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 the structure have been settled. Its now time to move on to all the details … Continue reading Pre-Start (Selection) Meeting
Stone Mulches, Dry River Bed, Desert Gardens, they are all variations in having a garden covered with stones rather than having soil or an organic mulch. It’s popular as a low maintenance finish to your new house garden. I have used the technique a few times including back in 2006 when I went the Dry … Continue reading Pebble Gardens
One of the things that really annoys me as I walk around is 45 degree bends in brick fences like this photo. Bricks are meant to be laid so that they fully interlocked and this is a long way short of that. I have even seen this type of corner on a house, where the … Continue reading Brickwork – 45 Degree Corners
Would you like to live near a Sewage Treatment Plant?………….Well the 2 storey house in the centre of this picture is the Osprey Point Sewage Treatment Plant. You can see from the photo how close it is to the houses in this upmarket New Jersey Retirement Village. I have visited this plant and talked to … Continue reading Wastewater Treatment ‘House’ – WIN !!
Quite a lot of people go for Higher Rooms because it does give a more impressive interior effect. Something to bear in mind is that it can effect the external appearance of the house by making the windows look small. This photo of a house under construction illustrates this. The additional courses of brickwork between the … Continue reading High Ceilings – Unexpected Effects
How would you like to be mowing the roof of this house? This is a ‘Green Roof’ something which is quite common in many Northern Hemisphere Countries but not so common in Australia. They can work well in keeping a house warm with around 2-300mm of soil providing good insulation. I’m not sure how well … Continue reading Green Roof
Although we have a study in our house most of the organising the household, paying our bills, writing letters and using the laptop happens on the kitchen counter. So do we really need the study? If I was going to build again I would probably look to organise the kitchen area differently and set up … Continue reading Mission Control
