Action on site

So good to see something happening out there again. The timber for the frames has been delivered and the pencil marks for the walls is in the process of being completed now. Exciting seeing our rooms take shape and where the walls will be.
Our site foreman who was busy marking all the lines while I was there said they will start forming things tomorrow and the frame itself should start going up on Monday or Tuesday at the very latest.
Stu did manage to get to the block on Sunday and completed the garage door, and the panel next to and above it. He plans to spend a bit of time out there again this weekend.

Taken a couple of days ago before the marking out started.

The polisher hasn't managed to come out yet to fix the red problems, track marks and the two areas he went a little short on and didn't do properly - the airing cupboard floor and the angled wall in the dining room. Hopefully that gets done soon as it will be easier doing that without walls in the way.

Actually polishing NOT finished!!

We had our meeting with Glen from KB last Thursday (oops sorry about the slackness in updating), and I pointed out a few things with the concrete that I wasn't that happy with. Their were several areas that are a dark red looking colour, and also some marks that looked kind of like tracks in the dining room. Glen agreed that it didn't look very good and said he would chase it up with the polisher.
I got a call first thing the next morning. The reason there were red marks is because the grinder wasn't as sharp so wasn't grinding as well, and he needs to come back and fix it. Glen told him to come back at the start of this week and to also do a bit more grinding at the track mark spot. Apparently the polisher said it was one of the best looking concretes he had seen. He also told Glen that the crack hasn't been grouted yet - that won't happen until the final sealing and buffing after plaster is up - and he is confident that once this is done it will barely be seen. Hope so.
The frame is set to get started on Thursday. The delay is due to the site foreman not being available until then.
Meanwhile our house is set to be listed for sale this week! Stu has gotten hold of a generator and had hoped to spend time on the shed today, but hasn't managed to get out there yet due to doing the lawn and so on here.

Polishing is finished!

Yay! We have a floor!! The colour has come up pretty good, but don't just trust me...see for yourself

Part of the kitchen floor

Glen from KB told me that after the plaster is done then the polisher will come back again, but that won't be changing the colour, just giving it a bit more shine I think.
Unfortunately, the crack is still pretty obvious. I looked the other day, and due to the bright sunlight couldn't see it at all, and got so excited thinking it was gone. But nope, still present. At least it is only in the passage. I so hope that no more appear.
We are meeting Glen on Thursday to discuss a few things, and find out when the frame will be starting.

Polished Concrete & Shed Update

The polishing didn't manage to get finished due to all the rain we had. Hopefully we will have a few fine days and then that can be done. I'm really hanging to see my completed floor!
We did have some progress on the shed this weekend though. Stu spent quite a few hours out there yesterday, and today we both spent the day out there. Although visually it doesn't look like we got a lot done, there were a lot of fiddly jobs involved - like getting the door space organised - and some challenges were had due to not having power connected yet.

Stu cleaning up at the end of the day.
We are emptying it out so it can be ground down  tomorrow by the polishers

Speaking of power - SP Ausnet installed the transformer on Friday!!! We are now just waiting for TRU to do their bit and we will be switched on. The paperwork and so on is all done, so hopefully they will get on to the job soon.

Polishing Begins

Concrete polishing finally began today. They had two machines going, and I met Glen from KB there to check out the progress this afternoon. Colour wise it's really hard to see as yet how it's going to turn out, but it was exciting to see some of the stone aggregate.
We have decided to return the air lock entry to polished concrete for a minimal extra charge, we originally had it polished, but had changed it to tiles to save some cash. I'm glad it's back to polished, it will look a lot better. The polishers are hoping to have the job done by the weekend too, so a bit quicker than expected.

Water poured on it to give us some idea of how the colour will look

The machines that do the work with the half finished shed in the background, the second machine actually has someone using it, you just can't see him behind it due to its size!

The electricians came out earlier in the week and did their bit, pretty exciting to see a Meter box there now. Fingers crossed that SP Ausnet do their bit as planned tomorrow.  Stu now has to fill the trench in. Poor shed, wonder when it will ever get done.

Meter box!

House Plans

Well not much has been happening with the block, as we have been concentrating our efforts on our current home in preparation for selling, so I thought this was a good opportunity to share the house plans.

Floor Plan, the East window in the Master Bedroom has since been removed

Some basic modelling done early on, Master Bedroom to the left

More basic modelling looking up from the garage, window sizes and types will be different to this 

The house will be built from Timbercrete blocks, sandstone in colour which are 385 x 185 x 100mm
Roof and gutter will be colorbond Jasper
Downpipes and Garage door will be colorbond Paperbark
Fascia will be powder coated ivory to match our UPVC window frames
Front door will be stained wood

Trenching done at last!

What a chore the trenching ended up being. Stuart spent every night this week out there, straight after work until after dark trying to get the job completed. He also took Thursday off, and had some assistance from Matt & Alan one afternoon. With Matt's assistance again this morning, it has finally been finished, and is now waiting for the electrician to do their bit on Tuesday.
I don't want to complain about the weather, as thankfully we didn't get any flooding when so many have, but my goodness has our land absorbed a bit of water. To be blunt it's a boggy mess.  I was out there for a bit on Thursday with Stu - my main job seemed to be driving the Rodeo with the snatch strap attached to the Kanga to pull it out of yet another bog...

Bogged again. We have lost count of how many times this has happened.

Just to give you an idea of the state of the ground...

This afternoon he will be filling in the original trench we decided not to use, and after that it will be back to working on the shed again.
Due to the rain, the concrete polishing has been delayed again. It is now scheduled to begin next Wednesday. It is expected to take about a week and a half to complete.
We have also been advised that the transformer works are scheduled to be done on Friday 16th March, so we should have power organised when the time comes for KB to begin the frame.

Fly Ash

The concrete we have chosen to use, 'Ecomax', is a more environmentally friendly option because it contains a portion of fly ash as a substitute for some of the normal cement content.
Fly Ash is a by product from coal burning power stations. Briefly, it is the powder that is left behind in the exhaust gases from the combustion chambers of the boilers. Although it comes from coal burning stations, this is not local fly ash, as Victorian fly ash has a higher level of soluble salts which makes it unsuitable for use in concrete.
Fly ash reacts with lime in order to form a cement product. By using a proportion of fly ash in our slab (around 30% according to our supplier) not only are we reusing a waste product from power generation, but we are also cutting down on the embodied energy required to make cement. Embodied energy comprises all energy required in the production process including that used in the mining of the minerals, processing of the product and actual manufacturing, so we are cutting down on CO2 emissions as well.
Additionally, our concrete supplier also uses recycled water in the production of their concrete, so it's nice to know that mains water supply is being reduced too.
Hope this all makes sense!

Trenching begins

Stu finally started the trenching on Friday, and was working on it again over the weekend. He got about half way, then had great difficulties getting any grip with the kanga on the muddy fill. We've since realised that there may be a problem with where we will put the septic drains too, so he has now decided to fill in the trenching he has done, and start again with it on the other side of the driveway. Hopefully progress for this will be much quicker so we can get the electrician out then get on to the service connection so it can be ready and waiting once the transformer is installed.

The beginning of the trenching

He also worked on the shed on Sunday. All the top hat bracing is in place now, and he put a sheet up on one of the ends. Slow work when you are on your own in bad weather.

Shed update

We have had such bad luck with the terrible weather this week, but progress has still been occurring...slowly.
Yesterday it was just Stu and I out there in the rain and abundant mud, getting more done and getting mud absolutely everywhere. At least the wind wasn't too bad.

The mud was so bad our boots kept getting sucked down

Today the weather is sunnier, but windier. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get to the block yet. Stu will be out there this afternoon digging the trench for the electricals. Goodness knows when the shed will get finished as he is back at work next week. It has progressed a bit further than the above photo, but it was raining too hard for me to take another picture later on.