Originally Posted by sme

I'd agree about the double brick and plaster walls in WA but echoey rooms as there is nothing in our house to absorb the sound.

Originally Posted by TraceyW

We've not got that excuse! Lots of furniture! trouble is, room is 50ft x 30ft. What the hell we built a room that big for I'll never know

Originally Posted by youngy73

hey stu,
i would agree with what cresta says but if you want internal block walls you can have them. they normally use 100mm for internals and then core fill them then sheet over the top or render the wall. the houses up here are bullet proof i reckon. a raft slab with rio from the slab up thru the walls and tied to the roof for the cyclone rating. the walls are core filled with concrete around the doors and windows then every 4th core and all the way around the top two courses. there going nowhere. quality, well that always depends on who does the work. i know both good and bad tradesman. one thing that struck me over here is the amount of different trades there are. i know blokes and all they do is fix a roof and someone else lays the sheets. another bloke just does downpipes, another guttering. also with new builds now they are using metal frames for the walls.they are shit. they move all over the place until the wall is sheeted but its quick which means money saved for the builder. at the end of the day money is what it all boils down to these days.one piece of advice when your building is remember you dont know best. we see it everyday where people want lights randomly placed or specify power points in stupid places or heights. was on one job where the women wanted powerpoints at a height so her kid could not touch them. surely kids grow but she was adamant. it just looked stupid. on another job the dude was obsessed with 2 way switching. wanted every light in the house on a 2 way. doing a job today on a two storey where we are wiring the upstairs and 2 lights only downstairs because the owners mate is going to do it later on the cheap.false economy, get what you want when its getting built dont wait until later as it will cost twice as much.i know its your house and you can have what ever you want but get good tradies, tell them what you want and let them get on with it

Originally Posted by stu:0

All makes for good reading! It would have to be block walls for me and as far as them metal framed stud walls go they are total crap. There is a lot of that going up back in the uk. Problem with me and it probably goes for most tradesmen you get very picky with standards of work. It would drive me nuts crap workmanship in my own home. Iv done everything myself in my house back in the uk and hate paying anyone to do work for me but i guess i'll have to over there with this whole licence thing!


Stu

Originally Posted by cresta57

You could always go to TAFE and get an Owner Builders Licence. I believe that if your actually employed within the construction industry and have a licence you only do a weekend course. You can then do most of the work yourself and do it to your own standard. If you need to study to gain your sparks licence before you get a job you could combine your time effectively building your house while attaining your licence.

Originally Posted by cresta57

You could always go to TAFE and get an Owner Builders Licence. I believe that if your actually employed within the construction industry and have a licence you only do a weekend course. You can then do most of the work yourself and do it to your own standard. If you need to study to gain your sparks licence before you get a job you could combine your time effectively building your house while attaining your licence.

Originally Posted by arkon

What! Are you saying you need a licence then to do a bit of DIY? I was thinking about building and doing most of it myself, afterall who would actually know how much or what you did? Does someone come and check up to make sure you are not doing a bit of DIY on a house build?

Originally Posted by arkon

What! Are you saying you need a licence then to do a bit of DIY? I was thinking about building and doing most of it myself, afterall who would actually know how much or what you did? Does someone come and check up to make sure you are not doing a bit of DIY on a house build?

Originally Posted by cresta57

No, not to do a bit of DIY To build a new home yourself you can do a course at TAFE called an Owner Builders Course, some of the work your still required to use licenced contractors but you can do the majority yourself. This is applicable only in QLD so you being in NSW may or may not have a similar scheme.

The OB permits are quite strict, your only allowed one every six years. The fact that it's a self build stays on the property title file for at least seven years, consequentially it could effect the resale of your home or the resale value. You also most importantly lose the QBSA insurance which means that if a subcontractor fails to complete work he's started of fails to rectify any subsequent defects the building is not covered as per a standard contract.
Take a look at the QBSA site I've posted the link a lot, the one below is the section regarding Owner Builder Permits;
http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/Home/Consu...erBuilding.htm

This one is the link to the approved course providers
http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/Home/Consu...erBuilders.htm

Originally Posted by stu:0

Dont think the missus would be to happy living in a caravan monthes on end whilst i built the whole thing Nice to know you can do it though. I was thinking more along the lines of fitting the kitchen, wire it, tiling that sort of thing

Stu