Monday 28
April 2014
Yes! We've finally reached that other big
milestone in building our new home. Our concrete slab was laid today as scheduled.
When I drove by early this morning on the way to work the site was a hive of
busy activity. There was a big cement mixer truck on site and
another mechanical appliance with a huge [3 storeys-high] arm
and attached hose that was spraying the cement to form our slab (its appearance
reminded me of one of those aliens from the War Of The Worlds movie). It
was quite a sight as the horizon came into view whilst driving up to the site.
The slab
has been laid with clear, levelled and defined perimeter lines by the
workmen and all the wooden frames have been removed from the site. It’s
hard to see the true dimensions of the new home from outside the security
fence. It is more deceiving than it appears. For example, next to
our garage wall (front, far right) there will be a 4,500 litre rain water tank
that will harvest our rooftop rainwater. The dimensions of that rain
water tank are 3 metres in length x 1200mm (1.2 metres) in width. That
rain water tank will therefore hold 4½ tonnes of rain water (when filled to
capacity). To support the weight of that rain water tank, a cement slab
has been laid external to the garage wall. On the left side of the foundations, additional slabs have been laid
towards the rear of the house to support the weight of our new gas-boosted
solar hot water system and the air conditioning unit.
We are now
anxiously waiting to reach the next milestone - the erection of our steel
frames. The framework for our new Douglas home is scheduled to be
put up on Tuesday 13 May 2014.
Here's a couple of photos that I took from outside the security fencing while on the way home from work this evening.
(Click on photos to view enlarged images)
Here's a couple of photos that I took from outside the security fencing while on the way home from work this evening.
(Click on photos to view enlarged images)
Overall home and land dimensions
Dimensions quoted in metres (m).
Home width:
|
8.45m
|
Home length:
|
21.21m
|
Width of block of land:
|
12m
|
Depth of block of land:
|
49.5m
|
Size of block of land in square metres:
|
594m²
|
