As we roll into the middle of winter 2022 and I finally get a minute to catch up on the house blogging - the phrase "expect the unexpected" is definitely resonating for us at the moment. For all the house building reality TV shows we've watched, we really should have realised that building a home on the side of a hill was going to include a more complexity than we initially anticipated - but I think like most excited new home builders, we probably underestimated what was involved.
Looking back to my last post at the start of this year, we were definitely thinking the hardest part was conquered. The excavation was done, the concrete was poured, and our foundations were all good to go. To a certain extent that was true - but then as you start to gain an appreciation for the moving parts involved in the build, you can begin to understand where delays come from, and why things aren't necessarily straight forward. Take the installation of our swim spa for example. You'll see in the photos below that it's nestled nicely in behind the garage, below the top storey deck. The trick is, because it is behind that garage it needed to be craned in - before the garage frames popped up, using the garage pad as sturdy ground for the crane to position on. That meant co-ordinating an overseas delivered swim spa to work in at the small window between the pad being finished and the frames going up. Any delivery delay bumps back the frames, which has a knock on effect to everything. Planning is beyond critical, so understanding your builder's timelines and making sure you are know what is happening and when can be really helpful. A good builder will get everything lined up to timelines that work smoothly - but while they may have 3 or more other houses they are building....your home is the only build in your mind - making you a super helpful resource to your builder when needed.
We'll undoubtedly run into a few more occasions where something unexpected pops up - and we are getting very good at being ready for those moments. Matt, from Building Logic, is the same - staying a step ahead in his planning enough that most of the wobbles the building industry is facing haven't seemed to affect us too much yet. I can't even count how many articles I've ready about a lack of gib in the country....and Matt has had to deal with being sent half of those article links (!)...but our gib is sitting ready to be used, so there is hope we'll start to see less speed bumps as the build gains momentum.
Looking back to my last post at the start of this year, we were definitely thinking the hardest part was conquered. The excavation was done, the concrete was poured, and our foundations were all good to go. To a certain extent that was true - but then as you start to gain an appreciation for the moving parts involved in the build, you can begin to understand where delays come from, and why things aren't necessarily straight forward. Take the installation of our swim spa for example. You'll see in the photos below that it's nestled nicely in behind the garage, below the top storey deck. The trick is, because it is behind that garage it needed to be craned in - before the garage frames popped up, using the garage pad as sturdy ground for the crane to position on. That meant co-ordinating an overseas delivered swim spa to work in at the small window between the pad being finished and the frames going up. Any delivery delay bumps back the frames, which has a knock on effect to everything. Planning is beyond critical, so understanding your builder's timelines and making sure you are know what is happening and when can be really helpful. A good builder will get everything lined up to timelines that work smoothly - but while they may have 3 or more other houses they are building....your home is the only build in your mind - making you a super helpful resource to your builder when needed.
We'll undoubtedly run into a few more occasions where something unexpected pops up - and we are getting very good at being ready for those moments. Matt, from Building Logic, is the same - staying a step ahead in his planning enough that most of the wobbles the building industry is facing haven't seemed to affect us too much yet. I can't even count how many articles I've ready about a lack of gib in the country....and Matt has had to deal with being sent half of those article links (!)...but our gib is sitting ready to be used, so there is hope we'll start to see less speed bumps as the build gains momentum.
