In the 70s someone came up with the idea of adding 'stuff' to the clay for firing bricks... they [the bricks] looked like 'normal' bricks but they had stone and/or concrete in them...like the honeycomb inside a clinker...hence the name.

They were a bitch to lay well because the dissimilar material would cause the clay to bulge unevenly during firing and be even more 'un-square' than a normal pressed brick.

If you look for suburbs that went up in the mid/late 70s you'll see them common.

Bit like metric bricks....they can really time a building to a specific vintage...

Calsil bricks is another [calcium silicate]...

Hey Nimbin, you gonna get one of them two wheeled motorised contraptions to traverse that corridor.... too long to be a hallway?

Bricks 99% finished. Just a few window sills and the rest of the alfresco wall to go. Plastering has begun inside, All ceilings are up and walls will be done and flushed out over the next week. Looking really good now.

Nimbin...looks marvelous! 

starkers

reply 82

Hey Nimbin, you gonna get one of them two wheeled motorised contraptions to traverse that corridor.... too long to be a hallway?

Yes. Also a map for the guest.

Looks great and coming together very nice.

Starting to look like a house now Nimbin.  

Really sir, looking very nice and I'm sure you just can't wait to get moved in.  

Tis lookin' bloomin' marvelous, Nimbin, bloomin' marvelous.

Latest Picture as Of 16th July. All interior walls and ceilings are done. Carpenters are in doing the doors and windows, skirting boards etc. Kitchen fitted next week and then the painters start by the 25th.

Looking good...

Some new pictures. Everything slowing down now as only one trade at a time can be there. Painting is done. Plumbers were there today doing the outside plumbing stuff. Tilers were inside doing the wet areas etc. Looking really good now. Only painting left to do is the alfresco ceiling.

Looking down through the dining/family into kitchen. My father-in-law is the star in the picture

Kitchen area. No appliances yet. But they go in last i would say

Looking down the hallway to the laundry.

Al fresco area. Just needs a final coat on the ceiling. and concreting.

Front entrance showing our groovy doors

And finally. The outside as of today 10th August with all exterior painting completed except for the wooden bits under the roof line.

Yay, 'tis nearing completion and looking absolutely fantastic.  Good for you and your family.

Ah...so technical....

There are all sorts of 'wooden bits under the roof line'....most of which have real names [cos even builders need to know which 'wooden bits under the roof line' are which]...

Looking very good Nimbin.  I don't think you ever mentioned what kind of landscaping you plan to put in.  Will you be putting in grass and plants and shrubs or go with what is commonly refered to as low maintenance landscaping?

Looks really nice Nimbin. 

LOL. Very diplomatic language mate . And yes we are going with low maintenance. all of the front will be the driveway, and then rock gardens with native plants. At the side of the house will be the only lawn. No front fence yet as the council governance prohibits front fencing for 7 years after the block was first developed, so 5 years from now. I don't want any lawn at all but my partner (she who must be obeyed) wanted lawn at the side of the house which i said "fine, but your mowing it"

Looking good! The kitchen should be quite nice. I love open kitchens.

That's fechen stupid!  No front fence for 7 years?  Like what if you had pets that could wander onto the road, or young children who could wander off or be enticed  by strangers to leave the yard because there's nothing keeping them in?

Damned council, like who's property is it anyway, yours or theirs?

It won't be the council as such...but more the Developer attempting to appease whatever concerns of the Council.  Often it's a circle-jerk of incompetence.....like the theory that lots of curved roads makes it all look 'better'.

I enjoyed nothing better than applying for a unit development in a bullshit subdivision in Melbourne 13 years and 1 day after the imposition of a 13 year covenant against units.

That is exactly it. On the good news front, we have got onto the back fence problem and the developer of the original estate and and the fencing contractor have approved the moving of the fence to get us back our meter of land, which is cool. I threw the fencers a bone and am getting them to do what other small amount of fencing we will need doing. Not much but enough to take the sting out of having to pay for the back fence debarcle. Also found out that the entire estate is also on a recycled water system as well as normal mains. Recycled water runs through all the outside taps, the laundry and toilets which is a fantastic idea.

Good.

However they actually HAVE TO by law.  Incompetence and/or inaccuracy are not defences for theft...