Build report (3)

Miserable day today, rain mist and more rain, so the site was very sticky. Fortunately I had a spare pair of shoes in the boot but for the rest of autumn and winter I think I need wellies. Of course, in keeping with the landed gentry image they will have to be green and have little straps at the top for the calves :)

The first thing I noticed was the trench. This is going to carry the electricity and telephone cables from the boundary to the house and, while the building is happening, to the on-site unit the builders are going to live in. The views, obviously, are up the hill and down the hill.

The site is marked out very precisly with red and green crosses, each of which has a red or green nail stuck in the centre of the X!



Things are happening. The garage area is not only marked out but foundations have been dug and some gravel stuff put down so you could actually put a couple of cars on it. Having said that I paced it out and I think the Jag-wah may be touching front and back - its a long wheel-base XJ8 and is, therefore, very long. We'll see.

This is a reverse shot of the garage with the builders container and the Jag-wah.





Remember the missile silos from the last report? Now there are the actual water tanks - huge things. Apparently New Zealanders each use 345 litres of water a year brushing their teeth so I guess the size of these things should not be a surprise.

The builders have their own amenities of course. This illustrates how private and secluded the site is - no door on the toilet!








This is the garage area up close along with a close up of the surrounding foundations.

Public View

Well, I got a comment from a totally random person.

Does that mean the address has been advertised on the blogger home page or is there the slightest chance someone came across it randomly. I have told blogger it's not public.

Feathered Friends

Last Sunday, when I went to look at the building progress a couple of wonderful things happened. Firstly, Crimson Rosellas are not uncommon here and they look spectacular when the swoop through trees. However on Sunday I turned the car off the road and through the first approach road and at least 50 of them took off from the field and flew into the adjoining forrest. 50! Awesome.

Then, when I was leaving I returned down the same track and sitting on a fence was a Kingfisher - very neat.

Add those to the harriers which frequent the area and its all adding up to an ornithologists delight.

Build Report (2)

Last Sunday things had moved on, but not much. The actual site is now flat and marked out with the 'footprint' but I don't think you'll be able to see it on this photo.

These look like missile silos but they're water tanks.










Now the bad news; the local Council have decided the building site goes directly over the eartthquake fault line so I have to get resource consent as well as building consent. The builders don't think its a major but I think the fault isn't where the Council say it is!

Oh Yea of Little Faith

It has started. The build. And there were those of you who thought it would never take place :)

I'll do a series of these shots as the work progresses. It's taken from the higher building site and, obviously, looks down on the main site.

They've started ripping out the gorse and the next bit is levelling the site itself.

Shot taken on a dreary, wet Sunday afternoon.