Davidson Construction - Week 13

by Adam Hobbs posted Sep 26, 12:31 PM

Starting to move a bit slower now that the basic enclosure is almost there and we begin to move into the detail. Upper level deck ceiling now clad and roof flashing well underway. Internally stairs starting to go in and electrical setout taking shape. Exciting to see the detail begin to inform the aesthetic.

As we move further into the project the architects role in managing and ensuring the detail as designed is followed through becomes more and more important. When I arrived on site this morning, internal install of wall insulation had begun. I noted a small but important oversight on behalf of the contractor resulting in the insulation not being installed in accordance with the detail provided. Without boring you all with the scientific detail, our wall section not only considered the insulation capacity of the wall, but also its role in managing as best as possible condensation issues. Essentially condensation management relies on ventilation and the seemingly very small difference between our detail and the way in which the subcontractor was installing could have a very big impact down the track.

We are all for making things functional and not complicated to build, but in this case a little extra labour results in an outcome that is not just ‘what is always done’ but is actually best practice. Remember little decisions in one area can have flow on effects in other areas. Whether technical or aesthetic make sure you try to address and understand ‘all’ of the design challenges when detailing.

Image of now complete deck ceiling above. Liking the warmth of the material!

Davidson Construction - Week 12

by Adam Hobbs posted Sep 19, 11:06 AM

Exciting site visit this week with the first panels of plywood now installed to the upper floor external deck ceiling. The balance of colours is beginning to become apparent. Great attention to detail again from the carpenter this week. A real pleasure to work with…even bought me a coffee today!

I have been consulting with the client this week on colours and finishes now that we are starting to see the impact of the plywood external elements. The next big step before we attend to the painted surfaces will be to see the impact of the spotted gum (darker timber) trim elements to the columns and screens that will act as a nice natural finish colour and balance for the ply.

In our original thoughts we had specified a spotted gum garage door finish as well. Having now seen the scale of this door and the visual presence it will have I am considering moving away from the dark colour spotted gum will give us. This is on the basis that some attention may be taken away from the ceiling. In short, we want the eye to be drawn to the feature element being the ceiling, not the garage door. As lovely as spotted gum is it may be too much surface area for the project as a dark colour, given that the use of spotted gum elsewhere on the project is all in smaller trim and batten detail elements.

I am leaning more toward a more muted colour to match our FC finish. This will fit very well with the overall scheme and attract a little less attention to the door :). Now time to see if the client agrees.

My point here is, colours and finishes are very difficult to get 100% correct on paper. Give yourself the opportunity to think about these things as you see the build come together. Certain things will be become apparent that may have been less of a concern on paper or difficult to see at the time. Design is a process of constant flux with no one correct answer. Best to acknowledge this and go with it!

Image above of the ceiling as seen upon entry to the home.

Davidson Construction - Week 11

by Adam Hobbs posted Sep 12, 05:52 PM

Getting a little bit done between the wet days over the past few weeks. Although the pace is slowing the external fabric continues to move closer to lock up stage. Really starting to get a sense of the various volumes of the home now that most external walls are clad.

I had a good experience on site today with the carpenter who is subcontracting to the lead builder. I’m a firm believer that any good build project is the result of a good team, from the client to the architect to the head contractor, including the subcontractors under their supervision.

We were workshopping the details for the plywood ceiling (with the carpenter) just about to go in for the upper level ‘signature’ roof element. It will be a key element both materially and colour wise for the build that will draw the eye, so it is important to get the detailing correct.

There are several things to resolve including how the plywood ceiling sheets are laid out, how do we fix the sheets, how often do we fix them, is there a pattern, what finish are we applying, how many coats. What veneer are we using, what is the sheet thickness…and the questions go on. A lot of the time this level of detail is not fully described on a drawing or in a specification due to budget constraints during the documentation process. Having the ability to work through these with a subcontractor who has an eye for detail is a fun and rewarding experience. We can combine the design skills of the architect (who is predominantly concerned with the end result), with the buildability knowledge of the carpenter (who is generally concerned with the how we do it).

If you can get a tradesman who thinks ‘how we do it WELL’ then you are on a winner! We are lucky enough to have that on this project. Image above with street elevation clad!

Davidson Construction - Week 10

by Adam Hobbs posted Sep 5, 11:46 AM

Apologies for the missed post last week, plenty of things going on!

As you can see from the above photo things continue to move forward at a good pace on site. External cladding is now underway, roofing is predominantly complete, windows are all in and full enclosure is not far away.

The past few weeks have seen a bit of wet weather so I thought we could talk about how building contracts deal with delays. Essentially most building contracts will note wet weather as a reason for delay. The differences can be however, does the overall program for the project allow for wet weather days or are they considered additional to the program.

In the contracts we are mostly using for our single home projects the option exists to nominate an amount of days, that the builder needs to allow for in their overall program for wet weather delays that do not effect the overall program and completion date for the project.

In other words, it is expected over any 6-12 month build cycle that some time will be lost to rain. By allowing a number of days within the contract pre execution (we tend to allow for 10 days every 6 months as a reasonable and fair measure) it is acknowledged by the builder that no delay claim can be made if the days lost do not exceed the allowance.

We do this for a number of reasons including managing the expectations of the client regarding completion, limiting the time required to process delay claims from the builder which require consultancy time and therefor money and acknowledging that wet weather is likely.

Remember though, any day it rains is not necessarily a day to be advised by the builder as lost, or if the allowance is exceeded, a day for which the builder can claim an extension of time.

The rain needs to have affected the ability for work to continue that will effect the critical path of the project timeline. Most legitimate rain delay claims will come before the building is at lock up stage and watertight. After that works can mostly occur inside to keep things moving.

in summary, when assessing claims from your builder for rain delay, confirm that the rain has directly affected the critical path for the project before approving the extension of time. Or, have an architect in place that will manage this for you :). Also remember that delays cost money, particularly if you are having to pay rent, eat out or whatever it may be because you are not in your own home. Every week adds up.

Davidson Construction - Week 8

by Adam Hobbs posted Aug 15, 10:14 AM

Week 8 just complete and the majority of the external framing is now in place. We were excited to see the roof framing for the first floor deck erected. The adjusted angle from the main first floor roof creates a striking finishing statement and balances the proportions of the other elements of the home. Always good to see those decisions made on paper beginning to realise themselves on site!

Kinking the roof angle allows for the winter sun to penetrate into the upper level living spaces during the middle of the day and create an open, yet covered feel to the deck below. Its impact when viewed from the street as an architectural element is also creating some ‘interest’ in the otherwise quite little suburb of Davidson.

Image above of the build when viewed from the street boundary as of 14th August.

This week I wanted to discuss contingency within a building contract. A contingency is basically an amount of money available for use, if needed, if the scope of the project needs to change. The intent is not to use this contingency if at all possible, but to have it available if unavoidable. We generally suggest, for the types of projects we are working on that 5-7% of the contract cost would be a reasonable contingency to have available.

There are three key areas that variations fall into that may require you to call on a contingency. Contrary to popular belief they aren’t generally because the architect wants to make things more expensive because “C’mon…its going to look fantastic!”

Variations are most commonly caused by changes to the scope requested by the client, generally related to fixtures and finishes amendments, electrical upgrades or joinery additions. Or, unforeseen circumstances, like wall framing with termite damage not able to be seen until demolition has begun for example. Also, less commonly, variations can come about due to changes in the design suggested by the architect. This does not necessarily mean the variation is an addition to the cost. It can also be a reduction in the cost or be cost neutral.

In reference to this project, we have worked closely with the builder and the client to resolve details for balustrades, awnings, screens etc that were amended during the tender stage in an effort to reduce costs. The original designs were outside of the overall budget and based on this, allowances were set at the time of contract signing for these items. As construction progressed we revisited the designs for these elements and presented to the builder for pricing and comparison with the allowances made.

All of the time we have been working hard for the client to retain the intent and finish quality of the original design intent whilst making these changes ‘cost neutral’ when compared against the contract allowance. We continue to work with the builder work shopping alternative methods so this can be achieved.

So remember, your architect is there to help achieve an outcome in line with the brief for the project, that always includes a budget. Ignoring this fact when considering the value of variations particularly would make for an unhappy client and an architect who is not acknowledging the parametres of the project.

Design is very easy when there is no budget…. but it is much more challenging and rewarding when there is, and a good design outcome can be achieved.

Davidson Construction - Week 7

by Adam Hobbs posted Aug 6, 12:47 PM

Several things happening this week with wall and roof framing continuing, all windows now in and external first floor decking structure progressing. Image above shows corner windows to upper level sitting room in place. Great spot to sit in winter!

All of this activity means lots of questions to answer.Site discussions this week focussed on power and electrical schematics, external colour selections and tile /paver specifications.

Many design decisions are left over to be resolved in detail once the project is underway. We like to specify the performance and or specification requirements for things like painting and fitout, but we do not necessarily select actual finished colours and finishes for example. We will note material, number of coats, preparation of surface etc. There is a sound reason for this.

Colour samples can look very different in a fan deck or at the hardware store compared to what they will actually look like on site. The location of the build, the orientation, and the combination of colours together can make individual colours look very different in reality when compared to the design intent.

We always find that when selecting paint colours, that they should be reviewed not only in relation to other colour elements in the build (roof colours, clear finished timbers etc) but also reviewed when up on the wall on the site. This means selecting a few samples and painting them on the wall so the reality of the selection can be easily seen. Also, just as importantly, the client can see the reality when compared to those design discussions early on in the process with the architect that may be now forgotten.

As a general rule, we find that external paint colours are two to three shades lighter outside than inside. So when selecting a specifying we often select darker than the intent for this reason. As another tip, we also often specify a 1/2 gloss, 1/2 semi gloss finish (sprayed if the painter doesn’t growl at you!) as the finish is much sharper and clean than a regular roll on finish.

Until next week!

Davidson Construction Update

by Adam Hobbs posted Jul 30, 03:21 PM

Based on some positive client feedback from the weekly blog we posted during the construction process of our North Manly renovation project just on 2 years ago we have decided to do it again. The opportunity has arisen once more thanks to our willing clients in Davidson! Thank you Rolf and Tanya :)

I will aim each week to post an update on how the build is progressing focussing on a particular item that i believe may add some knowledge to your understanding of how buildings get built and the issues that arise for address during a construction program. Hopefully you will find it useful and interesting!

If there is anything particularly you would like the blog to focus on please feel free to ask. Looking forward to walking you through the process again!

Above is an image of the home from the street front before we started and a model of the end result. We are approximately 6 weeks into the build and are due for completion mid January next year.

Under Assessment

by Adam Hobbs posted Jul 21, 11:39 AM

Its been a busy first half of 2014 for HJA. At present we have 7 projects on the drawing board, 6 projects under DA assessment, 2 under construction and 2 recently completed.

We continue to focus on single residential new dwellings and renovations along with small apartment buildings and medium density dwelling projects. Above is the design model for our Queensscliff project under assessment through Warringah Council.

We continue to work with our clients on functional projects that listen to address their brief along with bringing our expertise to develop the schemes.

Watch this space for news on our recently completed renovation in North Balgowlah. Update next week.

Recently Completed & Under Construction

by Adam Hobbs posted Jul 21, 11:01 AM

A wise old Architect once told me that Architecture is an old mans profession. Having just turned 40 I’m not sure I am old just yet, but heading in that direction!

I didn’t quite understand what he meant at the time, but I do now….It takes quite a while to develop a body of work given that your average residential project is a 2 year design and construction endeavour. Without a body of work it is difficult to ask potential clients to take a chance on you and/or trust you with their life savings without the confidence that you have done it all before.

Well, we have done a lot of it all before now having been in practice for just over 11 years with around 20 built projects and 2 currently under construction. Those being a large addition to a small beach cottage in Hyams Beach on the south coast, and a large remodel and addition to a home in Davidson, picture above. Both are progressing well, but plenty of questions and items to resolve along the way as part of the detailed design process. It continues to reinforce for us, that design does not stop at the determination of a DA. The value of having a design professional manage the entire process of your project, is not only a management advantage but also a significant advantage in ensuring that all aspects of the original design intent are realised. This is why you hear people say things like this home is really well resolved and it all seems to work well together.

If you halt your architects involvement at the determination of your DA you are asking your builder to be an architect from that point on, and there are a plethora of design decisions still to be made. Would you ask me as your architect to grab a hammer and start building your house……? Then you should not ask your builder to design it for you…just sayin :)

Petersham Fire Station Courtyard

by Adam Hobbs posted Mar 28, 11:52 AM

Around 8 years ago a great client of ours decided to purchase the Petersham Fire Station with the aim of converting it into his residence (as you do) and at the same time breathing new life into an iconic local building steeped in local history.Over the years they have done a fantastic job and received good acknowledgement for there efforts.

One space sadly though that was lacking some love was a large courtyard area at the rear of the building. Enter Hobbs Jamieson with a nice loose brief from the client which simply stated “Give me a fun space to entertain”.

With high rigid bounding walls on 3 sides we decided a free form arrangement of elements and levels was the best way to break up the space and soften what was a very bleak space. The driving concept is a large ribbon element that weaves its way through the courtyard creating edges for the BBQ bench, division in activity spaces and the curved glass pool edge.

Not quite finished yet but the image above hints at the ‘fun’ to come.