Posts by btherl • Home Renovation & Building Forum

btherl

Victoria

Joined 9 March 2009

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btherl

17 October 2011

Re: 3 Year old slab moving, now blamed on LandscapingGeneral Discussion

Oct 17, 2011 12:57 pm

I found the following in my contract - you might want to check if you have something similar in yours. First, in the generic section for construction of brick veneer homes: 28. SITE CLEAN 28.2 Earth (Soil) to be graded away from the perimiter of building to avoid water ponding against building Addit...

I found the following in my contract - you might want to check if you have something similar in yours. First, in the gen...

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btherl

14 October 2011

Re: Can Neigbour remove ajoining fence without permission?Building A New House

Oct 14, 2011 2:45 pm

+1 to what rojak said - regardless of what happens, start taking photos now. And take photos during construction of his wall as well. If you have already had 2 disputes with him (fence cost and boundary wall) then it's likely you will have a dispute later when he finishes building, and the photos wi...

+1 to what rojak said - regardless of what happens, start taking photos now. And take photos during construction of his ...

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btherl

14 October 2011

Re: Roof insulation options - advice?Heating, Cooling & Insulation

Oct 14, 2011 12:28 pm

"R4 batts" gives about 10 results for me at ebay.com.au, and "batts" gives even more. In Campbellfield there are warehouses selling unbranded bags of glasswool R3.5 batts for $10 each. Another place sells R4 for $32 per bag, also in Campbellfield.

R4 batts gives about 10 results for me at ebay.com.au, and batts gives even more. In Campbellfield there are warehouses ...

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btherl

14 October 2011

Re: building entitlementGeneral Discussion

Oct 14, 2011 8:14 am

If it was me I wouldn't go for a legal approach, instead I would ask them "What can I do to fix things?" And I would be ready to explain apologetically why you didn't get approval in the first place. I doubt they want you to remove the house because that doesn't really benefit them, but th...

If it was me I wouldn't go for a legal approach, instead I would ask them What can I do to fix things? And I would be re...

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btherl

12 October 2011

Re: Settle an argument?Building A New House

Oct 12, 2011 10:13 am

You could go to the M (Big M, not Masterton) website and ask for houses up to $200k, giving you $50k for upgrades, and see what you get. Eg the Talbot 28 is 4 bedrooms and under $200k. That will be with the basic facade though. They don't tell you the exact price of each house, but they do let you c...

You could go to the M (Big M, not Masterton) website and ask for houses up to $200k, giving you $50k for upgrades, and s...

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btherl

11 October 2011

Re: How long will it take for land registration???Building A New House

Oct 11, 2011 12:08 pm

Be careful with registration at the end of the year - developer land tax is due on 31st december every year. If they register the land expecting a settlement in late december and you are unable to settle in time, they will ask YOU to pay the land tax. And it will be written into your contract that y...

Be careful with registration at the end of the year - developer land tax is due on 31st december every year. If they reg...

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btherl

11 October 2011

Re: Sliding doors and windows kept onsite in openBuilding A New House

Oct 11, 2011 12:02 pm

It happened to ours too. My inspector said what Ed said, that the reveals are the part which is most at risk. His recommendation was to take photos of everything and file them, in case there are problems later. Some of ours did get damaged, either before or during installation, and they were replace...

It happened to ours too. My inspector said what Ed said, that the reveals are the part which is most at risk. His recomm...

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btherl

7 October 2011

Re: HELP with glass shelves Please!General Discussion

Oct 07, 2011 8:34 am

Can you post a picture? Resting "on" suction cups implies the corners of the shelf are sitting on top of something, rather than being held by suction alone.

Can you post a picture? Resting on suction cups implies the corners of the shelf are sitting on top of something, rather...

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btherl

7 October 2011

Re: Electricity bill, we don't have one yet...General Discussion

Oct 07, 2011 8:32 am

Put the money in a mortgage offset or online savings account! I wish my electricity company would forget to bill me.

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btherl

7 October 2011

Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors?General Discussion

Oct 07, 2011 8:30 am

If I was in your shoes I would employ an independent inspector to give you a report to keep. Then if you have any future prospects you can show them the report if that issue arrises. How does the buyer know the report really is independent? If I was buying a house I wouldn't trust a report commissi...

How does the buyer know the report really is independent? If I was buying a house I wouldn't trust a report commissione...

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btherl

6 October 2011

Re: Suspicious Building Inspectors?General Discussion

Oct 06, 2011 7:46 am

You could tell the potential buyer that you are not accepting her offer, but that you will consider buying the report from her. A rational person with a real report would either make a higher offer or sell the report to you to recover some money. A scammer will act offended and use that as a cover f...

You could tell the potential buyer that you are not accepting her offer, but that you will consider buying the report fr...

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btherl

30 September 2011

Re: My electrical plans, any thoughts ?General Discussion

Sep 30, 2011 2:39 pm

It's good having alternate lighting options to the downlights, because you don't always need them, and they are expensive to run. We went with 3 double power points per bedroom, on the basis that you can never have too many. Do you need a power point in the bedroom corridor for a night light? Also m...

It's good having alternate lighting options to the downlights, because you don't always need them, and they are expensiv...

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btherl

29 September 2011

Re: Would you accept this???General Discussion

Sep 29, 2011 1:23 pm

That looks so wrong that I don't know where to start. Firstly the roof tiles and the cutting of the gutter and fascia look terrible. Secondly it looks like wind will blow rain into your roof easily. And if there's any decent rain like we had yesterday in Victoria it'll be going behind the gutter, be...

That looks so wrong that I don't know where to start. Firstly the roof tiles and the cutting of the gutter and fascia lo...

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btherl

28 September 2011

Re: First Home Owners Grant questionBuilding A New House

Sep 28, 2011 11:33 am

Our was organized through a mortgage broker and it went straight into our bank account at the start of the build. The bank then paid only something like 85% of each progress payment, and we paid the rest from our FHOG.

Our was organized through a mortgage broker and it went straight into our bank account at the start of the build. The ba...

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btherl

23 September 2011

Re: Grouting over tiling spacersBuilding Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 23, 2011 2:42 pm

Thanks very much architect! That's exactly what I was looking for. Does the standard say anything about tiling on the second floor of a house, where the floor might be a bit flexible? The floor is joists with those wooden boards on top. I think our problems are due to a combination of the flexibilit...

Thanks very much architect! That's exactly what I was looking for. Does the standard say anything about tiling on the se...

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btherl

23 September 2011

Re: FHOG - 2011Building Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 23, 2011 12:26 pm

Have you tried calling the authority that administers the FHOG in your state? From the victorian SRO website: You (or at least one applicant) must occupy the home as your/their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least 6 months, commencing within 12 months of either settlement...

Have you tried calling the authority that administers the FHOG in your state? From the victorian SRO website: You (or at...

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btherl

23 September 2011

Re: Grouting over tiling spacersBuilding Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 23, 2011 10:17 am

Well the instructions on the grout they used at my house (Dunlop) says to remove the spacers before grouting. We haven't had any problems yet with the downstairs tiles though, done over concrete. And I assume they left the spacers in there too. It's upstairs that we've had trouble with grout crackin...

Well the instructions on the grout they used at my house (Dunlop) says to remove the spacers before grouting. We haven't...

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btherl

23 September 2011

Re: Grouting over tiling spacersBuilding Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 23, 2011 9:09 am

Thanks architect.. mine has definitely become loose after only 6 months. Some pieces have come out altogether which is how I found there are spacers underneath.

Thanks architect.. mine has definitely become loose after only 6 months. Some pieces have come out altogether which is h...

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btherl

22 September 2011

Re: Grouting over tiling spacersBuilding Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 22, 2011 11:44 pm

Thanks builda, I will track them down and see what they say.

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btherl

22 September 2011

Re: Grouting over tiling spacersBuilding Standards; Getting It Right!

Sep 22, 2011 9:40 pm

I read it from someone's thread on this forum. But they didn't give the details, and they haven't posted here since January so I don't think I can ask them. I didn't find it mentioned in the standards and tolerances 2007 book.

I read it from someone's thread on this forum. But they didn't give the details, and they haven't posted here since Janu...