This is a house I drive past every couple of weeks.
Each time it reminds me of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.
All those octagonal rooms and roofs, it must have cost a fortune to build.
Have you ever wanted to live in a fairy tale castle?
The BAL is a number that indicates how severely a bush fire is likely to affect your new house. It comes from the Australian Standard AS3959 – 2009.
The number is calculated by considering the following factors:
In the above example this is a ‘Down Slope’ as the slope of the vegetated area is Down as it goes away from the house ((Even though the intervening space slopes up). ‘Down Slopes’ are higher risk than ‘Up Slopes’ because fire moves quicker going up hill.
By the use of tables the FDI can be calculated for each direction with the highest value being the overall FDI.
Although it is possible to get guides and do it yourself (For example: Victorian Building Authority) I think where safety is involved it’s worth getting an expert in. They will be able to do the assessment and give you advice on requirements and improvements.
Although roof trusses only started being used in Australia in the 1960’s they now have around 80% of the total ‘Pitched Roof’ market.
They are all designed using well proven computer programs and manufactured in factory conditions. (the whole process is high tech and relies on specialised equipment…….site work is limited to erection of the completed trusses).
Trusses can span large areas without needing intermediate supports. Because the individual components are engineered to share the stresses acting on the roof the total amount of timber is usually much less than an equivalent ‘Conventional Roof’.
The following diagram is of a standard timber roof truss.
For more complex roof shapes there are a range of special trusses that can be made.
Steel roof trusses would look generally similar although they would use a different jointing method rather than nail plates.
The timber components are normally pine and will be either ‘F’ or ‘MGP’ graded. The size is determined from the manufacturers computer program.
The chords and webs are joined by nail plates. The plates are galvanised steel sheets that have spikes protruding on one side.
The plates are hydraulically pressed into the timber at the manufacturing plant, with one plate on each side of the join. They form a solid fixing that is very strong.
As well as joining chords and webs they are quite often used to splice timbers together particularly when a long bottom chord is needed.
I saw this curious looking house one rainy day.
It looks like it’s one house short of a semi-detached pair.
I can only assume the owner saw an example of the house and liked the layout so much they thought they would copy it.
A problem that is not so apparent from the photo is the blank wall faces North so most windows face either West or East with a few facing South
A little more thought and …….
One of the problems that happen all too often during a new house build is that Sewers and Drains get filled with concrete.
Its normally happens on:
During the pouring of the foundations the concrete gets into the pipeline through the unsealed connection, or a cracked pipe, and then flows along the pipe.
Our company then gets brought in to remove the concrete using a hyraulic impact cutter like this.
Don’t think its cheap though . . . . . . It normally takes a team of three plus a high pressure jetting truck so the costs is upwards of $200 an hour, and its not unusual for one job to take 2-3 days.
Guest post by Callum Scott of Scott Finance
Before looking at the difference between a construction loan and a standard mortgage, it is important to realise that the criteria for obtaining a construction loan are pretty much the same as those for a mortgage.
Therefore you need to approach the borrowing process in the same way. The amount you can borrow will depend on your deposit, income, assets, liabilities and savings or investment history.
A finance broker or lender will help you assemble the necessary documents and make the application for the loan.
The important difference between a construction loan and a standard mortgage is that whilst the home is being constructed, your only payments are for the interest being charged on the amount you currently owe at any given time.
Payments start with the purchase of the land, and then the amount you owe would gradually increase as you pay the builder for the completed stages of the build. Usually the interest is charged monthly or fortnightly.
A good guide to fair stage payments is found in a Victorian Government Act which lay down the following percentages of the full contract price:
See How Much Should Stage Payments Be for more information
Once the loan is fully drawn down, the construction loan is converted to a mortgage. This may still be interest-only if negotiated, or more likely a principal and interest mortgage at the standard variable rate or a fixed rate.
For no cost advice about your housing contact: Scott Finance
I saw this extended house the other day and couldn’t resist sharing it.
A fairly standard 60’s house with a pitched roof but someone has dropped a square box on top….So much for sensitive design.
Not only that but the chimney will be blowing smoke directly at the upper floor windows!
There are a few plasterboard options when looking to improve the noise insulation.
These options in increasing order of cost are:
By using different and thicker plasterboards on each wall face, say 13mm and 16mm, it will change the resonant frequency to disrupt sound transmission
It is possible to order a special accoustic plasterboard which has a denser core than the standard board.
The most effective, but most expensive, option is to use a double layer of plasterboard on each face of the walls and the ceiling. Again using different thickness will help.
Make sure the sheets overlap and use an acoustic glue between the boards.
One advantage of the double sheet is that it will also improve the fire resistance of the walls and ceiling.
Use an Acoustic Caulk at wall to floor, wall to ceiling, and even at wall sheet joints.
Use solid doors with rubber seals.
“The Builder is ripping me off!” and ‘The Builder is overcharging for upgrades!” are two comments I hear regularly. Some of these cries may be justified, but a lot are because the customer doesn’t understand the Builder.
The aim of all businesses is to make a profit so don’t expect a builder to be any different. Its not that easy to achieve and if you follow the press you will see plenty of builders don’t, and go bust.
It is in your interest that the builder makes a profit. If the builder goes bust while building your house its likely to cost lots of money and cause major delays in completing your new house.
Builders want to get customers in and then up-sell them. They do this by providing a keen initial price for a standard house. Once you have signed you find there are extra costs for: site works, nicer bricks, different roof tiles, trendy bathroom fittings, swish kitchens, etc,etc.
Of course the builders profit margins are higher on these extras. This is the builders cream. Make sure you understand as much of the costs as possible before you sign.
For much more information on choosing upgrades from the standard see my Selection Guide
You hear a lot about big business outsourcing and builders are no different
The majority of new house builders outsource most of their work to sub-contractors. This may be to either smaller specialist suppliers or individual tradies. In some cases the sub-contractor may buy the materials then contract the actual work to a labour only subcontractor.
Nearly everything you buy is made when you buy it. If it’s a car, or electrical goods. and you know its been built in a factory under tight quality control measures. You know no matter how hard you bargain it won’t affect the quality of the item you buy.
But it can take a year or more to build your new house. During that time the builder will make many decisions on who is employed during the build and what quality is expected. If you bargained the price down heavily do you think the builder is going to pick the better tradies or the cheapest?
No house is the same. Even for the same house design all the following can affect the build:
All this means that there is a lot of risk about the final cost of the build. To cover this risk the builder will want to ensure there is enough profit to cover any unforeseen circumstances, or have an out that allows extra costs to be charged to the home owner.
Looks a bit like a Rustic Type Path . . . . So why do I think this is a Fail?
Well even though I was careful, and wearing safety work boots, I nearly rolled my ankle!
Just imagine a woman trying to walk up the path wearing high heeled shoes!
These are the problems with this idea:
Front paths need to be smooth and even to encourage visitors to walk to your door, not an obstacle course.
