Complete & In!

Well, it's a long overdue post, but I am very happy to report that the Apartment House is complete and we are all moved in!

Thanks to the marvelous efforts from Steve Burdett, our engineer, the team at Donal Construction and all the marvelous sub-contractors who worked on the job, we have a beautiful, happy home.

The amazing Matt Biocich has photographed the house and his pics can be seen in all their glory on the architecture studio's website - David Weir Architects. While you're there, sign up to our monthly newsletter to keep up to date with our projects and our goings-on (I promise we won't hassle you or do anything untoward with your email addresses!).

I will continue to post photos on here as the house and garden settle and the seasons change, so come back every now and then to check it out.

Thanks,
David.

practical completion!!!

That means the Apartment House is suitable for habitation...well, mostly. The floor isn't waterproof until Monday morning, which means we can't shower until then...but the beach is just down the road, so that won't stop us moving in.

I ferried chairs to the house this morning to signify occupation, but also so I could finally sit in the house. They are positioned where the dining table will go. It felt good. Good to know its ours and good to know that I have completed a ground-up, completely David Weir designed project. It's ours, it's mine and it's a glorious feeling!

floor update

The builder has all but completed the resurfacing of the floors this morning. Originally intended to be a simple trowel-finished concrete surface, we have had to cover up some stains and mishaps that occurred during the build. The product used is a troweled on cementious mix, somewhat like a rough plaster finish, and maintains the movement and variation that a concrete floor has.


We think it looks pretty darn smart, and it also means that a move-in date is just around the corner.

Landscape Update

The freshly-laid and somewhat-planted car parking area, designed by the very clever Z.A. Carboon.


And the freshly planted roof deck screens. Grow, wee little plants, grow!!

quick update

The builder has given us a Date for Practical Completion of 18th February, due to the fact that we had to re-think and they had to re-do the entire floor of the house after it came out of the construction process stained, chipped and filthy. So the floors will no longer be a clear-finished, troweled concrete slab, but a trowel-finished 'X-bond' material (almost like a rough plaster finish, in a dark grey).

In the meantime, we have been taking care of the garden and the hardscaping. Zac has been in charge of the landscaping and came up with a brilliant solution to the on-site car-parking requirements. The original intention was to have off-the-shelf open concrete pavers, like a driveable lawn product, but that proved to be too pricey. In place we have collected stacks of breeze blocks of the sort common in North Perth, and Zac stumbled across some concrete stormwater products that look like stepping stones.


Arranged in a grid, these 'pavers' are strong enough to park on and the openings will allow our ground cover to flourish through, which will reinforce the concrete & greenery look that was our intention for the house.

leaps and bounds

Well! I have been away for the last 5 weeks, out in the South Australian bush trying to have a break and calm things down before moving into the newly completed house...except they hadn't finished the works before I left, and they haven't finished the works now that I'm back either. No bother. There has been a lot of work done and now we are down to a few quality control issues and some problem solving. Christmas plans blown out of the water, but as I tell my clients, the only thing that can be guaranteed with a custom house build is that it will take longer than you think. Every time.









I'm not going to write too much because it is the 23rd and I haven't even begun to prepare for Christmas celebrations, but here are some photos of the house as it stands today, including the beautiful and happy little garden planted by Zac in my absence. The Flame Tree is my Christmas present. Beautiful.

Have a Happy Christmas and a safe New Year.

Balustrades are on, concrete steps are in!

Things are grinding to a halt at the Apartment House...too bad the place isn't finished yet!

The last weeks have been slow and full of canceled tradesmen. It is a strange thing indeed to experience; I can't think of another industry where the participants find it acceptable to book in a day, not turn up at the allotted time, then wait to be called by the supervisor at which time they advise that "sorry, I can't make it today...maybe tomorrow"... If anyone else did business in such a manner they would be out of business within a month, but with trades for some reason it is acceptable. Our supervisor is working himself grey trying to keep them all in line and on time!

Anyway, the trades that have turned up have done a chunk of work - the balustrades, roof screens and stair treads are all in (the screens and balustrades require their mesh still, but the frames are up) and the 'verandah' deck and the concrete steps have been poured and acid-washed. And it looks aces.



Plus, the scaffold is finally down! The grey box is revealed in all its grey, boxy glory!