Christmas Wishes & New Year Plans

We have been a wee bit self-indulgent, neglecting any house-type decisions, and instead spending time with family and friends over the Christmas period. Which is what we believe Christmas is really all about (although with Viktoria's family involved, even a game of "Snakes & Ladders" has the potential to become a blood sport).
But we have still made time to go for walks in the bush surrounding our current home in Queensland. Even setting off before 6am, the air is already dense and humid. The heady scent of humus greets you as you crunch along foot worn paths. Leaves hang heavy on eucalyptus trees, their bark splitting and peeling to reveal fresh skin, a startling shade of burnt umber.
At one of the last stands of Bunya pines, the cicadas' song is so loud you need to block your ears. Their call waxes and wanes, until you come to the still-running creek which bubbles through bold slabs of grey granite on its way to the valley below.
The sky is that crazy shade of blue so unique to the subtropics.
You're already peeling off a T-shirt, dripping in perspiration, before you make it to the front door.
We will miss the Queensland bush - its colours, its smells, its sounds. But we won't miss the Queensland heat.
Following a couple of days R&R, in the New Year, Viktoria is going to make a concerted effort to get the whole "get the block cleared, get some access to the build site" organised.
Until then, we hope that you, your families and friends, had a safe and happy Christmas and that the New Year brings promise.
V&A

A Lesson in Bushfire Safety

The Universe has a perversely ironic sense of humour.

Just as we are working through the details of what vegetation to clear on site under the new national bushfire legislation, our home State of Queensland is facing mass outbreaks of bush fires across its length & breadth.

We had gone to work as usual on Tuesday. Following back-to-back meetings until about 2pm, Viktoria finally caught up on her emails & text messages - one of which ominously read:

"Residents should be aware that a potentially very serious bushfire situation is developing directly to our west. A significant area of private land is currently burning. It is unlikely that an opportunity to safely back burn into this country will eventuate between now and tomorrow when severe fire weather will come into play (40°C, gusty SW winds and 12% humidity). There is a high likelihood that a broad fire front will develop under NW winds tonight and then be pushed in the direction of the village..."

The next message was that the rural fire service was door knocking in the area telling people to leave. Emails were still downloading as Viktoria phoned the Android & he made the quick trip across town to pick her up & rush home. All we could think of during the 45 min journey from work back home getting the cats to safety. Not the house, not the furniture, not any stuff. Just making sure that the fur-kids were safe.

The smell of burning eucalyptus filled the air as we passed a steady stream of locals leaving the mountain.  Clearly we were heading in the wrong direction.

By the time we had packed the cars, most of the village had left, with just fire trucks and firemen milling around. Viktoria took the 3 cats in her car... the Android took 3 synthesizers (a Moog Voyager, a custom build Vostok, and something else with lots of knobs). Viktoria made it half way down the mountain before Captain Greatpants threw up – of course one of them would have to get motion sickness.

The Android's mother kindly let us descend on her with 3 cats in tow.  We let the cats out in the room we were sleeping in (after setting up food, water & a kitty litter tray for them). Mistress Surly immediately squooooozed herself underneath the ensemble bed where she stayed until the following morning. (The Android had to lift the bed so that she could be prised out.) Princess Daintyfeet commandeered the space underneath the dressing table. Captain Greatpants, needing to replace the meal he had lost, had something to eat.

The Android made a mad dash to a takeaway so we could at least provide dinner in lieu of board. During which time Captain Greatpants decided he wanted to check out the house. To his credit, the mad little guy was awesome. He rubbed on everything (including the Android's mother) and spent a long time trying to shoot a possum outside with his laser-vision, but was otherwise content just to sit at our feet while we were in the lounge room.
Viktoria didn’t really sleep (strange house, noisy suburbia, strange bed) which was made worse when at about 2am Princess Daintyfeet decided she wanted to look around – which meant she started doing laps of our bed ‘talking’ rather loudly. Not wanting to wake the rest of the house, Viktoria thought she would let Princess Daintyfeet out of the room and walk around the house with her... Captain Greatpants decided to be tour guide and kept herding her to the most interesting parts of the house (for a cat); mostly behind or underneath furniture. They were both rather dusty. Despite efforts to bring her back into the bedroom, Princess Daintyfeet wasn’t having any of that. By this stage, the Android had stirred, so we ended up shutting all the doors in the house except ours and leaving the fuzzy ninjas to roam. Which meant that Viktoria stayed awake listening & hoping that they didn’t decide to try climbing cabinets or breaking anything. We shouldn’t have worried – our cats are actually fairly well-behaved (most of the time) & know to stay off things like tables & cabinets.

That morning we couldn’t check the Internet for any fire updates, because the Android's mum doesn’t have the Internet. And Viktoria's mobile phone rapidly ran out of charge.  The official channels were actually pretty rubbish at providing updates on what was happening – much better and more accurate information came from the mountain chat room (the modern equivalent of the 'Bush Telegraph'), or just from phoning people.

So we decided to take the beasties back home & see how we go. There is still a severe fire warning, but the local firies managed to build containment lines last night & the winds haven’t been too bad.
Princess Daintyfeet seems to have largely just had a big adventure, while Mistress Surly is still preparing herself to forgive us. Oh, and Captain Greatpants threw up again on the way home. Cats-1 / Humans-0.
But we are all safe, if a little smoky, and it was a good opportunity to see if our bushfire emergency plan worked, or needed work.
Now, exactly which trees did we want to keep in Tassie???
V&A

The cost of moving to Tasmania... and how shall we do it?

Yes, yes... we know that we don't actually have a house to live in yet (in fact, we haven't so much as cleared a single tree), but so that we can plan our budgeting, we have started looking into they "how's" and "when's" of moving all our crap belongings from Queensland to Tasmania.
We looked at a number of different 'traditional' removalists, but eventually decided that the best option (for us at least) would be to ship everything down there in a shipping container - and if we bought the shipping container, we could include it's location and installation on the block as part of our Building Application (yes folks, you do need permission to keep a shipping container on your land).

"Honey, have you seen the car keys?"

We sent out requests to four different shipping companies, but only two responded. Mind you, a 50% response rate is pretty awesome these days.
The criteria we set out were:

• Moving from Queensland to Tasmania sometime in the vicinity of 2013 - 2014 (yes, we were that vague)
• Would like to purchase a 20 foot high top container
• Would like to pack our stuff up ourselves
• Destination is rural Tasmania
• May need to store the container somewhere in Tasmania if the house build is still ongoing

We received responses from both Anglia Container Services and Budget Self Pack Containers. In alphabetical order, here is what they had to say....

Thank you for your inquiry.

I know that your relocation is around a year away so please treat the following quote as an indication of what we would expect your costs to be then. If you decided to use our services, we would need to review our quote again closer to that time.

We can deliver one lease 20’ shipping container to {Queensland} for you to load. We would then relocate the loaded container to {Tasmania} for you to unload. We would then recover our empty container. We expect that the total cost to you for this will be between $3600.00 and $3800.00.

Extended Lease option - Our quote includes your use of our container for up to 28 days and you decide how to use that time. If you need to extend this free lease period, the only extra cost to you after the 28 days is, at this time, $2.75/day.

All quoted prices include GST.

Please note that our quote is based on good access for our delivery vehicles and on you loading personal household effects and furniture. It is okay to load complete motor cars or motor cycles if you wish. If you intend to load heavy building materials or industrial machinery etc though, please tell us in advance because additional costs may apply due to excess weight.

Thanks again for the opportunity to quote and please do not hesitate to call if we can assist.

Regards, Ed

Ed Smith

Anglia Container Services Pty Ltd

Phone:  1300 296040  -  0488 421342

Fax:  02 6336 8080

And the second response we received goes something like this....

Thank you for requesting a quote from Budget Self Pack Containers. Should you have further questions, I can be contacted directly on either 1300 659 221 (key option 2) or on

0478 124 219. Please note that all prices include GST. Your quote is valid until 30/9/13.
Price
The price for a 20ft shipping container (supplied by BSPC) from {QLD} to anywhere TAS is $5850. The price for a 20ft shipping container (supplied by you) from  {QLD} to anywhere TAS is $4350.
How it works

1.     We deliver an empty container to your current address.

2.     You pack your belongings into the container.

3.     We transport the container to your new address (or store it until you are ready to receive it).

4.     Once unloaded, we remove the empty container.

Days to Pack / Unpack

We give you up to 40 days to split between packing and unpacking. If you need to keep the container for an extended period, the hire rate is $30 per week.
Transit time
The door to door transit time is 6 days.
Packing Equipment and Materials
Included in the price above is use of 1 furniture trolley and 10 heavy duty furniture blankets. We also provide you with 2 x 30m rolls of soft woven nylon rope that is yours to use and keep.
Insurance
All customers of Budget Self Pack Containers are covered under our transit insurance policy at no additional cost. Events covered are; fire, explosion, lightning, flood, collision, overturning, jack-knifing and derailment. The limit of any one claim is $150k. We also carry public liability insurance ($20m).
Container Specifications
The container has tie rails and a heat / condensation vent as well as multiple padlock points for keeping your belongings secure during the move. The internal capacity is 38m3. Internal dimensions are 5.95m long x 2.35m wide x 2.75m high. There are heavy lugs at floor and ceiling level for securing a vehicle or other heavy object.
Weight Allowance (base weight)
Your quoted price allows for a total weight (container and contents) of 8 tonne.  The container itself weighs 2.2 tonne. Additional weight is charged at $20 per tonne.
Container Transportation
By default, we transport 20ft containers to and from rail using tilt-tray trucks. Side-loading trucks are available upon request at additional cost.
Storage - BSPC Container
If required, we can store the container prior to delivery.  The weekly storage rate is $20 per week for the first 3 weeks and $85 per week after that. There is also a one-off charge of $190 to cover the cost of the additional container movement. Container hire charges are included in our storage rates.
Storage - Your Container
The weekly storage rate is $30. There is also a one-off charge of $190 to cover the cost of the additional container movement. Container hire charges are included in our storage rates.
Customer Service
The customer testimonials on our website are genuine. At Budget Self Pack Containers, we understand that you have a lot to organise besides getting your belongings to your new home. It is our commitment to our customers to offer an exceptional customer service experience that will take some of the pain out of moving interstate.
Payment Terms
We require a $300 deposit prior to empty container delivery with the balance payable prior to the full container being delivered to the final destination. We accept Mastercard or Visa (1.5% surcharge on transactions over $300) or direct deposit.
Quote Acceptance
You can either call or email advising acceptance of this quote. The more notice you can give us the better, but we can get things going with as little as 3 days notice. Please note that your quoted price is based upon the information provided.
Kind Regards

Clarke Davies

Budget Self Pack Containers
1300 659 221

0478 124 219

So there you have it. Both were friendly and helpful and we will definitely be contacting them once we get closer to "The Relocation"... The Android has, however, since advised that some of his more sensitive electronic components won't cope well with sitting in a hot shipping container, so he needs to come up with a solution to transporting those... And of course, the three ships' cats are unlikely to take all that well to being packed into a container, so we need to investigate getting the beasties transported also.
But that is something for another day.
Look after each other, and we'll catch up with you soon. 
V&A
B

The Android's Solo Expedition

It's been a while since we posted an update. We have no real excuse, bar the usual "It's that time of year" version.
Since our last post, however, there have been a few developments.
Firstly, the Android went to visit the block in Tasmania (well, Viktoria actually packed him up and sent him away so that he could become a little more 'engaged with the project'). But while he was there, he managed to catch up with Neal-the-Architect as well as Michael-the-Builder in the slightly damp surrounds of the Huon Valley.
The Android hadn't seen where the new house site was going to be, nor had he met Michael since Viktoria went down to Tasmania several months ago, so even though there was nothing really that prompted the presence of either of us, it was a fantastic opportunity for him to get back in touch with how things were going.

TIP: It's really important that all parties involved in the project stay connected .. even if that means that one of you has to coerce the other (by force, if necessary). The distribution of tasks may not be equal due to simple time factors, but you need to have an equal mental investment.

The most fruitful discussions from the Android's perspective were with Michael-the-Builder, who was able to discuss the driveway options and costings in greater detail. Michael offered some handy advice on different surfacing options and is currently preparing an updated version of his quote which will show what can be done before the build, and what can be done after the build (so we don't end up with our brand new driveway being churned up by heavy machinery).
Neal-the-Architect had also built some models of the house, much to the Android's delight, complete with the proposed roof design. The Android took several photos of the models... and then refused to share them with Viktoria until he returned home.
We have included a couple of these below. The roof is essentially one continuous curved sheet of roofing iron, which wraps over and down the side of each wing of the house to the ground. 

View from above (facing West) - roof curving over side walls



View back of house (facing West)

And so the layout makes a bit more sense under the roof line, here is a photo of the same model, but with the roof and walls removed (OK, so it's upside down, but you get what we mean)...

View facing South (no walls or roof)

One of the other architects at jawsarchitects, Fiona Graham, is valiantly trying to decipher our wish list into something that resembles and interior, and we have some updated floor plans from her to share with you too.

Basically, Viktoria had the brainwave (or minor synapse fizz) that we would get more bathroom space if we moved the laundry out of the bathroom and into the kitchen area. But only Fiona could come up with such a neat solution...

Revised Floorplan with Relocated Laundry

Will are starting to source people with chainsaws who will be able to clear the building site for us (whilst leaving the trees we wish to keep unscathed) and will let you know how we go.

And we do still have that information from the removalists to put together for you, but we left the papers in our other trousers.... so until next time, V&A

Driveway Construction.... it's bigger than a really big thing

We actually received the quotes on the two driveway options on Thursday last week.
It has just taken us until now to recover sufficiently to write about it.
Well... that's not entirely true. It's not all that bad. The cost is kind of what we were expecting, but not what we were hoping...

• Driveway Option 1- 3 metres wide and 45 metres long, including 20% contingency sum and 10% GST = $44,000
• Driveway Option 2- (our preferred design) 3 metres wide and 70 metres long, including 20% contingency sum and 10% GST = $58,000

The Android spent a considerable time huffing and roaring, gruffly announcing that it would be more cost effective to buy a tractor and build it himself (an undertaking not outside the realms of possibility as the Android is partly constructed of used farming equipment)...

Steampunk Tank - made by NAO Design

but eventually he was able to reboot his logic board in light of the fact that driveways form part of the Development Application to Council and are required to comply with yet another ludicrous number of codes & legislations.

Part of the above cost is due to the existing site soil not being of suitable quality to be used as fill, so engineered fill would have to be imported to the site. And for Driveway Option 2, we're talking 120 cubic metres of fill. With the usual cries of "remoteness" and "accessibility" echoing in our ears, you can appreciate that importing fill can only be done at considerable cost.

So here is our dilemma... we need a driveway. We can't really afford a driveway. We can't start building without a driveway.

And the only thing we have in sufficient quantities to barter with is shed cat fur (a commodity that doesn't fetch that much in this galaxy).

Neal-the-Architect, skillfully masking his growing frustration with the Viktoria/Android Committee, is going to talk to Cordwell Lane (the builders) and request that they provide us with a "split quote" for the same work. Hopefully with the split quote we can spread the driveway cost over what we need to have in cash now as opposed to what we can include in the construction loan later.  And with Cordwell Lane already on board as our builders, hopefully they will be able to provide us with a less heart-attack-inducing quote.
The Android is making noises about going down to Tasmania in the near future - he hasn't seen the new house site, and Neal has promised some roof design options (3D model versions too!) which the Android can play with.
Meanwhile, we have been making preliminary enquiries on the costs of transporting our 'stuff' down to Tasmania... unfortunately, we have an older model Time Machine which doesn't come with the limitless interior space option of the more familiar TARDIS so have to make other arrangements...
We will pass on what we have learnt about shipping containers next time we catch up.

First World Problems...which door handles should we choose?

Neal-the-Architect has survived his family holiday to Queensland and is back on board. Unfortunately, not yet on board are the estimates of the driveway designs from the civil engineers.
So in the meantime, Viktoria & the Android have been amusing themselves by discussing the big issues. Like what doorhandles we should get. Once we get the costings in for the driveway, we could well decide that all we can afford is a tent and therefore the concept of doorhandles will be moot in any event.
Until such time, we are content to argue about doorhandles.
As we are quite tactile creatures, we could both agree that the handles had to be something that was pleasant to hold. Because of the style of house, we could also both agree that we would like the doorhandles to be finished in old rubbed-bronze or a 'rust' finish.
However, after narrowing our choices down to one favourite handle each - that was actually ALL we could agree on. Now, dear jury, we are going to throw some ideas out there and see if anyone else has any preferences.
Just to put it all in context, we are attaching a picture of the idea of what the finished house will look like, in terms of style, that is:

Finished house to be in a similar interior style to this...

The future house will eventually have a fairly robust, missile-silo-type bunker with some timber features.
Originally, we fell absolutely in love with the work produced by French company Bouvet. All their handles are hand-forged (read: heinously expensive) and extremely beautiful because each one is unique. Here's a couple of the ones we liked from Bouvet:

However, at around $100 - $150 per handle, not per set, even though we will have only about 5 internal doors, it seems to be a little on the extravagant side to our way of thinking (and budget).

So now we are looking at some by Emtek. They are similar in style, but not hand made (and therefore nowhere near the price of the Bouvet handles). We would be looking at around $85 a set. These are the two that we like.... well, Viktoria likes one of them and the Android likes the other...



Handle A: Lafayette by Emtek

 

Handle B: Harrisburg by Emtek



The finish on these will actually look more like the "rusty" one of the Bouvet handles, but I couldn't find a picture with the correct finish to show you.

So....which one of the Emtek handles do you prefer? Handle A? Or Handle B?

Results of Soil Testing & Wastewater Management

Sven Nielsen (Geotech Engineer) has provided his Soil Tests and Waste Management Report (the latter a requirement given that we don't have access to town sewerage and therefore need to have an onsite wastewater system.
While we are awaiting the (potential horror of the) preliminary costings for the driveway designs from the Civil Engineers, we thought we would update you with the outcome of the soil testing.
An extract of Sven's report notes that:

The site is underlain by Triassic Sandstone bedrock and is proximal to a contact with Jurassic Dolerite. The clay fraction is likely to show moderate to high ground surface movement and the soil may lose bearing potential when wet. The soil is likely to be variable in depth with colluvial cobbles and boulders to be expected throughout soil profiles over the site.
It is noteworthy that minor gully erosion (indicative of dispersive soils) was observed immediately to the north of the proposed house site. A soil sample from bore 2 was subjected to the Emmerson Test with a Class 4 (non dispersive) result. It is likely that the stratified clays associated with various weathering phases of the sandstone bedrock will show a range of dispersive classes over the proposed development area. This has implications for both recommended founding layers of any footings solution as well as the management of both stormwater and wastewater over the site. The development proposal involves significant site cutting into the underlying sandstone bedrock. The strength and hence excavatabilty of these rocks will vary over the site given their sedimentary nature, and unconfined compressive strengths (UCS) of up to 75 MPa are considered representative of harder rock phases over the site.

It looks like we should hopefully be able to excavate for the building site in its proposed location, with a sublayer of "rippable" sandstone (ie it won't need to be removed by dynamite!) and also have the foundations going directly into the bedrock.
The Soil Test Class was returned as M (standing for "Moderate Movement"), but for the purpose of building, if we are to put the foundations on the bedrock, we would instantly graduate with a Soil Class A.
Turning to the wastewater treatment, after spending a disproportionate length of time looking at composting toilets Viktoria and the Android elected to go with a septic system with raised absorption beds. To incorporate a composting toilet with a chute or external chamber would require significant redesign of the bathroom to accommodate it. And as for the ones with the internal compost chamber... they really are possibly the ugliest creatures ever invented.

Even superimposed on the ocean... they're still hideous

So, given the legal requirement that even rooms that could potentially be used as bedrooms (ie Viktoria and the Android's individual studios) be listed as bedrooms on the Council application, our downsized house is once again a 4 bedroom house and, as per Sven's recommendations:

It is proposed that this dwelling be serviced by a dual-purpose septic tank with effluent dosed into raised absorption beds. The absorption area could be catered for as two 10m x 3.5m raised absorption beds (core bed dimensions) shown on the site plan with adequate room for a 100% reserve if required. Care should be taken to ensure adequate setback distances from boundaries and sensitive down slope environmental receptors where applicable and installation should be compliant with the prescriptions contained within this report. Given the site investigation has been conducted prior to earthworks, further site inspection should occur after site works have been finalised. Bed locations may be relocated at this time. It is recommended that a standard domestic 4000L Dual Purpose Septic Tank and pump well be installed to accept and treat effluent flows.

Neal-the-Architect has intimated at a few design improvements to the house itself which will be on their way, but we don't anticipate receiving any of these until after Neal returns from his family vacation in the next couple of weeks.

Soil testing... a tale of dirt and mountains

Soil tests are a big deal. No, really.
Not only will the results of the soil test impact the driveway design and the foundation design, they will ultimately give us an idea of whether we will be digging through dirt or stone, and thus how much this whole extravaganza will cost. But there is a third thing. Because our land is rural, we don't have any connection to town sewerage. So the type of on-site wastewater treatment system we can are able to install is also dependant on the type of soil.
And that's before the building even gets out of the ground.
We engaged Sven Nielsen from Strata Consulting to perform both the soil testing and the on-site wastewater management plan for us. Following a meeting with Neal-the-Architect, Sven advised that he would...

...propose to drill three bore holes to 2.5 meters in depth (or refusal on rock) across the footprint of the proposed dwelling.  This will give us and understanding about soil depth and composition across the footprint which will help to inform the suitability of the site for cutting as per the current plan.  This will also allow sampling of clays which will be submitted to the laboratory for the Atterberg Limit test which will give us the site classification details.  Given that I cannot get vehicle access to this area to use my vehicle mounted drilling rig I will use a man-portable drilling rig for this. 

The engineers also require soil bearing capacity determinations for the foundations as well as CBR (Californian Bearing Ratio) determinations for the driveway.  I will gather this information using a dynamic cone penetrometer and present this information in my report - we will need to do a test at each borehole as well as at 4 locations along the driveway.

That all sounded very impressive, although it did leave The Android feeling he was slightly incomplete without a dynamic cone penetrometer of his own. 
As we have tried to prepare ourselves for this journey on the basis that there will be monsters hiding around every corner, and what can go wrong probably will, we were not completely surprised when we heard again from Sven shortly after he had conducted the site testing and...

...discovered some tunnel erosion near to your proposed house site.  This is caused by dispersive soils (soil which dissolve in water) and is nothing to be unduly worried about but it does have implications for the management of storm water runoff and wastewater from your house as concentration can lead to further erosion and instability.  

I suggest that we subject a soil sample to a dispersion test, which will quantify how dispersive your soils are. This will help to inform management strategies in terms of your storm and wastewater, including the treatment of disturbed areas.   

Let me know if you want me to commission this test or if you have any questions.

Naturally, we requested that Sven proceed with the additional tests, believing it would be prudent that we get as much information as possible. We don't want to end up with a wastewater system that is inappropriate any more than we want to have the house sliding down the mountain after the first downpour. 
On receipt of Sven's report, the structural engineers will be able to complete their costing estimates for the driveway, we will have an idea of the type and cost of wastewater treatment system we can install, and Neal will be able to determine where on the block we can finally settle the house.

TIP: When it comes to building in remote areas, patience is definitely a virtue.

Driveways.... an engineering extravaganza

My word! Who knew planning a driveway would be so complicated?! A driveway people!
We are currently traversing the strange "Driveway Neverland" inhabited by Civil and Geotechnical Engineers. Although slowly learning to speak their language, we are still largely confined to making hand-gestures to make ourselves understood.
What is all boils down to is us having two driveway options... the first is favoured by those from Clan Engineer, while the second is favoured by Viktoria and the Android and Neal-the-Architect.
Following are the untranslated comments regarding the two options from Gandy & Roberts Consulting Engineers (as an aside, it's worth clicking on their name to visit their website if only to read about their forays into experimental siege engine research...)

I have done a quick design for both options. Design constraints included a maximum grade of 25%. Batters slopes have been done at 1:1.5 - this may be steepened depending on the geological situation.

Road 1 - Is the shorter of the two options (therefore less costs) and cuts across the contours better to achieve a better balance between earthworks required  and maximum grades used.

Road 2 - I have used a batter slope of 1:1 for the first 40m (may need stabilised batters), otherwise we would be cutting into the existing road formation. It is much longer with a more complex geometry. The hard part with this road is the turn at around Ch 60. Trying to achieve grades of not more than 25% when cutting perpendicular to the contours presents much larger earthworks.

Road 1 would be the better option (cost and construction wise) but does not enter from the north as the client wanted.

Following are the two design options, as provided by Gandy & Roberts. Bear in mind there is about 50 metres of land (in a straight line) from the left hand side of the picture to where the house outline begins.



Road 1 leading to (outline of) house



Road 2 leading to (outline of) house

So do we go with practical and less costly, or prettier and a small ransom? We are yet to make a decision as we won't get an idea of costs until some more geotech information has been gathered.
Do you prefer one design over the other?
Let us know what you think.

Follow our Blog!

Viktoria and the Android have made a quantum leap in blog technology, and given you the option to FOLLOW us on our journey (okay, so it's hardly a new discovery...)
To follow our blog, click the "Join this site" button on the right hand column.
After you sign up, you will see a popup window with the options to either follow publicly or privately. If you decide to follow our blog publicly, your profile picture will automatically be displayed on our blog, together with a link to your profile.
There's plenty of room in the Time Machine, so jump on board.

Feedback to the architect - round 2

We have finally managed to get our collective brain organised, and have compiled feedback on the second lot of sketch designs developed by the architect.
Attached below is a copy of the floor plans which we scribbled on, a summarised version of the feedback we provided to Neal-the-architect and some photos of other buildings and interiors which we have taken as inspiration. We had to make the floorplans larger so that they were legible, but unfortunately this means that they look a bit untidy on this page.
We would love to know what you think of the designs - or if you have any suggestions!



Ground Floor Plan with comments from Viktoria and the Android


Living room

• swap the full length sliding door for a window (allow some opening for ventilation)
• the fire place is to be a slow-combustion woodstove with a water boiler (Thermalux and Scandia are the two Australian ones we were considering)
• we liked the idea of the 'sunken living room' option discussed, and this may turn out to be more practical given the slope of the land

Flooring

• in the event that polished concrete is outside our budget, we have found a photo of the type of tiling we both like - large format, in a standard grid pattern, with matching grout (no white!)

Picture of the type of tiling we like

Desk / study

• move the desk from the end of the hall, and spin it 180 degrees so that it is facing the pantry wall
• the media hub / phone etc would therefore be nearer the kitchen area
• include an internal sliding door (emerging from the wall between the entry & pantry maybe?) so that we can keep the living / kitchen areas warm

Viktoria's studio

• what appears to be marked as a desk on the plan needs to be built-in floor to ceiling storage instead

Bathroom / Laundry

• we have decided to forgo having a shower-over-bath and just have a shower instead
• attached is a photo of a shower area we both love, and are hoping might be replicated to some extent (though probably not with a pebble floor) - it comes complete with built-in seating so that we can park our Zimmer frames in there when we are older

  

  Picture of a shower liked by Viktoria and the Android

Bedroom

• we are a little concerned that our large Victorian bed head won't be able to navigate the entry and around into the hallway - Viktoria re-measured the bed and at the centre it is 2330mm x 2130mm x 130mm. The posts at either corner are 1800mm high. Perhaps we need to have a sliding door in the main bedroom instead of a window so that we can get that big creature in? 

  

  Roof level plan with comments from Viktoria and the Android

  

The Android's Studio

• the Android is very happy with the rhomboid room-shape (apparently this makes for good acoustics)
• please omit the second sliding door to the concrete courtyard at the SE and replace with a high overhead window
• also add a window to the angled E wall (next to the stairs) - could this be a 'normal' window size?
• can the other window on the W wall be a high overhead window too
• and please include built-in floor-to-ceiling storage across the N wall (backing onto the carport)

Roof

• omit the courtyard off the Android's studio and convert to a roof instead
• where did our Greenroof go?

So that's where we left Neal... quite possibly scratching his head and muttering.
We'd love to know what you think - please leave a comment!

Visiting the architect's own home

During her lightning visit to Tasmania (ostensibly to choose a builder), Neal-the-architect also showed Viktoria around his own home (which, naturally, he had designed himself).
You can see on the JAWS website some photos taken of Neal's home during its construction here - although it's obviously in a far more advanced state of completion now than shown in these pictures.  And the photos really don't do it justice - it's quite a wonderful space to be in, with a logical sense of movement and pause, openness and enclosure.
Although it's constructed of robust materials (predominately bluestone block work and concrete) the curvilinear walls and integration of the bush setting lend the building a lightness and very human softness.
Viktoria cannot thank Neal and his family enough for making her feel so welcomed into their private home, and for the delicious barbecued Tasmanian salmon steaks we had for dinner. Mmmmmmm....
Actually, Viktoria ate like a king when she was there (yes, when Viktoria becomes king, even women will be allowed to be king).
If you are ever in the Hobart area and feeling hungry, we recommend stopping at Fish Frenzy at Elizabeth Street Pier, and trying the self-titled "Fish Frenzy" - a selection of blue-eye trevally, calamari and scallops with a generous serving of hot chips, wrapped up in a paper cone. It will feed one very hungry person, or two not-so-hungry people for AU $17.

The "Fish Frenzy" at Fish Frenzy

You can see from the reflection in the water in the photo above how beautiful and clear the weather was while she was there.
Viktoria stayed at Gattonside Heritage Accommodation in Battery Point which offered very reasonable winter rates - and was in very convenient walking distance to everything from the JAWS offices to Salamanca Markets and numerous coffee shops (as well as being in the beautiful historic Battery Point itself).


Gattonside in winter

Sadly, it will probably be some time before either Viktoria or the Android can return...

How to choose a builder

As mentioned earlier in this blog, the whole purpose of Viktoria making the lightning round-trip to Tasmania last week was to meet with, and hopefully choose, a builder. Neal-the-architect recommended that we get a builder involved in the project earlier on, due to the remote location and type of build.
As neither Viktoria nor the Android knew of any builders in Tasmania, Neal had short-listed three builders who were happy (or crazy enough) to agree to building on our site. This was a hugely wonderful thing for him to do, as a lot of the due diligence had already been carried out by the time Viktoria sat down with them. Again, we are running out of words to express our gratitude for all Neal has done.
Viktoria and the Android researched the three builders as much as possible from three States and a large stretch of water away, and decided that, much like choosing an architect, choosing a builder largely came down to who Viktoria thought she could get along with. And, as it would most likely be Viktoria and not the Android that the builder would be dealing with, it would also need to be the person that Viktoria thought would best be able to get along with her.

TIP: After researching previous projects & company history, choosing a builder is much like choosing an architect - it comes down to who you think you will be able to get along with when things go wrong.

Neal arranged for Viktoria and the builders to attend the JAWSarchitects offices in Battery Point. Donning his best "impartial mediator" guise, Neal would attend while Viktoria attempted to channel the universe to provide her with insight enough to make the correct decision.
Over two days, Viktoria met the builders, made lots of notes, and kept the Android updated. However, we knew it wasn't going to be a quick process, and we would have to sit down together before a decision was made. The process was drawn out because the Android had band rehearsals, Viktoria had to visit relatives, and both of us had to work.
Eventually, after many cups of tea and disjointed discussion, we picked Michael Lane from Cordwell Lane Building Pty Ltd, because:

• they had done a lot of block work before
• they had their own joiners
• they had their own glaziers
• they had worked on remote sites before

Viktoria also liked that Michael started thinking about how a revolving bookcase-secret doorway could be built, and didn't just make clever remarks about it.
So Corwell Lane Building it is. We have put together some pics of a few of their previous builds for you...

Cargo Bar; Paul Kelly Interior Design; Cordwell Lane Building

Basement; Preston Lane Architects; Cordwell Lane Building

Mt Pleasant addition; Cordwell Lane Building

Shearers' Quarters; John Wardle Architects; Cordwell Lane Building

The next things we need to do are:

• the Android needs to sort out getting the electricity connected to the site
• Viktoria will arrange for the geotec who did the initial soil tests to contact Neal to organise for some further testing on the final site
• we will collate our feedback on the second round of sketch designs for Neal (we will put these in the next post)
• Neal will arrange for the structural engineer to provide us with an idea of timing and costing for creating a rough driveway to the site

And that is where we are currently up to. When we have gathered our collective thoughts together, we will let you know how the house design is progressing and will post the latest sketch designs.

Visiting the house site with the architect

Viktoria has been to and returned from her whirlwind trip to Tasmania, during which she visited the new house site, met three builders, went to a French wine tasting, got sung at by a fellow guest at the B&B she stayed at, managed to run late for seemingly every engagement and ate some marvellous food.
First... the site visit (more on the other bits later).
Tasmania had turned on absolutely glorious weather, rendering most of the cold-weather clothing Viktoria had packed fairly useless. Which is partly the reason why a trip to the bush saw Viktoria attired in stockings, a black lace-and-boucle dress and calf-length Victorian knickers... and partly because one must never substitute practicality for sartorial excellence...
Between meetings, Neal-the-architect drove Viktoria out to the house site in the Huon Valley. While Viktoria was mentally congratulating herself for her forethought in bringing a pair of sneakers (the red suede platform heels she had started the day in could have been a little dangerous in the mud) Neal-the-architect deemed said sneakers unworthy, and thoughtfully provided her with a sturdy pair of wellingtons in which to march through the undergrowth.
Two things became rapidly obvious... firstly, Neal-the-architect is at least a foot taller than Viktoria and secondly, those sturdy wellingtons were about two sizes too big. So while Neal easily stepped over moss-covered fallen trees and waded through knee-high bracken, Viktoria rapidly lost ground to him as she followed with all the poise and grace of a new-born gazelle on roller-skates. Which also makes her sound like a completely ungrateful snot.
But we digress.
The following photos are taken relative to the position of the 'reference gum' noted on the site survey below. The 'reference gum' is about 50m from the road, and about 40m from the edge of the cliff (where the survey lines stop).

This first pic was taken standing around the middle of the site - the reference gum is the one in the centre of the image in the distance. This is roughly where the top level of the house (where the carport is likely to be) will be situated.

For this next photo, Viktoria turned 180 degrees - showing the position of the future-carport, looking up to the road. It was partially taken as evidence that the sun did in fact shine on the block, and once the undergrowth is cleared will actually be quite pleasant.

Having battled \the undergrowth to the edge of the cliff, this next pic shows the view back up the site from near the cliff to the reference gum (which is the tree in mid-image with the dark hollow near the base).

And finally, here is a rather blurry image of the cliff itself. The rock structure was one of three in close proximity to each other - they were about 10m in diameter, easily 20-30m high and almost perfectly cylindrical - looking like some Atlantian columns that had been forced from the depths.

Apart from a startled pademelon and twittering birds, the only sound was the rush of the waterfall in the distance. And Viktoria swearing as she stepped out of her wellington for the hundredth time.

Next we'll let you know how we went with choosing a builder, but for the time being we would appreciate hearing what you think.

Oh, and the feline hoard are all returned to health with Miss Daintyfeet and Captain Greatpants both back on deck (to the scarcely disguised disappointment of Mistress Surly).