Pool Installed

The pool was installed this week. Something exciting at last and what a pleasure to deal with a builder that actually got everything right. I cannot recommend Irresistible Pools highly enough. Jim Wilson is the owner and he is very professional in the way he does business and his work is meticulous. He could teach Wisdom a thing or two. Once the house is finished the pool builder will return to install the filter and pump. We will also get tiling done then. Now we just need to cover it for the duration of the house build because apparently builders are known for using pools as somewhere to dump rubbish.

Pool hole

 Pool shell

Pool Installed

Site pegged

We've had our portaloo and temporary fencing since December 2013, but now our old house has finally been demolished the site could be pegged. The peg out was done on 17/2/14, but in usual Wisdom fashion there was an error. They placed a peg where our pool excavation was going to be. The pool has to be installed prior to the house starting as it is fibreglass and needs to be lifted in while the land is clear. Wisdom were given the plans for the pool before contracts were signed so the area for the pool was always noted on their plans as a service free zone. It was also included in their landscape plans so they couldn't claim ignorance and blame this one on us, although we expected them to try as that is their way. So we got it in writing from them that they would not charge us to replace the peg. A small win.

Demolition Dramas

Demolition was finally completed on 14th February. What a huge relief because of course, as with anything to do with this build it turned into a drama.
The demolition company engaged by Wisdom initially told us that they would have the demo completed by the New Year. Well it got to the end of January and apart from a couple of hours work here and there, and removal of the asbestos sheeting from the walls, the house was left standing in a half demolished state and no one could give us a date of when the demolition company would complete the job. They had already breached our council DA conditions because they had not notified the neighbours 7 days prior to removing the asbestos. We asked them to do this on numerous occasions and they kept telling us it wasn't necessary. They also hadn't posted any signage on the safety fence showing their company name or licence number which is a breach of Workcover regulations. The neighbour notification letters are also supposed to show the licence number. I was a bit suspicious of why they weren't willing to give a licence number. Out of frustration with the lack of progress on the demolition, I called to get a quote from another demo company to see if I could expedite the demolition. They said they required a site clearance certificate for the asbestos removal before they could come on site and advised I could get a copy from Workcover if one had been issued. So I called Workcover only to be told that the owner of the demolition company did not hold a current licence for asbestos removal and asked if they could investigate. Now I understood why there was no public notifications forthcoming that needed to include licence information. I asked if perhaps they were subcontracting and Workcover said an investigation would clear that up. So I thought if they found he was unlicensed we could get another company in to finish the demo quickly. In the meantime Wisdom's demo company had finally moved their heavy equipment in to complete our demolition. Workcover also decided to do an audit of our demolition to make sure the demo company was above board. Suddenly letters from the demo company went out to our neighbours notifying them of the asbestos removal, which had already mostly been done, so the letters, complete with poor grammar and spelling were backdated. Signage went up on the fence with the name of a totally different demo company, which apparently the job had been subcontracted to. Suddenly everything was being done by the book.
The demo company was really annoyed with me because they they said the Workcover audit would delay things. I don't understand how doing the job the way it should be done can delay things. Anyway once the house was cleared, they lifted all the concrete paths and driveway and found lots of asbestos buried beneath. We are still awaiting the bill for the additional asbestos removal but are expecting it to be at least $5000.