Your tile will co-ordinate beautifully with the timber if you can pick one of the darker colours out of the timber and select a tile in this family of colour. The trick to making a colour concept work is to either co-ordinate or contrast. If your timber is as busy with grain and colour as the image you've shown, then maybe co-coordinating is the best way to go. Never chose materials independently of each other - always take a tile sample home to see in the natural light, next to the timber. I hope it all works out the way you envisage it. Cheers, Michelle

You should ask your builder why he is reluctant about 3 metres ceiling heights on the upper level. It is more work for him, so he should quote appropriately, and be paid for the extra height, the extra materials, the extra scaffolding etc. If you are building as an investment you need to understand your market. Will people pay extra for the extra high ceilings so it is profitable for you? In some really expensive areas homes with ceilings less than 3metres are looked down on by the buying public. In poorer areas people are more interested in square metres of floor area than ceiling height so you would lose money by putting in 3m ceilings to both floors. When building townhouses you need to think with your head, and not with your heart. Everybody loves high ceilings, but make sure that you increase the door and window heights proportionally. Standard height doors look funny with 3m high ceilings. This is one of the reasons why 3 metre high ceilings do cost so much more as you need everything taller, including window furnishings for it to look right. If you are building townhouses for future rental you will need to outweigh the additional cost of the extra height with the small increase in rent that could be achieved. While you say the height limit is 11 metres, it probably isn't 11 metres when it is close to the side boundary. Many townhouses are built close to the side boundary so you should check with your council about the side setback requirements. Usually the taller the building the further it has to be from the side boundary. Best of luck Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visits

electric underfloor heating is great for bathrooms (and laundry, mudrooms, entry and hallways when it needs to be left on for weeks at a time and not much good for a ten minute shower) and is preferable to anything visible like hydronic heaters that take up wall space but your voids will suck most of the heat upstairs ..our reverse cycle AC has been much more economical to run than the whole floor electric slab heating that we had in our previous house (supplemented with a wood burner and gas log fire in our cold climate) but we made sure that the void over the stairs was able to be blocked off to zone heat downstairs with separate heating upstairs but having lived in different areas of Sydney i'm wondering why a new built well designed house with great insulation would need more than modest supplementary heating that can be more economically provided with AC

Timber flooring is always one of the most popular types of flooring choices for households in Canberra. This is because it gives a warm feel to the house as well as having many other advantages. Many types of timber floors are durable and low-maintenance. However, cleaning and maintenance are still required if you want your flooring to keep their look for long time. This article will show you how to maintain timber flooring, making it look even better as time goes by. LAMINATE FLOORING First of all, a regular sweeping can always help you keep the floor clean. You can use an electrostatic broom, soft-bristled broom or wood floor mop. And sweeping in the direction in which the boards were installed would also help a lot, because this allows you to pick up any debris that may hide in between the grooves of the laminated flooring boards. Other than that, you can as well use a non-abrasive soft bristled vacuum head. Regular cleaning takes away the dust and debris, so when people walks on it, it would be less possible to create scratches. Liquid may harm the flooring. It just happens as we use the floors on daily basis. It wouldn’t be a big deal if you wipe the spills and dirts quickly. If not, they may damage your floors and cause stains. You can use dry cloth or mop to soak up the excess liquids, and then use a clean and wet one to remove any remains. After that, you can leave the surface dry itself or use a dry cloth. Please do not use traditional household cleaning solutions as they are likely to damage the coating of the floor. If necessary, use a pH-neutral cleaning solution. You can buy suitable cleaning solutions from a number of reputable flooring retailers and don’t forget to read the instructions carefully before using them. Use a rug or mat in high traffic areas. For example, entrances and spots near doorway. You can also stick soft pads to the base of furnishings in contact with the floor. This also aims to prevent scratches to the coating. If you have pets in the house, it is also a good ida to keep pets claws properly trimmed. ENGINEERED TIMBER FLOORING Use an anti-static or micro-fibre mop to clean your flooring at least once a week. Therefore you can keep away any gathered dust or dirt. emove any spills immediately so they won’t soak into the board and cause stains. Try not to use mops that are too wet. Only dampen the mop a little or use specialised flooring clean solutions. The less dirt you bring back home, the easier maintenance will be. So do place a rug and use doormats at the entrance to keep away most of the dust. Equip all your furniture with floor protectors such as felt pads on their bases, so they wouldn’t scratch or dent your floor. If the room is for office use, then your office chair also needs plastic pads or a mat set underneath the wheels so protect your flooring boards. https://flooring2you.com.au/how-to-clean-and-maintain-your-timber-floor/