The Shed is built.....

The completion of the veranda meant that Titan could now come on site and build our much anticipated shed. There was still other work to be done in connection with the veranda including the concreted pergola area and lighting.

I had stressed considerably over whether the shed we wanted would fit in the position we wanted it. It had to be at least as big as Craig's otherwise we would lose brownie points. :-)

The shed was to be at right angles to the top end of the house. It could be no closer than 900 mm to the veranda structure and the back of the shed could not encroach into a sewer easement than ran inside our boundary parallel to the back fence. We measured and measured and remeasured and even the Titan rep came out to help undertake yet another re-measurement. We placed the shed in line with the top side of the house allowing a pathway for bobcats and mini-excavators to have access to our back yard should the occasion arise. We knew this would most likely occur when we got around to starting our garden railway.

The first of Titan’s sub-contractors came on site on the 9 May 2008 with a bobcat to level out the site. This was then boxed up and readied for the concrete pour. A cement truck could not get down beside our house so we had a concrete pumper on the street.
When the concretors arrived on the 12 May, it was a cool winter’s day and it even rained at one point. The concretors did a great job but after screeding the slab the concrete refused to go off. One fellow had to come back at 9.0pm that night to put the helicopter float over the slab, working by the headlights of his utility, to give it its final smoothing off.

Work begins with a bobcat preparing the site for the slab. 9/05/2008

A laser level being used to enable the bobcat to level the site. 9/05/2008

The slab is boxed and readied for the concrete pour. 12/05/2008

Concrete pumper is set up and the first load of concrete arrives. 12/05/2008

The slab is being poured. 12/05/2008

The completed slab ready for the shed material to arrive. 21/05/2008

The slab had cured by the 21 May when Titan delivered the panels for the shed which were stacked up on the slab.

And here it is! Titan delivering the shed. 21/05/2008

A lone sub-contractor arrived on the 27 May to erect the shed. He made it look easy.
The shed under construction. Note the standard gauge railway behind the shed. 27/05/2008

The lone contractor fixing the roof to the shed frame. 27/05/2008

We had the sliding glass door into the shed in line with the back door of the house downstairs and also the staircase down from the veranda. This has made the shed an inclusive part of the living area of the house.
The doorway to the shed taken from the rear door of the house. 27/05/2008

The completed shed. 27/05/2008

The completed shed looks very nice but there was still a lot of work to be done.

On the 30 June, John and Wayne the two sub-contractors arrived back on site to build the concrete slab under the veranda as well as a retaining wall between the veranda and the shed and also a retaining wall along the fence line on the top (northern) side of the house. A bobcat and mini-excavator assisted in the site preparation.
The mini-excavator preparing the area under the veranda for the pergola slab. 30/06/2008

Preparing the retaining wall. 30/6/2008

John and Wayne did the boxing up for the slab on the 1 July while a pest control company installed a termite barrier between the slab and the house. The concrete slab under the veranda was poured later that day.
Termite barrier beinhg installed in the boxing for the pergola slab. 1/07/2008

Completed pergola slab.

Retaining wall. 20 mm gravel still to be filled in behind the wall. 1/07/2008

The building inspector came during July to inspect the veranda and pergola area, but it was to be another 12 months before I got the building inspector to inspect the Titan shed. The main thing that held us up for the inspection was the installation of the stormwater drains for the shed which we had to do ourselves. I just couldn’t decide how to tackle what was, in the end, a quite simple and straightforward task.