Design
Architect or DIY
A guest post by Adrian Savi In my over 10 years of experience as an architect, I have seen more and more people thinking about doing an architect’s, an engineer’s or a trades mans’s work. It might be a whole house, a house addition,…
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Design – Controlling Costs
When you are planning a custom home costs can quickly run away with the initial budget! Just watch a few episodes of ‘Grand Designs’ and you will see people with costs out of control! If you are planning a custom…
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Are You Prepared for a Bushfire?
It will soon be Summer . . . . and Bushfires will be in the News! Live close to the Bush? . . . . Are you and your new home ready in case a fire is heading your way? Its not…
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Pre-Wetting A New House Block
Reason For Pre-Wetting If you are Building On Clay that is dry there is a risk of Soil Heave. This is due to expansion of the clay if the moisture level increases with particular risk factors being: Building after a…
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Do You Need A Formal Dining Room?
Go round most Display Homes and you will see a Formal Dining Room . . . . . but why do you need it? Photo from www.home-designing.com If you look round the options for eating a meal will be: The ‘Island…
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Silt Pits
Any drainage system should have silt pits at regular intervals. This includes both stormwater systems and agricultural drains. In the case of the above photo this is a combination drain and grate silt pit. (As the water can become stagnant…
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Soakwells
In Western Australia you are required to dispose of storm water on your block, rather than to a public storm water drain. There are also many areas that don’t have public stormwater drains including many beach side areas. In either…
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Wardrobe Location
Get your wardrobe location wrong and you could finish up with mouldy clothes! I have recently seen a few house plans with built in wardrobes along an external wall . . . . Not a good idea. The Problem Basically there…
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Soil Heave – Protecting the Slab During Construction
There has been a lot of talk in the Melbourne papers recently about ‘Slab Heave’ when Building on Clay so I thought I would explain how to minimise the risk during construction. A key issue when building on clay is to…
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Stormwater Discharge Point
One check that is often forgotten when buying a house block in an established suburb is how storm water is removed from the site. Forty, or more, years ago when land was cheaper, it was not unusual for blocks to be…
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