22, 2014 10:56 pm Foundation preparations.
The following are some details about the foundations. Engineers required the shipping containers to be welded to the piers: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So I have had some metal plates made up for me (they should be ready in the next couple of days). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And these are the piers that need the plates set into the concrete before it sets - just where the outside edges and corners of the containers touch piers: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So today's task was to measure and cut the 12 x 4m metals tubes into 800mm lengths. These will be set into 300mm holes, rise 400mm above ground and filled with concrete. I have cut them 100mm longer than required to allow for fluctuations in setting them out. The plan is to get them level in the holes and then mark them at 400mm above ground level (using the hose-with-two-pieces-of-clear-hose-either-end method!). I will then use the angle grinder to cut two vertical lines through the metal and bend the cut piece outwards. This will allow the pier tubes to be filled to exactly the same height across all piers (any excess concrete will simply spill out of the hole I created). Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Hope this makes sense. All cut! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Next week I hope to have the pier holes bored, tubes in and levelled before I get the PCA out to approve them. Then I'll have the concrete delivered and poured. Around the same time I am having a 76,000L colourbond steel water tank delivered so I have to have the 9m dia. pad ready. Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 22Jul 27, 2014 9:54 pm Foundations look great - I have no tech knowledge but they look sturdy. How did you go with the tank pad? Build thread http://tinyurl.com/llgc7yk Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 23Aug 21, 2014 10:16 am Back in the day when I used to smoke and catch public transport - the surest way to make a bus turn up was to light up a smoke.
So how to break a long spell of dry weather? Dig your pier holes! After yet another hold up with my engineers plans I was finally ready to start the foundations. After a solid workout on the Dingo I finished my 58 pier holes. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The soil was so dry it fell like sand off the auger and had to be shoveled out. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The following day we had over 60mm of rain. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So I hired a pump for the day and emptied the holes, set the pier tubes in,leveled them and backfilled. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Now I will have to wait and see if the sun will come out and dry the place out a bit before I order the concrete. I am worried the concrete truck will get bogged and that the clay around the pier holes might be a little soft and move the pier tubes. The PCA inspection, concrete plus my 76,000L watertank are all due next week. Plus I have had to hire an excavator to widen my tank pad (and dig my Seppo hole and absorption trench) which is dependent on the weather. Sun - Wed next week are forecast heavy rain!! So there might be a long delay. Then the following Monday (1st Sept.) I head off overseas for 7 weeks backpacking! One positive about the rain is that finally my new dam has a decent amount of water in it! 3 weeks ago/yesterday Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 24Aug 21, 2014 10:44 am So glad you got the rain there, and first thing I though of was the dam Pity it happened right when you needed some dry weather but it's going to be lovely and green when you get back! More rain forecast up here next week - all I keep thinking is I wish I had a roof for rain collection and that we had dug our dam out Build thread http://tinyurl.com/llgc7yk Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 25Aug 26, 2014 9:09 pm Big week started bad and then went quickly downhill!
On the weekend I spent all day tidying up the piers ready for the concreters on Tuesday. On the way home my ute broke down and I had to wait 2.5 hours to be towed. Monday I had to hire a car to meet the delivery of my tank sand and gravel. Also the excavators came to dig my septic tank hole, the absorption trench and levelled my tank pad and helped spread the sand to make it easier for me to level: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Then after lunch heavy clouds appeared and a thunderstorm threatened but passed by with just a lot of noise and very little rain. Also I had my first Council inspection of the footings and passed. That was the good bit! Driving home to return the hire car I hit a kangaroo. Then this morning I was out early to meet the concrete truck and didn't realise until I was at the land that a huge amount of rain had fallen overnight (over 40mm) in that region: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ But the pier holes had remained fairly empty unlike the previous occasion, as the metal tubes stopped surface water draining into them. Then the concrete truck and the pump operator arrived at the same time. And both became stuck on my dam wall. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ They weren't bogged but couldn't get enough traction to get up the gentle rise at the house site end. Then they couldn't reverse back out the entrance. Eventually they called a backup truck which they assured me was strong enough to drag them both up the rise so they could fill the piers and drag them out again. So 45 mins later it turned up and within 10 minutes: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Yup - it became seriously bogged. They then called for a second backup truck. So...4 hours later the three stuck vehicles were towed out of the front gate and I was left with a $2,300 bill and nothing to show for it except a lot of mud and mess. (And that's providing they don't bill me for the back up trucks) The concrete was taken back for disposal. So I'm home and feeling blue!! I've cancelled the watertank delivery on Thursday as I don't dare risk their truck getting bogged. Annoyingly, yesterday a truck carrying 16 tonnes of river sand had no trouble getting on site. The flash storm proved an expensive experience for me! SO now I'm just going to forget about doing any more until I come back from my trip. I've just eaten an entire packet of Tim Tams as compensation. Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 26Aug 26, 2014 9:17 pm Omg I'm drinking a bottle of wine on your behalf too . Fingers crossed for a better week next <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=62083">viewtopic.php?t=62083</a><!-- l --> Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 27Aug 26, 2014 9:28 pm AKB Omg I'm drinking a bottle of wine on your behalf too . Fingers crossed for a better week next Thanks AKB - but this time next week I will be in Kashgar in Xinjiang, Western China (Where incidentally the Uighurs are rebelling and there's been an outbreak of Bubonic plague!!) just starting my 7 weeks backpacking through the 'Stans and Iran. Hopefully by the time I get back in late October it will have dried out. Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 28Aug 26, 2014 9:33 pm Ah a few expletives came to mind how bloody frustrating! My DH managed to get bogged today too, thankfully we got him out with the tractor! Your delivery people got seriously seriously bogged though! Your trip will be a fabulous distraction Build thread http://tinyurl.com/llgc7yk Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 29Aug 26, 2014 9:39 pm Can't believe he got that deeply bogged before giving up, or was that piece of land extremely soft and deep ? I'm assuming there was $2300 of concrete in that truck they had to dispose of, and that they didn't make you pay for anything else... i.e. you did not drive the trucks there. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 30Aug 26, 2014 9:40 pm waxinggibbous AKB Omg I'm drinking a bottle of wine on your behalf too . Fingers crossed for a better week next Thanks AKB - but this time next week I will be in Kashgar in Xinjiang, Western China (Where incidentally the Uighurs are rebelling and there's been an outbreak of Bubonic plague!!) just starting my 7 weeks backpacking through the 'Stans and Iran. Hopefully by the time I get back in late October it will have dried out. I'm honestly speechless ....have a great trip Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 31Aug 26, 2014 10:11 pm bpratt Can't believe he got that deeply bogged before giving up, or was that piece of land extremely soft and deep ? I'm assuming there was $2300 of concrete in that truck they had to dispose of, and that they didn't make you pay for anything else... i.e. you did not drive the trucks there. The concrete was around $1,400 and the pump truck was around the $900 mark. I have no idea how he ended up being bogged in that area - it seemed obvious it would be very wet there - he veered right away from the main track. (I went off walking at that stage as I couldn't bear watching what was going on!!) The 'rescue' trucks were called by (and owned by) the concrete company. I'm hoping they won't charge me for them. Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 32Aug 26, 2014 10:37 pm waxinggibbous The concrete was around $1,400 and the pump truck was around the $900 mark. I have no idea how he ended up being bogged in that area - it seemed obvious it would be very wet there - he veered right away from the main track. (I went off walking at that stage as I couldn't bear watching what was going on!!) The 'rescue' trucks were called by (and owned by) the concrete company. I'm hoping they won't charge me for them. No worries, yes it is fair they charge you for the pumping truck and the wasted concrete. If they try and charge you for the recovery, then I'd be firing right back them that one of their trucks was bogged by driver stupidity. Knowing that other trucks were getting bogged, and driving in to an area without walking it first, was plain dumb. At least you have a photo to prove it. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 33Aug 27, 2014 7:31 am is that your work using sketchup on page 1 waxinggibbous? looks like you mastered the software .......sketchup is very helpful i find not just for aesthetics but also functionality Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 34Aug 27, 2014 9:35 am Hi James - yes that's my SketchUp work. I was playing with it for quite a while - I actually went through about 26 or so designs before finalising the one I sent to Council. It is not designed for it - but with a little practice you can even take floor plans from your model (with the use of 'print screen' or a screen capture programme like Hardcopy Pro) I use it constantly now for doing details work. I've also designed some furniture I will make for my house with it. You can also download thousands of pre made models for free of just about anything from taps and sinks to drainpipes and coffee tables and insert them into your house model. Many companies like IKEA &etc have converted a lot of their products into SU models so you can drop them into your house model and see what they look like before you buy. It has been great for ironing out some technical difficulties as well - being able to pan around and see your build from every angle is invaluable for problem solving. Stick with it - it's an amazing piece of free software. Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 35Aug 27, 2014 11:10 am There are several render plugins for SU like Podium and VRay that take an ordinary 3D model and make it look pretty swish ( with a bit of work and playing around with lighting of course ). I think they're avaliable for the free version as well as the pro. Stewie Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 36Sep 18, 2014 1:20 pm I was surprised at finding so many shipping containers being used in Kyrgyzstan. Everything from houses, shops, garages and markets.
Bishkek has a humungous markets full of thousands of containers. Unfortunately, a lot of the time I was whizzing by in a car so getting photos was problematic. Now in Uzbekistan and nary a container in sight! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 37Sep 18, 2014 10:28 pm Very interesting! Hope you are enjoying the trip! Build thread http://tinyurl.com/llgc7yk Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 39Nov 12, 2014 10:57 am Any updates ? I'm looking at doing a similar thing, same council too Re: Tondelver House - Southern Highlands 40Nov 12, 2014 11:41 am what an amazing build to follow, so refreshing to see someone doing a unique build. I love it! Love the house name and the meaning attached too, just beautiful. Cannot wait to see the finished product. Oh, and i LOVE your land and million dollar views - very lucky! 1 10501 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17900 hi guys. Please be nice. First time home builder in Qld. I would like some feedback please on whether I should build my granny flat first before my main house at the… 0 4674 |