Slab pics

Front view:

Side view:

Going to ask for the excess soil to be redistributed around the block to level it off before I pay for any excess to be carted away as I'll just be buying more later to deal with this sort of stuff.

Other side view from rear:

Slab Poured 13-07-10

Today the slab was poured just in time for showers to hit SW Sydney. Someone I know who is building on the same block but on Minorca Circuit went past his house today as I let him know that his roof tiles were completed yesterday, and today he let me know the slab was done. He said he is surprised how high it is but is probably as high as I anticipate as there will be 3 steps from the garage into the house.

But just in case I didn't know about the slab it would have been alright because Allworth called to let me know the invoice is in the mail and to ensure the authority to pay is submitted the the lender ASAP. My gosh, I haven't heard from them except for when I called the SS but now because they will need to be paid they are quick on the phone the same day. Mind you my friend's builder had the hide of submitting the invoice a week before his slab went down and he called to say thanks but he wouldn't be paying until they had done the work. The hide of them, seriously.

I was out with a friend for lunch today and because of the rain there was no point trying to get out to SF by dark, so tomorrow I'm going to take pics and post them later.

Slab Prep continues

Yesterday I went back out to SF to see if anything changed over the weekend and get daytime shots of the slab prep regardless. I spoke with the contractor who explained that the preparation will be assessed this afternoon and the concrete poured in the morning. They start at about 7am in the morning so are able to wrap up by about midday. As you can see the waffle pods and reo have been put in place, but also the formwork has doubled in height.

Standing next to it I felt like the front porch, just outside the shot on the above right was about my knee height (I'm 5'3"). The contractor explained the porch will have a lip of tiles around the side, then bricks down to almost the ground. He said this is a good feature that Allworth do, as compared to some other builder's that leave the concrete sides exposed.

I am a bit surprised by the alfresco that Allworth included as part of a special offer. It is under the roofline and has a feature brick column at the exposed corner. I knew that the floor wouldn't be concreted but I was imagining something a little larger than this (see below). As I will have a separate entertainment area installed it is not a major dilemma, but now worried that the 4 piece outdoor lounge I have purchased is going to be too much clutter for the space. It looks to me it is meant really to only hold a bistro setting. Might be an optical illusion, so will have to wait and see. But I am inclined to think if it is as small as I anticipate then I would skip it altogether if I were to do it again because the column will interrupt the flow of the entertaining space.

The picture below is looking across the slab prep from the rear. The lower rectangle is where the rainwater tank will sit. I am very happy that Allworth provides a slimline one as many neighbouring properties have these large silo types in the rear corner, which look imposing and difficult to incorporate into landscaping.

As I drove off I saw one of my favourite features of SF - the ducks! This lovely little couple were on the corner block at the Richardson Road roundabout. Mr Duck kept his eye on me as I took this photo. There have also been some waterfowl running around recently. I have conversations with T-R when she spots them to ensure she knows that she can look but must sit and not touch. Her cousin is a small shih tzu cross terrier so she is good around small dogs but still likes to have a rumble and I'm not sure when she sees ducks whether they are looking like play companions or a meal, so all I can teach her is to leave them alone.

When I drove home I stopped in on the Hume Highway at Casula at a shed and pot place. I found out the kind of shed I'm looking at will be about $380-$500 depending on size, colour and number of shelves. Next door they had some glazed pots and water features that I'll go back and have another look at closer to landscaping.

05-07-10 Piering Day

Today was piering day. Had the opportunity to take the dog for a quick walk as they finished off with the bobcat.


As I assumed this involved the piering guy/concrete contractor waking around with a measuring stick, writing down the measurements as I watched on, adding up and then signing off.


Good news is it came in under the piering allowance, so that means a refund/deduction. My glee was shortlived as the dirt from the holes and from who knows where has become accumulated in yet another mound in the front yard and since this is probably in excess of the allowance will need to be carted away. Seriously though, I have no idea where all the dirt is coming from. Fingers crossed if it is excess that the deduction will cover it.

The contractor also helped out by establishing what the difference between yard heights will be once completed. He used his equipment and suggested that it'll be a 300m difference, so not a great difference, but still probably worth retaining. Nothing can be established at this point in time as it will have to be discussed with the landscaper.

The other useful suggestion the contractor made was to discuss the need to have the separate slab for the air-conditioner joined to the main slab by way of epoxy joints. The hot water unit and rainwater tank will be done in this fashion. He explained that otherwise the mini-slab can shift and he has seen this happen so that the rainwater tank for example sits out on a 20 degree angle. Once it comes to it, might offer him the work of the concreting that and the driveway and entertainment area.

The contractor said once the piers are done today, the will be back on Monday/Tuesday to do the slab. The plumber will be on-site on Thursday at the earliest to do the underground connections. This is once gain the weather pending, so lets see what is expected from my new preferred site, weather.com.au:

Wind Rain Humid Min Max

MON		Mostly Sunny. Cool.	5 km/h NNE	-	84%	8	16
TUE		A Few Showers. Morning Clouds. Cool.	15 km/h NNW	2mm (42%)	81%	10	16
WED		Drizzle. Morning Clouds. Cool.	24 km/h SW	1mm (30%)	70%	9	16
THU		Afternoon Clouds. Cool.	14 km/h S	-	81%	9	14
FRI		A Few Showers. Morning Clouds. Cool.	23 km/h S	2mm (37%)	83%	11	14
SAT		A Few Showers. Mostly Sunny. Cool.	16 km/h SSE	2mm (35%)	82%	12	15
SUN		Mostly Sunny. Mild.	8 km/h N	-	63%	9	18

If all goes to plan and the plumbing is done later this week before the rain starts, and the mild weather continues into next week, I'll be happy come Wednesday when I have a slab a little bit ahead of what I am expecting!