Author Archive: Brian Ashworth
Half Price Guide!
Still over 80 pages of advice and checklists to help you buy right block for your new house. . . . . but now only $2. Many buyers tell me my ANEWHOUSE GUIDES are worth much more to them than the…
Read more
Boat? House Boat? or House?
I was driving through Little River In Victoria a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t resist stopping to take this photo. From my personal knowledge this boat has been in the back yard for at least the last nine years. ….
Read more
Reducing Noise Through Windows
General Principles The main factors in window noise reduction in order of importance are: 1. Glass Thickness Thicker glass will give a better result. (Laminated glass is slightly better than solid glass of similar thickness as the laminated layer provides additional ‘Damping’) 2….
Read more
Foundation Failure?
No . . . it’s Art! This mid-19th century house was empty for 11 years before being compulsorily purchased by Thanet District Council, in Kent and is now an art work.. The idea was from Alex Chinneck and is called ‘From the knees of…
Read more
Off The Grid In Little River
Is living off the grid realistic? To find out I recently visited an open day of this “Off The Grid’ House in Little River, Victoria. All the electricity for this large 38 square 4 bedroom house are generated from solar panels on…
Read more
Skysphere
A couple of weeks ago I was in New Zealand where people refer to their holiday ‘shack’ as a Bach. Some of the Bachs I saw were anything but shacks. The Bach in this photo is the weirdest that I heard…
Read more
Don’t Just Wait For PCI
I have sold almost 2,000 copies of my PCI Guide and as a result get a fair bit of feedback. One thing that I have noticed is that a number or people only buy the Guide a day or two before…
Read more
Laundries – The Latest Source Of Profit
Over the years I have seen many builders put up many reasons for making houses bigger and more expensive. . . . which means more profit for them. When they can’t think of another room then its how can they make…
Read more
Balancing Barn
This unusual silver building hanging over a shallow valley in Suffolk, UK. is known as the ‘Balancing Barn’. It was designed by MVRDV, from Holland who are well known for the ingenuity of their designs. It is actually rented out as a holiday home…
Read more
Kitchen Costs – Sinks
One of the most expensive rooms in your new house will be the kitchen. For the purposes of research I spent an hour looking through my local Bunnings. Just concentrating on stainless steel double drainer sinks I found they stock over 20 different…
Read more