The builder is going to back fill up to the bottom of the bricks. There are huge piles of soil specially for that job. There is also still concrete to do for the front verandahs as well as the portico etc. You wont be able to see the slab edge once all that's done. Builder says house will be at lock up stage by Friday.

Clinkers.... There's a blast from the past...

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]...

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.

Quoting 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.

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

Looking good...

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

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?

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"

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?

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.