Author Archive: Brian Ashworth
Smart Wiring and Wireless
Well ‘Smart Wiring’ is really a generic term that covers anything from control of home automation, to high speed data services. Probably the best descriptions is to talk about ‘Hard Wired’ and ‘Wireless’ components with a well set up new…
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Solar Electricity – Retirement Investment
Downsizing to a smaller new house for your retirement? Don’t forget to think about solar power. Last week I revised a post ‘Solar Power is it Worth It?‘ but if you are approaching retirement, like me, there can be an…
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The Castle – Win
Brick ‘Bulldust’
I hear a lot of people agonise over the choice of bricks for their new house. That’s probably because they are: Looking Too Closely. At the builders display centre you may be handed individual bricks or see a board with…
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Solar Electricity – Is It Worthwhile? (2014)
There is a lot of marketing information around about Grid Connected Solar Panels but not many independant facts. Here’s an example of an evaluation of a basic system for a house. We use around 16kw hours (kwhr) of electricity per…
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Ghost House 2
Here is another Ghost House where nothing seems to have moved for a long time. As you can see it was going to be a big house. After being exposed to the elements for years it’s probably only fit for…
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6 Reasons To Have A Pool
I recently posted on 6 Reasons Why I Won’t Have a Pool and got some comments back. . . . . . so here are some Alternative Views. Heat Relief – Dive in to cool off on a sweltering day. One…
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Delaying Progress Payments
So your builder has just made a claim for a Progress Payment . . . . . but you are not happy with the workmanship, or don’t agree that the Construction Stage is finished. What can you do? A lot of people…
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Kitchen Drawer Fail
Have you ever wondered why kitchens with all the unit along a wall are so popular with builders?. . . . . and island units? Why are drawers without a large handle common? Well it stops mistakes like this happening!…
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Building for Investment
“What make a new house a better rental property?” . . . . A quick answers is probably along the lines of “Would I be happy living in it.” Do you want capital growth or regular rent income is something you…
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