Design
How Much Longer For Artificial Stone?
Over the last 20 years artificial stone benchtops have become more and more popular. . . . but there is a dark side to this material. There has been a massive rise in cases of Silicosis (260 in the last…
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What’s On The Roof?
A METAL ROOF This covers zincalume, galvanised steel and colorbond. Following are a few thoughts: In general a metal roof is noisier as you can hear the rain (which I like) They are fairly light so they don’t put as…
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Upstairs and Downstairs
In my first 35 years living in England I always lived in 2 storey homes. I was never that keen on stairs for the following reasons: During that time I thought that the worst job around the house, when helping…
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Changing Builders Standard Plans
Most builders will change their standard designs to some extent. The builder of the last house we built, Metricon, was fairly flexible. Here are some of the changes that you could talk with the builder about if their standard is…
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West, or East, Facing Windows
Well the first rule is to avoid West, or East, facing windows . . . or at least keep them as small as possible….and here is why: Summer West windows get direct sunlight from mid-afternoon to late in the evening…
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The Entertainer
“Just the thing for Entertainment” or something similar is a common theme in house builder’s brochures and estate agent descriptions. It’s really a way of trying to upsize you into a bigger (more expensive) house. Before you get sucked in…
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Window Size
Building Code Rules on Size The Building Code of Australia requires you to have at least 10% of the floor area as windows with at least 5% of the floor area being able to be opened. If you go in…
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Benchtops
There are a wide range of different benchtops around………. so which benchtop should you buy. Here are some thoughts about the options. Laminex/Formica Probably the most popular benchtop available in a wide range of colours and patterns and reasonably hardwearing….
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House Style or Fashion Victim
Appearance is very much a matter of taste with different people liking different styles, there no right solution. If I put up a picture of something as the way to go than more people would think I was wrong, than…
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How Big or Small Does a Home Need To Be?
Our first house was around 6 squares (approx 56m2). Two rooms downstairs and two rooms with a bathroom upstairs, and a single garage in the back garden. We lived happily in the house for 6 years including after my daughter…
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