The consulting engineer who does the footing designs for any houses in a mine subsidence area will need to factor subsidence into his designs. He should also recommend other design features (e.g. articulation joints, avoidance of brickwork above doorways and window openings) to minimise any damage due to subsidence.  This will most likely add to…[Read more]

The footings for any buildings over a mine subsidence area should be designed to allow for reasonable subsidence movement, in accordance with the requirements of the Mine Subsidence Compensation Act (1961).   They will therefore be more substantial and therefore more expensive than footings for equivalent buildings on standard foundation mate…[Read more]

Hi ElizabethYou will need a few trades: carpenter for the wall framing and skirtings, fixing of plasterboard and skirtings; electrician (for any power points and lighting); flusher (to flush the plasterboard joints and fix cornices); and painter.

If you are only looking to put in lightweight walls (timber framing with plasterboard lining) to form the bedroom/s, Council approval is not required.  Approval would be necessary in cases where structural alterations are to be carried out (e.g alterations to roof framing or removal of load-bearing walls), or an additional bathroom is added, or…[Read more]

How old is the house?  There was a much earlier practice of applying a rough rendering over chicken wire, this was mainly for gable ends.More recently the practice is used for rendering over straw bale construction.  That is, a wire mesh is placed over the straw bale wall and then a lime render applied. 

The units are incredibly small, about 25 square metres. Try swinging a cat in that area.Average price about $160,000, and very low capital growth. Not much going for them as an investment.

There's no reason to believe that more recent residential buildings are more prone to cracking; the contrary would be more likely.  More recent buildings would be designed with a better appreciation of footing design and foundation (i.e. the material under the building) conditions.  And pre-July 1985 buildings can't be depreciated (only app…[Read more]

Search online on http://www.land.vic.gov.au You will need to register as a user and pay the appropriate fee/s.

Hi EmmyYou should seek the services of a competent architectural draftsman. Trying to do that yourself would be very difficult for you, and fairly unwise.  The council person you spoke to was probably a clerical person; she is giving advice to you as an owner/ builder. Working with one builder would not be cost effective; with a drawing for the w…[Read more]

Darklord – in your case I would speak to the Council and explain your situation, to see how the Council will view your intentions. Oddyssey – a person takes a big risk if any building extension (including the conversion of the lower part of a house to habitable space) does not comply with the BCA. The fact that other building owners are fl…[Read more]

Hi amsaini, the two properties are negatively geared.  The rental pays off part of the interest payments and the remaining interest debt accumulates. 

You should use an architectural draftsman for this kind of work.  The Council will expect to see a drawing (plan, elevations and details) and specification with the application.  If the French doors are wider than the window openings, thereby requiring a lintel to be placed above the opening, the application would need to show the lintel size…[Read more]

I have two IPs each with an IO loan.  When I asked my accountant about using the rental payments to pay off my PPOR he suggested that I should make an application to the ATO for a private ruling; the issue for me is that the size of my IO loans could potentially increase while I use the rental income to pay off my home.  I didn't apply for the p…[Read more]

The BCA was enacted in October 1996.  Before that date the separate states and territories applied their own respective Building Acts.  The purpose of the BCA was to bring in a nationally consistent set of minimum standards.  The ceiling height of 2400 mm for habitable rooms applied in SA before 1996, not sure about other states. If you want to c…[Read more]

The ceiling height will be measured to the underside of the joists from finished floor level. The BCA is a legal document and the Council is not able to make any concessions on the provisions of the Code. The ceiling height in a habitable room needs to be 2400 mm minimum, taken from the top of the floor finish (e.g. carpet, vinyl or timber), not…[Read more]

The Council will apply the Building Code. They will not attach emotion to any decision. The Code requires any habitable room (excluding a kitchen, corridor or bathroom) to have a ceiling height of not less than 2.4 m from finished floor level to underside of ceiling.  This will need to be the measurement to the underside of exposed beams. A lower…[Read more]

Also when you eventually come to sell the PPOR you will have to factor in capital gains tax for the period of rental.  

I believe the quantity surveyor can formulate the depreciation schedule taking into account the date of occupation by the tenant.  The cost of the schedule is of course a tax deduction against the rental income for the property.  You will need to make it clear to the QS what items are remaining when the property is rented out.

Reddahaydn, eliminating dampness from a bathroom is not always straightforward.  I used to do building repairs for insurance companies and a common fault in bathrooms was a leaking breaching piece in the shower.  A plumber can do a pressure test to check whether there is a leak. If no leak is evident then the issue may just be inadequate v…[Read more]

Check the other parts of the unit for power points (bathroom at basin, bedroom at bed for bedside lamp and electric blanket etc).  Make any power points provided double GPOs. The staining on the carpet outside the bathroom indicates that the bathroom floor may not be well graded to the floor drain, so that water from the shower pools on the floor…[Read more]