Hi, we received an email from Houzz about you and I thought I would introduce our business; Sydney Doors to you as we could be of service. We manufacture custom made kitchen and wardrobe doors in a raw or polyurethane finish. We also pick up and deliver and are known for our friendly, efficient service. Please contact me if we can be of assistance. Regards.

hi there, yes you can cover slate floors depending on the finish of the floor in question. Slate floors vary depending on the finish and the quality of the slate. The majority of slate floors I have dealt with have come with two major factors to consider: A high quality natural slate floor hand laid will have variations in the floor surface. the only way to properly cover them is to grind them down to an even layer - very very messy. There are a number of high quality materials that are economic that you can use to cover them. The range of new vinyl flooring which looks exact;ly like timber is superb for this type of flooring. I recommend FORMFIT which is a vinyl floor plank that has an inbuilt rubber underlay for sound proofing but is inflexible in nature so that it will not lose its shape and is perfect for existing tiled floors with large grout lines ( you will not see the grout lines with compression) once it is laid. It is also sun-proof and water resistant and can be laid in wet areas (laundries, guest toilets and even bathrooms - so long as there is a hob for the shower recess. The installers will generally do a site visit to guarantee the material is APPROPRIATE for the surface area. So I recommend that you always get a product and installation GUARANTEE. This is the warranty that will ensure the correct material has been installed for the existing surface area. Some slate floors will still require a self leveling concrete after grind down - but again it depends on the variations in the floor. Some Slate floors are perfectly okay to have this material laid straight over it and require no real preparation. Again I always ask for my manufacturer and installer guarantee for every job. The installers will also advise you whether your doors ( if you are using the material in rooms) will need to be skimmed as each plank is approximately 5 - 6mm in thickness. I can highly recommend the new vinyl planks - do not be deterred by the material - the quality that has been developed for this material has surpassed its previous namesake and it is superb underfoot. The thickness of the plank and the engineering of this manufactured product is designed for hard use and wear and tear and is very difficult to scratch - they were originally manufactured for retail flooring surfaces. I have completed over 50 renovations in the last couple of years using this product and can thoroughly recommend it. If you are after a good supplier I am happy to recommend my supplier and installer ( if you are Perth based). Ive had several private emails asking me to further elaborate on this topic so I hope this is clear! Please advise if you need any further information! Happy to Help! Cheers Lorena

My $0.02 - in NSW designers are NOT registered or accredited, beware. All architects are nationally accredited. I suggest that there are a lot of things you can do yourself before you start - get a proper survey of your block, ensure that you get them to provide angles for anything that isn't square....understand if there are utilities like sewer pipes which will affect your setbacks or useable space...... Go online and workout the sun angles for your longitude and latitude helpful for solar and overall layouts. West facing picture windows are not the best. Some of the solar firms have online calculators which help to do this. Read the local council rules and understand them, apply them to your survey and your design ideas....including if you are a corner block and if you want to go two storey...... If it is still a 'go' Get all of the heritage, flood, fire etc checks done by council - around $150 depending on council........ Eliminate or at least understand all the big constraints before you go any further........ Look again at the survey- any contour lines may cost you money, assume a cost of at least $2000 per sqm to start and do some layouts of your ideas on paper, add up all of the spaces, can you actually put them on your block? How much is the total?.......yes garages are slightly cheaper to build but still take up precious footprint space.... Is access likely to cause issues for trades, equipment and deliveries?......... Keep refining and updating the ideas and plans thinking about how you want to use the spaces and move around inside and out.....where are you putting the wheelie bins, clothes dryer etc..... Try the free to use BASIX site forms if you are in NSW, understand how the size, shading and orientation of windows affects your sustainability and adjust, this will also apply many of the local council rules as well..... Do you want a brick house, with render? A pole home, a kit build? A fast build insulated panel build? What type of roof?...... The more you have worked out for yourself the better, look at the kit home options, there are lots and some are very good... Everything is delivered and you just construct with the trades and some may have builders in your area.....The new InsulLiving Code Mark BCA approved options are also worth a look..... Anyway do all of that before you line up for the fleecing floor lol

Putting roof lights in a Perth house (indeed most Australian houses) creates the potential for unwanted heat gain, so they are generally best not facing north. Even high performance ones such as Velux which are really designed with European and North American climates in mind. Aussie sunshine delivers about 1000 Watts per square metre of radiant heat for much of the day. We usually don't need a multi-kilowatt roof heater in our homes... South light is indirect, which avoids pools of sunshine creating potential glare, but still about 70% as bright as north light, with way less heat gain potential. Polishing concrete can be a bit of a lottery. I have seen many examples where the owner is disappointed with the outcome. A safer bet might be to use large format rectified edge concrete-look ceramic tiles? At least you will be sure of what the finished product will look like. Maybe do a cost comparison between the two. Unless the concrete polishing is a DIY effort, you might be surprised at the cost of getting it done. An insulated edge slab on ground should not be cold under foot in Perth, particularly with your fireplace taking the edge off in winter.