Design
Bushfire – Building in the Flame Zone
Do you want to build close to, or right next to native bush? In that case be prepared to for a lot of extra effort and cost. Both in the house design, material cost and bushfire extras. Dealing with Regulations…
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Quirky Rome Apartment
I am on holiday in Rome at the moment. When I travel, rather than stop in a Hotel, I prefer to rent an apartment and feel a little bit more like a local. The apartment I am renting here is…
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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…
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Types of Floor Joists
Build a single storey house on a slab and you don’t need joists . . . . but if you have a suspended floor, or you have a two storey house, your structure will need joists. When I first started…
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Termites
Did you know Australia has around 15 species of termite which can damage the timbers in your new house. Although some species of timber are resistant to termites none are termite-proof. In practice any structure containing wood can be attacked, unless protective measures are taken. Even…
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Build A Sustainable House & Save Money
When the stricter energy standards came in the big builders all complained that it would make houses more expensive. Well a recent CSIRO report ‘The Evaluation of the 5-Star Energy Efficiency Standard for Residential Buildings‘ has found it can actually be…
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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…
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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…
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Bushfire Reserve – Volume
I have previously talked about Bushfire reserve supplies. . . . But how much? I see various minimum water volumes put forward for bush fire reserves. For example in early 2014 the following applied. Victoria, regulations for new builds require…
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Bushfire Water Storage
If you live in an area that could be subject to wildfire having a bushfire water storage is important . . . . . . Even if you have mains water supply! Public water mains only have limited capacity. ….
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