Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The soil...

As part of the process of settling and signing off plans and contracts we needed to get a soil test done on the block. This is always required by the builder to assess and accurately cost footings for the home. As the block had no vehicle access due to the contour of the land from the road we contacted two earth moving contractors that seemed to be local and work in the general area. In doing so we were fortunate to meet a gentleman from the area (Steve) who proved to be invaluable. He was happy to talk and advise us and had extensive experience of earthworks in the specific area. He didn't mind reviewing our plans and giving his opinion and examples of other developments. He seemed to want to go out of his way to help us get it right - all before we'd even engaged him to do anything! If you're lucky enough to happen upon individuals like this, grab them and don't let go! (We are happy to refer you on to him after checking it's ok with him). Steve dumped some clean fill on the block to enable vehicle access and we decided that we would engage him to do earthworks on the block for the building of our home. Nusteel is flexible in this way if you want to arrange portions of your build yourself.

After the soil test was complete it was evident that while the block is a difficult one, the build using a steel frame in the manner of a pole frame home was particularly suited to the block with is shallow bedrock. (Yay - a small win! We'll see how this pans out when it actually comes to digging!)

With the contract quoted and signed off it was now time for us to look at the waste management system for our house since council requires a ratified on site disposal system.

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