Continuing Sagas
Summary of Issues Below are issues listed by date, a description of the issue, any resolutions and supporting photos.#4 (31.08.2026) Retaining Wall - excavations have exposed retaining wall and debris…
Final Certification
Today, 20 November 2025, is the day we have been waiting for since day 1 which was 1 February 2025. It is Final Inspection day today.... and on the 28th…
Terminate contract with a builder to become an OB
Disclaimer This post is an example of a real-life scenario only and is not legal advice. For detailed information, contact the QBCC. × Recently (Nov 2025) a friend of mine…
The Plan
The Plan is being updated daily and has been created to help contractors with scheduling on-site work. Before 31 Dec 2025Outstanding TasksScheduled to...Install Security Doors (TBA)Window Jam MH Office (Maurice)Weld…
Mad May
May has been and still is an absolute mad month and we still have a few days to go before June (and more rain) arrives. The fact that I haven't…
The Crane
The Crane (30/4/25)Sometimes getting in a helper is useful. We had a 7mtrs double-welded 300PFC as well as 20 300x45 LVLs at 12 metres to all go to the back…
Protected: DocuSafe
Document Vault Here you can download all approved and final documents in relation to our Cochrane Street Project. If you require anything else, please contact us and we will get…
Decisions
This is our list of decisions made and to-be-made across all of the project's aspects.. Decisions Made No window hoodsdog door under internal stairs platform (open arch) & back deck…
Framing (Day 2)
Framing (day 2 - 23/4/25)Huge progress by Brad and Sons. Tamati and Joe from Platinum Concreting also worked hard to get the steel footings ready for pouring tomorrow. And yes,…
Framing (Day 1)
Framing (day 1 - 22/4/25)Finally the framing has started, six packs of 6000x90x35 MPG12s delivered by Paul from OzBuild. The steel for the RW Phase 2 also arrived today. Brad…
Flooring and Footings
Progress and Crews (16 & 17 April 25)Today(16th) the LVLs were delivered by Paul from OzBuild (again) and luckily Daz and the 5-tonner were on site to help getting them…
House Raising (Finished)
And this is it...!!! House Raising DONE (15/4/25)We finally got there.. and now the rain has stopped... and that's good!Stash, Josh and Nicko finished off the house raising part (bar…
House Raising (Day 10)
And this is it...!!! House Raising DONE (14/4/25)And of course it rained again, and the neighbour parked her little car in our driveway, retaining wall backs caved in with lots…
House Raising (The New View)
The New View (12/4/25)Today both Michelle and I climbed up the extension ladder (4.2 mtrs off the ground) to check out the new view. Not bad we must say.
House Raising (Day 9)
Legs Attached and Steel Partly Up (11/4/25)What a day... OzBuild rocked up at 730 to deliver the LVLs and SructaFlor and nailing plates which was fantastic. At 745 Rocky from…
Retaining Walls (RW1 – Finished)
Today we finished RW Phase 1, core-filled and super straight and strong. Magnificent job by both Aiden and Lucas from Mancini Masonry and Chris from Pump-Eez.
Retaining Walls (RW1 – Day 1)
Aiden and Lucas from Mancini Masonry work hard today and built a truly perfect retaining wall, so impressive. One more small section to build (need more blocks) and the core…
House Raising (Day 8)
Legs in situ (8/4/25)This morning the new legs where surrounded by concrete with lots of starter bars to later tie into the garage slab. Daz also cleaned up the concrete…
House Raising (Day7)
The new legs have arrived (7/4/25)Today the new steel posts have been put into position and are ready to be concreted in. The front four posts have been upgraded to…
House Raising (Day 6)
Daz is back, yes! (4/4/25)Great to see Daz back at 630AM to dig our 12x piers which all got done in one day. All but 2 piers are at least…
House Raising (In Final Position Day 5)
She is in her final position Mark the day... lots of photos... the house is in her final new position, the front verandah is now 4.2mtrs from the ground, about 2.7mtrs…
House Raising (Day 4)
Finally, she has been moved!!! (1/4/25)No joke, the house has actually been moved today, yes! It's been a massive long day for the Steel crew who worked super hard to…
House Raising (Day 5)
Sliding and Straightening Another rainy day but the Steele crew rocked up and worked hard to slide and straighten the house into position, mega effort. Posts marked ready to be welded…
FInal House Raising Prep Day (21)
Finally, core earthworks done! (27/3/25)After 21 days of digging and 70 big truck loads of dirt we are now down to cut level so the house can finally be moved.…
House Raising Prep Day (20)
12 more truck loads out today (26/3/25)0630 till 4PM, nearly there, got RW blocks delivered, tomorrow 2x truck loads and moving the house finally, fingers crossed the RAIN stays away.Big…
Retaining Walls (Phase 1 – Footings)
Retaining Walls (Phase 1) Today 24/3/25 was wet early in the morning but we got the job done and the footing steel signed off by our engineer. The footings for RW…
House Raising Prep Day (19)
Getting close now (25/3/25)Dazz came back and worked hard cutting through rock to get to slab cut level. Getting very close now. Another big mount of rock and dirt waiting…
House Raising Prep Day (18)
12 more Truck Loads of dirt (24/3/25)Dazz came back and we had 3 10-tonnersto moving out dirt, starting to look a little bit different now. Back again tomorrow and maybe…
Retaining Walls
Retaining Walls We found a very skilled and nice bricklayer called Aiden Mancini. This work will hopefully start next week 1/4/25.We have split the RW work into three phases, being:RW Phase…
House Raising Prep Day (15-17)
Back into the dirt (21/3/25)Dazz and Neil came back to move more dirt and start cutting the lower wall. Another 100 cubic mtrs to come out. Dazz back tomorrow (Sat)…
House Raising (Day 3)
Steele and Steel (18/3/25)Another day with the excellent Steele crew putting in steel under the house and pouring concrete into the extension piers with MiniPump. Tomorrow the big PFC380 is…
House Raising (Day 2)
House is in the Air (17/3/25)The crew came back today and the house has been lifted another half a metre into the air. The Steele team worked hard on hanging…
House Raising (Day 1)
House is in the Air (14/3/25)Today, 14/3/25 the house has been lifted from her stumps for the first time in 128 years sitting on a few stacks of timber styes.The…
House Raising Prep Day (15-16)
House Raising Prep - RW Footings and House PiersDaz has been working hard again and cut the top section retaining wall footings and the 14 piers. Great progress. The northern…
House Raising Prep Day (9-14)
House Raising Prep - Cyclone DelaysCyclone Alfred finally made it to Brisbane. The day before it hits, we got the house extension piers marked with Jack from Steele. The site…
Floors, Walls and Ceilings
Floors/Walls/CeilingsThis category is a significant one. Choosing the right materials will be the difference between the inside of the house looking amazing or "ok".FloorsBeing a very old Queenslander, wooden floors…
Concreting
ConcretingAs strange as it may sound, we find this the most stressful part of the project. Having worked in the building industry for over 20 years (albeit no fulltime), concreting…
Cladding
CladdingCladding is material applied to the outside of the house. When we say cladding, we only mean the boards, not trims etc.Cladding is important as it forms a weather shield,…
Gardening
GardeningWe have all seen this... a massive renovation was completed and there was no money or drive left to make the gardens look nice. Some places are like that for…
Tools
ToolsWe have a budget of $10,000 and we have lots of tools already. It's the budget for the life of the project and includes things such as blades, drill bits,…
Windows/Doors
Windows and DoorsWindows (incl. hardware and safety)All our windows are second+ hand, old, matching the original existing windows and full of character. They needed a lot of TLS, it took us months…
Insurances
InsurancesHaving appropriate owner builder insurance is crucial. There are numerous companies that offer this type of insurance. It is important to understand that although you may have house and contents…
Kitchen/Bathrooms/Wardrobes
Kitchen and Bathrooms and WardrobesThese are things that can blow out your budget big time. We have chosen for good (not the best) quality, great looks and reasonable costs. As…
House Raising Prep (Day 8)
House Raising PrepA massive day today, Dazz got to site at 715AM and together with Neil got another four truck loads taken away. Jack and I set out the extension…
House Raising Prep (Day 6-7)
House Raising PrepHad to go into hospital for an angiogram because of a recent discovery of heart disease. No fun, super stressful and of course no progress on site. Took…
House Raising Prep (Day 4)
House Raising PrepAnother day of digging, it's starting to look like a quarry a bit, lota of hammering typical Paddington rock.
House Raising Prep (Day 2)
House Raising Prep (Day 2)Dazz is back into it, cutting more soil and rocks, made some great progress today. Filled up four big tippers which looked like it didn't make…
House Raising Prep (Day 3)
House Raising PrepGot an early call that there were machine breakdowns so no work will be done today,On the positive side, our surveyor has set all surveying pins ready for…