Construction
Onsite Stormwater Dention – Why
If you want to redevelop or subdivide an existing urban house block, you might find that a planning condition is that you will need to provide On-site Stormwater Detention (OSD). You may also find it is a condition on individual…
Read more
Stormwater – Kerb Discharge
If you are going to build on an existing house block you will probably have a planning permit condition that storm water must discharge to an approved point. If there is no surface water system one option can be to…
Read more
What Are Brick Articulation Joints?
When you are looking round your new home build you may think “What’s that gap between the window and the brickwork?” . . . . . . .or even “Why is there a vertical gap between the bricks in the…
Read more
Concrete – Adding Extra Water
A ‘Dirty Secret’ of the Construction Industry is; adding of extra water to concrete mixes. The ready mix concrete suppliers carefully design mixes with appropriate water cement ratios, which are loaded onto the delivery truck by computer controlled batching systems….
Read more
Block Retaining Wall – Loose Lay
Loose lay retaining wall blocks are concrete blocks that have a nib cast on the underside. (see photo) This stops each block slipping forward of the block below. There are a number of different manufacturers and most produce more than…
Read more
Virtual Build?
I recently saw an advert for ‘MyPlace’ a ‘Virtual Build Information System’ by Burbank. What Is A Virtual Build Information System? MyPlace is a virtual construction site which provides a visual aid in the progress of your home’s construction. It…
Read more
Builders Excuses
Lets face it, building isn’t always easy. Each house has its own problems and the builders have to deal with the weather. Things do go wrong . . . so the measure of a good builder is how they resolve…
Read more
Overhanging Brickwork
Unfortunately brickwork overhanging the slab like this is more common than it should be. . . . but it’s often not the brickie’s fault. How it Happens Normally the problem is that the slab has been constructed smaller than the…
Read more
Height Above Ground
For the typical modern house with slab on ground base there are two minimum heights above ground level that need to be considered: Next to the building. Distance of 1m away. The reason for these minimums is to keep water…
Read more
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…
Read more