The house was in the best street, the pictures were immaculate... heaps of people came to view ....the moment you reached the front door the smell of curry was so strong that some people started coughing. I was not deterred and inspected the entire house and it was even better than the pictures but the smell of curry was extremely strong in open kitchen area. Apparently it is almost impossible to get rid of the smell once it's that bad without major work.

OK it's ugly, but think it through. It looks like you've had to get down quite low to take the photo - when you stand up is it better, or worse? Could a blind or curtain take it out of your view without costing a fortune and if you're really unhappy, move it when you have the cash. Of course, if you have that now, I would get it done straight away so it doesn't become an ongoing issue for you. If you move it now you'll probably never think of it again. If you can't afford to do that, look at the other couple of options I mentioned. A blind that moves off to the side, rather than up and down, could be the go for that. Then I'd be sending the photo you have here to several plumbers and find out who could move it for you and at what price. Obviously they'll have to come an quote properly but if you have someone saying it can't be done and someone saying it can, you need to sort that out first because it may not be an issue at all.

Thank you for your comments - I did a bit of a mock up with various colours and am erring towards a darker colour as it would blend in more. When I zoomed in on the photo I noticed the house down the front of the view has a monument colour roof so that gave me a bit of insight into how a dark colour would sit amongst the trees - if I wanted to tint it a bit more towards the water colour (although this changes on a daily basis!) I could use ironstone which is like monument with a touch of blue. The heat adsorption by the darker colour doesn't worry me as much as our roofer says it doesn't make that much difference as we will have insulation - it outweighs the reflection issue that a light colour would have. As far as making it a trafficable space - there is no shortage of viewing platforms in the rest of the house - I did do the sums on a rooftop garden and am tempted but at this point it would add about 8k for extra support, 8k for waterproofing and then about 20k for all the rest - although I suspect I could do this last part cheaper than that quote. The block is not short on garden space!

Hi Brant, We had instantaneous gas hot water when we lived in Japan and never had a problem with pressure, but we only had one shower. Gas storage water heaters apparently lose a lot of heat because there are parts that can’t be fully insulated. This makes them less efficient and more costly to run. Have you considered a heat pump hot water service? They are the most energy efficient form of hot water heater, using about 1-2 kWh a day for the most energy efficient ones (in a warmer climate like Darwin, solar hot water might be a better choice). Hot water heat pumps are better suited to Melbourne’s climate than solar hot water, which don’t really produce much hot water in winter and need boosting. If you already have solar panels then the hot water heating will essentially be free as even a winter Melbourne day can usually produce enough energy to power a hot water heat pump that is set to heat in the warmest part of the day. Even if you don’t, they use very little energy. The Victorian government is offering a $1,000 rebate on them at the moment, on top of other rebates. Related but off topic, if you don’t have solar panels then accessing the Victorian solar panel rebates is a no brainer but you can only have one rebate (solar panels or solar hot water, including heat pump hot water, or batteries), and you can’t access the rebate for solar panels if you already have them except in a few limited circumstances. https://www.solar.vic.gov.au/ Heat pump water heaters use the same technology as reverse cycle air conditioners. This means that for some brands, noise can be an issue. Some are whisper quiet. Check the dB rating before purchase. Some are more efficient than others and some work better in cold climates (like Melbourne) than others. We are installing a Sanden brand heat pump in our build in the Macedon ranges, colder than Melbourne. There’s also a new mob using the same technology as the sanden but a Victorian built tank and some more useful technology not offered by the sanden. https://renew.org.au/renew-magazine/buyers-guides/hot-water-buyers-guide/ Note that this guide says they have a COP of up to 3. Some have a COP if up to 5, meaning they are even more efficient. I’m not sure about the pressure issue with hot water heat pumps though but as they use a storage tank I’d imagine it’s not an issue.