Plans rejected

Sigh. You do NOT want to know why. When I go through the tons of paper they sent me I will go through the rejection in detail. Not upset, just tired. Its a hiccup on the way to building I guess.

More later.

Back on track

As of today the plans are in the approval stage with a slight hiccup. Seems one form, the Town and Country approval form from the lawyers (the one that is given when the land is transferred) was not submitted with the documents. The draftsman didn't think that was needed at the time, but what happened was the original size of the plot changed to a bigger size mid development and T&C needed to see the re-approval. Anyways all seems well. Hopefully by the end of htis month signed stamped and approved.

Little snags

I guess there are going to be little snags. Turns out the size of the lot was not approved by Town and COuntry. This seems to be a fault with the developer, but what it means is that the deed has one size but T&C has anther SMALLER size. When I go to the bank to secure a loan the discrepancy will send me right back to T&C for re-approval. T&C have indicated that I need to get the developer to sort out the survey. Sigh. Let's hope this is done quickly.

Met with the draftsman

Got the final blueprints in hand. Everything down to the last roof tie. Looks good. He says estimated time to getting Town & Country approval is 2 months from today. Lets see how that works out. Still need to get WASA approval separate but he says that won't be a problem.

Very excited.

Still waiting

Waiting on my draftsman to collect a copy of the deed to we can sort our the land surveyor's report. Sigh. things being mired in molasses at this stage. Need things to get moving. will ask for a updated timeline from him.

Plans being drawn up for Town and Country!

Ok. So here's the process. Once the draftsman has done up the plans he submits it Town and Country for our district (San Juan/Lavantille) which is located in Port of Spain. Once the people in town and country have viewed the plans they send him a notice requesting changes OR stamp it up and give him the documents saying "yes this is approved." He then hands me a paper to go to the bank and after I pay $200 I get certified copies of the plans and all reports done by the relevant authorities, in our case the development has a sewer system and a soak-away system, WASA needs to get involved at the stage of plan approvals to ok any sewerage infrastructure that needs building.

So fingers crossed that by the end of the month (April) I will be going to Town and Country and will be getting my plans approved.

How to save your life if disaster strikes from The Trinidad Guardian

Especially this bit:

Dr Richard Clarke, lecturer at the Engineering Department of the University of the West Indies advises:

1. Ensure that your home, your place of work and your children's schools meet the specifications laid down in the small building code.
The code is available from the Bureau of Standards or online from the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago's website (www.boett.org).

2. Dr Clarke summarises the Small Buildings Code:

(a) Make sure your foundation is properly built;
(b) the walls should be made with150mm (6-inch) blocks which are joined to foundation, columns, and roof tie beam with steel reinforcing rods;
(c) the reinforcing rods should not be placed at the block joints, rather they should go though carefully made holes in the blocks;
(d) after the reinforced steel is placed in the blocks, the blocks should be filled with concrete mixed in the proper proportions as recommended by the guide;
(e) when the concrete is being poured into the blocks, it should be rodded (compacted using steel rods) to ensure that there are no air bubbles in the concrete;
(f) make sure you have linked "tie beams" at the top of the walls, tying the walls (both external and internal) together; and,
(g) ensure that the all parts of the roof are properly joined together and then joined to the tie beams.

See original here: http://guardian.co.tt/news/general/2010/03/03/how-save-your-life-if-disaster-strikes