Are there any restrictions in building a basement (a rumpus and a bedroom) for your house? Are there any specialised builders who build basements for houses? The house will be built on a vacant land from scratch.
We have a H or P block and a MASSIVE old fig tree in the corner the block is about 2000sqm and are concerned about the roots of the fig tree, what do you suggest we do to make sure the slab stays where it is?
Is there a guide or standard for the painting of internal house walls, specifically for a hall wall that had a popped nail in the plasterboard which was then repaired and repainted but the whole wall was not painted just 1 metre square ....this extra layer of paint can be seen when walking down the hallway.
binbrook. I have a cathedral ceiling built from recycled pine floorboards 40 years ago. The roof has insulation in it. Can I put plasterboard over the floorboards,or could there be a problem with wet or dry rot if there is no circulation of air? There are wide gaps in some places,and it would look so much nicer with plasterboard. Thanks.
Hi,
I don't like a lot of tile in the bathroom. I am tiling inside the shower, however I cannot find waterproof/resistant, paintable, tongue and groove wood panelling for walls. Can you assist? I don't like the Laminex range. I prefer the timber look. I live in Melbourne.
Thank you,
Mary
We have a dirt class of H or P block and a MASSIVE old fig tree in the corner, the block is about 2000sqm and are concerned about the roots of the fig tree, what do you suggest in a slab to make sure the foundations are always safe from this tree?
Is there any restrictions in building a basement (a rumpus and a bedroom) for your house? Is there any specilized builders who build basements for houses? The house will be build on a vacant land from scratch.
Looking for tips and advice on cutting and overlapping of sheets on a hexagonal roof of corrugated sheet.
Hi,
I am currently building a house in Butler and I have noticed my builders have installed both the power cable and the hot/cold water supply piping in the same white PVC conduit under the slab to feed the Kitchen Island bench. There are three conduits feeding to the Island Bench which I assumed were: one for the sink drain, one for...
Is a drop edge beam included in slab when constructing single storey residential house?
I am about to build a new home and am considering different builders, but they appear to have varying specifications. Are there things that are mandatory with building.ie. hard wired smoke detectors, etc. One builder's specification sheet states termite treatment to house slab area and perimeter but another builder says they don't do that. Does...
I’ve got an open plan living, dining and kitchen. The bedrooms are accessed from this area as is the bathroom which is beside the kitchen. The bathroom has windows for natural ventilation. Does it also require mechanical ventilation? Is it ok to have the bathroom door right beside the breakfast bar?
Are upvc double glazed windows and doors a good option when replacing existing timber single glazed? Are there any standout manufacturers and alternatively any to avoid?
Hi,
I want to build a second level extension on my house. It has bluestone block footing (1950's) and is on H type soils. I've been told I should reinforce the footing but it's very expensive. Also, I live in duplex with a joint party wall. Do I really need to reinforce the footing?
I am in the process of building a 2 storey house. To avoid incorporating electrical etc in the suspended slab, I would prefer to utilise a suspended ceiling on the ground floor. Measurement of floor to slab will be 2.556m. What is the minimum ceiling height for habitable areas?
Need to know before a meeting with my builder.
Regards,
Len...
Dear Sir/Madam;
We bought a house in 2005 double brick that was built around 1968-1970 that has an extension brick veneer. There were few cracks inside the walls and outside only around the main entrance door. Under the house was significantly wet under the cracks affected areas. So we installed a forced ventilated system. In 2006 we brought...
Hi
I am in the process of building a new home. The concrete slab was laid some 4 weeks ago and basically from a couple of days afterwards have noticed numerous cracks forming through the slab. I understand that some hairline cracks can form in the drying and curing process of the concrete, but am concerned by how quickly, and how many have...
I want to demolish my exisiting house on a parcel of land approx 800 sq mtrs and construct two appartment/townhouse style homes (semi detached possibly). I still have a mortgage owing $350,000 but I have a considerable amount of equity left considering the value of the property is about $750 - $800 K.
Is there an economic viabiltiy with such...
My house is built on a concrete slab. The front door, main bedroom door and ensuite door keep moving - sometimes closing properly and sometimes not closing at all. The bedroom door is set diagonally across one corner of the bedroom and where the wall around the door and the other wall of the bedroom comes together there is a crack from ceiling...
We would like to demolish our current home and build a new home on the site. However we don't want the entire block (810sm) cleared - as we would like to preserve existing trees, landscaping, shed and studio on the back quarter of the block. Can the old house be demolished and new house be built without the entire block being cleared (which...
I want to know whether or not to pull down our current 3 bedroom house (ie too small and not enough space) and rebuild from scratch.
Where a flue (from an ceiling extractor fan) passes through a tiled roof what are the requirements for supporting the flue. I have seen some where the plumber neatly cuts a hole in a tile, the flue pipe passes through and the lead flashing is dressed to the tile. Is this the correct method, if not what is and what Australian Standard is this...
Good afternoon,
I am hoping you may be able to help me. We are currently building our first home, and have stalled at the frame stage of our new house. We had noticed a few cracks within our frame, and will be bringing this up with our builder, but it led me to wonder...
Is there a checklist of sorts that is available to home builders, as...
Hi there, at my house, I have noticed that I-Beams are welded in
T-shape and each ends (3 resting points) is resting on a single brick wall; on top of the wall is a block of wood, then a loose brick and then another block of wood (the brick is like a sandwich between two blocks of wood). Is it legal? I am skeptical that these materials are...
We are building a new home [by Clarendon] and the frames and floor boards have been exposed to rain and heat since early Dec and this is likely to continue until end of Feb. Will this result in any damage to the timber and the floor boards etc. Thanking you.
What rooms in your home need to have fixed permanent vents eg. toilet?
Hi,
I'm renovating my home and just want to know if I would be able to use glass (for balustrading) on a deck which is 500mm above ground level, this glass has been imported from China but is it allowable under Australian building code? It is toughened safety glass 12mm thick, and is considerably less expensive but would I be compromising on...
hi,
I am about to build a house and want to know the advantages of raising the ceiling in the entire house from 27 bricks high to 31. The cost to do this is $4700. Would this benefit me later down the track for heating and cooling costs ?Also would this add value to my house?
Regards,
Aaron
Hi,
I am currently planning on building a house of approx 140 sq m in size on a small block of land (330 sq m) in Franklin, ACT. The soil classification is 'H'.
I have approached different builders and all seem to suggest different foundation for the above soil classification. The different options I heard so far are
1) Footings
2)...
Hey!
I was just reading around about different footings and foundations since we're thinking about building a house, and I was wondering if there was a particular type of footing which was less likely to get infested with termites. Does such a thing exist?
Posted by: Agent
Hi,
How do I choose which thermal insulation to use in my wall frame, the Architect has given the rating as R1.5 My question is regarding which material, that is should I use wool. polyester, fibreglass or other. I would like to ask the same question of acoustic insulation.
Thank you for your time and advice.
Regards
Patrick