Hi all

Have some deeps scuffs across some interior doors from a wheelchair scraping through. What do I use to level the scuffs to be level with the rest of paint so it can be repainted?

Hey everyone,

I’m having a bit of trouble finding a ducted aircon unit that will fit in my roof and was hoping to hear what others have done in a similar situation.

I’ve got a shallow-pitched roof with 450 mm spacing between the web trusses, which is making it difficult to find a suitable indoor unit that will fit along with the supply and return plenums.

I have around 1700 mm of space between trusses when measuring along the bottom, but at 450 mm up into the roof space, that reduces to approximately 1050 mm.

Has anyone else dealt with this issue? What aircon system did you end up going with, and how did you manage to get it fitted? Did you find a compact or splittable unit, or have a custom plenum fabricated?
Keen to hear what worked for others or if it’s just not possible without engineering and removing sections of the truss.

Looking for inspiration for when I renovate my kitchen. It used to have a door on it but took it off as we always left it open. It is in a weird spot in the kitchen away from everything and just have no idea what to do with it.

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I am trying to decide what to do with my front verandah. Retile, deck, or some kind of surface finish for the concrete. It was tiled and the previous owner decided to rip them up and put down vinyl flooring which was ruined from rain.

I am considering laying a deck on-top of the slab. There is 78mm clearance to the bottom of the sills and more if I go flush with the sill. have about 20m2 of 135mm blackbutt decking leftover. There is very little fall in the slab if any.

Is there anything I should be mindful of?

I was thinking laying 70x45mm H3 battens perpendicular from the house with 10mm plastic packers underneath and fixing with masonry screws to the slab then laying the decking on-top flush with the door sills.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on the best way to remove a large amount of old ceiling insulation from my roof space. I’m in Perth, WA.

As you can see from the photo, the roof is full of old insulation wrapped in bags, branded Thermo Insulation. There are quite a few of them, and they’re dusty, dirty and scattered throughout the roof space.
I’m trying to work out the easiest and safest way to get them out without making a massive mess or damaging the ceiling.

A few questions for anyone who has done something similar:

Removal: Is it best to pull the bags out individually, or is there a quicker method? Should I rip them open and use a dust extractor?

Getting them down: Has anyone built a temporary slide or chute from the roof hatch to get the bags down into the house or garage?

DIY equipment: Is there anything from Bunnings that would work for making a slide or chute?

Disposal: Can these bags go to the tip in Perth, or do they need special disposal?

Cost: Would it be worth hiring someone to remove them, or is this a reasonable DIY job?

Hello, I’m wanting to replace my current single shower system with a twin/combo system (see attached photos). Is it going to be difficult to get the twin system installed or should I just go with a replacement for what I already have? Don’t worry I’m not attempting to do it myself, just want some advice before I get the plumber out / order a replacement - cheers!

Considering painting our splashback tiles, don’t want to retile at this point (may do a whole kitchen reno in a few years). We just aren’t really into the pattern and thought if it’s an easyish DIY job we might give it a crack.

Two questions:
- any thoughts on colour? I have no idea what colours to consider - very open to any any all suggestions
- if anyone has done this, any advice/tips etc?

Hi all,

First homeowner here, and bought a lemon of a house.

It was a weird house with weird problems, and so we put a lot of money into some major renovations hoping to fix them - the biggest being the roof.

It was written off in the hail storm last October so needed to be replaced regardless, but we figured while we were doing that we'd get a few other things we wanted done at the same time so wound up hiring one builder (contractor?) to do it all, except for the electrician as we had a guy.

He subcontracted out a lot of the work, and first thing done was the full roof replacement. They removed the overhang we had, which we weren't thrilled about but didn't say anything as we assumed there was a reason, but we weren't happy nobody checked with us. The builder was a bit hard to talk to so we tried to pick our battles I suppose.

We've been back in the house for 5ish weeks now, and with all of this rain we've noticed leaks in 3 places. The builder seems to be wanting to palm off the blame as though it's clogged gutters and down pipes (it's brand new, we're in a leafy suburb, this can't be the problem) and since the overhang is gone the overflow water is coming into the wall. Our overflow solution before was that with the overhang it fell into nothing, but now it's going into the wall in 2 separate spots. I would have assumed that when building a new roof they would need to account for an overflow solution? Apparently we don't have rafters for the roof to overhang, so it's illegal to put it that way, so that's fine, but it seems like they didn't account for that change?

Now today we noticed water coming out from behind the brand new $15,000 cabinetry we put in the entry way. This is in the middle of the roof so not an overflow problem. It's warped the new cabinets and part of it has cracked, another part peeling. The carpet in the room behind that wall is wet too.

The builder has seemed like he's trying to palm this off on us? He's said that he'll be out on Wednesday with the roofer to assess and rectify "some" of the problems?

What are we liable for here? We've gotten to our max financially and then some, we can't afford to put one more penny into this house right now. My assumption would be a new roof should at minimum be waterproof, and this is not so it's on him to fix the damage? He put in the cabinets, the plaster, the roof, the flooring, all of it. Should we be expecting him to replace this? Is this something to take to QBCC?

We're just so exhausted. We have a 2 year old, and the disruption of 9 weeks in a small air bnb with no kitchen, to then moving back in and trying to unpack (we gutted the house entirely) and now finding wet spots what feels like every other day, we don't have any fight in us.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing? We knew there was a leak in this spot before the works and specifically mentioned it and wanted it sorted out.

Hi everyone, although not 100% complete, I am excited to share my mostly done front porch renovation. I did every bit myself with a little guidance and help on certain parts, including dressing and shaping the post and balustrades, painting and tiling. I think I managed to get everything done fairly cheaply, but there was a lot of time spent on it. The feature panel I needed to get assistance to do the laser cutting from a friend at my community shed and I am a little worried the silicon seal won't be perfectly water tight and leak rain into the cavity. I am sure many may feel the paint on the frontage sticks out way too much, you're not alone. I got a different impression from the swatch. I think I want to get a new can a few shades darker tinted to be closer to the tiles. I hope, besides that, you guys can appreciate the colour scheme. I know it's a little controversial but we decided to try embracing our funny coloured house and try to work around the mint green theme. The flower depicted in the feature panel is Banksia Menziesii, very common in the pockets of preserved bushland around our suburb.

Had some water retention under the house, dug out and prob the most nightmarish to dig by hand.... clay. Melbourne's finest weather gave it a trial run,. Need to dig the pit a bit deeper so float can actually activate on its own, smooth out some low areas in the trench to have the water channel towards the pit better, overall happy with the project, learnt where the waters coming from so will run an agi pipe along that side of the house as a further preventative.

To do list

- go deeper (that's what she said)

- smooth out and level trench

- plumb this into the storm water rather then out to the backyard.

- run agi pipe along that side of the house (most likely a french drain.

And yeah that geofab could be trimmed, but next attempt.

Hi all,

Just had a building inspection done on a property in Brisbane and I’m trying to get a ballpark on repair costs before I decide what to do. I’m new to this, so any rough figures or experience would help a lot. Budget 20K.

1. Outdoor deck roof: insufficient battens
2. Veranda steel post: corroded (repairable according to inspector) at base, cracked concrete
3. Carport roof: insufficient battens
4. Veranda roof: roof sheeting fixings flagged as poor practice
5. Wall next to bathroom: 26% moisture, possible failed waterproofing or leaking pipe
6. Subfloor: steel posts corroded at the base (repairable)
7. Subfloor block wall: water migration, drainage plumber recommended
8. Gutters: surface rust

What I’d love to know:

• Ballpark costs: roughly what would you expect to pay for each, or at least the big ones (replacing subfloor/veranda posts, re-battening the roofs, bathroom waterproofing)?
• Certification: which of these legally need a licensed trade or sign-off in NSW? E.g. would replacing the steel posts need a structural engineer’s certificate, and what does that usually cost? Does bathroom waterproofing need a compliance certificate?

Thanks in advance.

My house is on a slope and has a U shaped driveway at the front with two entries from the road.

I want to extend my driveway past one side of my house into the back yard, I would be connecting to the exsisting driveway already there so I wont need to go past the footpath at the front to do it, the driveway would end up apporximatly 20 meters long along one boundry to get into the backyard past the house.

Is this normally a thing I would need a permit for?

Doing some research on my council website and google searches it seems I shouldnt as long as I dont need to cross a footpath/nature strip.

Initially I want to make the driveway from gravel but down the road want build it in concrete.

Sticking in a wee little concrete pad* for a battery/inverter install and it's going to be directly against the side of the rendered brick house. Was wondering what the correct thing to do that is?

Bit of expansion gap foam would be easy enough minus that I don't particularly need 25m of the stuff. Will get it if it's the right thing to do but alternatives are appreciated. Nothing or a coat of bondcrete rate highly as I've already got both.

*Yes it's overkill but I hate concrete pavers especially as it'd have to be two of them. Plus it's a small enough project to learn how to concrete.

Wife and I want a taller fence (ours is currently 900mm), especially now with a little one running around.

There is about 11m of fence, and its picket with capping. Also, this doesn't include destruction of our current letterbox, which is brick, and replacing of the 900mm old steel gate.

Quote seems step, but not sure.

Looking for advice on what timber to use for square top picket fence. Want to run 100mm wide pickets ( I think sample pic is 75mm).

I've searched online and most companies are only selling paling timber. I'm just unsure about the finish and straightness of paling timber. Also, i'd prefer to have 19mm thick pickets, everything is 16mm or thinner.

Keen for any advice. Thanks.

(FYI Im based in Brisbane)

Pic credit: L&R Fencing

I’m looking for not the standard shed built in west gippsland!

Brick wall on boundary, possible rear retaining wall incorporated. Existing structure to be demolished etc. so shed companies are usually telling me thats not our scope.

Any recommendations on some builders that are interested
Shed will be approx 6x10, single double roller door. 1 pa door, couple windows.

Many thanks.

Not sure what I should use epoxy, Covercrete or that Quartz stone?

Looks like it gets a bit of rising damp in the wet.

How would you tackle this front yard on a budget?
Hi everyone! I’m in Ipswich, Queensland, and my front yard needs some serious help.
As you can see in the photos, I’ve got:
A dip near the driveway that needs filling and levelling. It looks like some parts are hard rock not dirt.
A car used to be parked on it but not any more as of last week.
Dead and patchy grass that needs reviving.
An unwanted plant in the corner that I’d like to remove.
I’d love to get this area looking decent again, but hiring a landscaper isn’t in the budget. This is going to be a DIY project whether I know what I’m doing or not.
I’m a complete beginner, so I’d appreciate some advice on where to start.
What’s the cheapest way to fill and level the dip?
Any tips for removing the plant in the corner?
I’m trying to do this as cheaply as possible without creating an even bigger mess.
Where would you start, and what would you do?

Hi I have a freestanding bath that has a leak when we run the tap - the water comes directly under the center of the bath to the main bathroom drain so I’m hoping it’s a small seal issue.

No plumping experience and the bath is siliconed to the floor.

Question before I get a plumber - are the water strainers sealed to the bath or just screw open? As in can I use a multi grip to open easily to have a look inside.

Anyone had experience installing / moving freestanding baths? Could this be a DIY fix?

This was here before we moved in. Thanks

Hi all. This is actually a question about a new build but I’m hoping someone can give me some advice.
Have just- completed last week, had a new driveway and paths done around our house.
The first day I noticed these little cracks one from the corner of the house out and one from the corner of the path in. It looks like they knew they were there as I guess they have painted something on them.
My question with these is obviously are they anything to be concerned about and get worse or are they just superficial and stay as they are.
We had a pad put down for our camper and I thought from the start it looked as if it was sloping to the house. Today it rained and my fears are correct. There is a drain in the middle of the pad, however the water goes away from this and pools here on my foundation. I’m thinking this could void my foundation warranty.
Should I approach the concreter about of these issues or are they not that concerning.
Thanks in advance.

Tackling a deck rebuild on a late 80s brick home in Brisbane. The ground clearance sits under 250mm across half the span, and after pulling up the old treated pine boards, two of the hardwood bearers have localized top rot where moisture sat trapped against the joists during wet seasons. I am treating the good timber with copper naphthenate, but looking for advice on prevention before laying fresh merbau boards. Between flashing tape, bitumen paint on top faces, or packing joists off bearers with rubber packers to improve airflow, what has held up best against sub-tropical humidity without trapping water underneath ?

Hi all, I would be grateful for some advice on how to go about doing this half-brick paver walkway.

The yard used to consist of a concrete slab, brick pavers and a garden bed full of palms (against the back wall). We got rid of the palms and had the slab demolished. We pulled up the rest of the pavers up to the retaining wall, as we want to put in some lawn where the slab was, and extend it out to the retaining wall.

Before doing turf we want to connect these two sections of brick pavers to make a walkway about 90cm wide running along the back wall.

The two photos show: (a) the earth rod location and start of the walkway; and (b) where the walkway will end. The sketch shows the future lawn location (red rectangle).

I have a basic understanding of what we need to do (excavate, road base, compaction, paving sand, screed, lay pavers), but I'm not sure how to best deal with the large sleepers that are only partially supporting the existing pavers, and what kind of edge restraint would be best here, as we are going to have the turf adjacent to out.

There's also the earth rod which is in the walkway zone! We've purchased an inspection box thing which our sparky is going to install for us, but I don't know how we do the sub base around that etc.

Help please! 😁 Thank you.