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?