Day 40: Slab pour

Today we had the concrete slab poured. Woohoo, so exciting!!!!! It looks great.  Here’s to reaching this first major stage in the construction process and just before Christmas.  It took a bloody long time to get going but we feel as though we are motoring along now, its a great feeling.

We were laughing this afternoon – even before the slab has had a chance to dry we received our first major invoice for the completion of the base stage.  The amount is due 7 days from now which falls on 25 December – Merry Christmas!!

The slab looks big.  According to our plans the site area is 708 sqm and the building area is 265 sqm, so the site coverage of the slab is about 38%.  So whilst it doesn’t look like it, we do have a lot of land.  The slab now gives us a clearer picture of how the house fits in with the land and we are now contemplating what we need to do for landscaping.

Our freshly poured slab

You can clearly see the step down to the garage….

View from the front near the garage

Here’s a photo from the rear.  From furthest to nearest on the left ground floor is the sitting room, powder room, laundry, kitchen and dining room.  On the right is the study, family room and rumpus.

View from the rear

We took the opportunity to engrave our names into the slab….

Making a mark on our slab

C&K

Day 37: Slab preparation complete

Its slab time!!!! Yes, that’s right everything is ready and waiting for the slab pour which will hopefully take place tomorrow. We had a lot of fun looking at all the prep work for the slab and working out which room would be were. We also realised just how bloody big our house is going to be and how much work we will have to do to the backyard so we can make the space functional for the kids (and us). That said, we are sooooo excited to be at this point. We can’t believe how quick things move now that the whole process is underway. All the boxing for the slab was done in one day – phew!!!

We tossed a gold coin into the slab area for good luck, lets hope we have good weather tomorrow and can show you some new pics of our slab.

View from the rear of the block.  The house area looks huge!!

Closeup of the slab area shows polystyrene (Expanded Polystyrene to be precise) used for the waffle pods.  The polystyrene is a great insulator, reducing heat transfer through the floor.

Close up of the waffle pods from the front

Outdoor room

The following image shows the main plumbing pipes into the ground floor of the house.  The close ones seem to be the ground floor powder room and laundry.  The one further back in the photo more towards the centre is the kitchen island bench.

When we arrived at the site, our front fence had a serious lean on it and had to be braced up by some wood.  The falling fence destroyed our letterbox.  We had to go to Bunnings and spent $21 to get a replacement.

Our cyclone fence needs fixing

Our recycling bin looks a bit squashed from the recent site works.  Now who is going to replace this?

Our poor bin 😦

A gold coin for good luck

C&K

Metricon responds to recent news about slab heave

In response to recent news about homes cracking under pressure in the media, Metricon posted the following on their facebook page:

You may have seen recent media coverage about the increase in homes in particular in Melbourne experiencing cracking as a result of structural movement. One of the causes for this has been the extreme change in weather conditions over the last 12 months. Metricon is committed to investigating any concerns fully and to resolve matters as quickly as possible where Metricon workmanship is responsible for the issues. For further information or to notify Metricon of any issues, please refer to the below information.

This was followed by a link to the following latest news article on Metricon’s website.

There have been a number of recent media articles about the increase in homes experiencing cracking in Melbourne as a result of structural movement caused by the extreme change in weather conditions over the last 12 months. This is particularly prevalent in areas with highly reactive soil types such as in Melbourne’s north and west.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has commented on the issue of ”slab heave” – that is, where there is an upward movement in the concrete slab foundation that can create cracks in the plaster of a home’s internal walls. The association says the problem has been caused by unforeseen movements in the soil after unusually heavy drought-breaking rains.

Metricon advises any of its homeowners who have concerns about their home to contact our Warranty Department. Metricon is committed to investigating any concerns fully and to resolve matters as quickly as possible where Metricon workmanship is responsible for the issues.

The cause of structural movement in homes is always a site specific matter as each home site is different. In many cases, movement may be caused by works not undertaken by the homebuilder such as landscaping and paving as well as works on adjoining home sites.

Metricon notes the importance for homeowners to ensure that the perimeter of their footing systems, landscaping and drainage are adequate and meet the published standards advised by the CSIRO and provided to customers during the building process.

The Foundation Maintenance and Footing Performance: A Homeowner’s Guide report can be found on the CSIRO website at http://www.publish.csiro.au/nid/22/pid/3612.htm.

Metricon will assist homeowners with any queries regarding how to protect the footing systems of their home and comply with their obligations.

If you think that your home might be affected or you have questions about your own obligations, please contact Metricon on (03) 9915 5555 and ask for our Warranty Department.

C&K

Reference: Recent Media Articles About Slab Heave in Melbourne

Reference: Slab Heave Tips & Tricks