Since my last post, the house has really started to take shape following the completion of the brickwork, the roof and the render to the facade.
To my surprise, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t really had an impact on the construction. The pace of the build was only halted by rain, but now with the roof on, we should be pretty much immune to excess precipitation….aside from the fascia, gutters, installation of the rest of the solar panels (more on that below), the brick cleaning, the facade mouldings, Juliet balconies and render painting.
Actually, that’s quite a long list. Maybe we’re still at the mercy of Mother Nature and I should get back in my box.
The brick we chose was PGH’s Greenway, a sand stock brick with a lot of character in each individual brick. The bricks are made with sawdust in the moulds, so each bricks has slight variations in the texture.
We had initially asked for an ironed joint in the mortar but were advised to get a raked joint at our brick appointment because of the unevenness of the brick. It was a surprise when I got a call from our site supervisor, Mark, on the day the brickies were about to start. He passionately argued that we should go with an ironed joint rather than a raked joint – but I cannot remember why, aside from that this is the most common mortar joint and will definitely look better. We took him for his word, given that neither of us really know much about building a house, let alone the intricacies of the mortar joint between brick. Let’s hope he wasn’t just convincing us to make a sub-optimal choice because it made life easier for the brickies.
We haven’t been able to inspect the product up close as Eden Brae have banned all onsite visits while COVID-19 rages, but from the front boundary, it looks nice enough.
The solar panels were installed this week. Being a nerd, I contacted Eden Brae to ask for a brochure of the panels and inverter to see what hardware was installed. I’m nerdy that way….
To my surprise, each panel was only rated at 330 watts. Why is that a surprise? Because I paid for a 8.25kW system, and with only 12 panels on my roof, the output of the system was only around half of what I paid for.
At my request, Mark reviewed the order and noted that a 8.25kW system was specified. However, the order also specified that only 12 panels would be installed, each of which was rated only 330W. I said the maths didn’t add up. Mark agreed and called the solar installer.
Lo and behold, I was right and Mark was fed a story from the installer that they weren’t sure whether the system could fit on our roof and that’s why they only installed half the panels. They had apparently tried to contact the Ordering department of Eden Brae to discuss this.
Sounds reasonable I suppose except why must I ask Mark to contact them for both of us to find out? Also, why did they take the liberty to install an inverter rated at 4200 watts if the client hadn’t agreed to a system with half the output that was ordered?
I’ve always been forgiving of mistakes – I’ve made more than my fair share – but I don’t like people bullshitting when they’ve fucked up. Trust is something easily lost, and if someone is in business for the long haul, they’d understand that, own up the mistake honestly and do their best to fix it. I suspect this solar installer is one of those phoenix companies that rise up, default on their GST and PAYG obligations (and maybe other debts) and then reincorporate with the same staff and directors, but none of the old liabilities. Would they have installed the other half of the panels had I not picked this up?
Call me cynical, but when you smell shit, you’re often on the path to truth.
Eden Brae Waldorf 50 