how long to draw up plans??

[womble]

Good news is building has started, posts are in. Bad news is plumber completely stuffed up with the septic tank and trench though, put it exactly where I didn't want it to go...where our patio/BBQ area was going to be...$800 in plans wasted since we cant build over it...the air was very colourful when I found out. This is despite telling him where it was supposed to go and drawing it on his set of plans...must have forgotten/lost them in the 6 months or so its taken for him to do the job. Oh well...

Anyway, spent today in wonderful rainy/gale force winds putting in the water, power and phone lines to the house...

As you can see from the photos, the kitchen needs some more work...

[Cliff Rogers]

....must have forgotten/lost them in the 6 months or so its taken for him to do the job. .....

Was his name Peter?

Ours is, takes him bloody ages to turn up for a job & then he goes missing for months from the time he starts to the time he finishes. :mad:

[journeyman Mick]

Womble,
I'd recommend a good plumber to you, but I can't . I know quite a few, but can't say I'd recommend any of them. Take cosolation from the fact that you'll (probably) only do this once.

You could, of course, try to get him to rectify the mistake at his expense, as the plans form part of the contract documentation, but I don't fancy your chances.

Mick.

[womble]

Was his name Peter?

Ours is, takes him bloody ages to turn up for a job & then he goes missing for months from the time he starts to the time he finishes. :mad:

nope, Daryl is his name

[womble]

latest work on the house from this week. Most bearers are across the deck, don't know the timber type but some kind of hardwood...a bit green from the curves on some!

At least they are doing it properly, sealing the ends etc with paint to help stop rot.

Doing more earthmoving too, cleaning out under the house, will have to fix up the sides more in the future...consequence of not having it done properly in the first place by the local grader bloke...

[womble]

lastest pics, deck down and stairs on

[womble]

some concrete down

[Audrie]

Shedhand,

As one who has trained both as a drafter and an architect, I might be able to spread some light on why you have paid so much more for your architect.

An architect charges a percent of the building cost, for small works about 10% of the total job. Usually rates are 3% for design 3% for documentation and 4% for project administration. Lower Fees for big projects. Dont usually take on new housing under a certain level as it becomes unviable. If they charge less, Architects indemnity insurance could refuse to pay out because they argue that costcutting has resulted in the necessary amount of work not being put in.

One big difference between them and drafters is the legal responsibility they take for failure of the building. They can lose their licence if they do not follow the BCA properly for example. Like the difference between using an Engineer or a civil drafter, Architects have 5 years intensive theoretical design training whereas drafters only learn next to none, learning how the bits go together, picking up design skills as they go. There is a world of difference in the end product between them, and I can always tell a building that has used a drafter. Add-ons should never look like add-ons and they don't usually get that right.

Saying that, I would advise that a building that doesn't need a lot of design input and youare not too concerned about liability, by all means use a drafter and save the money.

Audrie
Radical Vision Design Partnership

[ausdesign]

Audrie that was deep !!

[womble]

got some new skirting boards last week, 50 meters of silky oak (closer to 55) for $222 from a local timber place. Started coating them ready for later on when the interior walls and floors have been finished.

Some window pics, had to knock out a rotten window sill from the second bedroom. The right hand side was the main problem, water got in eventually over the 70 odd years the house has stood, will have to replace parts of the chamferboards as well due to rot. Thought about filling/bogging it but in the end would rather fix it now...new window sill cost $25 from the same place I got the skirting from. Solid lump of rose gum, so it should last. All the other window sills seem pretty good, some surface damage but nothing major, a good clean up and decent paint will keep them going.

[womble]

some interior door work, the two bedroom doors and frames needed some done. Over 70 years theres been a few different door handles, catches etc on them, with the resulting damage from poor work etc...

had to fill badly chiselled and drilled holes in with pieces of timber cut to size so the new door hardware can go on eventually. Filler was used to even out the gaps as well.

All the doors and windows are framed with silky oak moulding, dont have the time to strip it back though, plus theres been some pretty dodgy things done to the window mouldings especially over the years, lots of screw and nail holes all in the tops where curtains once went. Basically just filled in the damage with filler, will sand and paint eventually.

[womble]

well after about 8 weeks of waiting for action the builders at are work again, the trusses finally turned up! Don't know what they're made of, some sort of hardwood, not pine in any case! Looking good so far.

The only thing not quite right was the positioning of the windows in the bathroom, we were planning on having only one, centred in the wall facing the creek, but our builder has forgotten about that change to the original plans. Not sure if its worth fixing, I guess two sets of windows would be okay, its just that placing the toilet along the creek facing wall will be a bit tricky now space wise...the cistern might not fit. They have already put in the reinforcing rods etc in the central part so it would be a bit of a mongrel job to pull it out and start over.

The french doors opening onto the deck have changed as well, they wont be ten glass ones as in the plans (which will still be the kitchen ones) but an old silky oak set we got from an old house beside ours before it was moved. They are narrower than the ten glass, which will give us a little more internal space in an otherwise already smallish bathroom.

[womble]

couple more pics...truss details and overall shot

[womble]

a few noggins added

[procureit]

Hi we're getting a queenslander lifted http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=475 and have got cds drafting (bris) to do the work drawings based on ours/there ideas for arounf K2 with eng certs, took about 4-6 weeks but we changed design a few times cdsdrafting@optusnet.com.au