Monthly Archive: November 2013
Floor Space Ratio, or Plot Ratio
When you are buying a new house block it’s important you understand how much of the block you can build on! One way in which NSW councils prevent Over development is by prescribing a ‘Floor Space Ration’ (FSR). The same…
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Charged Rainwater Collection
Thanks to SaveH2O, of Supadiverta This diagram indicates a charged rainwater collection system. These are sometimes called either a “wet” or a “pressure” system. NB. This diagram has been simplified for clarity. A leaf diverter, and an adequate overflow, must…
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Overflow Fail
Lucky it wasn’t raining when I was walking down this Melbourne street ! Not only does this rainwater tank discharge the overflow over the footpath. . . It discharges it at shoulder level. It’s sad but I don’t…
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Insulation Basics – Double Brick Walls
I have previously carried out a worked example of the insulation of a Brick Veneer Wall, so as a comparison here is double brick wall. I have also shown (in brackets) the effect of using a hebel block in place…
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Australian Standards
A lot of people people misunderstand how Australian Standards apply to Contracts so here is a quick guide. Standards Australia All Australian Standards (AS) are published by Standards Australia. which is a non-government organisation. It’s role is to meet Australia’s need…
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Glaring Fail
Here is a new town house development in Melbourne. Just a couple of ‘small’ problems Those huge master bedroom windows face west so they are going to get the summer sun all day from around 2.00pm until late in the…
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Overlooking – Avoiding ‘Direct Lines of Sight’
When considering Overlooking you need to avoid having a ‘Direct Line of Sight’ into: A Habitable Room window. (The following link explains what a habitable room is: Habitable Room ) A Secluded Private Space – Area primarily intended for outdoor recreation activities…
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Overlooking – Direct Line of Sight
An important issue when building a new house is Overlooking . . . . . . you won’t want to be overlooked by your neighbours . . . . . . and you need to avoid overlooking them, otherwise they…
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Designer Fail of the Year
Someone sent me this picture entitled plumber fail of the year but that’s a bit harsh! The plumber only put the toilet where the plan showed it! . . . and he didn’t design the floor plan. Even then the…
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Habitable Rooms
What is a Habitable Room? You see the phase in several planning and building documents with regard to things like Ceiling Height (see Room Height) and Overlooking. Well according to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) A Habitable Room is…
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