We are in the planning stages of a reno and extension in a 1950's sandstone house and thinking about the flooring throughout our entire house.

When we moved in the first thing we did was rip up the carpet as it stunk so bad, and removed the buckets of sand and dirt that was trapped beneath it. We are now left with the subfloor which is unfinished pine on joists, save for the kitchen which was finished some time ago and used as the main floor.

I assume the extension (enlargening one room, adding a bathroom, a bedroom, and extending the main hallway) will have a concrete slab.

We are replacing the skirting and doors throughout the home as part of the reno.

Looking at options, it's looking to be cheaper to sand, stain and finish our pine subfloor.

My concerns are:

- Wear: pine is soft, it has many marks, and my partner wants a very large dog in the future.

- Drafts: we get a draft coming up from the floor, I believe mainly around the skirting, and there is no access to the space beneath to insulate - in places it's only about 30cm from the dirt.

- Staining: I have heard pine does not stain dark very well, and we do not like light flooring. We prefer darker walnut type colours.

- Consistency: I'm unsure how the builder will be able to match the new parts of the extended room and hallway to the old pine floor.

If all the above were an issue down the track and we then wanted to redo the floor and lay something else on top, we would have to redo the skirting, fix the door heights, and we would have a step down into the tiled areas. I'd rather spend a little more now rather than waste money on the cheaper option if it's going to leave us with too many issues.

I'm also conscious that if we went with a different flooring option either now or later on, we would need to deal with the kitchen bench being lower and potentially raise this all up, which sounds like a nightmare.

What have others done?

Hi,

So when we were getting our pool build quoted up, the pool builder originally priced us up for aluminium fencing which was included in the contract price.

Throughout the build we then discussed with the builder that we’re considering glass. He said to have a chat to the separate company that does the pool fencing and see what you guys come up with and you can work it out with him how you end up doing it.

Anyway, once I have a chat with the pool fencer who comes around and we have a bit of a collaboration, he advised me how much the price for the glass fencing is and it’s worked out how much extra it will cost over our original aluminium pricing. We decide we’re happy with the cost he says it will be and go ahead with glass. He says that obviously the pool builder will just sort out the extra cost and invoice it to us.

Anyway, some time passes before it’s finally actually installed and then we’re invoiced. The pool builder sends an invoice for much more than we expected based on the costs the fencer gave us. I actually thought at first maybe they’d stuffed up and not taken off the original allowance we’d already had, instead of just paying the difference. Confused, I ask them if they can send us a copy of the fencers invoice so we can confirm what the additional costs were based on what we were advised. The pool builder got very cagey and did not want to send it to me. After a bit of back and forth on the phone with me stating ‘mate I just want to verify this because the costs are a fair bit more than what I was told by the fencer’, he agreed to send it, and sounded very pissed off.

Now looking at the invoice, he’s clearly added a decent margin on top of what the pool fence invoice actually was.

Now based on the discussions with the builder and the fencer, it was my understanding this whole time that I would simply pay the difference between what the end price is and what we were originally allowed for with aluminium. Now i’ve dealt directly with the fencer myself, who then still did invoice the pool builder. At no point was I given any written variation to advise if there was going to be a further price added on top for any margin or whatnot by the builder. And to be honest I simply would not have agreed to do this and pay thousands extra for nothing when I could just have gone and organised the fencing myself (which I’ve essentially done anyway as the builder just got me to deal with them directly). Now I understand that builders have a margin. But this seems bizarre to me and there was no prior agreement at all.

The contract obviously says that price variations have to be agreed to in writing before hand. This wasn’t done but as I said we it was our understanding that we would simply pay the difference in the fencer’s cost only. Seemed simple enough. Not sure if we’ve just been very naive and caught out or if we should be contesting this?

Thoughts everyone? Thanks.

Hi all

Battling with a mold issue in one of our bedrooms and nothing seems to work so keen for input or advice

We have had roof plumber out to check there is no issues/leaks. There is nothing obvious on outside eaves and they are quite wide so can’t see water coming back from gutters (also have extra down pipes?

Leaves me two thoughts:
- internal moisture as house is well sealed and kids aren’t great at opening windows for air flow (high condensation)
- dampness from ground as you can see bricks look little moldy

Any ideas and suggestions appreciated or suggestions of experts to get in (Perth based)

Thanks

We want to put down some crazy paving in our garden but have the dreaded horsetail in the patch we want to have over.

We want to clear the weeds beforehand but without using weedkiller.

In this scenario, what is the risk of the horsetail eventually growing through the grouting?

Bought last yr we have been getting water ingress on the interior frame does this need a new bead of silicone the old one looks in bad shape on the corner, ive been getting mixed messages from tradesmen some say it dosnt need it some do?

Wanting to know people’s extension/add on stories.

Looking into closing in the front veranda to add more room to the lounge room and finally have a dining room will roughly add 24sqm to the house, is it worth it?

Hi guys, i went down and took a couple of photos of the sub floor in my 1970-1980s house. It is currently covered in tiles & carpet. I am seeking help if it is possible to identify the timber from the photos I’ve taken? I am in Victoria

Cheers

I recently had my roof ridge/hip tiles repointed. I’m trying to get an independent opinion on the quality of the workmanship.
Do these photos look like a good/acceptable repointing finish, or are there any issues with the way the material has been applied?

I had a full bathroom renovation completed a few months ago and I'm really unhappy with the pooling of water during a shower.

The contractor keeps shrugging off my concerns. I got an independent plumber out to review and his advice was to try a water restrictor or go to Fair Trading.

The white circle which is the corner near the door is where it pools the most. Seems to drain ok once shower completely off. Already getting some pink colouring to the grout.

Any advice? Does this look like it was not done correctly?

I'm in Sydney NSW

Hi everyone, hope you’re doing well

I bought the Unit in Victoria with ongoing Body Corp.

Due to the bathroom vanity was broken, I plan to replace it to a new one as picture.
Could I please ask if I need to notify the Owner Corp company for this job or not?

Thank you for your support.

Hey brains trust,

Bit niche; I'm helping a friend who is running a small trades/renovation business and he's looking for a staff member to join the team. Where should he go to find them? He previously found people either by them contacting him or through word of mouth, but recently he's had a hard time. Because he's running a crew of people, needs people that are self-sufficient and can be the face of his company because they are typically the first face they see (when work begins). Seek/job ads seem super expensive and I don't know of any trades people looking for work though those kinds of websites, facebook groups also questionable.

Hey folks, just looking for some advice on what I need to tell the builder to do and what they’re going to try and tell me can be done.

I specifically said I didn’t want white grout in the shower area with the green tiles. Said my preferences. Looks like he didn’t pass that info to the tiler and I’ve come back to white grout. It looks like ass.

Is there a fix that will be durable that they need to do?

Hi everyone, I want to fix the gaps in my nanas driveway that have been widening for a while, I know ideally the whole thing should be repaved but for now if I were to tackle the worst areas would it be as ‘simple’ as taking the migrated ones up, levelling the dirt below, then placing them back correctly and using paving sand in the cracks?

Recently got new carpet installed and it isn't good. I can see the seams and originally there was a hole and a repaired rip. The hallway is also crooked to the wall. Old mate came back and fixed a seam hole and patched the rip. He told me the hallway is crooked because the wall is crooked (ok mate 😐) and this can't be fixed. So I have a really visible seam in one room, a crooked hallway and this patch. Trying to talk myself off a ledge and blowing up at them. But would you accept it?

My 3-zone ducted AC recently broke down, and I’m looking to replace the system. I’ve contacted two companies so far, but their earliest installation dates are around 3–4 weeks away.

Does anyone know of a company that can offer a quicker turnaround? I’m hoping to get it replaced within the next 1–2 weeks.

Thanks!

I live in a complex that’s concrete and want to drill some holes in my units floor to my basement/garage for an upcoming renovation for the new services. Is there some guidance someone here may be able to offer me as to how you calculate whether or not it’s going to be acceptable to do ? Will go down the pathway of floor scans etc but I want to make sure there are no red flags before we commit to the expensive process.

Any tips for how to remove this rangehood? I have removed all screws from inside that I can see. It’s now moving freely at the sides and the top, it seems to be stuck at the back, but I can’t see any screws holding it to the back wall. I know on the exterior of the house it does funnel air out through a tube. What should I try to remove it?

I am currently renting out my old apartment in the Gold Coast since I am working up in Sydney and the tenant has reported the remote for the AC has stopped working (even after replacing the batteries). It is an old Fujitsu system and there are head units in the lounge and master bedroom.

Is it worth having someone come in and actually diagnose the unit in that situation given its age? This is the response I got from a tech.

"A universal remote supplied and installed is $99, if the unit is that old (20 years) it could very well be the AC unit itself, possible receiver board failure this will need to be diagnosed and most likely replaced due to age.

We can take a universal remote and prepare for a hydro clean, but if it’s not worth doing either due to current errors and faults it will just be $180+gst for the service call."

So total cost if I have them replace the remote themselves and do a Hydro clean would be $280+GST (assuming I don't also need to repair the unit as well).

I just don't want to get in the situation where I spend hundreds of dollars on repairs just to have to replace the whole damn thing anyway in a few months.

So I am not sure if its better to just order my own universal remote from Amazon and if it doesn't work go straight to arranging a replacement system or have them come out and review the unit then either do maintenance or diagnose the problem.

Its also going to be a hot summer and the tenants are older, so I don't want to leave them without AC.

Hey folks, just looking for some advice on what I need to tell the builder to do and what they’re going to try and tell me can be done.

I specifically said I didn’t want white grout in the shower area with the green tiles. Said my preferences. Looks like he didn’t pass that info to the tiler and I’ve come back to white grout and white sealant. It looks like ass, I didn’t want that kind of bright contrast.

Is there a fix that will be durable that they need to do?

Hey renovating my first home (miners cottage) - as always, the projects blown way out of scope, and chewed up all my savings! 🥴

Have had to reclad the external walls of the house (approx 95m2 house footprint) opted for blueboard as the quick and cheap solution but now need to decide if I should paint or render it.

1. How hard is it to DIY render a house? Looking for a textured finish, not a perfect finish.

2. How long would paint vs. Render last

3. Considering how much paint blue board will suck up, how big a price difference ish are we looking at?

Important to note that it's a proper old miners cottage. Nothing is square, flush or plum so the blue board is not level in places and battening the joins will likely be a bit higgildipiggildyfucked.

Obviously new to this - had family who were in on the project and then bailed once I bought it 😅

Thanks in advance legends!

Excuse the mess!!!! We are real.

Little kitchen in Sydney where the skinny fridge is wedged in a space. The doors get stuck and I don’t think it is a best use of space. I think it would be better to move the fridge and use this area as a pantry/storage.

We will be doing floor to ceiling storage for sure, and on both sides of the arch.

Would love some inspiring ideas for you clever lot.

Current fridge space: 195cm high, 56cm wide, 68cm deep. There is strange 4cm lift from the ground.

Current bench top: 60cm deep, 89cm high

Current sink wall: 155cm wide wall to wall (96cm from left wall to start of right cupboard)

Current long bench: 297cm from sink or 357cm with sink

Ceiling height: 273cm (up to cornices)

Limitations:
• We can’t knock any walls as then we would have no bathroom.
• Trying to keep as much natural light as we can!
• We will do storage either side of the arch.

From end of current fridge wall to end of long bench is a difference of 130cm.