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By Brian Ashworth  Want to get an usual print for the wall in your new house?……..or an unusual ornament for that display case?
Make a note in your diary to go to the Annual Hoppers Crossing Rotary Club Antiques and Collectables Fair.
It will be held at Williamstown Town Hall on the 13th 14th & 15th July 2012. There is a small admission fee, which goes to help fund worthwhile Rotary community projects.
On display, you will see art works, porcelain, jewellery, lace, furniture, clocks, and much more. Here is the publicity flyer.
This link will tell you more about Rotary
By Brian Ashworth Like your car so much you want to sleep in it?
Well the owner of this house loved his VW Beetle so much he built his house to look like the car.
He must have been very keen as I understand the cost was over $1.5million.
The house is in Austria.
If you want to see more photos go to the iDesignArch.com website
For more unusual houses, and Fails go to What the………………….?
By Brian Ashworth 
Lots of people want water views ………….but if the water view is a River, or even a Small Creek, there can be a flooding risk.
The quiet creek in this photo is about 300mm deep and 3m wide. After a couple of days of rain it can be 3m deep and 30m wide.
The recent Victorian floods have even affected properties that are km’s from rivers.
Generally the planning laws say the floor must be above the 1 in 100 year level……………I don’t think that’s enough.
- The 1 in 100 year flood level is an estimate only. How often have we seen in the paper two 1 in 100 year storms in a matter of weeks.
- Sometimes the data used to calculate the flood levels is based on as little as 10 years worth of data. In Australia flood levels have only been monitored on many major rivers for less than 100 years.
- River and stream catchments change over time. This is normally by additional buildings which increase the rainfall runoff into the stream so flood levels tend to rise.
- Global warming increases the power of weather systems meaning that storms are likely to be more severe which means higher flood levels.
Although I have had houses close to rivers and streams its always been more than 3m above flood levels. I would say that 1m above the current estimated flood level would be an absolute minimum for me.
If you are tempted to buy land close to a river have a look at what, if any, flood insurance you can get. That may give you pause for thought!
Do you think a river view is worth the risk?
For Similar Posts see Choosing Blocks
By Brian Ashworth  Some people think that concrete is strong enough the day after it is laid.
Some people think that concrete ‘dries’………………….
Both are WRONG!
Hardening is a complex chemical reaction which requires time and moisture. Concrete takes at least a month to reach its final design strength. This time is known as the ‘Curing Period’. During this time the concrete strength will increase and it will also shrink.
Strength
The typical slab laid and exposed to air after finishing will increase in strength as follows:
After 1 Day – The concrete will have only developed about 20% of its design strength. Being still relatively weak it can easily be damaged. If you are going to have saw cut joints now is the time to cut them. You can also remove any formwork.
After 3 days- The concrete will now be at around 60% of design strength. You should be able to walk on it and use wheel barrows without damaging it. This is the earliest time I would like to see frame erection start on a house slab.
After 7 days – Around 80% has now been achieved. At this stage you should be able to use driveways for cars (but not Trucks)
After 28 days – Design Strength Reached.
Shrinkage
During the 28 day curing period the concrete will shrink by 0.8 – 1.3mm per metre. That’s 2.4 -3.9mm for a 3m slab. This means:
- Paving – Unless you have adequate joints this shrinkage will stress the slab causing cracks.
- House Slabs – The slab is normally cast without joints so its usual to find that there are fine cracks. As long as there is adequate reinforcement in the slab these cracks should be less than about 1mm and are not an issue.
Curing Best Practice
Proper treatment of the concrete will improve the final result. If treated properly during the curing period concrete can be up to 50% stronger than the Design Strength and will also be stronger at each stage of the curing period. There is also less likely to be fine cracking of the surface.
The most important thing during curing is to stop the concrete drying out too quickly.
Ways to achieve this include:
- Covering with material such as sacking, or Old Carpets, which is kept damp.
- Spraying with water and covering with Plastic sheet.
- Apply a curing sealer (You may need to go to a specialist supplier for this)
- Regularly spraying the slab.
Frost
Frost can damage curing concrete reducing the final strength. If you are in one of the colder states during winter protecting the concrete by covering it at night is a good idea.
For more posts on on getting your paths and driveways correct see Concreting
By Brian Ashworth 
I saw this house a few months ago in a Melbourne Northern suburb I couldn’t believe that someone had designed a house to look like a World War II bunker.
Perhaps you think I am being a bit harsh?…………….
Well here is a picture of a genuine World War II bunker in Normandy
They look pretty similar to me!
For more Fails and Unusual Houses go to What the………………….?
By Brian Ashworth
House Building can be a high risk business…………..so what happens if the builder of your new house goes bust?
Legally
Your house building contract should have clauses included for the eventuality of the builder becoming insolvent. Read the contract carefully but make sure you get in touch with your solicitor.
Practically
If the builder goes into administration it’s still technically trading and may be bought by another builder so the best thing is to keep in contact with the administrators.
If the builder is being liquidated remember the house is on your land and you have paid for alarge part of what has been built through the stage payments, so the first thing you need to done is to protect your money and assets. Here are some steps you should think about after you have talked to your legal representative:
- If you can, put a stop on any stage payments which may be going through.
- Go to the site and change any locks.
- If the site has temporary fencing talk to the fencing supplier about paying for the fence to remain.
- Secure any materials stored on the site. (Its illegal for tradesmen to remove items from a house in lieu of unpaid bills but that doesn’t stop them trying.)
- Organise insurance for the house for fire, vandalism and theft.
Once everything is secure you can work with your solicitor to formally terminate the contract and engaging a new builder to finish the work to the original plans.
Have you ever had a builder goes bust building your new home? and did it all turned out OK?
For more legal posts see Contracts
By Brian Ashworth As I travel around the Melbourne Suburbs I see lots of brick fences……….. A problem with a large proportion is that they have obvious cracks.
If you don’t believe me just walk around your neighborhood and look at a few brick fences yourself!
So why are there problems with brick fences?
- The actual cost of the wall in both materials and labour is high resulting in people trying to minimise on wall and pier thickness.
- Although many people think of brickwork as an inert material it is still subject to expansion and contraction which needs to be accommodated with proper detailing.
- Unless the thickness of the wall is increased for taller walls the weight of the top portion of the wall acts against the overall wall stability.
- Brick work is actually a fairly brittle structural material which relies on its weight for a lot of its strength. The jointing material of mortar is much weaker than the bricks.
- Due to the considerable weight of brickwork it needs substantial (expensive) foundations which will not be subject to any settlement.
- Although it ‘feels’ as solid as a concrete wall it may only have a tenth of the structural strength of a well designed reinforced concrete wall
Here are a few recommendations;
- Don’t try to save money on the foundation. After all that’s what all those expensive bricks are standing on. 300mm x 300mm concrete with trench mesh should be the minimum.
- Brick piers a minimum of 320mm x 320mm with vertical steel reinforcement.
- Minimum wall thickness should be 210mm (double brick)
- Have articulation/expansion joints at 5m intervals
- Use horizontal steel reinforcement every 6 courses
- It you are retaining soil get the wall properly designed.
All sounds too expensive?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Perhaps brick piers with infill timber or steel panels may be the way to go!
Remember – “There is no such thing as a cheap brick wall”.
By Brian Ashworth 
This is the strangest lawn I have ever seen.
Its in a Melbourne Inner suburb.
Yes it is real grass in a tray about 30mm thick.
Apart from the fact that there is not enough soil the big question is how does he get the victa mower up there?
For more Fails and Unusual Houses go to What the………………….?
By Brian Ashworth 
When you are deciding about building dimensions its better to take into account the dimensions of the bricks.
Making sure that all lengths, are based on either all complete bricks, or complete bricks with one half brick. Similarly all heights should be based on complete bricks. Doing this has the following advantages:
The work (design) size of a standard brick is: 76 mm high x 230 mm long x 110 mm wide. These seem unusual dimensions but they are based on the old imperial dimensions of 3 inches by 9 inches by 4 inches.
When calculations dimensions it is normal to allow for 10mm vertical and horizontal mortar joint between bricks.
I have included a Table of Dimensions for Brickwork in the Design Tables section of this site.
Checking Bricks Meet Specification
Clay brick sizes may vary after they are fired but size variation between bricks averages out when blended properly during laying by a good bricklayer.
There are three dimensional quality levels for bricks DW1, DW2 and DW0
If you want to check the quality of the bricks the normal method of measuring is to measure 20 bricks dry stacked together against the work size of 20 Bricks.
- Dimensional Category DW1 means the height and width will differ by less than plus or minus 50 mm from 20 times the work size, and the length will differ less than plus or minus 90 mm.
- Dimensional Category DW2 means the height and width will differ by less than plus or minus 40 mm from 20 times the work size, and the length will differ less than plus or minus 60 mm.
- Dimensional Category, DW0 means there are no requirements. This is usually reserved for non-standard shaped bricks and bricks that have been rumbled or otherwise distorted during the manufacturing process for aesthetic reasons.
Planning some building work in the garden? see Brick Fences
By Brian Ashworth 
In our current house we have got one of those 3 in 1 bathroom light/heater/extraction fan and I can’t say I am impressed. It suffers from the Swiss Army Knife Syndrome…… doing lots of things, but none of them as well as a purpose designed tool.
It seems more sensible to me to have the fan directly above the shower and extract the steam at it’s source, rather than let it drift across the ceiling and then extract it.
As far as Lighting is concerned it’s easier to see yourself clearly in the mirror if the light is in the area between the mirror and you, rather than behind you. I would have thought that ladies putting on make-up in the bathroom will agree.
As far as heating is concerned it doesn’t really bother me too much as I am a get in, do the business, get out person, but I don’t seem to get much heat from the heat lights. A couple of low price alternatives are:
- Leave the door partially open overnight allows enough heat from the ducted heating to flow through to the bathroom in the morning.
- Switch the bathroom fan on a few minutes before your shower and it will pull the warm air into the bathroom.
If I really wanted heat in the bathroom I would prefer either:
- A heated towel rail on a time switch. ( Warm towels…now that’s a luxury.)
- Putting a heating duct into the bathroom.
If you really like your IXL fantastic Martec, etc, or even if you agree with me…… why not leave a comment?
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