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Gelfen's special place where people talk to him |
*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@gelfen - Here in my place, the GREAE money comes in FIRST . . . followed by the GOOD service  I sthe RIOTS similar to what recently transpired in FRANCE ? Most of the participants were Muslims . . .
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
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much smaller scale and for vastly different reasons. also the instigators in this case were generally "white australians", although reports indicate some of the lebanese revenge attacks are grossly disproportionate to the original riot and targeted innocent people in other suburbs.
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Londinium
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Quote:
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On 2005-12-13 02:34:57, JN wrote:
RIOTS similar to what recently transpired in FRANCE ? Most of the participants were Muslims . . .
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That was different issue altogether..in the france case it was poorer under privalaged black and arab races which started it due to the lack of jobs and housing...their pleas were being ignored by the govt so they took to the streets and vented their anger mostly on cars and the police.
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*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@gelfen - OKI !
@axxxr - Yup, the main reason mate . . . Unfortunately, I haven't seen this riots in Australia in CNN . . . yet  I was more at keen watching the FIRE that broke out in UK, almost same with that of the Chernobyl disaster!
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
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From: Londinium
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Yeh the fire is still rageing pretty bad....although now they have managed to put out some of it,they say it might take another week or so to get it fully under control...
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*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@axxxr - I was corrected by one of the members back then . . .I thought it was a NUCLEAR REACTOR that was caught on fire, 'twas an OIL DEPOT though
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
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it's still a big bang when it goes up, and is still very hazardous in it's own right.
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axxxr
Joined: Mar 21, 2003
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From: Londinium
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Yeh its an oil depot not a reactor thank goodness,otherwise matters would have been far worse...and i would;nt have been sitting here.i'd be leaving the country!
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*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@gelfen/axxxr - Yup ! As I saw the images captured by CNN's lens, the dark black cloud formation was almost the same with that when the aliens invaded the Earth in the movie . . . John en Marsha sa Amerika, ooops it was - Independence Day, sorry !
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*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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About that UK fire . . . reports says that the black smoke is reaching France and on it's way to . . . Spain !
CNN:
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England (AP) -- Firefighters returned to fighting an oil depot inferno that has spewed thick smoke as far away as France, after they'd stopped briefly over fears that one tank in the complex might contain highly volatile fuel.
The 150 firefighters withdrew at 3 p.m. GMT Monday after extinguishing flames in 12 of the 20 tanks, said Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher. Five hours later, his office said firefighters were again tackling the blaze.
The fuel in the tank had been identified as aviation turbine fuel, or avtur, a type of fuel that was not as volatile as had been feared, Wilsher's office said.
The smoke cloud has drifted over Brittany and Normandy in northwestern France and was headed toward Spain, France's national weather service said Monday.
"Poison Cloud Hits London Tonight," warned the Evening Standard newspaper.
Authorities say they believe the explosion at the Buncefield depot 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of London was an accident but they will examine other possible causes, including terrorism.
The terminal stores 16 million liters (4.2 million U.S. gallons) of fuel and the fire has caused jitters on the global oil market and raised questions about safety at the nation's oil facilities.
"There is nothing to suggest that it is anything other than an accident, but we're keeping an open mind and when we get into the site we'll treat it as a ... scene which could be a crime. We'll be doing full forensics," said Chief Superintendent Jeremy Alford of Hertfordshire police. "We'd be remiss if we didn't."
Firefighters battled the enormous fire for more than 30 hours before pulling back on Monday. Authorities shut a major highway nearby and extended a closed-off zone around the depot because of the chance that the tank might explode, Wilsher said.
He said flames had re-ignited in a tank where they had been extinguished earlier. Its proximity to the tank whose contents were unknown had prompted fears of another explosion.
Wilsher told reporters that British firefighters were in "uncharted territory," saying: "This is the largest fire of this kind that the U.K. and Europe have dealt with."
Police said the ferocity of the blaze would make it extremely hard for forensic experts to find out its exact cause, but they saw no indication of foul play. Chief Constable Frank Whiteley said eyewitness accounts and closed-circuit television footage would be key to determining what sparked the chain reaction.
The series of explosions early Sunday morning came four days after an al Qaeda videotape appeared on the Internet calling for attacks on facilities carrying oil, but officials drew no link.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told Parliament there would be a full investigation once the fire was extinguished.
"Does this latest incident prove that proper safety procedures were still not in place?" Conservative Party lawmaker Caroline Spelman demanded of him.
Gemma Shepherdson, a spokeswoman for Total U.K., which operates Buncefield, said security was tight at the depot. She said anyone entering the site had to go through a security gate and show a photo pass, which Total issues after conducting background checks.
She said the depot was ringed by closed-circuit TV cameras.
Heavy plumes of black smoke continued to billow from the depot, the fifth largest in Britain, as they had since before dawn Sunday, when explosions blew the doors off houses in the surrounding area and flames leaped into the sky.
Most of the 43 people injured were treated for cuts and bruises from the flying glass of broken windows. Two men with more serious injuries remained in local hospitals Sunday night. One was released Monday, police said.
Environmental officials said toxins from the fire had not contaminated drinking water near Hemel Hempstead.
Most of the 2,000 people evacuated from their homes Sunday were still waiting to return.
Evacuee David Smith, 65, taking shelter in a recreation center, said he wasn't concerned about living so close to the depot.
"These places have got to go somewhere," he said. "It's a very small island, we need these oil depots."
Jane Hogg, mayor of Dacorum Borough Council, said authorities were trying to get people back in their homes as soon as possible, but first they needed to be sure the buildings were structurally sound.
The oil terminal explosions raised supply concerns, but authorities said the blasts would not lead to a shortage.
Oil prices surged above US$60 Monday as forecasts of colder weather in the world's largest heating oil market, the U.S. Northeast, boosted expectations of a rise in demand, and OPEC agreed to maintain its present output.
Representatives of oil companies, pipeline operators and the airline industry met Monday to discuss ways of keeping fuel supplies flowing. French oil firm Total S.A. said it had implemented contingency plans to reroute supplies that normally run through the plant.
"There shouldn't be any problem with supplies," said Lesley Else, a spokeswoman for Total U.K.
The Buncefield plant, which is part-owned by Texaco, carries jet fuel to Heathrow and Gatwick airports. It also stores gasoline, diesel and kerosene.
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
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latest on the house, crossposted from my blog
Well, it's probably high time I give an update on the whole house saga and provide some detail about events previously only mentioned in passing. I would have got to this sooner, but being on leave combined returning to a massive backlog at work have kinda cramped my style in the last few weeks.
Firstly, the extra eleven weeks and additional money the builder wanted. The time was due to the "bricklayer taking longer than was allowed" (the bricklayer being my father-in-law) and "inclement weather", while the money was for a combination of additional waterproofing of walls in wet areas and extra sand for the brickwork. The notice for extra time was issued with a scant few days remaining before the contract was due to finish, meaning the builder would have had to pay liquidated damages for running overtime. While the inclement weather claim was fair enough, the portion allocated against the brickwork was greater than the amount of time that my father-in-law actually spent working. After some legal advice and a couple of lengthy telephone conversations, we managed to pare the time back to seven weeks. Although the brickwork did take longer than anticipated, we could show (by my father-in-law's records) that the delay was in large part due to the action - or rather the inaction - or our original site supervisor who later vanished without a trace. There was a period of six weeks where no brickwork was done because my father-in-law had been told not to come in while the roof tiles and guttering were installed, but when he was eventually told to return to work those tasks were still not complete. In addition some of the inclement weather time was lost due to the supervisor failing to provide adequate site drainage, which meant that one side of the house was inaccessible due to their being a virtual lake of rainwater runoff. The shitty bit was that the real delay was seven weeks plus four weeks for the Christmas hiatus.
As for the money, after a bit of research i worked out that the waterproofing on the walls was required due to a change in building regs - although the builder originally told me it was due to a change made before we signed the contract (in which case we wouldn't be liable for the cost) when i discovered and later clarified with the builder it was in fact due to a more recent revision made during the construction period. As for the sand, the builder spuriously claimed had "gone off" due to the length of the bricklaying period, and therefore had to be replaced. However, we had previously witnessed and reported to the supervisor that the sand had been stolen by tradies working on a house down the road. In addition, the builder had grossly over-ordered on the replacement sand and according to the contract "unfixed items on site remain the property of the builder". In the end we didn't have to pay for the sand, but not without an argument.
Secondly, the major stuffup which could easily have led to a conciliation hearing or building dispute. We had requested that our driveway and concrete pathways be completed by a method called "stamped pattern" (AKA "slate impression"), in a "flagstone" pattern and in the colour "gunmetal". However the description in the specification was "coloured and patterned" concrete coupled with an explicit instruction to "refer quote". The quote was quite explicit was to what was required. The builder’s reps even called me to confirm our original request. While the concrete work completed was also a pattern called "flagstone" and colour "gunmetal", it was done by a method called "stencil pattern" which as you can see from the links gives a completely different appearance to the finished product (most notably the square vs. random pattern). So basically we had 85m2 of concrete done the wrong way. On the morning of the concrete being poured i had to go to the block to deliver a ground bracket for our clothesline to be inserted into the pathway. The concreters were very obliging and graciously explained that they were using the gunmetal and flagstone pattern, but completely failed to mention which method they were using. However, since I had been on site and seen a third-finished job of freshly poured wet concrete sans pattern and colour it was deemed that I had given “approval”. Three phone calls, some detailed correspondence and a meeting later; we were more or less forced into accepting the job as done with the builder’s margin knocked off unless we wanted to take it further. While we were tempted to do so, the cost of the concrete work would have been eaten up in a couple of days worth of solicitor’s fees – meaning there would be little to gain from doing so. I must admit that the quality of the work is pretty good, but it’s just the wrong damn thing.
That’s enough for now. In the next exciting episode, I will provide an account of the "completion date" rort and our final inspection
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*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@gelfen - Wheeeew . . . that was quite a lengthy one pal  After all the hullabaloos here, don't you think that it would have caused you LESS money with LESS troubles and LESS white hairs (ooops, sorry) if you just have BOUGHT a newly contructed one  At my end, it will be prudent in doing that, UNLESS you are a very intricate person having a very intricate details of the house you want 
I just hope that all will be done in the 'soonest' time possible . . . I know and am certain that this has already been causing you some problems here, so goes to your dad-in-law who's been in the site 'almost' for a year now.
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Gigs
Joined: Jan 19, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: The planet Snibertron!
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Ugh gelf, sounds like you're having a horrid time with the builders. 
In the end is the way the concrete has been done going to mesh with the rest of the property?
At least things are still moving along though. hope nothing else major goes wrong at least! 
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
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thought i'd provide an update on house situation for those who are interested (crossposted from my blog, written 15th March 2006):
As promised, here is the next installment of the house-building saga. The completion data rort referred to previously was in relation to a sneaky little clause in the contract that the “Completion date will be the day a Certificate of Occupancy is issued”. Little did we realize that this would apply irrespective of the actual state of work in progress, so an occupancy permit was issued before the house was finished to the plans and specifications. This meant that the builder was able to get Occupancy before the contract expired, but could in actual fact overshoot the date with no penalty provided they didn’t claim the final payment until all work was complete (as per Section 42 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995). It's important to realise that a Certificate of Occupancy does not mean a dwelling is finished under the terms of the contract and specifications, only that it is "liveable". The builder claimed this was to protect them from clients who dragged out the final settlement, but while technically legal this tactic is apparently unusual not in the spirit of the legislation. One is left to wonder how the client is to be protected from the builder dragging out the process, since it was pretty obvious the whole purpose is to give the builder an out if they run overtime.
We were issued a Notice of Completion one day before the contract was due to expire, despite no work having been done for the preceding month and the house not finished. A week and a half later we had our final inspection as per the requirement of the Notice of Completion, still with no further work progressed, and had to point out a significant number of defects to be remedied before we took possession.
In the end we agreed to have a number of items left incomplete and the money refunded so we could take possession before the Labour Day long weekend. Among these items were:
* A refund for the Laserlite roofing on the pergola since the builder had incorrectly designed the timber frame so there was insufficient fall for rainwater runoff (we now have an open painted timber frame in place above our courtyard which will have to be modified)
* A refund for shelving and drawers in the wardrobes, since they couldn’t get a subcontractor to complete the work in the three weeks between final inspection and handover.
* A refund for the tidy bin supposed to be built into the kitchen cabinetry.
So, last Friday we took possession of the house with assurances that the plumber and electrician would be along that day to finish installation of the kitchen appliances (oven, stove, rangehood, dishwasher), hot water service, gas, rainwater pump for the toilets, etc. By 4pm nobody had shown. By five, the electrician had been and gone because they had to replace the installed cable with higher capacity line for the oven – which meant coming back the next day. By seven, we’d given up on the plumber despite two phone calls to the builder who assured us he would arrive but may also have to return the following day.
On the Saturday the electrician returned and installed everything. We moved our worldly possessions from the unit to our house, cleaned cupboards, and started to unpack. Still no plumber, so no hot water and no toilet.
On Sunday there was more unpacking and completion of a few odd jobs and minor construction activities (putting the microwave in the wall cavity, building the barbecue and dvd racks). No plumber.
On Monday we cleaned the unit in preparation for returning keys to the landlord (my wife’s uncle). We also visited our local Bunnings to purchase various household items, including a letterbox which Dad and I assembled and installed. Oh, and no plumber.
Tuesday, back to work. I phoned the builder, who chased up the plumber. The plumber arrived (my wife was home) and connected the gas, installed the gas hot water but not the solar, and did a few other odds and ends. He was unable to get the pump to work due to an electrical fault in the pump housing, but was able to prime it anyway by connecting to a nearby outdoor electrical socket. What the plumber didn’t do was fit the external water taps or install the rangehood flue kit, claiming the electrician had not left the equipment to do so. However, on the weekend the electrician had claimed this was the plumber’s responsibility. At least we had hot water, but no toilet.
This morning the electrician arrived to look at the pump housing, and decided that the problem wasn’t there but in the controller wiring. However, the control system was pre-wired by the supplier and without a wiring diagram there was little the electrician could do. Unfortunately nothing else was achieved since my wife had to ask them to leave because she needed to attend a funeral. I called the builder this afternoon to chase up the toilet and solar hot water issues, and still haven’t heard back. With luck someone will fix it tomorrow but at this rate I’m not holding my breath.
There are a few other problems, but I’ll save those for another time. At least we are finally moved into our house.
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Whomsoever you see in distress, recognize in him a fellow man
Gelfen's special place where nobody talks to him anymore
[ This Message was edited by: gelfen on 2006-04-24 11:21 ] |
*Jojo*
Joined: Oct 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
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@gelfen - That's NICE to hear that you've finally moved to your NEW house, despite it's NOT yet 'totally' done at that matey So, when will be the HOUSE BLESSING (warming/warning ) are we all invited here
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Posted: 2005-12-13 02:34
