Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 Jun 26, 2009 12:33 pm Hello I'm sure you're out there Ed and can help me with this, or anyone else who has some knowledge or experience on the topic. Here's our dilemna. Whilst we were away for 2 years and 2 months waiting for our house to be built, a developer pruchased the house behind us, demolished and put up 2 x 2 storey townhouses. We got the planning permit and objected to the overlooking. The rooms overlooking our backyard and into the back of our house were bedrooms and a retreat. Two of the bedrooms in the plan stated they had obscure glass. The Council also required the other two windows to be "screened". The thing is even though they have obscure glass you can see clearly into the windows. A trade was hanging the blinds the other day and you could see him clearly, so to me that means they can still see directly into our property. I am following this up with Council but can't seem to get some answers to certain questions so was hoping I might here. My questions are: 1. Is there a standard in regards to obscure glass and overlooking? Is there such a thing as an obscurity level in terms of how much view it needs to block out. 2. What does the term "screening actually mean"? Does is just mean obscure glass or does it mean some kind of screen that has to go over the windows? I just don't understand the point of having obscure glass to stop overlooking if there is a clear view through the glass. It seems pointless. Any advice much appreciated. Re: Obscure Glass Windows and screening - need some advice pleas 2Jun 26, 2009 12:53 pm photogirl Hello I'm sure you're out there Ed and can help me with this, or anyone else who has some knowledge or experience on the topic. Here's our dilemna. Whilst we were away for 2 years and 2 months waiting for our house to be built, a developer pruchased the house behind us, demolished and put up 2 x 2 storey townhouses. We got the planning permit and objected to the overlooking. The rooms overlooking our backyard and into the back of our house were bedrooms and a retreat. Two of the bedrooms in the plan stated they had obscure glass. The Council also required the other two windows to be "screened". The thing is even though they have obscure glass you can see clearly into the windows. A trade was hanging the blinds the other day and you could see him clearly, so to me that means they can still see directly into our property. I am following this up with Council but can't seem to get some answers to certain questions so was hoping I might here. My questions are: 1. Is there a standard in regards to obscure glass and overlooking? Is there such a thing as an obscurity level in terms of how much view it needs to block out. 2. What does the term "screening actually mean"? Does is just mean obscure glass or does it mean some kind of screen that has to go over the windows? I just don't understand the point of having obscure glass to stop overlooking if there is a clear view through the glass. It seems pointless. Any advice much appreciated. Quote: A habitable room window, balcony, terrace, deck or patio should be located and designed to avoid direct views into the secluded private open space of an existing dwelling within a horizontal distance of 9 metres (measured at ground level) of the window, balcony, terrace, deck or patio. Views should be measured within a 45 degree angle from the plane of the window or perimeter of the balcony, terrace, deck or patio, and from a height of 1.7 metres above floor level. Most builders do this with obscure glazing or film. I don't believe there is a rule about the level of obscuredness. But all obscure glass appears transparent in close up. Try it with your toilet window... put a face or hand in contact and it will be distinct viewed from the other side - but the further you move the hand away the more indistinct it gets, even if you put your eye up to the glass. So I doubt if it's a problem. It's possible to fit fixed louvre screens which have restricted visibility for perfect compliance. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Obscure Glass Windows and screening - need some advice pleas 3Jun 26, 2009 4:23 pm Hi Ed That was quick, thanks for that. I guess we'll just have to wait until someone moves in to see how much we can actually see. I find it interesting that there doesn't seem to be any detailed standards about what constitutes an obscure window or what screening actually means. The building regs seem to leave a few things open to interpretation. We've fixed the downstairs problem, we put trellis up today, happy resolution us and no doubt their future tenants (their downstairs entertaining area was looking straight into ours). Re: Obscure Glass Windows and screening - need some advice pleas 4Jun 26, 2009 5:16 pm photogirl Hi Ed That was quick, thanks for that. I guess we'll just have to wait until someone moves in to see how much we can actually see. I find it interesting that there doesn't seem to be any detailed standards about what constitutes an obscure window or what screening actually means. The building regs seem to leave a few things open to interpretation. We've fixed the downstairs problem, we put trellis up today, happy resolution us and no doubt their future tenants (their downstairs entertaining area was looking straight into ours). The regulations are very specific... but I don't think there is a standard for what constitutes "obscure". Some local authorities put their own spin on what they want too.. e.g. Monash "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13833 Hi VK, I am now retired however I have stood beside over 300 owner builders in the past 18 years that have successfully built their own homes. First of all a building… 10 22667 Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 17607 |