Hardiedeck is completely different family...it's 19mm AC planks with beveled and slotted side for quick and easy fixing with their method. You can easily slot it together in one day…

Done a couple of merbau decks but just love the hardi deck I did, plus accepted the fact not to make it look like timber and used the recommendation to…

One of the drafties might help here but I remember when I built my house I was given a booklet (can't remember the name) that listed EVERY single cost and…

Slab exposed 100mm above ground and granitguard for around pipes/intrusions through slab.
No chemicals and has been in place for 10 years now. White ants are still in the area and…

I did my own but I can't help you much as it was already a pretty flat site and I left it up to the skills of the bobcat driver.
We…

Look in the meter box. Most of the tradies leave the key there.
Funnily enough a few years after my build I had to do something in my meter box and…

P.S.
As you said we also did "exclusions" as you mentioned.
e.g. stove top and hot water service to be supplied by owners.
Builders electrician to supply and connect power.
My builder was a…

Perfectly normal and thats how I did it. I also reckon I got a cheaper house than those volume builders, better service and a lot more flexibility.
Just do up your…

I just upped all my PC items and extras a lot more than I needed and then the money saved on these items was used for fencing, landscaping etc.
…

Bit hard if the plaster is already on.
Dryers usually come with an optional steel bracket that can span across the studs ....(oops I just went and measured mine and it's…

Just got some more photos in time as Cyclone Hamish continues south.....torrential rain outside at the moment.
Below is some bamboo palm jammed between the house and the garden edging with…

This slab is level with the house and has a dropdown lip to give a better weather seal...works for me.

All those palms are at least 10 yrs old now. Never a problem with the bamboo palm and yes we have other areas where they are right up against the…

Try with a few more photos..

The May bush will be in flower at the end of next month and then is cut back really hard after flowering. The border flowers…

Try again with some photos from last year...

Where are you...Melbourne or Darwin??
Makes a big difference. Initially palms love water and a high nitrogen fertilizer but since mine have become established I have NEVER watered them.
I'm in just…

Mines all the same level. I also put in a rear roller door to access the backyard or open it up for a BBQ or extra space on a rainy…

Yep banks and the various way they impose lending rules can be very frustrating. I was lucky I had a very sympathetic builder who gave me whatever quotes that I…

So you really do get written quotes off all the trades 12 months before the job?
Can't you just use a quantitative surveyor instead of wasting everybody's time?

Maybe some extra requirements also if you are a corner block, generally to do with height and traffic views but usually it's whatever you like as long as it's not…

Let's look back at the original rant where the poster wanted the cheapest price possible.
$25/hr per man. I defy anybody here to try and run a legitimate business by charging…

What about $38k for 546m2 on a Moreton Bay Is...forget all the stress of city living and all the big bills even the dole money could pay this one off.

Just change the dip switches......pretty straightforward job.
Have heard of house breakers that drive down random streets pushing a garage door opener till they see a door going up. Maybe it's…

I would probably try to come up with a firm plan with a draftsman drawing up a plan and then do lots of research etc on approx kitchen costs what…

I'm not a builder but I suppose I'd just stick my head up through the manhole and see if any part of the roof is weight bearing onto the wall.
If…

Process of elimination really, but it can get very frustrating.
In my last house it was intermittent and at odd times but I eventually tracked it down to a wire that…

One thing with Westpac is NEVER trust them unless everything is in writing.
Also if you take them to the Bankers Ombudsman (which is controlled and funded by the banks themselves)…

Single story brick veneer, toilet is not next to an external wall, we have one of those light/exhaust fan combos venting straight into the ceiling space.
We do not have any…

No. One part is installed into your meter box and it transmits a signal up to 30m to the receiver which is just a free standing unit. Its all installed…

Hopefully they are just playing around with the personal rebates and there has been no mention of the insulation rebates....surely the greenies can't hold the public to ransom over that…