OT: Projekt Haus II

[Lima]

Wow that is totally awesome chris! I've offends thought about a rustic country property with a proper nice fireplace, but then when I start thinking aboutaintanence of the land, snakes etc, I just give up.

[Lima]

So far so good, we haven't even had the slab for the new garage poured yet and we're close to $20K in unexpected costs. Oh, and a sewer pipe got broken today by the bloke who thinks it's reasonable to charge $4000 to dig a hole for a water tank.

[craig_m5]

you can't dig a hole ?

.. missus has been told to start digging if she really wants a pool

[Lima]

I dug another hole!

[monkeysrus]

Whats that for?

[Lima]

10,000l water tank.

Eventually the Mk1 will park on top, so maybe it can also double as a genuine money pit or an automotive grave.

[YellowDieselGolf]

Is the tank a council/territory requirement for the reno's Liam?

Keep up the progress reports!

[Tank Engine]

Good one. I've got 6000l of goodness in my backyard.

[Lima]

Is the tank a council/territory requirement for the reno's Liam?

No. It was originally planned as a car washing resource; two years ago when dam levels were <33%. Oddly enough, they tell us on installation tomorrow they need to part fill the tank to at least 5000l in order to help it settle into its new home.

Lucky dam levels are now at 100%.

We'll hook it up to our dunnies and washing machine and get a few hundred back from govco.

[WAY]

It's great Lima. I mean, these days I don't feel guilty using the full flush on my toilet bowl because I have a water tank.

[YellowDieselGolf]

I've got a 5kl tank and it's connected to the toilets (which get murky quicker), the washing machine (clothes smell more often) and a garden tap.

It was a NSW BASIX/building standards requirement, but I don't understand the point of it:

• Every time we flush the toilet, it uses electricity to drive the pump. Seems like we're wasting electricity to save water.
• I can hear all of our neighbours pumps.
• And as soon as the tank level is low, the pump sucks in mains water rather than just bypassing the tank.

Anyway, I'm rambling. At the very least, I'd suggest making the rainwater an extra tap in your laundry instead of replacing the cold. This way you can easily bypass the tap if it makes your clothes dirty or smelly.

[monkeysrus]

My new project home is tank only. I have already been looking into filters etc for it. The tank is quite new at least. There must be way of cleaning the water up. I can always bath in the dam.

It is installed on an angle which i assume is very bad for a poly tank if full. They are not designed for that type of load. Empting/levelling etc is already on my list of stuff to do.

I have put a basic budget of few things to buy and minor things to tinker with. Man 20k does not go far these days.

[Lima]

Thanks for the tips Pete.

Another pic in the daylight. The tank is probably going in the hole as I type.

[R32DBPGenV]

.............The tank is probably going in the hole as I type.

That's prolly the best place for it Liam

[hummel]

That's prolly the best place for it Liam

[Lima]

[YellowDieselGolf]

Old mate Akubra is keen!

[KGB]

How will you stop it from turning into a 10t block of ice during the average Canberra winter ?

[Lima]

Haha, good point, we've already has a couple of -6°C nights.

[KGB]

[Lima]

Glad Mrs Lima was able to get home a couple of times today...

[Philthy_]

I've got a 5kl tank and it's connected to the toilets (which get murky quicker), the washing machine (clothes smell more often) and a garden tap.

Do you have a first flush device? Check that this is working so that the crap from your roof isn't going straight into the tank

It was a NSW BASIX/building standards requirement, but I don't understand the point of it:

• Every time we flush the toilet, it uses electricity to drive the pump. Seems like we're wasting electricity to save water.

Your tap water is most likely supplied by a pumped system, so you're swapping your electricity for the water authority's

• I can hear all of our neighbours pumps.
• And as soon as the tank level is low, the pump sucks in mains water rather than just bypassing the tank.

Anyway, I'm rambling. At the very least, I'd suggest making the rainwater an extra tap in your laundry instead of replacing the cold. This way you can easily bypass the tap if it makes your clothes dirty or smelly.

The idea is to knock the top off demand peaks, ie use the rainwater tank on hot summer days instead of drawing mains water.

Out of curiosity, how often does the tank run low and need to be topped up from the mains? I did some demand analysis work a while ago and the reduction to mains usage was meant to be fairly decent chunk.. (maybe a third or more). Of course that all depends on your roof area, tank size and local rainfall patterns.

[Philthy_]

Also the reason that the tank isn't bypassed when it runs out is to avoid the 'risk' of cross-contaminating mains water with tank water.

It can be done by hooking a reduced pressure zone device, but these are stupid expensive and need to be serviced annually.

[monkeysrus]

Surely there is no chance the soil will get cold enough to freeze the water?


Looks like i have loan approval. Handy considering i paid a 10% deposit and signed a contract with no cooling off.

[Lima]

Surely there is no chance the soil will get cold enough to freeze the water?

Agreed, I thought Mark was taking the pi55 anyway.

Looks like i have loan approval. Handy considering i paid a 10% deposit and signed a contract with no cooling off.

[KGB]

Agreed, I thought Mark was taking the pi55 anyway.

Moi ?

You'd need 6 months of snow on the ground, even for Canberra that'd be a toughie.

[Timbo_S3]

...at least the possum would be frozen, and not rot as quickly...

[robbo mcs]

Hi,

I haven't seen too many swimming pools freeze lately in canberra, so it is unlikely that an undergound tank will freeze!!

I have a 100,000l swimming pool and a 130,000l underground water tank. The pool gets much colder in the middle of winter, as the tank is insulated by the earth around it.

Cheers

Robbo

[Sloth]

So far so good, we haven't even had the slab for the new garage poured yet and we're close to $20K in unexpected costs. Oh, and a sewer pipe got broken today by the bloke who thinks it's reasonable to charge $4000 to dig a hole for a water tank.

Sounds a bit expensive Liam.

Some idicative prices of what I have spent in the past month as I am also building :

I excavated last month approx 80m3 (Approx 12m x 7.5m x 0.8m depth average + footings) and had it removed for a total of $7k... total of around 8 bogie loads.

I also had 90% of my domestic sewer line re installed for $3600, all inclusive (around 12 - 15metres worth)

I poured a 32mpa slab (all inclusive, steel, pump, labour etc) using over 18m3 of concrete for $11k

[Saxton Hale]

Sounds a bit expensive Liam.

Some idicative prices of what I have spent in the past month as I am also building :

I excavated last month approx 80m3 (Approx 12m x 7.5m x 0.8m depth average + footings) and had it removed for a total of $7k... total of around 8 bogie loads.

I also had 90% of my domestic sewer line re installed for $3600, all inclusive (around 12 - 15metres worth)

I poured a 32mpa slab (all inclusive, steel, pump, labour etc) using over 18m3 of concrete for $11k

Were those cash prices?

trollololol

[Sloth]

Wayne Swan can SMC !

[TMK-001]

Were those cash prices?

trollololol

That's cash and family discount bra.

[Lima]

Sounds a bit expensive Liam.

You don't say!

The money included tip fees to dispose of the soil, but timing and other issues beyond our control meant we just had to find someone who could do it when we needed it done.

[mdt]

You don't say!

The money included tip fees to dispose of the soil, but timing and other issues beyond our control meant we just had to find someone who could do it when we needed it done.

The best sort of clients to have.

[Timbo_S3]

The best sort of clients to have.

oooooh yeah...I love the sound of desperation over the phone. Reminds me to assign good colleague BillD to the job!