I'm certainly no turf expert, but I would go with Palmetto. I have Palmetto turf in my front yard and nature strip and my neighbour's have Sir Walter. At the moment, their Sir Walter is looking a bit greener than my Palmetto so I suspect there would be a bit of a colour difference if you tried to mi...

Thanks for the suggestion! It's a wooden fence that we have. Will obviously make sure that we have permission from the neighbours and council (if necessary).

We bought a Bosch paint sprayer from Bunnings last year and painted our entire fence using Dulux weathershield paint. It's looking really good and should last many years. Make sure you invest in good quality outdoor paint. The paint sprayer was about $139 from Bunnings (Bosch PFS 65). You'll definit...

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could extend a small section of my fence? The problem is that the fence is on an angle and I would like a rather tall fence extension (at least 1m taller). I have fence extensions on the back part of my fence, but not sure how to tackle this side section. ht...

Am planning to re-turf the nature strip at the front of my house as well as put some turf in the front yard. It's a relatively small area (about 30 sqm all up) and I have already decided on using Palmetto Buffalo grass. Does anyone know if there is much difference if I order turf that is pre-cut int...

We used A1 Security Systems to install our alarm system and were pretty happy with the service: http://a1sec.com.au/index.htm Speak to Rob on 0403 207 008 to organise a quote. He installs all over Melbourne I believe, and did our installation in Coburg North.

I was looking to purchase a Doorbot last year (the predecessor to RING), but decided against it after reading a lot of bad reviews. I was lucky enough to win an ABB Welcome M kit recently which is basically a door intercom system, however they now have the option of adding an IP gateway which effect...

We've used Trex for our decking at the back of the house. While it is pretty expensive, I would definitely recommend it. We had it installed about 6 months ago and couldn't be happier with the look and feel of it. A quick spray with the hose is all it takes to clean it. It can get quite hot in summe...

I had the same problem as the plot of land I have is a 9m frontage. I ended up building a design called the Breeze 25 with Metricon - it's a 25 square double storey home and can fit on something as skinny as an 8.5m frontage. I've seen this house built on a 10m wide plot and it gives a nice side are...

Hi Mikel03, We've just moved in a few months ago into our newly built M3tricon home (in Melbourne metro area) and we were able to get the staircase stained with the builder. Apparently they only just started offering stained staircases this year. It wasn't on our original contract but was included a...

Hi Sphell, I have recently just gone through a similar process last year and as a few people have already mentioned, since you are getting a construction loan, the FHOG can be claimed after you pay the slab stage invoice. I was able to get the FHOG paid directly into my nominated bank account so you...

Nope, I did ask about this but apparently it's the builder's standard. For some reason they won't stain the staircase for you, it is left raw. They will stain any wooden doors or windows however, just not the staircase...

Hi guys, Can anyone recommend a good person who can stain a wooden staircase? Am currently building with Metricon and they don't stain the staircase as part of our build. The house we are building is in Coburg in Melbourne (northern suburbs). Our staircase is a fairly simple - any ideas on how much ...

I'm currently building the Metricon Breeze 25 however I believe the standard design needs a minimum 8.5m block. Not sure if they can modify it slightly to make it fit on 7.7m though... You might need to look at a custom design. I have a narrow block as well and there aren't too many options out ther...

Hi Rob, I completely understand about the nervousness of the valuation part - this had me stressed for weeks before I went on holiday! Basically our valuation came in spot on for what we paid for the land and the overall construction loan valuation was based on cost of land + cost of house. Even wit...

Hi Rob, Sorry if this message is a bit late (I haven't checked the forums for a while). In case you are still interested, here are some of our costs involved with building a Breeze 25 in Coburg Hill: Site costs (Fixed): 32k for a 9m width plot, however retaining walls were required because we are on...

Hey Nonna, The build is going well, we had our slab poured last week and *should* have a frame up by the end of next week. Exciting times!

I have just gone through the process myself recently. As staceyd said, stamp duty will be payable on the day of land settlement. Your lawyer or conveyancer can apply for the PPOR concession before settlement. Since you haven't signed a building contract yet, you can't apply for the FHOG or the stamp...

Inspired by the building blogs of others, here is our recently started blog. We are building the Breeze 25 with Metr!con at Coburg Hill. http://vivandkezhome.weebly.com/index.html Hi there, I just want to say what a fantastic blog you have! It's set up really well and I've enjoyed reading your post...