Monday June 15 Fill it up The blockwork is to retain the fill beneath the concrete slab so the blocks needed to be filled with concrete. This is known as ‘core-filled’ blockwork and is used when a blockwork wall will be retaining something, such as fill (in this instance) or earth (in a retaining wall).…
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Saturday June 13 Dial a local We had a very wet start to winter. I knew Greg (the builder) was nervous about the weather. We had waited anxiously as the start date rolled around – thankfully the time coincided with the rain clouds rolling away and the sun and wind coming out to play. The…
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Friday June 12 Solid base Footings, or foundations, are what buildings are built on – they stop buildings from sinking into the mud or sliding down the hill. If you were to use the human body as an analogy, the footings would be, um, the foot. The rest of the building is literally built up…
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Thursday June 11 A little to the left Many projects will be setout (accurately marked) by a surveyor, so you build exactly where you want to (and where you told the authorities you were going to build). This is especially important if you are building on or near a site boundary or other important features.…
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Thursday June 10 Rain rain go away We had a very wet start to winter this year. Concrete trucks are very heavy. You can see where this is going… In order to get access from the road to the building site we had to construct a driveway around 70m long. This involved first…
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Timber! Several trees needed to be removed on my site for bushfire protection – they were also dropping limbs so they were potentially dangerous. The trees were identified in a Bushfire Hazard Management Plan – what it is, and its implications, will be discussed later in a separate post. Even if you own…
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Planning for the future For this particular project it was important to consider the future use of the site, and to resist the temptation to build on the best part of the site. Initially my parents had wanted to buy the land and retire there but have since cooled on the idea. It didn’t make…
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Know your site Before commencing any design it is important to first gain an appreciation of the site. Site Analysis is best understood through observation, over numerous site visits, or even better – by habitation on the site for an extended period. Few designers have the chance to visit a site more than a handful…
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Flowerpot Located 35 minutes south of Hobart in the delightful town of Flowerpot (yes – it is a real place in Tasmania!), the site is 1.5 hectares (3.5 acres) – around 210m long by 70m wide. The block used to be part of the famous Domeney Bros fruit farm (although I don’t think it ever…
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House or Shack? The project is titled 60k House but I consider it to be more of a shack. What’s the difference? It all depends on how you use it. A house suggests a home, a permanent place to live. A shack speaks of something less permanent, a place that lends itself to informal living,…
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