Thursday 21 February 2013

Ready to go!

Temporary fencing up, port-a-loo delivered ... can't be too long until it all starts!


Sunday 17 February 2013

Choosing Comdain

It's a good sign that on many occasions when we've told people that we're building with Comdain, they know someone who has built with them and invariably, these people are "very happy". Comments that come up again and again are that the workmanship is excellent and that sometimes they complete their build early.
We've been totally happy with our dealings with Comdain to date, and it's a bit scary to think that we nearly went with another builder. Prior to Comdain, we had engaged a high-volume builder and pulled out just before signing the final contract. A lucky escape. It's not worth listing all their problems here but if you read other building forums and blogs, the problems we encountered were  the same as what others have complained of: poor communication, lack of care in preparation of the contract and lack of continuity between departments.
If you are new to home building, as we are, one piece of advice we'd like to share is that it is virtually impossible to sign a contract and not have post-contract variations. You can spend hours and hours double checking all your choices but in the end, you will change your mind, new ideas will come up and unexpected situations will arise. The aim of contract preparation is not to avoid post-contract variations but to minimise them.

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Demolition


Everyone says demolition happens quickly but for us the process dragged on a bit too long due to the holiday hiatus. However any pain was soon forgotten once all the excavation equipment and trucks had driven away leaving behind our "empty lot".



Having never demolished (or built) before, we didn't realise there were so many issues.
We had a few canopy trees (trees which measure more than 1.1m in circumference when measured 1.5m from the ground) which each required a permit from the council to remove. Hearing stories about how difficult this could be, we were quite nervous about our application but our experience was quite the opposite - and we say this despite having one permit rejected (but later granted after an appeal). In fact, the council have been very helpful to the point where, in answer to an enquiry we had about moving our existing cross-over, the council staff member went by our property one day and marked on the footpath exactly where we would be able to move it to.
Our other concern was the removal of a small swimming pool in the backyard. Anyone wanting to build over a pre-existing pool should take note when getting a quote for their demolition of whether it includes "removal of pool" AND "fill in and compact".
Other issues (asbestos removal, accidentally cutting the neighbours phone line, pool safety during the demolition period) have all contributed to the steep learning curve. No doubt the next few months will be exciting.