If they are treated pine the main reason for the strength is for when the pine dries out and starts to warp - which it will. You need some heavy duty bolts to hold them flat against the posts and even then they can twist dramatically. I've used M12x100 coach bolts with a hex head which is recessed i...

Well done - from my own observations any house that stays on the market more than 6-8 weeks starts receive lower offers as people become aware of the fact that owners are generally more motivated to sell. Chances are any future offers would be worse not better.

Can't comment on costs much but after having the stepping stones I wouldn't do it again. The pebbles/gravel almost allways ends up getting pushed over the top of the stepping stones and you are forever having to fix it up after walking over it. A continuous strip or concrete is the better option.

I did a wall with the exact same sleepers and depth and generally I used between 1.5-2.0 x 20kg bags. So for 20 holes maybe 35 bags. The stuff I used was rapid set premixed concrete which I simply dumped into the hole around the post and poured water in and let the water make its way through the con...

That'll buy you about 8 million litres of water at current prices or enough water to last over 30 years. I can think of better ways to save money on utility costs or helping the environment for your dollar if you are able to connect to mains water. Just putting it out there...

I would think that if you wanted a radical renovation at some point in the future you could easily replace weatherboards, install wall insulation from the outside and even new windows. It seems to me weatherboard homes have alot more versatility and ease of extension/renovation than brick home. Even...

I've got the same problem - went to turn it on last night and it wouldn't fire up. I'm wondering if maybe the pilot is out. Must get the manual out and go up and check. Can't believe I may have to start paying huge gas bills as early as March.

Funny that people saying good things have not had their houses finished yet. Some of the repairs I had done at the 3 months inspection included: A gap in my tiling where the main roof meets the front entrance roof which was about 300mm square - they fixed it with a piece of chipboard. A toilet which...

The sad part is most people believe PD are a good builder. When I mention I built with them people allways comment that they are a good builder because of what they may have heard 10 years ago. When I tell them otherwise they don't believe me. It's going to take a lot of negative feedback for that t...

I think it's meant to protect both the vendor and bidders as the bids are not known between agents so they can't try and win the commission by asking for offers slightly above each other or play people by saying this or that agent has a better offer. Also by having a set date agents can't try to rus...

I put foam tape along the back of the rod at the bottom of the blind. It looks ugly on the outside but cut down about 50% of the noise.

Most people on here who praise them have only gone through the initial sales period and haven't actually got to see the finished product. I'd rate them on par with any major builder in that the quality and timeframe is totally dependant on the luck of the draw with contractors and site supervisors a...

I kept getting mail for curtains and blinds when I had sheets up in the windows. These people actually drive around estates looking for people who need them and then bombard them with advertising. One company personally had delivered stuff to me twice and even put mail in the kitchen draws of my hou...

Depends where the property is of course but thats the way it is. Thats one of the reasons why Developers land bank and sell off estates one section at a time. The longer you hold onto the land the more it tends to be worth. In Melbourne many suburbs have averaged over 10% growth per year for the las...

heat_crime, I would think the stuff from Bunnings is okay. I've seen it and from memory it just looks like regular BHP section and I'd say it's highly unlikely that it's sourced from overseas or of any different quality/grade. The galvanizing looked okay to me... If you can find it in the right leng...

Plenty of steel retailers will sell it. What they are selling is actually BHP Universal steel column (100UC) and Parallel flange channel (100PFC) which is used in many industries so it is readily available from just about anyone that sells steel to the public. It is expensive but I honestly don't th...

Without reading every post is sounds to me like you are responsible to build a 1.0m retaining wall that is engineered and is entirely on your land (about 300mm off the boundry). Your responsibility ends there. Beyond that it is not your problem and they can't put down 0.5m of fill and then expect to...

I don't believe you can blame investors for the growth in the property market. Only 14% of home owners own more than one property and only a very small fraction of them own more than one or two investment properties. The property market is mostly owner occupiers so you have to blame them for any inf...

I'd try ringing a local bobcat/cartage company. Quite often they have customers that want to remove fill and if they have someone that wants it then they may just give it to you for nothing or a very small fee.