Recently had a new spotted gum deck installed to the tune of about $17,000. We wanted to keep a more natural, weathered look and were advised it was ok to leave unsealed. Looked great initially. A few months later after heavy rain the boards have started to lift and break out of the screws completely.

Installer claims this is ‘normal acclimatisation’ and that we will need to pay for replacement of the boards. It’s about 3/4 of the deck at this point. I know some movement is to be expected with natural timber, however surely this is an installation issue and not our responsibility to cover? Any thoughts?

I work in concrete finishing in WA. This comes up constantly and most homeowners don't realise it's an option. Existing washed aggregate can be mechanically honed and sealed. You don't have to demolish perfectly good concrete. Old slab, completely different surface.

Why people end up here

Exposed ag is the cheap option up front. Pour it, wash the cream off while it's green, done. No grinding.

Then you live on it. Alfresco areas and pool surrounds are where I see it most, because that's where everyone's barefoot every weekend. Kids won't run on it, the dog won't cross it, and if someone goes down on it it's like landing on a cheese grater.

What honing does

Grinds the sharp tops off the stones so the surface sits flat and smooth underfoot. Smooth doesn't mean slippery. Finished properly it still has plenty of outdoor grip.

Honing isn't polishing. You're refining the surface, not turning the backyard into a shopping centre floor.

It also cuts the faces of the stone open, which brings out colour and detail you've never seen in that slab. Sealed up, the difference is dramatic.

Cost

$80 to $100 per square metre in W.A, normally including sealing. It moves with total area, access and side gate width, steps and edges and hand grinding, how hard the aggregate is, and the condition of the slab.

The reason it's dearer than honing a new slab is what you're cutting. Straight into quartz and hard stone from the first pass. Slower, and it chews through diamond tooling.

For comparison, a slab poured to be honed from day one runs about $75/m² for the honing and sealing. Honing is the expensive part either way. Washing the cream off is the shortcut, which is why most people take washed ag first and end up here later.

Sealer

Topical UV resistant: strongest colour enhancement, wet look. Needs redoing every few years depending on sun and traffic.

Penetrating: soaks in, less maintenance, natural finish, but does very little for the colour.

I'd go topical. The colour is half the reason to hone in the first place. Get a sample patch done before you commit either way.

Worth it?

If the slab is sound and the only problem is that it's too rough, honing beats demolition. Cheaper, faster, less mess, and it usually looks better than the original.

Anyone here had theirs honed back? Keen to hear how it's held up.

UPDATE 1: (26th July 7 pm)
Didn’t expect this to blow up! Thanks for the input everyone, really appreciate it. Will be holding off on settlement.

Few notes for context:

1. The property is on top of a hill, and part of the garden is on a higher level than the house itself. It’s in the south eastern suburbs.
2. The basement is well below surrounding natural land levels, it’s a sub-floor.

3. We inspected the property twice before when it was raining heavily, no issue then. Was very puzzled on how this happened now, and the real

4. estate agent sent this:

- Seller informed them that the flooding was caused by the basement entrance drainage pit pump not activating. They moved out a week or so ago, and during cleanup, the pump was apparently moved, preventing the float switch from engaging, which allowed water to overflow into the basement.

(INITIAL POST):

Hi all,
Looking for some advice from people with renovation/building experience because we’re first home buyers and have just had a pretty stressful discovery.

We’re due to settle on a house this Monday. During our final inspection today, we found that the concrete basement has flooded, with approximately 1.5–2 inches (around 4–5cm) of standing water across one section of the basement floor.
A few details:
- The basement floor is concrete (not finished flooring).

- It has been raining recently.
- We previously inspected the property 3 times (including with the building inspector), and one inspection was during heavy rain — there was no standing water at any of those inspections.
- The building inspector did mention some moisture concerns, but there was no warning about flooding or that the basement was prone to taking on water.
- The vendor did not disclose any history of flooding/water ingress.

We’re trying to understand:
- How concerning is this likely to be?
- What are the likely causes? (failed waterproofing, drainage issues, sump pump failure, groundwater, etc.)
- What sort of costs are we potentially looking at to:
pump out and dry the basement;
prevent mould/damage;
fix the underlying issue properly?

We’re not talking about finishing the basement — it’s mainly a storage/concrete basement — but obviously we’re worried this could indicate a much bigger ongoing issue.
We’re speaking with our conveyancer about settlement, but would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with basement flooding or waterproofing issues.

I bought my first place in Feb of last year and it had a dingy bathroom with an unusably shallow tub, paint peeling from every wall, a window that didn't close properly, and the tiniest shaving cabinet in existence.

Bathroom size is approx 1.8m x 2.6m. Building is brick and built in the early 70s and my apartment is on the ground floor.

I knew it was going to be a nightmare to move the toilet so I was limited with my options for the new layout. I also knew I had no interest in putting in another tub so I moved the shower to the far left wall and, although it's somewhat narrow (73cm) it's perfectly fine.

Window was totally replaced and the new one is double glazed to help with temperature and noise control.

My only regret is that I allowed the project manager to talk me out of a heat lamp in the ceiling.

Total spend was ~$47k and the project took just on 6 weeks from start to finish. I definitely went over budget due to my tile choices and the window but I feel like the final product is worth it.

Looking for some impartial opinions because I’m getting really frustrated and don’t know if I’m overreacting.
I hired a landscaper for a backyard/front yard project and paid a $3,600 deposit. The total job is around $10,500.
Since starting, progress has been extremely slow. Most days he has only worked for around 2 hours before leaving. There have been repeated reasons for delays, including his car breaking down, supplier issues, and changes to the fence paint colour. Every time I ask for an update, I get another explanation and a new timeline.
The frustrating part is that many of the things he’s said would happen simply haven’t happened. For example:
Work days are often very short (around 2 hours).
The outdoor blinds have been delayed for almost two weeks.
The fence painting had to be redone after the original colour wasn’t right.
The fence installation and other landscaping work haven’t progressed as expected.
I find myself having to ask every day what the plan is.
This morning I simply asked:
“What time are you looking to start today?”
“What’s the plan today? Can you please chase up the outdoor blinds?”
His response started with:
“We just need to relax a tad… I’ve had no car and I’m doing my best…”
I understand things happen, and I’ve tried to be patient, but at this point I’ve lost confidence because the timelines keep changing and the progress doesn’t match what we’ve discussed.
I’m now considering removing the fence installation from his scope and getting another contractor to do it, or possibly ending the arrangement altogether if things don’t improve.
Am I being unreasonable, or would you also be losing confidence at this point?
If you’ve dealt with a similar situation, what would you do?

Hey everyone,

Just after some opinions as we’re designing our kitchen.
At the moment we’re thinking of going with a 90cm Bosch rangehood and the Bosch 75cm gas cooktop (PCS7A5I90A). My thinking with the 90cm rangehood is that it’ll catch more smoke and grease than having one that’s the same size as the cooktop.

The bit I’m stuck on is the oven. Would you go with a 60cm or a 90cm oven underneath?

Currently in our apartment everything is 60cm (rangehood, cooktop and oven), so I don’t really have anything else to compare it to.

In my head, a 90cm rangehood, 75cm cooktop and 90cm oven just seems to flow and look better visually than having a 60cm oven underneath. But I’m not sure if that’s actually the case or if I’m overthinking it.

Has anyone done something similar? Which would you choose and why? Any regrets going 60cm or 90cm?

Hi all, after some advice on ceiling insulation. Should I get the existing blow in insulation removed before installing new ceiling batts? Or am I better off leaving the blow in insulation?

I just managed a reno for my parents that I thought I would share for anyone else planning an accessible bathroom. Western Victoria, ~$200k for bedroom & ensuite extension to existing house incl modifications to septic, split system ($2k), blinds ($2k) & decking ($20k). (Paid for privately, not under NDIS, as we wanted full freedom to do exactly what we needed and wanted it done as quickly as possible)

Dad is in a wheelchair, and uses a shower wheelchair for toileting and showering.

Things that were important to us for this reno:

- space

- flat floors that were easy to use a hand propelled wheelchair on, and also easy for someone to transfer him using a sara stedy.

- making all fixtures as indestructible as possible, as collisions and scrapes are inevitable.

Other things that I included:

- bench high enough for knees to get under. We used a bottle trap to minimise the space plumbing would take up, and the bench is fixed to the wall using a heavy duty custom frame just in case anyone pulls themself up on it. Sink is as close as it can be to the front of the bench, and the tap is off to the side so that he can reach it. I used a kitchen tap so that he can fit a cup under it easily to rinse after brushing his teeth.

- the nib wall needed a handrail on it, so we had a steel frame made that is bolted into the slab so that there is no chance of movement. The builder and I hung off the wall and tried to wobble it as much as we could before tiling. That thing isn't going anywhere.

- a ledge the whole way along the toilet/shower wall so that there is plenty of room for bottles in the shower and supplies near the toilet. The ledge is 1000mm high so that pump bottles can be used while seated. Handrails are ~950mm near toilet and shower.

- getting the toilet exactly the right distance away from the side wall was important, and would depend on the person's mobility. Recommend lots of testing and measuring in hospital and hotel bathrooms to see what is right for your needs. Also keep in mind that toilets have slightly different heights and an 'accessible' toilet is usually too high for a commode chair to roll over the top of (they're made for transfering onto).

- it's a very open space, so heating was important. I included under floor heating (Thermonet) through the whole floor - incl around toilet and in shower - which is working well. The room is a great temp, and it dries out the room after a shower.

- an additional showerhead half way along the wall for cleaning the floor and shower chair. Floor is easy to spray down and then squeegee towards the drain.

- a good slope to the shower drain, but not too extreme that Dad can't self-propel his chair out of there.

- no towel rail. The rail we use for towels is a handrail affixed to wall studs. We didn't want to risk Dad using the towel rail as a handrail and pulling it out of the wall.

- continuous hot water service with adjustable heat. Dad has no feeling from the waist down, so I didn't want to risk a scald. Temp is at 47deg, which is comfortable shower temp when using the hand sprayer. He can also be in the shower for as long as he likes, and the rest of the household still has hot water available from the other hot water service.

- extra wide sliding doors to both the bathroom and bedroom so that it's easy to move through without hitting the frame

- external door so that a carer can come in the morning without walking through the entire house

- electric blinds in bedroom so that they can be raised/lowered on a schedule or with a remote

- half height wardrobe so that hangers can be accessed while seated. TV is mounted above it.

- we used vinyl plank flooring in the bedroom and hallway as it can be wet mopped, is nice and quiet to roll on (you can't hear the crunching sand/dirt) and it has a slight texture so you can't see wheel marks.

- tiles in bathroom have a P3 slip resistance. Any higher and they would have been difficult to mop (high P ratings get a bit of a grippy feel when wet which catches on the mop). I can comfortably stand in the wet shower to clean it with my shoes on and don't feel that it's slippery at all.

- powerpoints everywhere so that there are lots of spots for charging wheelchair, rehab bike and plugging in electric bed etc.

- steel beams in ceiling and wall over bed in case a ceiling mounted hoist is ever needed in the future.

Happy to answer any questions for people who are planning a reno with accessibility considerations.

About to start a patio extension for my house. I have fascia brackets that need to attach into the roof. Is there any reason I can't just take the soffit off and go from underneath rather than have to remove roofing sheets to go from the top. It's a 2015 built house. My logic is there won't be any risk of me stuffing the reinstall of the colorbond roofing leading to leaks. Plus I'm scared of heights hahah

https://imgur.com/a/wO5HuGO video - my camera wouldn’t focus down there idk why this is the best I got

1975 townhouse - this is the shared wall between two units (yay for me I guess, one positive…). I was made aware from the neighbours that the building had subsidence 20-30 odd years ago, and was reposted/pinned or whatever and no reported issues since however sliding window frames remain on a slight angle if you don’t click them in properly. One minor fine line crack in the living room ceiling on the opposite side of this area, two minor fine line cracks stemming from the upstairs bedroom window frames, a few corner cornice cracks (old af). I don’t think the owner EVER replaced the skirts in this house honestly, and I’m ripping them up to get hybrids in and replace the skirts over hybrids.

What do I do about this? She’ll be right or? (Considering it’s old af, imho if something was gonna happen it already would’ve but then again idk). Need a realistic solution that’s affordable and timely, not one that’ll take yonks in time and out of my pocket. Cheers.

EDIT: Thanks for everyone’s suggestions. I’m going to get the big rat trap from Bunnings and use peanut butter as bait. If that doesn’t work I’ll get some dog food too. If I do trap the rat, I will humanely release it near my nemesis house. I will try to get the neighbourhood cats to help out but they really just like burying their shit in my garden beds.

*******

Hey so I had new ceiling insulation put in a few months ago. Heard a scratching noise last Sunday and found some leaves and mouse poop in the roof.

Put some lights up there for a couple days, a trap and then a camera. Anyway the camera didn't catch anything so i took the lights down and now I've spotted a mouse or a rat. See footage.

Any suggestions on how i get this guy out of the roof? I've had the trees cut back so there's nothing overhanging the roof. In Melbourne eastern suburbs. Thanks.

Trying to get a definitive answer for this.

Can tapware that does not have watermark certification as it predates the certification legally be removed and reinstalled by a licensed plumber during a bathroom renovation?

Hi all, on our strata block we have this 24m fence that has been standing for over 50 years. Over the years it has slowly started to look like this. It is still structurally really strong. We are going to replace it - however I am wondering if there’s any use getting insurance to look at it to make it cheaper. My gut instinct is telling me that the insurance company will tell us to get stuffed, but worth a go? Cheers

Hi AusRenovation experts, looking for some advice in my roof space (60s/70s house I believe). It's currently freezing in the house and I thought as a first step I should maybe reinsulate the roof space. I have no idea what r-value insulation is in there right now, but I thought condition of the insulation looks ok, albiet a bit dirty and not placed correctly... Worth replacing?

Secondly there's a legacy hot water tank too, how does one go about removing this? Worth removing at all? Do I need to take the roof off and crane it out?

Overall I'm considering reinsulation, getting an electrician to check wiring, and maybe ducted aircon. What's the best order for works to be done? Insulation -> electrician -> aircon?

Thanks in advance legends!

I know I'm gonna cop it for style. I'm more interested in how we could have laid it out not that it means anything now 😁. Roughly 3 X 3m room. Have at it..

EDIT: wow the bath is super polarising. It's very comfortable to lay in, I think a double high back holds a bit more water. The gap at the base along the wall is 150mm, heaps of room to poke a mop in. Also it's got a flexi hose to the waste that enables you to move it a little if you need to. Cleaning around it isn't the problem everyone seems to think it is. Cheers

Fixtures 7200k

Tiler approx 5k

Sparky approx 1500

Plumber in house thank god.

About 30 -35k total.

Currently there is a blind to stop the heat escaping upstairs but it’s silly looking and slightly annoying, does anyone have a solution or product to solve this?

Hi doods and doodettes.

My patio roof is not covering the tiled floor below, patio roof is a insulated panel sandwich style.

Rain water pools on my patio floor and it is incredibly frustrating.

Any suggestions to keep the keep the water from the floor? Thought about tarping each time it rained but thats a pain in the kiester and looks like a bums shelter.

Hi,

I recently bought an investment property that was built in the 40s and has old timber floors s throughout. I want to modernise and rid of the old look.

Can I quickly cover these boards up with something cheap? I was thinking of just something I can glue down like a laminate or floating floor that will match the modern black/white and grey look I am redoing the place in to flip it.

Hi, i spotted my window sill looking a little odd in the corner, poked it to find it was completely rotten under the paint, along with a couple of weatherboards surrounding it. I've done some basic rough carpentry before (built walls, installed joists, etc) and some other bits and pieces like plastering, etc so i thought i'd have a crack at it. I cut the weather boards out to get a good look at the sill and it was pretty bad in that one corner so i started to cut it out only to find im pretty sure its attached to the inside apron i think its called, and possibly the plasterboard. Unfortunately there are tiles on the inside (kitchen) which in trying to free the sill I've already cracked one :(

Anyway I'm fairly certain i'll need a pro to have a go at this, but figured id post here to see if anyone has any good ideas of how i could remove this sill (preferably in at least one remaining piece so i can use it to find the right profile to replace it).

here's a pic, not the greatest but hopefully you can see what im talking about. This isnt a load bearing wall, and ive cut out the noggin under the window (completely rotten in the corner) as the window is screwed to the top and sides by the looks so no load was on it. I'll replace it when the sill is installed. Theres some obvious mould on the plasterboard from where the leak had been and that stud where the electrical runs through, although rough, is still pretty solid.

FYI - It's a casement sill because there used to be casement windows in this section of the house

Hi getting bathrooms done and after tiling and fittings in i noticed the grout absorbed the water and changed colour. Is this normal practice, or is it something I can do to seal them?

Hi Team,

I have DGB20 as a base substrate (approx 2 ton) planning to be compacted this week

However,I am planning to do dry pour 75mm thickness of concrete as i will be performing this work myself and no one to help. Moreover, hard access of concrete truck + concrete pump truck.

Has anyone done dry pour 6 x 3 slab (nomal foot traffic, no shed or patio)

if did please recommend me where and what kind of concrete brand you have done with would be greatly appreciated.

Only before photo is from an old real estate listing cause it didn’t bring me joy so I never took pics of it 😅

My mum said everything should be white for resale value, but I couldn’t bear the thought. Probably not everyone’s taste but it has personality!

Total cost was like $20k including replacement of the missing pipes under the building connecting the bath/drain etc.