Preparation for works on the first floor

9th July 2008

In the afternoon today, the whole family again visit the site. I guess we'll be regularly visiting the site since our journey to Brisbane is just around the corner and my beloved family will not be back here until December. I'm sure my wife especially will be missing lots of development in the construction (the roofing works especially which my wife really wants to see in person), but this blog will help make sure that nobody is being left out.

Anyway, as at today, we notice that the workers has been preparing for brick works at the first floor. Most of the wooden support has been removed, revealing large exposed areas yet to be bricked. It also helps us appreciate the high-ceiling area more and I can already imagine how the house will turn out to be in the end. Until then, I'll just have to wait and see!

Enjoy these pictures...

Most of the first floor area is now clear of the wooden supports. Now we can really appreciate the view ... only until the brick works begin, that is!

Some more supports to be removed.

Sand already brought up, ready for the cement mixture.

A clearer view at the roof gutter now that the support has been removed.

Myself and the kids standing in the play room while my wife takes our picture from the master bedroom area.

The high-ceiling area ... which reminds me that we still need to hunt for the extra-huge chandelier on top of the double staircases!

It's really a dream come true to have the twin staircases.. We stood on the left side and my wife went down using the one on the right.

The back view. Notice the cleared up wall area on the first floor.

Roof gutter revealed

8th July 2008

After three busy days at my sister-in-law's wedding celebration, we finally have time to visit the site yesterday. Oh my! What a sight! The wooden frames has been dismantled, revealing the beautifully crafted concrete roof gutter. It still looks imperfect but I'm sure after the top is made smooth, it will look incredible. I am also glad that my wife and kids are able to see the roof gutter after all before our journey to Brisbane next week. Take a look at the following pictures.

Presenting our roof gutter!

The house viewed from another angle.

The view from the right, taken from near the Pasar Borong.

The house viewed from the back.

Roof gutter up close...

Those priceless happy faces!

Currently the first floor is full of bricks, loaded by the crane which was on the site for the cementing job a few days back.

We also notice the piping works that has been completed by the security company. I also requested that the wiring pipes be marked with paint to differentiate them from the house wiring works.

I say.. job well done!

Finally... roof gutter and roof beam cemented!

3 July 2008

As promised, this morning, cement is poured on to the roof beam and roof gutter frames... at last! I was not able to visit the site that morning since I had to go to work, but my wife was there for an hour to witness the process. Good for her too, since that would be her first time seeing a crane and a few cement trucks on site. My wife took some pictures.. please enjoy, because I know I do!

My wife also took the liberty to drive to the adjoining Pasar Borong to get a shot at another view of the cementing process. Nice work, dear!

Minor changes...

1 July 2008

There were minor changes made to the house. The first and most important was the modification of the roof structure at the front of the house (on top of the porte cochere). While constructing the roof gutter frame, one of the workers told me about his concern with regards to the initial plan. The triangular brick roof structure is a bit too large, and there were issues of strength of support because that feature protrudes away from the large poles. After discussion and getting advice from Mr. Lai, we came up with a solution. The triangular roof feature is moved back and the roof gutter which is initially cut in the middle now runs continuously. A really good solution, and the beautiful design is not compromised much. By the way, thanks Mr. Lai for voluntarily coming to the site to see the problem first-hand.

Before and after image... Notice the roof gutter?

Another change that we made was to ask the workers to hack the wall at the dry kitchen adjoining the laundry room to place my wife's built-in oven. We will have to come up with a solution to 'hide' the protruding oven at the laundry room, perhaps by constructing a mock cabinet or a wall panel. We'll see how it goes..

The oven will be placed inside the wall on the right.

The view from the laundry room.

Wiring works has begun

26th June 2008

You may have noticed that it has been a while since this blog is updated.. My wife and I have been busy preparing for my son's birthday celebration. He turns four today, but we celebrated it in advance last night, together with the birthday of my mother-in-law. Nevertheless, I have been visiting the site to view the progress every afternoon after work, so there are lots of pictures to show..

Last Monday (23rd June), the wiring works has begun. There are lots of protruding wires coming out of the wall and the floor. At the same time, I also met up with one more security company personnel as recommended my Mr. Lai. Altogether, I have obtained price quotations from four different companies, and I think that gives my wife and I quite a big range of choice. My advice: choose a company that offers good quality products but does not charge too much for installation works (this installation fee varies greatly from one company to another).

Wall mounted socket in the main living room. We personally requested the sockets to be of that height from the floor.

Heaps of wires...

The floor mounted socket in the dining room.

Wiring in the store room under the double staircases. Perfect for my fridge and standing cooler.

I guess work hours are over. The workers helping themselves out in the pond, hunting for food.

As at yesterday, I am really glad to see that the wooden frame for the roof gutter has been installed at the front portion of the house, on top of the porte cochere. I believe the architecture design of that particular part of the house makes it quite a complex task to finish up the area. Hehe.. and I was quite brave to climb up and walk on the roof beam frame myself and took lots of pictures. By the time my wife saw the pictures (I was at the site alone), she was quite shocked and a bit worried.. I'm not sure if I am allowed to climb up the roof beam again in the future!

Anyway, enjoy the extrinsic and delicate 'artworks' of the roof gutter and roof beam frame, as shown in the pictures that I took. I really hope that the concrete will be poured in soon, so that my wife can see the concrete gutter before she heads back to Brisbane mid-July.

The house viewed from the front, as at 25th June 2008.

Up close and personal with the finished roof gutter frame on top of the porte cochere.

Wooden frames for roof beams.. ready for concrete.

Look at how the metal bars are put together. A real artwork.. no wonder it takes a long time to finish, and that also explains the price which is quite a huge amount to pay!

A real close up look at the concrete roof gutter frame.

Finalising the installation works.

I noticed that the electrician has misplaced the wire connection for the spot light (see the long white pipe). I wanted the spot light to be put under the concrete gutter because having it on top would be awkward.. I think.

More planks are needed in the finishing touches of the gutter frame.

I also notice that plastering works had also made a good progress. The workers are doing a pretty good job, but I am really paying attention on this point because I want to make sure that the walls are smooth and not patchy.

Plastering works at the entrance to the dry kitchen from the entrance foyer.

View from the dry kitchen towards the spiral staircase area and the door leading to the informal living room

Plastering work in the dining room

Roof beam works.. continued

22 June 2008

Since the morning today, my wife and I together with the kids left home quite early to do some more hunting for furnishings for the house. We began our hunt by visiting Cotto Tiles in Sengkurong, in order to show my wife the jacuzzi and toilet bowls that I have suggested to be put in the master bedroom and the powder room. My wife added that it may be worth it also to get the taps from Cotto as well for areas which will be frequently used, such as the master bedroom, hoping that it will last longer than the ordinary ones.

In the middle of the hunt, we dropped by an electrical store in Gadong and looked at some fridge and freezer units, and we plan to buy four units (Oh my, that's a lot!). My wife wanted a double door fridge and freezer in the dry kitchen and a common fridge to be put in the wet kitchen. However, I insisted that we buy a standing cooler as well as a standing freezer for extra storage, and we were glad to find ones perfect to be put in the storage area under the staircases. We also surveyed for optional hobs and ovens, and found one that will be nice to be put in the wet kitchen (a 'heavy-duty' one, that is!). USEFUL TIP: Bring along a measuring tape, pen and paper when choosing the electrical items, especially if a built-in cabinet is to be installed.

After a tiring day, we ended our outing with a visit to the site. When we arrived the workers were having an afternoon break, so while waiting for them to resume work, I did some weeding in the back yard, with lots of help from Syafi and Safiya. My wife took our picture from the top floor of the house. You can view the pictures at the other BLOG.

As at today, there's a good progress with the roof beam frame installation at the front, and some workers are also busy finishing up plastering works in the laundry room, maids' bedroom and kitchen areas. Oh yeah.. Mr Lai is right.. the roof beam and gutter works does take quite some time...

Getting a closer look at the roof beam installation works from the AV or home theatre room. This picture is taken from the top of the staircases.

Thai workers busy with the roof beam works.

The view from another angle.

The house viewed from the back. Notice the shape of the concrete roof gutter.. Picturesque!

My wife likes this picture showing the roof beam frame at the left side of the house.