Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 23, 2024 8:43 pm I recently hit a snag with my new build with Metricon. On the block I purchased there is an old covenant when the land was subdivided in 1971 that "the exterior walls of such dwelling or dwellings (except for usual outbuildings) are substantially of brick or brick veneer." I checked with my lawyer and he said so long as the build was 51% brick that would qualify. I estimate my build would be approximately 55 to 60% brick. He said that was put in place at the time to stop fibro cement houses getting built. I'm waiting to get the actual brick percentage. However Metricon has said that some councils in Victoria are interpreting the following and have actually enforced it on some current plans. Brick Metricon accepts rendered brick as compliant Council accepts face brick only If a Metricon job has a ‘brick’ covenant and the job requires planning, we need to abide by Council’s interpretation Substantially Brick Metricon requires as much brick as possible to be considered compliant Council requires ground floor and 50% of first floor including the façade as a minimum to be considered compliant If a Metricon job has a ‘brick’ covenant and the job requires planning, we can go by Council’s interpretation My metricon consultant has not been able to get further information from head office as to which councils have ordered this. Near by in the same area as me is a house that is completely rendered. I signed a waiver to allow them to build in contravention and now Metricon are still saying its not enough. My lawyer says they are completely over reacting and wants to see the exact wording of the covenants where substatially brick has been interpreted as ground floor and 50% of first floor including the façade as a minimum. She also said we could apply to make an amendment to that title to change the covenant. My lawyer said that would take time and could end up costling quite a lot. Has anyone encountered this and either managed to get the build done or been made to build to the council definitions? Cheers. The painted render is a bit chalky to the touch. To prepare the surface for best adhesion, what would you recommend? Also, given that there must be some… 6 8974 Hi everyone, Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m… 0 11893 Much a do about nothing. You can see the fall heading to the actual drains. Stormwater ingress will be minimal and it's far better to have the top sitting flush rather… 12 6283 ![]() |