kitdoctor
Well-known member
Post #0001 – Introduction
Hi everyone,
I’ve spent a lot of time dreaming of owning a reasonably sized shed (as we call them here) because for almost 25 years I’ve made do with a DLUG or two-car garage. All that will soon change. For the last three and a half years I’ve been project managing the development of a 2 hectare (5 acres) block of land as an owner builder. My wife and I purchased the block in May 2021. It’s located in Queensland up on a plateau in an area known as the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. To get there next year we’re relocating 3500 kilometres (2100 miles).
We’re now at the point where the slab for a 25.6 m x 13 m (84 ft x 43 ft) shed with a partial wrap-around lean-to and a 9 m x 7 m (29.5 ft x 23 ft) garage are only weeks away from being poured. A planned house is coming later. The priority now is to relocate.
It’s not been easy and being a former engineer I’m fortunate enough to have the knowledge, experience and skills to do this. I’d congratulate anyone else who doesn’t come from that background or building/construction who’s done it!
It’s not over yet…Just last week my unhelpful building certifier issued my second building permit but changed some critical floor and surface levels without consulting me. Odd, well no, you’ve gotta realise that many professionals you’ll need to work with will be wrong with their advice and don’t view themselves as being there to help you deliver a successful project. What more can I say…
Here’s the block. I love a challenge. Steep slopes, a gully blocking access, no electricity, no reticulated water, no sewerage, native vegetation, wireless internet and difficult access. That sounds bad…but it’s got magic views, it’s conveniently located, it’s private and quiet.
So, these are some of the photographs from the for-sale advertisement.
This first one is well onto the adjacent block to the west looking east over our block. The slopes are deceiving. Those damn real estate agents…The tree in the middle unfortunately had to go. It was considered a weed. The tree on the right is approximately on our western boundary.
The second one is well onto the adjacent block to the west looking south over our block. On the right hand side you can those two trees I was referring to in the earlier photograph.
The third one is on our lot looking south-east over our block. The dam is mainly on the adjacent block to the east but the stream that feeds it crosses our block. Now the slope is clearer. We had a record wet start to the year, so the views are a little different today and the last six months have been spent reshaping the site to make it more usable (more to come later).
The fourth one is on our lot looking to the north-east to the stream that cuts through the north-east corner of our block. That’s the native vegetation to the LHS and across from the stream. The few trees on the bank of the gully in the foreground are not native.
In my third post I thought I’d share some more about us and my YouTube channel. Then, in the next few posts I’ll start with the brief summary of the journey over the last three and half years and show you what the block looks like now after pushing dirt around for six months and placing 550 tonnes (1.2 Million pounds) of rock boulders for retaining walls.
Hi everyone,
I’ve spent a lot of time dreaming of owning a reasonably sized shed (as we call them here) because for almost 25 years I’ve made do with a DLUG or two-car garage. All that will soon change. For the last three and a half years I’ve been project managing the development of a 2 hectare (5 acres) block of land as an owner builder. My wife and I purchased the block in May 2021. It’s located in Queensland up on a plateau in an area known as the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. To get there next year we’re relocating 3500 kilometres (2100 miles).
We’re now at the point where the slab for a 25.6 m x 13 m (84 ft x 43 ft) shed with a partial wrap-around lean-to and a 9 m x 7 m (29.5 ft x 23 ft) garage are only weeks away from being poured. A planned house is coming later. The priority now is to relocate.
It’s not been easy and being a former engineer I’m fortunate enough to have the knowledge, experience and skills to do this. I’d congratulate anyone else who doesn’t come from that background or building/construction who’s done it!
It’s not over yet…Just last week my unhelpful building certifier issued my second building permit but changed some critical floor and surface levels without consulting me. Odd, well no, you’ve gotta realise that many professionals you’ll need to work with will be wrong with their advice and don’t view themselves as being there to help you deliver a successful project. What more can I say…
Here’s the block. I love a challenge. Steep slopes, a gully blocking access, no electricity, no reticulated water, no sewerage, native vegetation, wireless internet and difficult access. That sounds bad…but it’s got magic views, it’s conveniently located, it’s private and quiet.
So, these are some of the photographs from the for-sale advertisement.
This first one is well onto the adjacent block to the west looking east over our block. The slopes are deceiving. Those damn real estate agents…The tree in the middle unfortunately had to go. It was considered a weed. The tree on the right is approximately on our western boundary.
The second one is well onto the adjacent block to the west looking south over our block. On the right hand side you can those two trees I was referring to in the earlier photograph.
The third one is on our lot looking south-east over our block. The dam is mainly on the adjacent block to the east but the stream that feeds it crosses our block. Now the slope is clearer. We had a record wet start to the year, so the views are a little different today and the last six months have been spent reshaping the site to make it more usable (more to come later).
The fourth one is on our lot looking to the north-east to the stream that cuts through the north-east corner of our block. That’s the native vegetation to the LHS and across from the stream. The few trees on the bank of the gully in the foreground are not native.
In my third post I thought I’d share some more about us and my YouTube channel. Then, in the next few posts I’ll start with the brief summary of the journey over the last three and half years and show you what the block looks like now after pushing dirt around for six months and placing 550 tonnes (1.2 Million pounds) of rock boulders for retaining walls.
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