Author: Brian Ashworth

Protect Your Block From Dumping

A regular problem with vacant new house blocks is they are used as a convenient dumping ground for other builders.


It’s much cheaper to dump on a nearby site than haul the material to a tip and pay tip fees.

If you are are really unlucky the material may be contaminated (for example asbestos waste). . . . which may mean you have to pay for testing and additional tip fees to dispose of it.

Fence the Site

The best advice I can give is to make your site seem loved by erecting a fence,  mowing any grass and/or keeping weeds under control.

It doesn’t have to be an expensive fence, something like a 1.2 m high dog mesh supported by steel star pickets at 4-5m intervals will be fine, and should only cost around $5-6/m.

If you have got quite a few posts to put in it can be worth hiring, borrowing , or buying a post driver.

Light fencing like this is not foolproof, but it makes things a little more difficult for the dumper. This means they are more likely to look for a block where nobody seems to be taking an interest.

 

See Guide to Buying a Block for more advice.

 

Meringue House

This is certainly a strange looking building!

It’s actually an art gallery in France.

The designers started out with a fairly conventional building and then added polystyrene

The polysyrene was then sculptured into these fantastic shapes.

It was then plastered and painted to get this meringue looking building.

For more information check out www.freshome.com

 

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

 

Skylights

Thinking about putting some skylights in the roof?

Planning one of those rooms with a glazed roof panel?

You really need to think very carefully before you go ahead!

Summer

In summer the heat gain and glare can be enormous causing major overheating. A typical North facing 900mm x 900mm sky light can put 3kw of heat an hour into your room between 9.00am and 3pm.

Sky lights are difficult to shade effectivly, although putting them on a South facing roof can help. Don’t forget though in most of Australia the sun is almost directly overhead in summer.

Winter

As heat naturally rises in a room high level windows can lose 30% more heat than a typical  window in a wall. Even with double glazing you will be loosing far more heat than would be the case for an insulated ceiling. With the sun at a low angle you will also get minimal heating benefit on sunny winter days.

Generally

If you feel there is no alternative keep the skylight as small as possible (see Australian Standard AS4285 Skylights for sizing guidelines), or use daylight tubes.

A better solution is Daylight Tubes

 

Retaining Walls – Besser Blocks

If  you want a rendered surface on your retaining wall one of the best ways of achieving this is by using ‘Besser Blocks’.

These are hollow concrete blocks which are designed to incorporate steel reinforcement within the block.

A few  issues when building these walls are:

  • Don’t skimp on the foundation. Even a 600mm high wall will need a concrete foundation 600mm wide by 250mm deep.
  • Make sure that the cement grout is well packed around the steel reinforcement.
  • Buy some of the yellow safety caps you see here to put over  the reinforcement bars and ‘Keep Yourself Safe.
  • Don’t backfill behind the wall for at least a week


As well as free standing retaining walls Besser Blocks are also used as basement walls and to provide structural strength for external walls when building against a slope.

This photograph shows a typical example where the Besser Block wall will provide the external wall of a garage. ( You can also see the builders plastic which will form part of the ‘tanking’ to keep damp from passing through the wall)

 

See Retaining Walls for other  solutions to slopes

Pet Lovers House

Wondering what those strange empty shelves are for in this picture?


Well it becomes clearer  with this second picture. . . . . It for the cats!

Not only their own adventure playground around the walls but their own doorways between rooms!

Photographs are from Hauspanther an online magazine for ‘Design Conscious ‘ Cat People.

 

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

 

Daylight Tubes

Solatube

If you have a gloomy smaller room (for example bathroom, WIR, or hallway) consider a daylight tube. They are a more energy efficient alternative to conventional skylights or having to keep putting the lights on.

Daylight tubes have three parts:

  • Roof mounted clear, hemispherical dome
  • Connecting  smooth highly reflective tube/duct
  • Ceiling level diffuser

As they require a smaller area of roof glazing than a traditional skylight, heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter is significantly reduced.

 

Selection and Installation

Smooth shiny tubes. will deliver more light than corrugated flexible tubes.

Although the advertising show the ducts bent into all sorts of shapes in practice the straighter the tube the better the light.

Although you can buy DIY kits working on a house roof is risky. If you are not confident it may be better to pay for it to be installed.

Make sure the ceiling insulation is replaced tightly around the tube

Bushfire – Building in the Flame Zone

Do you want to build close to, or right next to native bush?

In that case be prepared to for a lot of extra effort and cost. Both in the house design, material cost and bushfire extras.

Dealing with Regulations

There is no shortage of regulations from various federal, state and local government bodies that need to be considered. These include:

  • The Building Code of Australia (see fire safety)
  • Australian Standard 3959 (construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas)
  • Local Council Fire Maps
  • Local Fire documents
  • Local Environment Plan which may conflict with your need to have a cleared buffer area
  • Local Fire Brigade Requirements

Build a Bunker?

Well you could aim for a bunker like structure . . . but who wants to live in a real bunker with minimal windows?

You may still be at risk in a bunker like house, last fire season a lady died in an earth covered house in Victoria.

Bunker like structures can still have ‘weak points’, particularly at windows and doors, where embers and flames can penetrate the building.

Things To Consider

Ive already talked about the things you need to Upgrade for BAL 12.5 but in the flame zone you will need to ramp it up even further.

  • Bushfires can generate cyclonic strength winds, so the whole structure and the roof fixings need to be stronger.
  • It will help if the building is lower to the ground both to avoid the wind, and allow embers to pass over.
  • Any areas where embers can collect and weak points should be avoided, that includes roof ridges.
  • The cost of providing stronger windows and fire shutters could add $4-5,000/sqm.
  • Avoiding windows entirely on the direction that the fire is likely to come from.
  • Providing hard landscaping and walls as buffer zones.
  • Ensuring all external materials are non combustible.
  • Adequate Water Tanks and sprinkler systems.

A final bill for Fire Upgrades of over $100,000 or more is likely.

A Few Final Thoughts

  • Your house is still ‘Fire Resistant’, more resistant than the BAL 12.5 Standards, but not ‘Fire Proof’.
  • To be effective some of the precautions like fire shutters and sprinkler systems need you around to be fully effective.
  • Will you have the confidence to stay at home in the face of an oncoming bush fire, a seriously scary prospect.
  • If you do stay have you got a good Plan B, such as a separate underground fire shelter, late evacuation is frequently a deadly choice!

 

See Bushfire for more Posts

 

 

 

Rocking Cabin

I came across the weird picture the other day.

Is it to make sailors feel at home?

Perhaps its supposed to be a protection from earthquakes?

What do you think?

From the I New Idea web page.

 

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

 

Lenders Mortgage Insurance

One financial cost that some people don’t factor into their calculations when buying a new home is Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

What is Mortgage Lenders Insurance?

This is a cost you will have to pay if you haven’t got a 20% deposit on the total value of the completed house and land.

In other words your Loan to Value Ratio (LVR) is more than 80%.

The banks regard high LVR’s as high risk, but instead of increasing the interest rate they require you to take out an insurance premium in their favour in case you default.

How Much?

Well the amount will depend on the amount you want to borrow and the amount of your deposit.

Lets say you have $25,000 but want to spend build a new house which will be worth $500,000.

You will end up paying around an extra $17,500.

Typically this is added to the amount you borrow.

If you want to calculate the amount there is a useful calculator at www.genworth.com.au

Should You Pay?

As you can see from the above example the LMI can be a considerable amount. Should you pay it? or save up a bigger deposit? . . . . well it really depends on a couple of things:

  • Your Current Accommodation If you are living with parents or in a house you own it can be worth saving more. If you are paying rent it may be worth taking on the LMI (assume you are paying $400/week the LMI in the above case is equivalent to 44 weeks rent)
  • Inflation In the above case the LMI is around 3.5% of the cost of the house and land. In a time of rapidly rising land and costs there can be an advantage in jumping in a bit earlier.

I’m not suggesting you jump in with the sort of small deposit some builders suggest. . . . but just think carefully

It might be worth paying LMI rather than waiting years to save 20%.

Hints

  1. It’s worth getting ‘Financially Fit‘ which means having a bigger deposit
  2. LMI is normally stepped in bands, so it it can make a worthwhile difference to be below a percentage band. (having a 10,1% deposit can be quite a  bit cheaper than a 9.9% deposit)
  3. Make sure you are happy with your lender  for the long term. LMI is not transferable! Changing lenders, if you still owe more than 80%, can be expensive

 

See Finance for Similar Posts

 

Cash Jobs

Whether Owner Building, or just having some work done on your new house after handover, you may need to engage tradies to do work.

One question that frequently comes up is “Do you want the Cash Price? or do you want an Invoice?”

Before you go for the discount here are some things to consider:

  • If there is no evidence of a ‘Contract’ there will be no ‘Warranty’. How do you take legal action if there is a problem?
  • If the tradie is willing to do an illegal transaction how sure are you that the work will be done legally and to the correct specification?
  • Electricians and Plumbers should be giving you a Certificate of Compliance. how are you going to get one for an ‘Under the Counter’ job?
  • Is the tradie also ‘forgetting’ to pay his insurance premiums. If he injures himself, or others, you could find yourself liable.
  • By agreeing to pay cash you are conspiring in tax fraud.
  • If the property is an investment property you won’t be able to claim the cost as a deductible expense.
  • Tradies saving on tax means us non-tradies have to pay more tax.
  • The tradie is saving on Income Tax and GST which could add up to 40% of the total cost but probably only offers you 10-15% for cash.

As far as I am concerned I would rather have all the paperwork covered and pay a formal invoice. . . . How about you?

See Choosing a Builder for more posts

 

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