More plumbing done
Window frames delivered
Site cleaned up (excess concrete removed etc)
The laundry floor waste and laundry basin waste pipes were damaged during the site clean.
Bricks!
One of the two large pipes at the front of the block was also damaged.
The slab has been poured!
This week was busy to say the least. We stopped by the block on Monday night on the way to our valentines day dinner and saw that the plumbing pre-lay had been done, the footings had been poured, WPM had been laid and the reo for the slab was in position. We weren’t able to see much as it was dark but we were surprised to see so much progress.
We came back Tuesday morning to have a closer look at the work carried out only to find the concreters on site pouring the slab! They were about half the way through pouring the slab by the time we got there so we didn’t get a chance to check over the footings/WPM/reo job but we were able to see that they had done the re-entrant corners correctly for the parts of the slab that had not yet been poured.
The concrete was being pumped on site – which is good as we were paying for it in the provisional costs.
After watching for a few minutes I went and spoke to the concreter about flooding the slab. I had read in the site classification report that the slab should be kept moist for three days to help cure the concrete and to improve crack control. You never see anyone doing it so I was curious to know what the concreter had to say about it.
He said that in the current weather with it being so hot, if it was his he’d do it, so with both the engineers and the concreter saying do it we made the decision to flood the slab for three days.
We came down later on in the day after the concrete had set, built a good levy around the entire slab and then filled it up with water. Over the three days we kept the water level up to ensure it was continually moist.
We completed the flooding process Friday afternoon and dismantled the levies over the weekend.
There are quite a few hairline cracks throughout the slab but nothing significant. Temperatures were in the high 30s all week. We inspected another slab that was poured the same day as ours and it looks to have suffered in the heat with a significant amount of cracking present. It will be interesting to see how the cracks in our slab go over the next few weeks.
I still have an outstanding query with SPH regarding the WPM – I don’t believe it was laid in accordance with the site classification report or as detailed by the June 2010 BRB newsletter. I don’t think it will be an issue as the way the WPM and waterproofing has been done on our slab is exactly the same as all the other slabs that I have seen. But I’ve raised it for clarification and I hope to hear more soon.
Slab being poured
Slab poured
Zero lot wall footing inspected – done correctly
Levies built and slab flooded
1 day after slab poured. Someone turned the tap off in the afternoon, we still had full coverage so it was ok. We filled it back up again that night.
2 days after slab poured. Someone turned the tap off again in the afternoon and we lost coverage in a few small areas. We caught it in time though and were able to restore coverage quickly. The surface would not have been dry long and the slab itself was still moist.
I didn’t end up taking an end of day photo as I was too busy flooding the slab!
3 days after slab poured. I turned the water off at about 1pm and kept an eye on it all afternoon. I had to turn the tap back on a few times in the afternoon. Once the sunset over the site I called it a day and a job done.
Levies removed and slab cleaned. The levies took about 2 hours to build but more than double that to remove!
Earlier in the week there was some work done on the water meter. The water meter was raised and the trafficable lid was dug out and cast off to the side. It didn’t look like the trafficable lid was going to refitted so I asked if we could remove it from the site for safe keeping. We’ve been given the all clear, for now it’s been placed out of the way behind the retaining wall. We’ll bring it home soon.
We checked the block again today and saw that the site has been pegged. This is our first look at the size of the house on the block.
Heidi and I got a nice surprise when we went out to the block tonight. The reo was delivered today. It won’t be long before the pad goes down (and having to start paying for the house!)
Heidi also spotted the compaction test certificate from the engineers wrapped around the site tap so we took a few pictures for our records. We’re not sure what the numbers mean but I’ll try and find out tomorrow.
I popped out to the block this morning to see the site has been compacted. I stopped by on the way home from work as well but nothing further to report yet.
Today we decided to head out to the block to a site cleanup before earthworks which were scheduled for the 2nd of Feb. To our surprise earthworks had already been done! Site power has also been connected.
Received confirmation from our construction consultant that earthworks are scheduled for the 2nd of Feb. The construction process is now offically underway.
Last Friday I hit the workshop and sorted out a few of Aprils issues. Popped in some new br9ecms – the old ones were fairly oiled and the colour suggests she is running a size minimum too rich; checked the clutch cover for oil leaks (none); and finally drained the coolant. Once drained I reseated the leaking coolant hose to ensure it was on correctly, tightened up the clamp and filled her up again. I also replaced the cylinder drain washers/bolts. Nothing unusual temperature wise after starting her up so I’m pretty confident there’s no air in the system. I noticed that the quick release fuel line connector was rubbing on one of the fuel lines so I have repositioned it so that it doesn’t become an issue down the track.
When Heidi came home from Fighting Fit we inspected the gearbox oil level which was a smidge under the inspection hole. Topped that up and a bit more for good luck as I always do.
On Saturday morning April got her much awaited clean and polish.
Today I rode April to work, temperature was in the 60s most of the way, upto 70 when stopped at traffic lights. It was a hot morning though and the temperature regulated back to the range I would expect for the ambient temp so again I am satisified there’s no air in the cooling system.
I’d forgotten how much fun April was to ride. A fair bit of go, handles well, but a really cramped riding position that today hurt my back so much it made me want to avoid corners :(
When I get back from PI I’ll start work on Misty. Wideband datalogger, I can’t wait.
Found it! The coolant is leaking from the coolant hose that connects to the top of the radiator. I’ll drop the coolant, inspect and nip up.
No sign of any oil leaking from the clutch cover which is also promising.
After the last few rides I’ve noticed that April has been leaking a little bit of coolant from somewhere. More recently she’s also been dropping a little bit of oil as well.
So with time being an issue lately for me today I left work early, headed home and promptly pulled her fairings off to have a peek.
I was happy when I saw that the exhaust manifolds were dry as a bone… they have been a pain on Misty so to see that I have finally been able to get a good seal with a set of aftermarket pipes is a relief. I used a different exhaust goo fitting the TYGA pipes so I’ll have to try it on the JL pipes and see if it helps stop the leaks.
So the oil leak is not where I thought it was coming from. The engine and surrounds were still pretty clean so it wasn’t obvious.
And then I saw it. Gearbox oil leaking from the clutch cover.
Makes sense. The oil was a light colour, if it was coming from the engine it would have been purple (colour of the 2T oil I’m running) or black (2T that’s been through the engine).
Now I remember when I fitted up the clutch cover that I forgot to put a but of sealant over the case join. However it wasn’t leaking from there. The oil seemed to be coming out of a few of the lower bolts. For now I have nipped them up a bit more to see if that stops it. I have a feeling I’ll be replacing the gasket though. Ahh well. Looks to be a small leak, there wasn’t much on the ground under April – the size of a 50 cent piece – and the engine and surrounds are still clean. To be safe though I’ll check the gearbox oil level before taking it for a ride again.
The source of the coolant leak alludes me at the moment. I have seen a couple of coolant drop marks here and there but no clear suspect yet. The majroity of them were on the LHS pipe – the same spot where the coolant was accumulating on the ground under April.
All the coolant drain bolts (water pump, cylinders and radiator) look fine. The hole near water pump looked ok… I noticed a couple of drops on the subframe but with the hole clean and dry I couldn’t tell for sure if it has been leaking or not.
For now I have cleaned all the coolant marks that I could see. I started her up, bought her up to temperature… let’s see if the leak reveals itself.
I have a hunch that one of the coolant hoses on the LHS is the source. One of the them was leaking during the heat cycles after the rebuild.
To be continued…
