Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 10, 2018 10:37 pm Anyone watching this show on Foxtel in Australia or Netflix in the US? I'm two episodes in and the thing that strikes me is many of these extraordinary houses could never have been built under the bureaucratic building regulations in this nanny state we call Australia. Don’t get me wrong, I'm all for making sure kids don’t die in backyard swimming pools and drunken idiots are protected from falling off decks that are higher than a metre off the ground, but because our regulators' approach is draconian and based on "one rule for all", I wonder what we are missing out on in this country? Why not post here your experiences of what you were not allowed to do because of the "rules", or post pictures of things that you love from a house in another country that would never be allowed here. To get the ball rolling, I'll start with this one. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I love the infinity pool, and part of the attraction is the seamless connection between the house and the landscape without anything in between - but of course this could never be built in Australia without a fence. Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 2Apr 11, 2018 7:41 am Nonsense, The US has very strict rules & codes for Engineering & Construction of homes Fr@udulently, pass yourself off as an architect or more so an engineer on Engineering Plans & Structural Reports and you face 152 years in jail for Fr@ud, grand theft, forgery of an engineers qualification ..Watch, This https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=283&v=HntCbWHwU24 Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 3Apr 11, 2018 9:57 am StructuralBIMGuy Nonsense, The US has very strict rules & codes for Engineering & Construction of homes Fr@udulently, pass yourself off as an architect or more so an engineer on Engineering Plans & Structural Reports and you face 152 years in jail for Fr@ud, grand theft, forgery of an engineers qualification ..Watch, This https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=283&v=HntCbWHwU24 I think you kind of missed the point that the OP was making. In Australia there's no way we could a fully un-fenced pool like the one in the picture. I don't know anything about the U.S engineering and building codes, but I have seen on many TV shows from the U.S that they don't have pool fencing and balustrade around large fall zones, so I tend to agree with the OP that we must be stricter here in Australia. Instagram blog: https://www.instagram.com/ourforevertonhome/ Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 4Apr 11, 2018 11:01 am I suggest you check the codes and Australian Standards Here's one (infinity pool) that was recently checked by a WA Council and The client was told to have the retaining walls repaired on LHS & Certified by a Structural Engineer... The fencing on the RHS was fine Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 5Apr 11, 2018 11:07 am StructuralBIMGuy I suggest you read the OP's thread again, as it's pretty clear you've missed the point of the original post. And that picture really doesn't show me anything, so not really sure where you are going with this, as I never said infinity pools were an issue. I said fencing around the pools. Instagram blog: https://www.instagram.com/ourforevertonhome/ Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 6Apr 11, 2018 11:19 am I suggest you check self-closing glass sliding doors (out of view) & outside fences (RHS) hth "and drunken idiots are protected from falling off decks that are higher than a metre off the ground" that retaining wall photo is higher than a metre, So that comment is incorrect Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 7Apr 11, 2018 11:28 am StructuralBIMGuy I suggest you check self-closing doors around fences "and drunken idiots are protected from falling off decks that are higher than a metre off the ground" that retaining wall photo is higher than a metre, So that comment is incorrect Righto mate. The photo the OP posted is nothing like the photo you posted. There is absolutely no fencing around this pool at all, nothing stopping a child walking straight out the house and falling in the pool. There's also no protection from falling off the end where the red arrow is. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I''m not sure why you continue to reference your photo for comparison when it shows a small section of a pool fence and not much else really. Instagram blog: https://www.instagram.com/ourforevertonhome/ Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 8Apr 11, 2018 11:30 am I see you've edited your previous comment haha. How do you suggest I check for self closing doors that aren't in the picture? Thanks for the laugh mate. Instagram blog: https://www.instagram.com/ourforevertonhome/ Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 9Apr 11, 2018 11:32 am There is a retaining wall and drop where your arrow is... no fence required... Read the codes.. mate Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 10Apr 11, 2018 11:38 am StructuralBIMGuy There is a retaining wall and drop where your arrow is... no fence required... Read the codes.. mate Is there? Can you see over the edge in that photo? Just like you expected that I should have been able to see the self closing doors that weren't visible in your photo? I've seen your comments around this forum and you seem like someone that likes to have a crack at people... you must be very bored. Instagram blog: https://www.instagram.com/ourforevertonhome/ Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 11Apr 11, 2018 2:16 pm Thanks for your comments StructuralBIMGuy, but you have entirely missed the point of my original post. Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 12May 19, 2018 11:39 pm amen!!!! substitute "have a crack at" with "give sermons" Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 13May 21, 2018 9:30 am lilbza I think you kind of missed the point that the OP was making. In Australia there's no way we could a fully un-fenced pool like the one in the picture. I don't know anything about the U.S engineering and building codes, but I have seen on many TV shows from the U.S that they don't have pool fencing and balustrade around large fall zones, so I tend to agree with the OP that we must be stricter here in Australia. Remember that the USA has a much wider range of everything than in Australia ... in the same way that accents vary much more markedly across the USA than Australia (despite being much the same physical size), laws & rules etc vary way more than here too. Regarding TV shows; don't read too much into that. The ABC series Clever Man had at least one episode where a setting was a pretty fancy & fairly new house on the ocean in Sydney; it had no pool fencing at all. Obviously removed for appearance, for the show. Although maybe SciFi isn't a relevant example ... The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 14May 21, 2018 11:30 am Forg Remember that the USA has a much wider range of everything than in Australia ... in the same way that accents vary much more markedly across the USA than Australia (despite being much the same physical size), laws & rules etc vary way more than here too. Have you watched the show? The houses in the show were from around the world, not just the USA. In no particular order, Season One included USA, NZ, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Greece and Holland. Season Two adds Portugal and Japan. Australia doesn’t seem to make the grade. Re: The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 15May 21, 2018 11:57 am arcadelt Have you watched the show? The houses in the show were from around the world, not just the USA. In no particular order, Season One included USA, NZ, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Greece and Holland. Season Two adds Portugal and Japan. Australia doesn’t seem to make the grade. Aye, my comment was with respect to that specific post I quoted, not necessarily the thread-opener. On the one hand, I agree that from a basic level the stifling of creativity will have an effect. Jo Smith, the owner of a house she wants to build, can't afford to do anything interesting because it's too exxy to do so ... meaning architects right from starting-out aren't going to start thinking along interesting lines. But on the other hand, I don't know how much effect that will have at the top end, because architects are going to find ways around these things if enough money is thrown at the project ... and while I've not watched the show, I'm assuming the only way any of them isn't a many-multi-million dollar build is where construction's really cheap? Thank you. That is really helpful. Once we get the place done and passed for OC we can upgrade in the future once we get back on our feet and not paying mortgage and rent. 4 5701 The worst thing you can do is sign a building contract without a pre contract review. Over the years many people have come to me with disputes where they just signed… 0 8289 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74219 |