Author Archive: Brian
Levitation Bed
What do you think of this bed? It certainly looks very “Star Trek” I can see a few problems: It would be very complicated and expensive….you couldn’t install this bed in a conventional brick veneer house as the timber frame…
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anewhouse blog 2nd Birthday
Well it’s the anewhouse blogs’s 2nd birthday this week. As well as that milestone this week I have also: Made my 250th Post. Sold my 250th anewhouse Guide. Got to a page view rate of 12,000 per month. To all…
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What Sort of Plan?
Buying Land…….There are several sorts of Plans/ Surveys of your Block to think about before you can start building a house. Here is a guide to the various plans based on the same block: Title Plan Title Plans are the…
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Concrete – Pavement Joints 1
I have previously talked about Concrete Cracking …….but how do you stop random cracking across your driveway concrete? Well the best way is to control cracking by making sure it cracks where you want it to and the cracks are…
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Curtain Fail
OK, plenty of people put sheets on their windows when they first move in. I have even done it myself. The reason why I highlighted this house is because this is a top end, custom built, massive house and these sheets…
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Rainwater Tank – Inlet Improvements
In Understanding Tank Water Quality I explained that most tank inlets mix the dirtier incoming water with the cleanest water at the top of the tank. So what can you do? Its not as simple as just extending the inlet…
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Tips for Building an Outdoor Kitchen
Post sponsored by homesales.com.au There’s nothing like cooking in the great outdoors, whether you are camping in the woods or sitting on your own patio at home. Two of the hottest trends in new home construction today are island kitchens and backyard…
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Door Bell – Fail
I walked up to this door last week and pressed the door bell……Nothing! After trying again I looked down and saw a 2nd Bell push…. Next to my feet! When I pressed it …….It rang! Now I’m just wondering why…
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Pre-Start (Selection) Meeting
Some builders call it Selection, some call it Pre-Start, if you are having a custom built new house it will be Detailed Design. Whatever it’s called this is the stage of the pre-construction planning when the basic floor plan and…
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Understanding Tank Water Quality
The drawing on the right shows a fairly typical rainwater tank layout. I have seen lots of tanks set up like this and have also seen this layout in tank supplier’s brochures. The set up is probably OK for garden…
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