Lower Slab (11th December)

So, once the top slab was poured, things slowed down again, but we finally got some more action in early December. They are actually working on the upper frame at the same time as preparing the slab for downstairs, so it's good to have a few things happening at once.

Reo in the entrance hall (1st December). The pipes you can see are for the downstairs bathroom.

And now we have the slab...in the entrance

the rumpus,

and the garage.

We've decided to go with polished concrete for all of downstairs as well (except the garage) including the bathroom and shower. We can always put a rug down in the rumpus if the kids need it. We've also decided to change the wall between the rumpus and utility room into bi-fold doors, so that we can open that whole space up if we need to for kids parties and the like. We'll use translucent glass so the utility room still gets some natural light.

A Slab...Finally (5th November)

Well the slab was finally poured on November 5th. I was up at 6:30 as usual for my walk and saw this massive concrete pump driving up the road. I wasn't sure that it would be able to make it up the driveway, but it obviously did...without too much damage to the driveway. We could see the pump from up at the reserve where I walk...almost 1 km away!


And this is what we had by the time we got home from work.

From the east...

From the West. You can see the lower area of the slab in the foreground for the deck. The recessed area a little further in is for our ensuite which will be tiled.

This shows the blue gold recycled glass that we have used. After the slab was poured they seeded it with this glass as well as clear glass, which will become visible once the slab is polished. I can't wait to see this!!!

The day after the slab was poured, someone came up (on a Saturday) and saw cut the slab to prevent cracking. These cuts will obviously be filled with something down the track.

Everything looks really good, we've had no cracking at all. There is only a slight problem with water pooling in 2 spots on the deck. The first is near the back door. AE has suggested that they put a drain in here so nothing to worry about.

The second spot is in front of our bedroom. They did put an additional drain in here (not originally on the plans) but the fall isn't quite right and so it pools in the corner. Not sure what we are going to do here, but again we're not too worried.

Upper Slab - electrical and reo (3rd November)

Upper slab with reo. Expansion joint for slab also visible


Electrical conduit in slab

Wires for lighting carport done before slab pour. Wiring for lighting in the garage has also been done.

Possible Slab date?

I ran into AE this morning. He was onsite retrieving some equipment, so we had a bit of a chat. He said he has booked the slab pour for the last week in October. He was thinking about a week earlier, but didn't trust the weather. I still don't trust the weather, but we'll cross our fingers, toes and what ever else we can!!


Meanwhile, here's a pic of the view from the kitchen. There will be windows above the beam as well, so we'll see most of this while standing at the (future) kitchen sink. Soooo much nicer than the neighbour's brick wall we look at now!

Slab Insulation

Well the insulation arrived sometime last week and builders got to spend a bit of time out of the wet weather and in the workshop cutting up the insulation. Tom spoke to AE who said that we need about 2 weeks fine weather so they can do the slab as apparently the insulation can absorb water and the if the slab gets water on it, it can lead to some discolouration. The BOM have predicted 20+ days of rain for October, so we figured that we'll never get a slab.

So we were quite surprised when we went up to the house at the beginning of the week to find that they had started installing the insulation. They finished it Thursday, and you can see the sort of weather they had to work through. Not only was it wet, but for most of the day they would have been lucky if it got to double figures!!! I'm amazed at the weather these guys will work in. And as much as the weather is frustrating for us...at least we don't have to work out in it.

Not sure what the time frame for the slab is from here...but between the weather and waiting for the concretor to fit us in...well I won't hold my breath.

Slab Postponed again!!!

25th September
Well this time it's the slab insulation we are waiting on...apparently there's a three week wait on this (it has to come from Adelaide). So to keep themselves busy, AE has decided to continue on with the frame for the timber deck which wraps around the north eastern side of the house.

Deck frame from driveway.

Looking down from beind the house to give a better idea of the shape of the deck. They have also started some of the frames for the windows/doors between the house and the deck.

And from the east

Our front entrance. The frame shown here is for the portico, which is meant to be glass. The front hallway leads to the stairs to the first floor and so will be a void. Above the portico, on the first floor, will be a large inclined window, between the columns shown here. Should look pretty special once it's done. We were a little unsure about the glass portico, as I really don't want to have to clean it all the time...but looking at this now, I think it would look strange if it was solid.