I think it sounds like ideal weather for a pour. I worked in ther Blue Mountains for years and this is pretty standard. As long as it is not close to zero you should not have anything to worry about. As far as I know, the slower concrete sets the stronger it is. And the rain will only be good for it...

Lots of questions- but as a carpenter there is one I can help with I hope. Timber shrinks in the thickness and width, but not in the length- so interspercing timper posts with the concrete columns should not be a problem. Not sure about building regs in Qld, but the best bet is always to speak with ...

Hey- I had another thought on this last night...How about we spare a thought for the poor tradies who are not paying their bills while it rains. Imagine the stress if your wages stop for a couple of weeks! At least you know they need the rain to stop at least as much as home-owners do! Dennis

Hi there. As we humans use old-growth trees for floors and other things what happens is they start running out. This pushes the price up- so that lengths are used that would have been discarded in the old days. I imagine that the flooring they are using is end-matched- meaning it came from the mill ...

The sums with the rebated solar add up so well that I can't understand anyone who is not planning to move in the next 3-4 years not getting one. Sure- shop around, but we have 1kw (which we got at a subsidised price) and we are paying the full price (less RECs) for another 1KW. We have had the meter...

I have seen slabs poured on quite wet sites with no ill effects. In the long run you will be happy that they waited for the right conditions though- neither you nor you builder want to risk a problem for the sake of a little time. If the trades are keen they can work in the rain, but it's a bit hard...

Hi Connie. Lots of good advice here- but one very simple piece of advice that will make your site run much more smoothly (and safely)... I know it sounds ridiculously simple- but every week tidy up the site and remove all rubbish. Make it a religion. I am a builder and I recon it makes jobs run 20% ...

Hi there. We have sold I guess 30 houses and I have attended the settlement on I suppose 8 or 10. The solicitor/conveyencer should have no problem with the settlement on the day- however we did have one interesting experience. We inspected one house just before we bought it and we found that the per...

There can be two reasons for this (not the tank/s). One is not enough (or too small) downpipes. The other is that your guttering may not be sloping (falling) correctly. If there is a low spot in the gutter between the downpipes there will be a tendancy for an overflow to occur. Regards, Dennis

Meter box is the classic if it is there. If you use a small builder it is much more friendly! But perhaps more expensive. Under a brick somewhere is the other place. Dennis

They don't call them Butler sinks for nothing! It sounds like a nifty idea to me. Cheers, Dennis

No- as a builder the most I have done is install privacy (like bathroom) function on master bedrooms. Dennis

Hi there. I have moved bricks before from one house to another- I just rang some transport companies close by and they will know who is set up for this. You would ideally get them hand-loaded onto pallets first- something you can do or get someone willing to do labouring work. Then it depends on acc...

Hi there. Heck no- read a book instead! As a builder I have seen a lot of dirt on a lot of frames, but once they are clad there is no problem at all. Just think that the steel comes from dirt too (iron ore)! Cheers, Dennis

There are not a lot of things to choose from that goes wrong with a HWS. Either the tak rusts out (leak around the HWS), the element burns out (no hot water) the pressure releif valve blows (water running from the pressure overflow). All I can think of is that perhaps a tempering valve is playing up...

Hey- well done with the photo! How did you do that?? Dennis

are these beasties harmful? Dennis

We have done up and sold lots of houses. I would sweep off any loose paint and do the kitchen or bathroom. They will sell the place. As long as the roof looks sound most people will see it a job that can be done in the future. Cheers, Dennis

Hi there. The reason that the builders are insisting on good quality materials is that they don't want to get a phone call from you in 3 or 4 years saying that the hardwood has rotted out or that the pine has warped. I am a builder and it is my experience that a lot of owners forget about insisting ...