Rock wall and front pillar and letterbox

We have started the blue stone retaining rock wall on the western side of the property.  We had to do this earlier than anticipated because our neighbours have moved in and it was important we had the wall and fence up as soon as possible. 

We have Rocco and Giuseppe doing the wall. I had a look at their work in Forde and Bonner before going with them.  So far so good. Real craftsmen - as Rocco says - this art.


The upstairs windows have been installed on the north side and the frame for the balcony is in place.






The front pillars have been built with the built-in stainless steel letterbox.

Going Up

Frames have (mostly) been put up on the First Floor.  We have a better sense of the overall shape of the house.  What will make the shell complete will be the roof trusses (the most complex part of this house).

 Here we see the bay windows of the upstairs bedrooms.  This photo was taken from the living room (so when finished there will be a ceiling here).
View from family room to the upstairs hallway from the family room/meals area.

 Where the stairway will be.


Garage and the storage area above.

 View from the street.

Upstairs Bedrooms 5 and 6.

Beams on - ready to go up

Things have slowed due to issues with some of the windows.  That has been rectified and now the beams have gone up ready for putting the joist on as the platform for the upper story.  

Here we see the rear (north side of the house) which will have full height windows on the ground level and a set of fixed windows on the upper story to allow light in to fill the void. 

At the front of the house we have beams at the front and also in the garage to support the storage area above the garage.

View from the side street of the rear of the house.

Ground floor frames

Yesterday Muhsina and I visited the building site and walked through the ground framework of the house. Below is a 15minute video of the walkthrough. Although we get a better sense of the space now, I don't think we will appreciate how large or small the areas are until the gyprock walls are installed. 

 The south east "bull nose" of the house (Lounge room).

 Muhsina's bay window

 Prayer and Lounge rooms

Sliding doors and windows waiting to be installed - hopefully Monday.

Frames and Kitchen design

The frames have been delayed slightly due to complications with the complex roof design.  Whilst we are waiting for the frames to be put up (hopefully start tomorrow), I thought I'd share the kitchen design with you.  Taha from Tradeco Interiors put this design together and will be building the kitchen, laundry and the custom vanity in the main bathroom.  

The floor slab

The ground floor slab was poured on the morning of Friday 6 July.   By mid-day they were still smoothing over the surface.  By Saturday morning it was all dry and we could walk around.  

Preparation for the slab

Does not seem like a lot of progress this week but the drainage etc seems to be ready. I suspect next will be the wafflepods, laying down the hydronic heating and the slab.

Here are the kids in the kitchen with Muhsina washing the dishes and Afzal eating a burger near the stove.