Hi Topiarius,
I can only put narrow planter boxes on that balcony, otherwise, I can't open the doors to it, unfortunately. Would certainly be nice to have some fruit trees.
Currently,…

Thanks for all the advice. I have finally given my hedge a hair cut on the weekend and put some fertilisers. Fingers crossed I'm shaping it the right way.
JazzyJess, initially…

Thanks Jazzy Jess and Topiarius for the advice. I'll give prunning a go this weekend and see how it goes.

Hi Topiarius,
Thanks for the advice. I saw the Youtube videos the other day, it looked easy but I didn't have the confidence to attempt it myself.. ha.
Yeah, the hedges I…

Hi all,
I've been getting mixed advice from a few people regarding whether my hedges need trimming, so I would really appreciate some views here. The first 2 pictures are the…

Thanks Stewie, you're a great help.

Thanks for the advice, Andrea. I did hear something similar about North Sydney Council. Unfortunately, I'm hoping to build a carport at the front of the house. My only argument…

Thanks for the advice, Stewie. Do you know any good draftsman covering North Sydney?

Hi all,
We are planning to add a carport, boundary fences, possibly fixing the front fence & gate, and some landscaping to the front & back gardens.
As we want to…

Thanks, Michelle. Never knew there was such a product.

Just bought a place and the upstairs is fully carpeted. However, some parts of it seems uneven and squeaky. I guess there must be some old floor boards underneath.
Is…

The timber looking tiles look really great. I only came across them yesterday when I passed by a tile shop.
My understanding (very limited) is that compared to wooden floors,…

Thanks all, definitely worth thinking about designer builders. We're currently talking to a specialist company in NSW home addition, Cape Cod. They seemed good, anyone used them?

Thanks again, Stewie.

Thanks, Stewie.
Is it acceptable to ask a building designer or architect for examples of their work if their website do not provide the info? How much detail can be considered…

I've called 3 companies so far, 2 have someone meeting me at site to discuss. Another one referred me to a building designer, and she called me to have a…

Sorry, I meant if I have 2 building designers quoting me the same price or if 2 architects have the same price, what other things should I consider in deciding…

Thanks, radiuz.
Assuming all the quotes from building designer/architect/draftsman are all the same. How then to determine who should get the job?

Hi all,
At the early stages of getting quotes from architects & building designer for a home extension project (around $100k budget).
What would you all suggests that I should ask them,…

Thanks for the suggestions, Laila.
Would really like to have open plan but have heard from some people that it's not always great, especially if you have a few kids. This…

Thanks, travelbug. We've thought about adding a skylight but is it easy to maintain it (e.g. cleaning)?
The previous owner has put in a new kitchen, so we have mixed feelings…

Hey d@n, i guess that could be done. Having a garage would be better, isn't it?
The next door neighbour have something similar, I think.

Any ideas, guys?

Hi all,
Does anyone know if it's possible to modernise an old built-in-wardrobe (bir)? Basically, my house has 3 rooms with bir but they were built at different periods of time.…

My apologies, I was trying to multitask with other things and didn't spend enough time explaining my situation or what I'm trying to do. The property is in the eastern…

Has anyone use Archicentre http://www.archicentre.com.au/general/archicentre-products?
Was thinking of approaching them to get a quote.

Thanks, but who should I get quotes from, a builder or an architect?

Hi all,
Our tenant just left and now we have a choice of moving into our investment property, which is a 4 bedroom Californian bungalow style house.
The previous owner has done…

Thanks for the response. My council is Randwick, no idea how easy they are to deal with. I'm hoping to give them a call soon. Anyone with experience to share…

Hmm.... some stupid questions, if anyone can help answer:
1) Does DA approval takes longer for different type of work, e.g. second floor addition takes more time for approval compared to…