Month: August 2014

Vertical Garden – Fail


I was walking along a Melbourne street the other day and saw this sad ‘Green Wall’ on the front of a building.

Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set up this vertical garden. . . . . . its a pity they didn’t do a proper job and install a watering system!

Lot’s of little pots, and people wanting lots of foliage, that’s a recipe for very high water use

Unless each pot gets water every day any plant is going to die, so going round once or twice a week with a watering can isn’t going to do the job


That’s the problem with a lot of ‘trendy’ ideas’, look good initially . . . . but not thought through!

For more Unusual House Photos, Wins, and Fails, have a look at: What the………………….?

 

New House Insurance

Your builder has given you a handover date . . .  so you need to organise property insurance to start on that day.

How Much House Insurance Will You Need ?

Well you have only just finished building so isn’t the price you have just paid the right amount?

I think you need to add 30%-50% to the build cost.

Why Do You Need Extra Property Insurance?

Well building on a new development is cheaper and an entirely different proposition to having a house replaced when it is surrounded by other houses.

Here are some of the reasons for extra costs:

  • Demolition and removal of material from the site;
  • Once fences are built around the site and perhaps trees planted on the nature strip builders may consider the site ‘Restricted‘;
  • Gardens, and paths, which may have been excluded from the initial construction cost will have to be replaced;
  • The original builder may not offer the standard house you had previously built meaning architects may need to be engaged. (Even though you had a project house built you may find yourself up for a cost structure of a custom house)
  • Building regulations may change.

All these extras make it important to make sure you don’t under insure.

The costs of possibly over insuring are small, compared with having to deal with the trauma of loosing your home. . . . Then having a bill of tens, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, to replace the house.



Also see Danger of Under Insuring

 

Sisalation or Sarking

Sarking is the sheet material which can be put over the roof trusses before the final roof covering is installed.

It’s normally standard on a metal roof as it prevents condensation on the underside of a roof from dropping onto the ceiling below.

In the case of a tiled roof it helps with weatherproofing and keeps dust out of the roof space.

In bushfire zones it is mandatory for a tiled roof to have sarking.

The reflective sarking (installed reflective side facing down) does help in reducing summer heat being radiated into the roof space and can help to keep the house warmer in winter. (See Reflective Finishes for more information)

In addition to plain sarking you can get an insulation blanket with sarking attached. This offering some sound insulation, for rainfall, and extra thermal insulation.

 

See Insulation for more posts

 

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