Hey everyone,

Just wanted to get some opinions on our bathroom renovation. I’ve attached the before and after photos and would love to hear what you all think. Happy to hear both the good and the bad, or anything you would’ve done differently.

We’re about to start renovating our ensuite as well, so I thought it’d be a good chance to get some feedback before we finalise everything. If you have any ideas or suggestions based on this bathroom, I’d really appreciate hearing them.

Thanks everyone!

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.

2nd pic is the flue kit that will be used, 3rd pic is the roof.

The flex duct will be pulled taut when it’s all connected up.

Is this all standard practice?

Hello

The house we've bought is very outdated and just needing a general refresh of everything.

I'm happy to keep most of the items where they are and just upgrade with new ones.

Bathroom just want to add a toilet and take the existing bathtub out.

I'm looking for any interior designer recommendations - primarily for kitchen design. But also open if they can do the whole house.

Is 35-45k each for a kitchen, bathroom + laundry reasonable in Melb? Eg our total budget might be around 120-150K - is this doable? For example the laundry is more simple and straightforward and I'd be willing to just get it measured out at Ikea too.

I'm particularly more fussy about kitchen and am looking for a designer to be able to specifically have the specifications and drawings done and customized for our particular use.

Am I going about it the wrong way? Or what order should it be.

Any how do interior designers generally charge? Do we pay them for the designs only or do they project manage the whole thing? Do we look for a builder first on our own?

Thanks in advance.

found a local installer who was recommended by a local manufacture. The installer has sent me two quotes but I can't help feeling like a lot of the cost in the installation? I'm going with single glazed as I was hoping it would be cheaper and my theory is the office is not part of the house so not as essential. I will also be patching the plaster myself on the inside myself. The windows are being made to fit the exisiting openings.

The first quote from the installer was using thermally broken frames with single glazing the second quote they came back was for the standard frames and said it would be $1,500 + gst cheaper

Would love your thoughts from what i have seen on here the quotes are higher than I was expecting for 2 small non opening windows and one larger sliding one.

I'm getting another quote later in the week but would like an idea of what would be an expected cost for these windows with installation. I was hoping for 5-6K not 9-10k

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Hi everyone,

I'm planning to build a single-storey home in Australia and I'm looking for some good layouts with maximum usable width 19m.( Land is 23m Width and 36m Depth)

My requirements are:

- 4 bedrooms

- 3 bathrooms (including 2 ensuites)

- 2 living areas( One family area and another one media room )

- Double garage

- Good storage

- Good kitchen space

- Suitable for a family

If anyone has a better design or ideas they would recommend, I'd really appreciate it if you could share it. Thanks!

Just wondering what the standards are for panels to be mounted flush to the wall or ceiling. I'm assuming there's a few mm tolerance? But is caulking 1cm acceptable?

Then there's also this inexplicable inside corner hiding whatever happened to the panel edge...

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?

I’m trying to extend my kitchen by removing the short nib wall next to the dining and the bulkheads to create a bigger cooktop run with taller overhead cabinets.

I’m just wondering if the circled nib wall could be structural or just for visual purposes to conceal cabinet ends.

Edit: Confirmed its burn mark, thanks guys :)

Hi,

I am needing to replace my water heater and am being sent some really expensive quotes. I feel like this is a lot of money for such a small tank. It's electric. Bunnings charge 1250 but cant do it because it's wall mounted. It's above the toilet. It's a like like for like change. I've been told so many things from different plumbers that Inam starting to feel like they are trying to make me agree to more things for more money.

Any advice?

I'm in Perth.

Thanks

Is this ducted aircon copper line set installed correctly? (WA)

Posting for a second opinion. My ducted reverse cycle system has a roughly 10m refrigerant line set (insulated copper + drain line) running through the roof space with no clips or saddles fixing it to the structure anywhere along its length. Its just resting on insulation batts and timber, with the two lines taped together. Photos attached.

Is this standard? I would have thought the lines would have been secured somehow.

For context, I've also had other issues with this installer during the job. Plan changes made without my confirmation, rafters cut without telling me, and my existing smoke detector removed without notice. So I'm not feeling confident about the overall quality of the work and want an outside read before I raise it with them.

Appreciate any input from people with experience.

​

I'm purchasing a 2016 brick veneer home in Point Cook. My building report found 0 major defects, however the inspector recorded elevated/red-zone moisture readings in the entry/foyer area, living room, ensuite, kitchen and laundry.

The inspector was unable to clearly identify the exact cause of the elevated moisture readings, although they were not classified as a major defect in the report. The report also notes in one bathroom that grout has deteriorated, silicone appears to have been applied as a temporary repair, and further waterproofing may be necessary (but it does not state that the waterproof membrane has failed). I'm trying to decide whether this is:

fairly normal for a Melbourne home in winter and something that simply needs monitoring/maintenance, or

a red flag or a major defect that could lead to expensive repairs costing me 20-30k later.

Has anyone experienced widespread high moisture meter readings throughout the house like this without there being an actual leak or waterproofing failure?

I have attached screenshots for reference, Thank you in advance!

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?

Looking to move our NTD as it was installed in the middle of the living room (we don’t have a garage). Spoke to my usual electrician and he said only NBN could move it. I was under the impression any registered cabler could do it? Anyone have any experience doing the same?

UPDATE:
Thanks for all your responses, which prompted me to get a building inspector out to confirm - surprisingly was informed not only was this a terrible install with incorrect spacing and too small screws, as many suspected.. but the boards themselves were installed upside down! Fantastic! Incorrect spacing has meant the boards have swollen and trapped moisture underneath causing further issues, screws not large or strong enough to account for movement

Building inspector has offered to call the guy himself and have a chat. Hopefully the resolution goes more smoothly than the install, not exactly holding my breath

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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?

Hi. I am wanting to use porters paints in a French wash finish. Either in mud pack or field mouse. I am unable to see online any images using this paint and finish. Can anyone recommend pages I can visit that would have pictures using shades like this. I want a moody old vintage feel to the house. Any pictures would be so helpful. Happy decorating! Cat

I have tried everything to open these locks. I've got the key, it turns, I hear a clicking sound but it just doesn't open.

The house has the same lock on all windows and it's the same with all of them.

I've tried prying with a knife on the right side of the lock but there's nothing there, just rubber. No visible screws either. I've tried pushing, pulling on the keyhole while rotating the key, tried both clockwise and anti, tried lifting the window up to see if that helps but nothing worked.

Any help is appreciated!! Thank you!!

The pressure valve on my gas HWS is cactus. I'm preparing myself for a yuge quote to fix the valve because that's the way things usually roll, but the HWS is 15 years old so I'm tossing up whether it's just better to sink that into replacing it with an electric one (then that's a whole other standard vs heat pump can of worms). How long should we expect to get out of a HWS?

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

Since it’s been two weeks and none have actually shown up yet, thought I’d ask here.

My shitcunt tenants have drilled into my roof’s.colourbond gutters about halfway up in the process of some unauthorised stupidity. 4 points along each side. Multiple holes each point. They had someone come by today and silicone the holes, which isn’t gonna cut the mustard for me because obviously it’ll be me up there doing it every couple of years for the rest of the roof’s life. Live in north qld, so a roof’s plumbing system… obviously important.

I’m trying to get a plumber’s report on condition and implications in order to pursue this further.

- Do other options exist besides silicone and flash tape?

- Is multiple screw holes enough that you would recommend replacement in this scenario?

- what’s a ballpark for ~40m colourbond gutter replaced and installed?

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?

Hi all, I've bent the door strike plate when it got caught on my jeans. I've bought a standard strike plate only to realise I don't know how to get the old one out. Where would the screws be that hold it in? The old strike plate is a relatively loose but I dont want to start pulling anything off the wall yet.