Thread: Aussie Style House Build

Looks great, why do i imagine the notes from 2001 a space odyssey

Rather then building a house you have created your home and the dwelling you wish to share and enjoy for many years to come.

Well done and thank you for sharing with us.

The house is coming along very nicely (inside and out) - the OP has made some great choices. It reminds me of my Thai housebuild (but, not a lot... ).

Could the house have been up a little higher on the base (a few more feet)?

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Looks great, why do i imagine the notes from 2001 a space odyssey

Hi Mike, it reminds me of:

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Rather then building a house you have created your home and the dwelling you wish to share and enjoy for many years to come.

Thank you Loy Toy. Still have to pinch myself sometimes. Turning a long-held dream into reality.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Could the house have been up a little higher on the base (a few more feet)?

Hi Betty, we are planning well ahead. Not many stairs to climb in our old age (which is rapidly approaching...)

Originally Posted by PAG

Directly opposite our house is a piece of land which for years was just left. At the beginning of Covid, a family started to cultivate it for a variety of vegetables. These PVC 'hoops' are currently used for growing the long beans, but I can well imagine the same type of framework being covered in mesh both for potential shade and insect protection.

That's a nice set up. I think I will copy it>

Originally Posted by peciacake

Hi Betty, we are planning well ahead. Not many stairs to climb in our old age (which is rapidly approaching...)

That makes sense. Lovely place. Colour me impressed.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

Did you have the recessed lights installed yet? If you have not consider "surface mounted LED"

G'day Buckaroo, please see my earlier post on page 20 re the LED's our builder has installed, included as part of the build price. Our original plan was Racer LED's however the BEC units come pre-configured with three settings.

Update on Progress.

This video shows progress on our build from the start of block work through to power on and fans installed & working.

Update 01.06.23

Progress continued at a steady, albeit reduced, pace. Reason for the slower pace - allocation of labour by the builder to other projects. He knows quality is what counts and we are willing to wait for the right crew to be available.

The path around the outside has been completed, along pipework for the guttering downpipes installed as per the images below

Yuri and Nhy discussing down pipe placement. "Can you make the down pipe invisible?" "Hmmmm...not sure about that." says Nhy

Teak Doors have arrived and will be coated with clear epoxy to retain the natural colour.

Originally Posted by peciacake

we are willing to wait

Maybe I haven't been paying attention; where do you live while waiting ?

Any news on the bullshit-pond front ?

Originally Posted by helge

Maybe I haven't been paying attention; where do you live while waiting ?

Any news on the bullshit-pond front ?

G'day Helge,
Yep, you were talking up the back of the class again. Not that you missed much. We are staying with the in-laws about half a k from our build. Not ideal, but it's working.
The update on the buffalo shit wars is somewhere between pages 19 - 20 from memory (not the most reliable part of me these days). The problem hasn't completely gone away, but is a lot better, particularly with a new water treatment plant coming on line soon.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Update 01.06.23

PC, are the white strips around the tread edges white plastic tread edging?

Originally Posted by peciacake

Update 01.06.23

Progress continued at a steady, albeit reduced, pace. Reason for the slower pace - allocation of labour by the builder to other projects. He knows quality is what counts and we are willing to wait for the right crew to be available.

The path around the outside has been completed, along pipework for the guttering downpipes installed as per the images below

Yuri and Nhy discussing down pipe placement. "Can you make the down pipe invisible?" "Hmmmm...not sure about that." says Nhy

Was just wondering if anyone ever tried running the downspout inside the column?

peciacake
Looking good so far, on the home straight just don't try and get to the finish too quickly.

Have you decided on how many downpipes you are going to have?
My rough calculations have your house roof as 18m x 14m which gives you 250sqm of roof. So if you got 30mm of rain you would have 7.5cubic metres of water running off the roof.
As you probably know that sort of downpour can happen in a very short period of time.

If it was me I would have 4 across the front and back with 1 in each corner and plus each side of the stairs and then one in the middle on each end.
In my mind having one each side of the stairs would give a more balanced look than just one on one side but your Missus probably would give a toss about looking balanced.

I see it looks like the downpipe position shown will have a drain pipe at the end to take the water beyond the steps. where are you planning to send the water to?

Originally Posted by malmomike77

PC, are the white strips around the tread edges white plastic tread edging?

No Mike, these are aluminium wear strips. Definitely not using plastic.

Originally Posted by peciacake

No Mike, these are aluminium wear strips. Definitely not using plastic.

didn't think you'd make that mistake

Originally Posted by ootai

Looking good so far, on the home straight just don't try and get to the finish too quickly.

We're in no hurry Ootai. Quality is more important than a hasty completion.

The guttering is a cluster f*ck caused by my inattention / lack of planning. Four X 2" down pipes across the front including 2 either side of the stairs. Two either side, in the corners and two across the back in the corners. All 2" which I think is too small given the volume of water coming off the roof when it really pours. I'd prefer 4". We were going to do rain water harvesting however that isn't going to happen. Rain water will be channeled into rubble drains leading into 4 X soak-aways approx 20 metres from the house. Not my preference but there are other battles I need to win.

Progress Update 03.06.23

Apart from finishing the concrete path around the perimeter of the building and rendering the edge of the verandah, two exterior doors were fitted and the two bedrooms had the floors levelled ready for installation of "Smartmatt" flooring. This is composite flooring which we want in preference to ceramic tiles in the bedrooms.

The doors were fitted while we were off site and both done incorrectly. The side door opens against the kitchen window, blocking half of it. The back door has been hung so it doesn't open fully. It was a good lesson for us not to be away at critical times. We'll definitely be around when the remaining six doors are hung.

The pathway around the house looks good as does the render albeit there was no inclination by Nhy and his team to keep wetting down the concrete as one would expect for proper curing. Yours truely has taken on this job. To be sure, to be sure... Also no expansion strips were installed - these will be cut-in later, which is something I'm keen to see given expansion strips in AUS are usually done when putting the formwork in.

The anti-termite / insecticide pipes were left standing proud in the middle of the path. Nhy assured Yuri and I it will be finished properly, convenient to service, and would not be a trip hazard.

Some images from the last couple of days:

Back door looks great, but doesn't open fully - hinges set too deep into the jamb.

Pesticide pipes in the middle of the path. Not sure what the plan is for these so they can still be easily serviced and are not a trip hazard.

Despite a few hiccups we are still very satisfied with the overall build quality. Attention to detail is good, notwithstanding the stuff up with the doors. No build is perfect - our remains very high quality. Being on site and having detailed plans for all aspects of the build are key to minimising stuff ups.

More to follow soon.

Originally Posted by peciacake

Progress Update 03.06.23

Pesticide pipes in the middle of the path. Not sure what the plan is for these so they can still be easily serviced and are not a trip hazard.

Despite a few hiccups we are still very satisfied with the overall build quality. Attention to detail is good, notwithstanding the stuff up with the doors. No build is perfect - our remains very high quality. Being on site and having detailed plans for all aspects of the build are key to minimising stuff ups.

More to follow soon.

If they cannot relocate the pipes, i'd get them to drill out the concrete and install

Progress Update 12.06.23: CCTV & Data Cabling Installation

It's been pretty quiet on site over the last couple of weeks. The only building activity in June being the installation of the perimeter concrete path and septic tanks. We expected to see the building team today, however the builder gave us a call this morning to say several of the team have COVID and not to expect then until late June at the earliest.

In the meantime the CCTV cameras, data cabling and satellite TV antenna were all installed. The work was done to a very high standard: 8 X cameras in total including one aimed at the gate, one in the shed, four around the house, one inside and one aimed at the back fence. HIK ColorVU cameras provide excellent resolution, both day and night. Additionally they incorporate a small microphone that records sound as well as motion-activated vision onto a separate hard drive.

Normally I would do this work myself, however the BIL has a good mate who specialises in security systems so it was a no-brainer. A high quality job at mates rates.

The images below show the quality of the ColorVU camera lens via the HIK app for iPhone and iPad. It's the same quality at night.

1. iPhone

2. iPad

We've got a similar camera. Can send your voice to it as well which is always fun when I'm at work and I see the kid leaving late for school.