Haephestus raises nearly every issue I would have commented on plus more. My immediate thoughts start in the kitchen as the number one spot. The deisgn here is OK but I feel the hotplate as the only break on a 5.5 metre long wall is going to look lost. You have the opportunity of putting the sink on the back wall as well as the h/plate, creating a clear island bench - perfect for food prep and breakfast bar/entertaining space. I personally would increase the width of the pantry at the expense of losing 300-400mm off the length of the kitchen. In other areas, your main powder room should not be the same space as your guest bathroom. You have enough room to make a wc and powder vanity area that is separate from the Guest bed ensuite. I equally question the shared bathroom upstairs. Two way bathrooms can be more hassle than helpful. If you are going to have a shared bathroom, you need the toilet to be outside of that room or you need an extra upstairs WC and powder vanity. Bed 4 ensuite is missing a toilet but will be difficult to fit in and still access the shower. The extra door between the WIR and the ensuite doesn't make sense to me and you should lose it. Also, beware of where some of you windows have been placed. Unless you have 3 metre plus ceiling heights in the upper storey, the window over the ensuite 1 vanity and the window in the bed 1 WIR will be problems for you. Good luck and maybe look for a dedicated cabinet designer to help show you the issues with your house design. We offer an interstate service over Skype if you want professional help. Tony

Cement render over the existing brickwork by the look of it? Re-render and get it levelled perhaps. Have a chat with tiler about it all; they may suggest sheeting over it with FC sheet or wet area plasterboard so its super straight and level then applying the waterproof membrane. Waterproofer will apply membrane over anything so start with tiler then ask waterproofer to confirm the process. Being a renovation there's many way's to skin this cat.

We have been building our house for over two years now. The supply chain downturn has made it a nightmare. We are camping on the mezzanine floor of our warehouse so it isn't costing us to wait, but if I had rented a property while building we would be in trouble now. I purchased most of our plumbing supplies early in the build so at least those items have not gone up in price, but many others have. We ordered and paid for a cantilever pool awning in February this year, and it was sent in three lots. The last delivery was two weeks ago. I suspect the company was having a hard time getting it out of China, so not their fault. We had quotes for fly screens/security screens that totalled over $25,000. We had to forgo the security screens in favour of fly screens for most of the house. We had a quote for a large aluminium mesh panel to place on the front left corner of the house which was over $25,000 also. The fencing company got an order wrong and we ended up with the wrong colour louvre panels on the front driveway sliding gates, plus the wrong colour for a fence. We have managed to turn it into a positive by keeping the wrong coloured louvre blades, and they will now be put up vertically on the front corner of the house, instead of the aluminium mesh. They are six metres long, but the house is two stories, so all good. We had to keep the gate panels the same, so the wrong colour will have to be exchanged for the right colour. People are still building houses here, and some of them are going up very fast, so I don't understand why ours has taken so long. We have purchased most of the goods locally, but I suppose the suppliers are having trouble getting them from overseas. I am at the point where I am losing interest in this house, which is a shame because it will be a beautiful house when finished.

@oklouise thanks. We had engaged a private building inspector and it was via his inspection report that we got to know about this. What's surprising is that we've already been sent the certificate of occupancy, as this was organised by the builders surveyors. The builder now is saying that he will provide waterproofing done (paint). Highly doubt that it would do the job. I don't want to take possession if there are going to be potential water damage issues in future. What should we done in this scenario. Should I be knocking VBA doors? Is this even compliant? Can the local council help out?....