Hmph *bloody* Hmph. We still do not have a CC. The certifier has now asked for a Certification for the Hydraulic Design that it complies with Council regulation. Oh please, how many more darn reports can we possibly get on this house. Seriously, we have so many plans, engineering reports, and the like, I'm really over it atm. Just start it. *AARRRGGGHHHHH*
Bel :)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Update on the update
Hmph, still no CC *rolls eyes*. Emailed the builder today asking where are we at, and they are waiting for the Home warranty insurance to come through. Let's hope we get it tomorrow as mentioned.
Thanks for the coffee girls (Themax, Southies, Justcamping) - had a ball :) Loving our new H1LLS club!
Bel :)
Thanks for the coffee girls (Themax, Southies, Justcamping) - had a ball :) Loving our new H1LLS club!
Bel :)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
No celebration tonight :(
All well, I knew it was too good to be true - no we don't have the CC. Well the builder has left it until the 11th hour to get back to me, and said that we should now have it Monday. Hmph.
Good news though the Bank is all sorted, apparently all we need to do send off a fax authorisation when we need to pay a progress payment. They don't need anymore paperwork etc, so that's one good thing.
I'm not thinking about house stuff this weekend! Master 7 has soccer, and 2 birthday parties on Saturday, then another party on Sunday. Looks like I'll be the taxi to and from the parties all weekend.
Looking forward to seeing you Southies, Themax and JC Monday morning for coffee! So excited!
Bel x x
Good news though the Bank is all sorted, apparently all we need to do send off a fax authorisation when we need to pay a progress payment. They don't need anymore paperwork etc, so that's one good thing.
I'm not thinking about house stuff this weekend! Master 7 has soccer, and 2 birthday parties on Saturday, then another party on Sunday. Looks like I'll be the taxi to and from the parties all weekend.
Looking forward to seeing you Southies, Themax and JC Monday morning for coffee! So excited!
Bel x x
And closer again......
Well rubbish man quoted and got the job. He will be coming Saturday - yes tomorrow - to remove all the rubbish from the block, then we will have a nice clean slate for the builder to start.
Going off now to call the Bank to see what they need (if anything) to be happy to release funds when we need to.
I still know we are a good few weeks away to starting, but I'm a teeny tiny bit more enthused so I'll run with it! Ha ha ha
Will let you know if we actually get the CC today :)
Bel
Going off now to call the Bank to see what they need (if anything) to be happy to release funds when we need to.
I still know we are a good few weeks away to starting, but I'm a teeny tiny bit more enthused so I'll run with it! Ha ha ha
Will let you know if we actually get the CC today :)
Bel
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Another step closer
Wow, well I just got off the phone from the builder, and we should have our construction certificate by the end of the week!!! *does happy dance* Next week we will finalise contract (need to sign it) and bank stuff (need a letter to commence or something???) then we should be ready to go!
I made another call today to a rubbish removal person - we have a pile of rubble/concrete/crappola up the back, that if we don't get rid of now, it will become a feature once the house is built. Hopefully this guy actually quotes and gets back to me. I've made so may calls about the pile of rubbish, it seems no one wants the work *rolls eyes*
Small steps but oh so exciting!!!
Bel :)
I made another call today to a rubbish removal person - we have a pile of rubble/concrete/crappola up the back, that if we don't get rid of now, it will become a feature once the house is built. Hopefully this guy actually quotes and gets back to me. I've made so may calls about the pile of rubbish, it seems no one wants the work *rolls eyes*
Small steps but oh so exciting!!!
Bel :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Another month goes by
At least this time I have some promising news!
Let me start where I left off........
We finally got the drainage plans through, but lo and behold, no OSD, but 6, yes 6, grate things in the ground everywhere. It seems to me that we are compensating for the council's lack of adequate stormwater assets.
Anyway, the drainage plans did not include utilising the side easement. When I questioned this with the builder, I was asked if I actually told the drainage engineer that we had an easement. Huh, isn't that your job?
Long story short - the easement is too complicated to use, so we will just go with the drawn up plans. It is costing $10k more than budgeted for, but what can we do. Looks like we won't have new furniture for a while *rolls eyes* I'm at the stage I just want the darn thing to start, so I have hope that we will indeed get a house one day.
I've sent an email to the builder this arvo, to say, ok go ahead with drainage plans, and now what's next!
Will let you know!
Bel
Let me start where I left off........
We finally got the drainage plans through, but lo and behold, no OSD, but 6, yes 6, grate things in the ground everywhere. It seems to me that we are compensating for the council's lack of adequate stormwater assets.
Anyway, the drainage plans did not include utilising the side easement. When I questioned this with the builder, I was asked if I actually told the drainage engineer that we had an easement. Huh, isn't that your job?
Long story short - the easement is too complicated to use, so we will just go with the drawn up plans. It is costing $10k more than budgeted for, but what can we do. Looks like we won't have new furniture for a while *rolls eyes* I'm at the stage I just want the darn thing to start, so I have hope that we will indeed get a house one day.
I've sent an email to the builder this arvo, to say, ok go ahead with drainage plans, and now what's next!
Will let you know!
Bel
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
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.
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.
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