Week 11 - Plumbing complete

Lock-up stage is still in progress. Plumbing and ducted heating connections are done. Two solar panels at the roof for the hot water system were also installed.

All wrapped up with foil and ready for bricking

Aluminium foil wrap for insulation

Plumbing in the toilet

Bath tub frame

The front door. This will be painted in Manor Red to match our garage door colour

Week 10 - We have a roof

Roof tiles have been installed.

Week 9 - Windows and doors installed

Frame is now complete. Glass windows and doors have been installed. Next will be the Lock-up stage which includes the installation of the tile roof and brickworks.

Facade of the house. On the right side is the garage while on the left side, with the large window is the master bedroom

The alfresco / outdoor room. One of the two upgrades we included in the house. The other one is the Rumpus/Home Theater room. Aside from the Master Bedroom, these two areas of the house are my faves. Of course, Kareen loves the kitchen!

The Rumpus/Home Theater area

The Master Bedroom

Here's the side of the house

The backyard. Still enough space for garden and playground

Garage area

View from the garage. Construction sites all around

Week 7 & 8 - We've Been Framed!!

I was not able to post an update last week since there was nothing to update other than the excuses that I've heard from our Builder why no one was working at our site.

Now I know why they say that I should have lots of patience when we start building.

The good thing is that they have finished the framing this week and about to start laying the bricks next week.

Slowly taking shape

Here is the garage

Bricks already delivered to the site

Week 6 - Slab conctrete complete

The 1st stage of construction, which is the slab stage, is now complete. We have also received the 10% invoice for this stage.

Next up will be the Frame Stage wherein the timber frame of the house will be erected. According to our builder, frame stage should be finished by 30th of September.

The Slab, finally complete!

The slab for the Alfresco area

Timber for the framing already delivered to the site

Week 5 - Slab frame done!

Our slab was supposed to be in last week but as of today, only the slab frame was done. I'm pretty sure that the slab will be in by next week because the only thing that the builder needs to do at this stage is the actual pouring of the concrete.

Our builder is using the Waffle Pods System for the ground / slab. They laid several large blocks of styrofoams (waffle pods)on the ground before they pour the concrete for the base of the house.

This is one of the technologies that they use in home building in Oz as the waffle pods act as an insulating layer between the structure and the ground. This will keep the house warmer in winter and cooler during summer.

The large block of styrofoam used for the waffle pod system

The Slab Frame. At this stage, I can already visualize the different areas of our house

The waffle pods on the ground

Week 4 - Pipes are in

After almost a month after the site start, we now have drainage pipes.

Several large rocks were also removed from the site. Removal of these large rocks from the ground is one of the biggest cost components of house building here in the land down under. Depending on the result of the soil test and how rocky (?) is your lot, site costs ranges from $15k to more than $50k.

Good for us that our builder have tested the block already prior to offering to us the house and land package. Hence, our site cost is already fixed even if they will find a rock as big as Tasmania in our block.

Here are some pics taken today.

The rocks from the land down under

The drainage pipes

Porta-loo?

Playground/park under construction. One of the several playgrounds / parks in the estate. This one is just within walking distance from our house

Week 3 - Earthworks have started!

Earthworks around the block have already started, albeit, slower than I expected. We have several sunny days this week but it seems that the contractor worked only for a few days.

Utilities were already installed. We now have a tap and electric meter. We expect the slab to be in before Porter's deadline of September 9. Hopefully, everything speeds up from there....

The electric meter that will be used during construction

This will be the site of the Alfresco

View from our backyard

Week 2 - Still Barren Land

No major development to report this week. Work was slowed down by the strong winds that visited Melbourne in the past 3 days.

The good news is that our builder left a note and informed as that slab will be poured down next week.

Here is a photo of the block taken yesterday. The circles at the back highlight the dimension of the block.

Week 1 - I Peg to Disagree!

We've passed by the block yesterday and found out that the re-establishment survey has been done.

Two-thumbs up to Porter Davis for a quick action!

Seems that there will be lots of action around our block next week..

I will send some photos of the diggings done to the developer and will point to them that its very obvious that the pegs were misplaced due to them and if they will not give me any positive feedback, I will try and see if Consumer Affairs Victoria has the same view as them!

The fencing erected by the developer at the back of the block.

Here's the $900 peg

Week 1 - Reply from the developer

I sent an email to the developer of the Estate to try reimburse from them the cost of the re-establishment survey.

Here's the reply that I got.

Hi Edward,

Lot XXXX is now your property. It is your responsibility to ensure that your block is re-pegged.

Regards,


XXXXXXXXXXX

$900 bucks down the drain but I wont let this ruin our excitement for the build!

I will just charge this to experience :)

Week 1 - Site Start

I received a call from our builder that survey pegs are missing and they cannot start construction without these. I went to the block and confirmed that the survey pegs were indeed missing because the developer erected fencing at the back of our block and their contractor removed the pegs.

The builder quoted me $900.00 (ouch!) bucks for them to organise the re-establishment survey. We have no choice but to let them organise the re-survey because if we miss the site start date, which is 31st of August, we need to pay an additional $1,500.00 for the materials price increase. So I sent an email to our builder and instructed them to go ahead with the re-survey.

Now here's a long shot, I will now contact the developer of the Estate and ask them for a reimbursement because the pegs were misplaced due to their fencing. I know it's a remote possibility that they will pay me for this, but $900 bucks is worth a try!

Our Dream Starts Now!

“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Psalm 127″

Finally, after so many months of waiting for loan approval, savings for downpayment and choosing the right builder, our construction will start in the week of 17th of August 2009.

My family arrived here in Australia in the last quarter of 2007 and we are very blessed that we have settled well in this wonderful country, and in less than 2 years, our dream to have a place of our own is about to come true.

Initially, my family were looking at Carolines Springs which is one of the best suburbs here in West Melbourne but when the affordable lots were first released in 2008, we didnt have enough savings for deposit and I was still wary of committing ourselves to a large amount of debt, being new to my job and was still trying gauge our expenses.

So come 2009 when interest rates were at 40-year low and the government increased the First Home Owners Grant to $26k to cushion the global financial crisis, my family decided that now is the best time to buy our first home. Some people are saying that getting a huge debt in time of crisis is like playing with fire since you will never know if you will still have job tomorrow. However, I always believe that pessimism would get you nowhere, and you will never know the outcome of your decision unless you try and do it! Anyway, we came here in Australia with just few bucks in our pocket with no relatives to help us out in starting our lives here, so how is getting a home loan riskier than that?

We looked around for a nice and affordable suburb here in West Melbourne since most of our friends are in the West. After several trips and meetings with agents, we have decided that Brimbank Gardens is where we want to build our dream home. The estate is about 18kms from the CBD and will house a private and a government school. There is also a large park which includes 2 football fields, playground, basketball court and jogging path.

We chose Porter Davis to build our 1st home due to their good reputation in the industry. Our home will just be an average sized homes here in Australia (note that lots here ranges from 350sqm to 1000 sqm and we are building on a 476sqm block). There will be 4 bedrooms, 2 living areas, rumpus/theater room and and an alfresco area.

We are very excited about this build and hopefully, this will be a smooth sailing process.

This is the facade of the house

The House Plan