Building the Charlton by Porter Davis

So we're officially already hit lock up. Lock up is defined as 

when the external wall cladding and roof covering is fixed and external doors (excluding and garage and/or verandah) and windows are fixed." 

I had to double check this and obviously make sure this was the case before fixing up payment..you just never know! 
I have to say the first three phases of the build, slab frame and lock up has all happened in the blink of an eye which also means PD will also have the bulk of their money $$$$. Once again the accounts department wins the award in the 100m sprint. 

Given that we had reached such a milestone I made arrangements with the mother in law to babysit for a couple of hours whilst I make the trek out to the house and visit our site supervisor for the first time...great guy....we got along well. During our chat he mentioned a couple of things which was quite interesting....this will be his first Charlton he was building but reassured me that its very similar to the hoffman which he has built plenty of and went on to say its a nice home and becoming very popular as he will soon have another 5 charltons coming. He's also never built a house with different skirtings and architraves upstairs and downstairs so needed to double check with me if this was correct. He also mentioned he never seen a house with the 3 french doors as I've done in the living and dining areas...now all this has got me very worried and made me rethink my decisions!! argh...there's probably a reason why its not been done before maybe because its a stupid idea..argh... I can't help but lose sleep over these things. petty i know. 

Anyway so the house is coming along great there was a guy installing the eaves today, insulation completed and plastering due to start today but looks like they the plasterers were no show...just as well..I was going to head out and buy the guys some lunch and drinks after my meeting. oh well...Too bad!  

So the 'fixing stage'  (plastering, stairs and kitchen cabinets, vanities  etc) should take about 3 weeks so if we allow say 5 weeks for the practical completion stage my dreams of moving in by Christmas might actually come true. 

Insulation completed

View of  Kitchen

So our house is all "hebelled" (I'm pretty sure that's not a word) which was done in about 2 weeks. When I told our SS we were surprised at how fast the hebel he went on to reassured me that I had made the right decision with going with hebel as its a much better product and offers a quicker build time. I still have some reservations about future maintenance of it and how general trades may not be as familiar with the material as brick....e.g. Will they know how to install a clothesline onto Hebel? What about landscaping with soil right up to the house? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Probably really basic stuff but you never know. 

So whilst the hebel is completed our SS is organising for the eaves and upstairs rendering to be completed before he will have the scaffolding taken down. Meanwhile plastering is set to start this week and I will also be meeting our SS for the first time..I know its probably a bit late in the game but its a bit hard trying to organise a time with a 4 month old. 

So now for some photos... 

Scaffolding to remain on to complete the eaves and upstairs rendering

Rear View

Side View

Internal Garage Access Door - Cambridge Style. We chose the Balmoral Style for our internal doors but it doesnt come in a 2040mm size so had to opt for this one. Apparently there is little difference between the Balmoral and Cambridge.

French Doors leading out to the Grand Alfresco

Laundry Door Laundry Door and Dining Room Doors Cracked Window Upstairs

Quick update from me as I have some great news to share after speaking to our site supervisor, it looks like our build is 2 months ahead of schedule. OMG. This has got to be one of the fastest builds I've come across. If I heard correctly we are about 5 weeks away from the 'fixing' stage with upstairs hebel to finish this week and plaster to go up next week followed by all the cabinentry and stairs. Whilst that's been done ss is organising for the eaves and rendering to top level to be finished before we pull down the scaffolding.

From our recent site visit we can tick off these items...