Presidential Suites

07 Oct 2013

Some photos the builder sent through, the day before the first guests arrived. No comments. Just beautiful! Safari luxury in the bush in its purest form.

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04 Oct 2013

Finally: the suites are done and fully furnished, and ready for tomorrow’s guests. The new units are stunning, the bathrooms are a big success, and the overall design/size of these units is just right. Best news of all: they are booked out pretty much at 80% until the end of the year, and we have many bookings for next year as well. In fact, we are overbooked for many weeks now, so the new units came online just in time! We will need to build additional units in the course of next year, that’s for sure. Our success is sometimes quite overwhelming, but I will not complain!

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27 Sep 2013

Both presidential suites are now completed! The builders were cleaning the site yesterday, and the furniture is already going in. On Monday and Tuesday the soft furnishings will be put in. So by Friday next week, we will have had 2-3 days to clean the suites deeply, several times, and to test everything. See the photos taken on Wednesday this week! The roof is amazing, and the overall look is extremely pleasant. Nicest features: the round bathtub, with wndows to observe wildlife, and the large shower with the ability to see wildlife and the bush while showering. Spectacular! Themany recesses with Afriucan art wil lcrate a very warm and African ambience, while the lighting is even better than in other suites, as there are many more light sources now (ceiling and wall uplights!). Great success. I will post the photos of the finished product next week.

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24 Sep 2013

All units are now ready and done. At the moment only snagging is being done. The lighting is already in as well. The furniture of the first unit has been delivered and the rest will follow in a few days. On the 2nd of Sep the interior design company will come in and do all the last soft furnishing. We then have 4 days for deep cleaning before the first guests arrive. The poles of the elevated walkway were finished yesterday as well, so at the end of the week the bulk of the walkway should be done as well. This walkway has been added to the construction, as the conventional walkways don’t really work from a security and safety point of view. The elevated walkways will add massively to the charm of the entire lodge, and that’s the design that we will have for all walkways in the future. At some point the existing ones may have to be changed, but maybe not, we’ll see. That design will also be kept for the walkway to the intended river platform for teas in the future. Photos will follow of the construction of the walkway.

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17 Sep 2013

First holdup on the second unit: Lizelle is now finally finishing the floor today, but Petrus was very angry with her. She always does that. Mid-way through, she sends the team somewhere else, and thinks it is ok to hold up a site. She ALWAYS does that, and it really pissed me off this time. Typically Hoedspruit! All good now, but still. We have guests that arrive on the 6th of October, so we cannot squander a single day. Sun loungers have now been ordered and paid for as well, so in about 10 days the units are ready for guests. Leonaard will deliver the first batch of furniture on the 20th of Sep.

In any case, the first unit is now finished. They have started cleaning it all up. See the deck and the jacuzzi that is going in after the cleaning. That’s pretty much the last thing that goes in. Wall lamps have been ordered, and they will go in shortly. Obviously that’s the very last bits that are fitted. Notice the beautiful travertine finish in the bathroom. Stunning!

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10 Sep 2013

Works are nearing their completion. The first unit wil be done in about 5-7 days from now. The bathroom is quasi done, and Lizelle is finishing off the floor and the plastering. The switches and plugs are already in in the first unit, and next week they are going in in the second unit. On the 22nd of Sep the furniture is delivered for the first unit. So far all is going according to plan still, and we will be ready for the first guests on the 7th of October, about a week ahead of their arrival, which is perfect. It gives us a week to clean up and decorate the room. In fact by the end of September the first unit will be ready to be inhabitated, and about 10 days later the second unit will follow. See the photos! Awsome bathroom!

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06 Sep 2013

Brush Strokes will finish the walls within the next few days, most of the first unit is already done. The floor is already being done as well, and the first bathroom is almost finished. Next week works on the walkways and the decking will commence, which will take about 10 days or so. So far, all is coming together for a second half of September finish, give or take 5 days.

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01 Sep 2013

Finally the thatch roof of the first unit is 100% on, and the tiling of the first bathroom is quasi finished. Only the best travertine has been used. The African art for the 6 recesses (each per unit) have been purchased already, and will look stunning in the room. Plenty of lighting points will create warmth in the units, and all plug units are multi-plug, so this will be very convenient for guests.

We are still on course to finish the first unit in its totality by the 20th of September, broadly. Next week the floor and the plastering will go in, and then we start with the last bits. The support for the deck area has been dug already as well. So far damage to nature is minimal.

 

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26 Aug 2013

At the moment the thatch is going on and on the 30th of August the roof will be done. Lizelle will come in then and do the plastering and the floor will also go in at the same time. In 3-4 weeks the units will be ready, as planned.It will have taken us less than 3 months to build the units in the end, which is probably a record.

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14 Aug 2013

The roof structure is all done now, and the rendering is as well. Next week, on Tuesday, the thatching will go on, and soon enough the bathrooms can go in too. Progress is still steady and smooth.

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05 Aug 2013

The rendering is progressing very well, and the roof structure has been begun. The shape of the units is very obvious now. Completion is still scheduled to be mid-to second half of September.

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29th of July 2013

Steady progress still … the top support beam over the doors is in, and the rendering has begun. The rendering will all be done within the next 2 weeks. On Monday the roof will start going on as well. I expect therefore the broad structure to be completely done by the second half of August, and then the builders can begin the finishing (bathrooms, cemcrete walls, floors, …)

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25th of July 2013

The first windows and door frames are already in. Soon rendering and also the roof structure can start going up. Let’s see how quickly the thatch roof can go up!

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22nd of July 2013

Walls of the second unit are going up fast, and the doors and windows have been delivered. They will be fitted from today onwards. So far, all is going according to plan.

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19th of July

The walls of the first unit are all done, and hopefully on Monday all windows will be delivered. Once they are in, rendering of the first unit can begin, as well as the roof construction. Fingers crossed timings work out as planned.

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16th of July

As predicted, the walls are almost done and indeed it looks like that they are done on Wednesday this week. On Thursday the window frames will go in already.

See the progress!

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13th of July

Progress continues at a brisk pace, and all walls are rising swiftly. To judge from the current pace I wouldexpect all walls to be done by Wednesday next week. One can see the total size and layout of all units now already.

 

 

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11th of July

All slabs are in place and the walls are already going up. At a rate of 3000 bricks laid/day this means that all walls will be done by the end of next week at the latest, so progress will be brisk! The next photos should show a nearly finished unit structure layout with nearly all internal and external walls. Note that only high quality clay bricks are being used! These will last forever, and offer excellent thermo-insulation. By the end of next week the roof structure will go into the early stages if all walls are done by then.

 

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9th of July

And another milestone reached! All slabs are on now, and from today onwards the walls are going up. The walls will take 6-9 working days to be erected. The roof and wiring is next then. Stay tuned in!

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4th of July

Justine has just sent some photos through. Progress on the slab foundation is almost done. The foundation G5 soil is just being compacted. One can also guess the size of these presidential suites now. Nice!

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3rd of July

Quick update! The foundation walls are all done, and today the infilling is all happening. As a result the main slab can go on on Monday, and then a few days after that the main walls can go up. So far all is on time and on schedule!

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1st of July

I just got in the photos of the current progress. Excellent news there! The foundations walls are already going up, and will be done by the end of this week. By Monday the unit walls will go into construction, and at this pace I see them being done within 10 days maximum. See the photos below.

 

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28th of June

Steady progress on the construction! The foundations are now all done, and they will settle over the weekend. In a few days the brickwork will commence. The bricks have already been ordered, so all is ready to go up. The African safari is never far away! See the photos below.

 

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26th of June

Steady and efficient progress! The first unit has already its concrete in the foundations, and the second unit will be done today. By the end of this week all foundation work is finished, and the concrete will need to settle over the weekend. New update to follow next week! Apologies for the poor photo quality, Craig needs a new phone! The size of this new unit is becoming more obvious now, and the safari experience in these will count amongst the very best in South Africa.

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24th of June

Progress at the building site is fast! The steel has been delivered (and paid!), and the builders are busy bending and fitting the steel into the foundation. The pictures show it: all double layer steel. The steel works are now all done, and next up is the concrete that will go in.

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13th of June

Foundations dug up

Progress on the presidential suites is brisk and efficient! The foundations were all dug up within two days, and the guys have now also dug the entire water pipe trench. The steel and NHBRC have been paid, so on Tuesday (Monday is a bank holiday) the steel should be delivered. I expect the fondations (steel and concrete) to be in within the next 10 days. Photos below of the works:

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7th of June

Marking the site

Petrus and his builders have now laid out the contours of one of the presidential suites, and doing the same for the second presidential suite. Ernst Scheepers, the estate manager, will check the layout later on today,and then we can begin with the excavations for the foundations.

See the layout photos below.

This guy is actually standing where the round bath tub will come in.

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June 5th 2013

Site clearing

We have now officially started with the construction of the two new presidential suites at the Vuyani Safari Lodge!

Yesterday and today the builders have been clearing and preparing the site for the pegging tomorrow. Ernst Scheepers will visit tomorrow for the establishment of the location of the two suites.

See photos of the site clearing below.