July 2020 – A New House

Easy to grow vegetables for beginners

Guest Post from Tristan

There’s no better feeling than growing your own vegetables.

It’s not only fun and healthy, its super rewarding.

When thinking of starting your own little veggie garden, sometimes getting it started can be the hardest part.

While choosing things to grow, it’s important to grow produce that is easy to grow rather than your favourite produce, save this till next year.

Growing produce that is simple, gives you the confidence to begin taking on bigger challenges, and before long your whole yards will be a little veggie garden.

Growing crops that require little maintenance and have a short harvest time is a great way to start.

Location

Pick a part of your garden that is sheltered but sunny.

Exceptions to this rule include salad leaves and some herbs.

Soil

The quality of your soil is another important factor for your grow, chances are if things are already growing there, your produce will to.

First step is to prepare the soil, this is done by removing weeds and turning over the soil, loosening things up.

Only grow what you have space for, don’t grow plants too closely together, so follow the recommendation on the seed packets.

Potatoes

Potatoes are one of my favourites to grow.

Plant them in the ground or even in a box.

Wait until the first leaves begin to show, then you cover these with soil.

This helps them grow faster for the next few weeks, then its harvest time.

Depending on what time of year you plant your potatoes, between planting and harvesting is roughly 3 – 4 months.

Beetroot

Beetroot is another simple vegetable to grow as and can be planted by simply twisting it into the soil like a drill.

Beetroot leaves can be harvested after 6 weeks or so (leaves are great for salads) and the bulb harvested after 3 months.

Cucumbers

Cucumber seeds are simple to sow, and are best placed roughly 2cm under the soil.

Cucumbers enjoy the sun like the rest of us, and prefer warm temperatures.

Providing they are watered regularly, and have plenty of sun, they grow like crazy.

Cucumbers crawl along the ground or you can use a trellis.

Cucumber vines grow up to 2.4m so if you have a small garden it’s important to let them grow.

When crammed they produce a smaller more bitter yield, so give them plenty of room to breathe.

Spinach

Spinach is similar to growing Lettuce, something we should all be able to master.

Its best planted in well-drained soil as it encourages root growth.

It’s a plant that can grow year-round as its not deterred by the cold.

When you plant your spinach seeds, you will need to go through and thin where you planted a few weeks later.

Just be sure to remove any area where you see clusters appears.

After you have done this your spinach will be ready to harvest in 6-8 weeks.

Tristan is a writer from Sydney Gardeners, his passion for writing stemmed from his experience in the gardening industry. Writing first hand from years of practical knowledge.

Room Height

Rooms with higher ceilings always seem lighter and more spacious.

They can feel cooler in summer as the heat rises above your head, not so good in winter though!

They are better for fitting ceiling fans, probably the cheapest form of mechanical cooling. (see this link: Ceiling Fans)

There is more choice of light fittings for tall rooms.

Most builders will normally provide a 2.4m ceiling height as standard. However there are a lot of people who are willing to pay extra for a 2.55m, 2.7m, or even 3m ceilings.

So what are the issues?

According to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) there are certain minimum height regulations.
For most Habitable Rooms (for definition see this link: Habitable Room) – The minimum height is 2.4m
For the kitchen (which is also a habitable room) 2.1m is the minimum allowed. Considering how much time we spend in the kitchen I think it’s strange that this should be considered different to other habitable room.
For Non-Habitable Room – For example bathroom, laundry, hallway, garage, cellar, storeroom then the minimum height is 2.1m.
You do get some dispensation for attics where you are allowed to have a bedroom with a sloping roof as long as 2/3rds of the floor area has a ceiling height of 2.2m. However you are not allowed to include in any floor area calculation any area with a ceiling height of 1.5m.
It can add significantly to your budget when you are Choosing a House or going through the Selection / Pre-Start. For every 300mm that you want to increase the ceiling height for a typical house you can expect to pay in the order of $8,000-$10,000 in 2020 prices. That covers the cost of extra courses of brickwork additional frame cost, and dry lining.
It can affect the Outside appearance of the house. (See this link: Outside Appearance for more information)
Although you can fit a ceiling fan in a room with a ceiling height of 2.4m the fan blades will then be at a height of 2.1m, so you will need to be careful about waving your arms in the air! See the following link for more information: Ceiling Fans

Some builders quote ceiling heights in brick courses so the post on Brick Dimensions explains how to compare brick courses with ceiling height

See Guide to Choosing a House . . . for help picking your new house.

Or the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’ for assistance with all the details

Five Great Uses for Rural Farm Sheds in Australia

Guest post by Asad Shoaib

The weather of rural Australia is quite harsh so the rural farms require proper durable sheds to be in their ideal state.

They must be strong enough to stand the test of time without causing any trouble.

Such sheds are designed and engineered by considering the severity of external elements.

There are multiple great uses for rural farm sheds in Australia that you must know.

However, five of the great uses are mentioned here to enlighten you.

Workshop or Office

If you want your dealings with your suppliers and farmers to be secured, you can take advantage of the rural farm sheds.

However, you must pick the design, color, and material of your farm sheds carefully to make sure that it caters to the needs of the farmers or visitors.

If you are using part of the shed as an office you will need to add insulation and perhaps ventilation.

You can also add personal sliding doors for easy access.

Security for Machinery

Farm sheds can help provide security for farm machinery.

You can build steel sheds that can serve this purpose effectively.

You can also get the roller doors installed to make your security system stronger and better.

Moreover, you can incorporate open windows in your enclosed shed design to see whats happening around the farm.

Shelter

Your farm will be incomplete without animals to whom you can provide shelter by simply building sheds.

It is not enough to make a roof over the heads of animals instead, they require proper living space to be comfortable.

For instance, if you have horses on your farm, they would require some space to run and play around.

So, a storage rural farm shed would be a great choice if you want to give your animals a secure environment where they can live as they want to.

All you need to do is to hire reliable professional services that can build a particular type of shed for your farm.

Safety of Animals and Family

Since you don’t want your animals, family, and loved ones to get affected by chemicals, machinery, and equipment, you must invest some money in building a high-quality rural farm shed.

If you don’t keep the hazardous chemicals out of reach from animals, they can pose a threat to their lives.

So, you should hire the services that can provide you with a rural farm shed based on your needs, preferences, and site conditions.

Facility for Animal Feed

Animal feed must be kept in its fresh form to keep the farm animals active and healthy.

A good rural farm shed can protect the animal feed from external harmful elements and prying eyes.

Since the weather of Australia can cause huge disasters, we must take all precautionary measures we possibly can.

You can get a durable farm shed or arena that can withstand every trial for a long time.

Cement

Some people confuse concrete with cement, but cement is just the ‘glue’ which holds the other constituents of concrete, sand and gravel, together.

There are a range of different cements but these are the three you will most commonly come across:

General Purpose Cement

This is consistent, versatile and cost effective product which makes it a good choice for most building works.

It is suitable for Domestic concrete slabs, driveways and footpaths

Trivial Fact -You may hear standard cement referred to as Portland Cement – This is because the finished concrete has an appearance similar to stone quarried from Portland in England.

Sulphate Resisting Cement

Sulfate Resisting Cement is a blended cement designed to improve the performance of concrete where the risk of sulfate attack may be present.

It also provides improved durability for concrete, and the steel reinforcement, in most aggressive environments, such as seawater exposure.

It has an additional cost, but it is much better for:

- Geothermal areas
- Soils containing sulphates
- Saline Areas
- Area that are frequently wet such as concrete swimming pools

Rapid Set Cement

Normally found in dry premixed concrete mixes.

This is a cement with various additives that speed up the reaction to give an initial hardening within 15 minutes.

Speeding up of the cement reaction time does lead to lower final strength.

This makes this product good for things like setting fence posts………… but NOT for significant structural applications.

Water Cement Ratio

One of the most important issues with cement is ensuring the ratio of water and cement is correct as this affects both the final strength and the durability. For instance:

Water cement ratio 0.5 (10L water to 20kg cement) is needed for high strength 35MPa.
Increasing the Water cement ratio to 1 (20L water to 20kg cement) will reduce the strength to 10MPa.

To ensure they don’t add too much water premix companies usually measure the water content in the sand and gravel piles and reduce the water content accordingly.

This means ading water to a premix lorry will affect the strength of the concrete

For more information see Concrete.

A Warning!

You might think this is a new house at fit out stage.

Well you would be wrong it’s a house that’s around 30 years old . . . . and no it hasn’t been subject to a fire, or water damage.

The reason why it looks like this is a couple of heavy smokers lived in the house for many years.

When they moved out it was thought that removing the carpets and a good clean would remove the smells.

That didn’t work so in the end the decision was made to remove all the plasterboard and refit the entire property.

40 or 50 years ago, with so many smokers around, they might have got a buyer, even with the tobacco smell.

Not these days.

For more unusual and funny house photographs go to What the………………….?

6 Easy Ways to Give Your Home a Quick Makeover

Guest Post by Andrej Kovacevic

Age might take a toll on your home, or you might get tired of the same look.

Unfortunately, complete home renovations take a lot of time and can get expensive.

A home renovation in Australia can cost as much as $200,000

But what if you don’t have such a budget? . . . Don’t panic because you don’t have to dig deep into your pockets to do a quick makeover.

Here are some inexpensive tips to give your home a fresher look.

1. Rearrange Your Furniture

One of the easiest things you can do to give your home a new look is rearranging the furniture.

But before you start moving things around, it is a good idea to de-clutter.

This means clearing away items that are no longer in use or those that are not regularly used. These might include old electronics, books, clothes, chairs, etc.

De-cluttering creates more space, but it might also allow more light into your living space, making it appear more accommodating.

If you are open to new ideas, you might want to try out Feng shui.

This is a Chinese concept that utilizes natural elements to promote the “flow of energy.” which is said to create balance and harmony in a home.

2. Get New Flooring

Redoing your floors or wall-to-wall carpeting is bound to be costly and time-consuming. Not so with rugs.

What’s more, you can use these to bring different colours and textures into any room.

There are great natural fibre rugs you can consider if you or a family member is prone to allergies.

Aside from placing area rugs strategically to partition different areas of the house, you can also use different mats to create artistic floor mosaics.

3. Get New Fixtures

Getting a few new items that blend in well with the overall décor can do wonders for any room.

This works particularly well for the kitchen and the bathroom.

The sink is a focal point in the kitchen.

If your sink has seen better days or is out of style, you might want to get a new one.

While there are many good materials for kitchen sinks, stainless steel is one of the most popular options because it is affordable.

If you are looking for good deals, consider buying kitchen sinks online.

Online shopping also gives you a wider variety of sinks to choose from.

4. Upholster Your Furniture

Sometimes, getting your furniture upholstered takes care of the need to replace it.

With a change in upholstery, you can introduce different colours and textures.

You can play around with the theme or style to achieve a more updated look.

5. Dress Your Walls

While plain walls might be safe, they can become tiresome to look at pretty fast.

To make things more interesting, paint one wall a different colour.

Usually, this is done on a feature wall.

Textured wallpaper is yet another way to add colour, texture, and personality into any room.

Similarly, you can bring in paintings or mirrors with rustic frames to add an element of glamour.

You can blow up family portraits, landscapes, and calendar art and set them in antique frames to give you personalized art to adorn your walls with.

6. Go DIY

If you are good with your hands, you can handle some tasks on your own and save up on labour costs.

You might want to repaint faded walls, recondition cabinets, fill nail holes or do some landscaping and so on.

There is a disclaimer, though -DO NOT attempt DIY on specialized tasks that involve electrical wiring or plumbing if you do not have the relevant skills. Otherwise, you might cause serious damage or put your wellbeing at risk.

It’s All About Creativity

With some creativity, you can execute impressive makeovers without denting your finances.

What’s more, is that you do not have to do everything at the same time.

Many people opt to go from room to room to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Buying Plans From The Internet

These days there are a vast number of house plans available of the Internet.

There are very many high quality companies that provide plans on the net.

However as with all internet based service you need to be careful.

Climate

There are many variations of climate across Australia to what is suitable foe Tasmania may be totally unsuitable for Darwin.

This may be even more pronounced for plans that come from other countries.

Building Standards

Building standards are again something that varies widely from state to state and between countries

Materials

Different countries have differing construction methods. . . . there is no advantage in saving on plans if its going to cost extra to get a material which need to be specially imported..

Dimensions

The Big trap here is buying plans from the USA which use feet and inches, something the modern tradesman may no longer understand.

Overall

I would be very reluctant to use an overseas plan provider for my house and then be faced with delays due to ensuring compliance with local standards.

If you find a plan on the internet that you really like you will need to be sure that the company that can provide you with:

1. A full set of drawings, with dimensions in metric units, including:

- - - A block plan based on survey information, that you will need to organise.
    - Floor Plan
    - Foundation plan these will need to be signed off by an engineer based on the soil investigation.
    - Exterior elevations.
    - Interior details of kitchen, bathrooms and laundry.
    - Roof plans showing adequate information for a truss manufacturer and builder to construct the roof.

2. A full specification and material list.

3. The ability to modify drawings to meet your exact requirements.

Some plan providers can provide additional drawings for plumbing, electrical and heating. Alternatively it might be easier to get these services directly through the builder you select.
Generally the process will be:

Find a design you like on the internet from a company that will provide all the above services.
Pay an initial deposit to get a copy of the plans.
Make modifications to the plan to meet your requirements.
Receive final plans and specification of a standard you can use for planning, energy rating, and building approval and for use in a contract with a builder.

How Much Should Stage (Progress) Payments Be

When you contract someone to build a new house you are required to make regular payment as each STAGE is completed. . . . But how much?

Well builders want to get paid as soon as possible so they will want the early payments to be as big as possible.

You as the purchaser need to make sure you aren’t paying for work that’s yet to be done. (See this link: If The Builder Goes Bust) You will need enough money to finish the house!

A good guide to what’s fair is found in a Victorian Government Act which lay down the following percentages of the full contract price:

1. Deposit 5%
2. Base 10% – (Check on this link to find what you get; Base )
3. Frame 15% – (link at: Frame 15)
4. Lock Up 35% – (link at :Lock Up)
5. Fixing 25% – (link at Fixing 25%)
6. Completion 10% – (link at: Completion)

In Victoria many builders will ask you to sign an agreement accepting that the above payment levels don’t apply and the percentages will be similar to those shown below.

In other Australian states where there is no Act controlling the amount of progress payments then the builder is more likely to want the following values of progress payments.

1. Deposit 5%
2. Base 20%
3. Frame 20%
4. Lock Up 25%
5. Fixing 20%
6. Completion 10%

Think very carefully before you accept these different payments, as it increases your level of risk if things go wrong.

Before you make each progress payment, you need to check the work comprising the stage is:

- Complete
- Meets your contract requirements
- Meets the building regulations

If you are not confident checking the work it may be worthwhile using an independent building consultant to check everything before you make progress payments.

If you want to check yourself you may find this link: PCI Guide useful

Whatever happens do not pay any money in advance of when the contract requires it.