Author Archive: Brian
Building Envelope
If you need to fit a large House onto a small block one of the issues you will have to deal with is ‘The Building Envelope”. What this means is the actual area within your title boundaries that is legally…
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Dream House
This is me sitting in an armchair in the ‘Dream House’. It’s actually a sculpture by Frank Veldze. A full size representation of a miners cottage, but built with the springs from 65 mattress. Even the easy chair, which is surprisingly comfortable,…
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Rainwater Tank – Outlet Modifications
In a post on Outlet Location I talked about improving the water quality by avoiding taking water from the bottom of the tank. This post shows how you can keep the floating particles on the top of the water out…
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Types of New House Permits
Here is some information on the several sorts of permits that are involved before you start building a house. Planning Permit Sometimes called a Development Approval (DA) if you are buying a block on an existing subdivision you should already…
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Driveway – Fail
Which came first the house or the pole? The moral of this is make sure the drawings are right – don’t assume anyone will have some common sense….they are more likely to follow the plan exactly, no matter how…
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Damp Proof Course (DPC)
The purpose of the outer skin of a building is to keep moisture out of the house structure. A damp proof course, in the brick veneer example shown below, has two purposes: It prevents moisture from the ground rising up…
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Subdivision – Process
Found a big block and would like to split it into two? ……… or just looking to build another house on your block?……….You are going to need to subdivide the block. Here is an idea of the process for Victoria…
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Hello Kitty House
My daughter, who is 30, still likes Hello Kitty Products. If your daughter likes Hello Kitty perhaps this is the house for her. I know this, talking about girls, sounds prejudiced, but “I stereotype its faster”. (Quote from one of…
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Tree Roots in Sewers and Drains
If you are wondering what this photo is about, its been taken from the inside of a 100mm sewer pipe with a CCTV camera. What it shows is the pipe is almost completely blocked with roots that have penetrated the pipe…
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Plasterboard
A lot of people say Gyprock, but this is really a manufacturers name, so the correct name is Plasterboard. So plasterboard is plasterboard right?……………………Actually wrong there are quite a wide range of plasterboard options available. Perhaps you should consider alternative…
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