The rollercoaster of building

OK where to I begin......(It's a long post but I gotta get it out....)

Yesterday I had the worst day so far with the build. We have had some pretty low days when you look back on my posts - voluntary administration, salesmen and their lies - but I think yesterday topped all that.

We had the dreaded call from the Drainage/Stormwater Engineer.

Now if you are reading this and have built before, you know where this is going, and it's not pleasant.

Yes, we had the dreaded "I think you need a Onsite detention pit/underground 20,000 litre rainwater tank" conversation. For those of you who don't know, basically it means the cost of a car goes into the ground. Yep we were told we'd be lucky to get out of it for $20k.

Needless to say I was hysterical. I think it was a lot of things that got me to breaking point, and this just tipped me over the edge.

I spent the day trying to understand drainage - had a crash course from the Engineer. We are on the high side of the street, in an upsloping block. The issue we had is that the council calculate hard vs soft surfaces, roof area and so on, based on your block and house size. As we are a battleaxe, the battleaxe handle is included in the calculation, and it is a (proposed) concrete driveway (based on council requirements!).

I spoke with the town planner who approved the DA/S96, and he advised that's the rules, but find out the calculations with the Engineer and speak with the Drainage Engineers at council. I left a message for our Engineer to say the above.

When he called late afternoon, he had proactively spoken with Council, and had gained approval to not include the battleaxe in calculations.

Success! No OSD for us!

Ha ha today it's not that easy. Our builder uses a private certifier for the construction certificate, so the council engineer can not just approve it for us - it doesn't actually go past his desk.

So where are we at now - not out of the clear. I'm waiting to see if the Engineer can convince who he spoke with at council to put it in writing, so the private certifier will approve.

Now you understand the rollercoaster of our build.

We're Back!

Well we have returned from holidays anyway! I've actually come home with a fractured knee, well fractured tibial plateau, not my idea of a souvenir. The good news is no surgery is required - went to the surgeon yesterday, who 17 years ago completed my ACL reconstruction. So it's a few more weeks of crutches and a leg brace, no driving, and kids & DH who can't cope, then back to normal!

House update, well it's all so frustrating. I seriously think at times no one really wants to build this house. DH called the builder today - it's getting too much for me atm - and wanted to know time frames to start.

It's something like this - Hydraulics, Water Board approval, Dilapidation report all due next week. (They should have pushed these through weeks ago....) The construction certificate will be issued. Bank needs to issue a commencement to start or something, then it can happen. Looks like to me we are still about 4 weeks away.

Just make it happen. Arghhhh.

I was having a building/renovation conversation with my Mum the other day (Mum and Dad are doing major reno's to their place which has dragged on, and they are over it) and we came to the conclusion, "He who shouts loudest gets the most done". Now I don't believe this is everyday life, but it seems that it's going to be our philosophy for the build. Call twice a week and be on their back. Why does it have to be this way?

Bel