Week 6/7 (17-28 Nov 14) Gabion Wall, Footings

The main services trench to front gate completed.  The electricians were on site to add the mains cables and data for intercom and other services.  In the same trench there was also gas, water, storm water for driveway drain and additional water pressure pipe to allow tank water to be pumped to front fence gardens.

On the weekend we put in another retaining wall towards the back of the block to provide stability to the path and slope.   This time we used a gabion cage wall or wire baskets filled with rocks.  The time consuming part was the construction of the cage but we were able to move 8.3tons of rock with the assistance of the Vemeer mini loader and completed the wall in one day.

The end result was in fitting with the surrounding bush area.

The concretors were back on site to complete front fence footings and get slab set up for formwork and slab pour.

Yet another digger - I have officially lost count now..

The XPS foam arrived on site, 5 piles, 150 sheets, 400m2.

Week 3 - Finishing retaining walls and slab setout

By Tuesday afternoon on week3 the final retaining wall is complete..

Next job is to set out the slab ready for the concretor to work on the piers next week.  As with the retaining wall there are a lot of piers.

The setting out is pretty much complete, just got to double check measurements..

Having a few issues with the contractor for the slab and ICF walls, basically contract details, but all should be sorted Monday or Tuesday at the latest.  If they start on Wednesday we should only be a few days behind schedule and this can be caught up later - still hoping to get the roof framing done by Xmas, with the roof to go on in Mid Jan.

Week 2 - Site Cut and More Retaining Walls

Week 2 started the Friday before with a 14 ton excavator being dropped off to site.  Monday morning 7am, the digging began.

The first of 19 trucks to take dirt away.  300m3, of course we only allowed for 150m3 - the first variation.

The hole got bigger and bigger..

Pretty well done by Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday work begins on the next retaining wall.

This time its 49m long but only normal foundations i.e. same depth as height

Week 1 - Retaining Wall

The first week kicked off with confirmation from the building surveyor that we were good to start the project despite not yet formally receiving the Flood Prone - Report and Consent from the council.

The retaining wall on the north side of the house is to allow a level area in front of the house. It is 28.5m long and due to the landslip issues the wall is engineered with 3 meter foundations with posts at 1500 centres.  

The holes are deep!

The posts weighed over 80 kg each, the contractor decided to position them without a machine

At the end of day 2, half of the posts were in..

The local wildlife gave the posts their stamp(?) of approval.

It was decided to use wheelbarrows rather than a concrete pump to save money.

The end of day 3 only 3 posts to go..

Almost done..