Cracks in brand new walls. What might be the cause? is it serious?
Claudia Mattioli
6 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (52)
houssaon
6 years agoSJ McCarthy
6 years agoRelated Discussions
What colour should I paint my exterior?
Comments (118)Thanks Anne and I will look at pale grey given the maintenance considerations. I have already paid for a colour consultant who was great but the Reckless grey she suggested for the house render and basalt gutters/fascia and front wall were too grey when we had the render samples put on and while it had a modern look, it was not giving the beach/coastal feel. I will head back into our inspirations paint store this morning to see if I can find the warm grey colours that have the most similar colour make up to Dune, and go from there. Anne you don't happen to know the dulux colour most close in composition to Colorbond Dune so I know where to start? Thanks again and I would love to hear from anyone who has got a dune roof and hear if they tried light coloured gutters and what render colours they have used on their walls....See MoreCladding non-mortared/drystack retaining wall?
Comments (27)Hi all, Sorry for the slow replies and thanks for the input so far. From what I've read online a re-inforced besser block wall should be about $600 p/sqm including footings in Sydney (Hornsby shire council area). Given the wall is 1m x 10m it should be let's say $7k including design and DA or am I way off? I'd also need to dispose of the current wall + footings but I could probably give the blocks away. The paved area is about 40sqm. Would it be safe to assume $200 p/sqm for concrete base, paver supply (travertine) and install (coping and surrounds)? So the wall and and paving would cost let's say $16k + fencing + cladding. This isn't too bad considering how much better it would look and the value it would add to the house. I like the flexibility the besser would give - render, cladding etc are all options. I'm not sure how bad it is structurally it just has a couple of spots where I can see the blocks have pulled apart over time. Below are some pictures of the bad spots. Also looking at the Amber website it says the maximum courses is maximum non reinforced wall height of 972mm (6 courses). It looks like my wall is actually 7 courses un-reinforced. The wall and pool was built back in 2003. I definitely think planting in front of the wall would help, as would removing the lights but I'm in two minds about whether to bite the bullet and do it properly or just hide it....See MoreHeating off-grid new-build: woodfired cooker & hydronic slab heating?
Comments (14)- Any wood fired heating we have would be purely run with wood from our farm, as opposed to buying anthracite. We would really like to have woodfire doing at least two jobs, i.e. cooking and heating/heating and hot water/cooking and hot water (as we are under the impression that solar hot water would not be enough in winter??). There's nothing like lighting a woodfire to keep your house warm, except for the great big hole in the insulation that it causes. As beautiful as they are (and I'm a massive fan of open/wood fires), they are pretty bad when it comes to ceiling penetrations. A lot of insulation is lost by having an open fire, a wood heater not so much, but still bad enough. For heating, the best advice I can give is this. You need a battery storage system! Then whatever type of heating you go for, you won't run out of energy for your cooking, cooling or anything else you won't to run at the same time. I believe this is a necessity, not to mention a very smart investment. If you want to be off grid, then be completely off grid. I personally don't believe in still being connected to the grid and having the energy your home creates, sold back to you for an absolute pittance. If you invest in a good battery set up, it'll last you up to 15 years and you'll have never have to worry about heating or cooling. I visited a house about 12 months ago that was off grid for power. They purchased an induction cooktop and electric oven, that way the idn't have to worry about refilling gas bottles or having a gas bill come in either. They didn't have the smartest idea when it came to lights as they were still using halogen's, but even still, their battery system never went under 80%. Even during winter, with two teenagers, and a couple of plasma tv's, playstations and all other sorts of electrical goods that they used. They were never too careful so as to make sure they had power in reserve. They just lived life and if they needed to make adjustments, then they could've done. But they didn't need to. That was all done with a 5.5Kw/H system. You'd be surprised how well solar hot water works. It just depends on the type of system you get. Again with battery backup, you won't need to worry. - We are planning to insulate the slab, but have not gotten as far as deciding what product we would use, are there several different products like the one you described? We do plan to have polished concrete flooring throughout the entire house – with the possible exception of bedrooms on the south, if absolutely necessary they will have carpet. I know it's probably more expensive, but I would recommend the Kingspan K3 Floorboards. It is a brilliant product and I recommend it to be used in all my jobs. The effect it has on an energy rating is massive. Depending on the layout and orientation of the house, just by adding slab insulation, I have noticed an increase of almost a full star difference in the rating. So that's from 6 star compliance, to 7 star above average. Here is the product site: https://www.kingspan.com/au/en-au/products-brands/insulation/insulation-boards/kooltherm-k3-floorboard - We will also be aiming to have the optimal amount of glazing for solar gain (and prevention of heat loss). I still haven’t worked out why I can’t upload a picture of our plans, but will do ASAP as we would love to hear feedback on our plan. As for the layout, you just need be mindful of window sizes and orientation. If you have the time before you build to play around with a few different variations of your plans, it might be a good idea, as just by changing a couple of small things, it can give you large benefits. One of the main focuses I have with my business is to help people such as yourself utilise the energy rating software to make small changes at the design stage, instead of just using such a powerful tool at the building permit stage. By then it's too late to make any significant changes. Just keep that in mind. It's a small price to pay to know that your house is going to be as energy efficient as it can be. If you want to, feel free to email me the plans and I can give them a quick look for you. Just to give you some quick advice on them. Giuliano green design & consulting...See MoreWhat do you think of this floor plan for a new build?
Comments (103)When I first wrote in August 2017 we got a lot of great suggestions and comments. At the time we had accepted the limitations of the block (easements, tree, solar access etc). It is now one year later and I can tell you we found a way to move the garage to the south-west corner. This allowed us to move Beds 2 and 3 and the bathroom to the northern side. Pantry and laundry between garage and kitchen/living/dining. I think it was all of the comments and suggestions that encouraged us to look at it again from different angles, rather than just accepting the limitations. Thanks to everyone for their generosity! The solution involved working around a lovely tree (it is nice, just in the wrong spot). It is still in the way (council said we couldn't remove it) but we've opted for a long, curving driveway that starts on the other side of the block and weaves its way around the treeline to the garage entry. Not ideal, because a large portion of the front setback will now be a hard surface, instead of a garden. But if there is one thing that designing teaches you - its all about compromises. Thanks everyone. MB Design & Drafting Shara C Nik Star girlguides oklouise siriuskey genkii saragraham76 Andy Pat brizcs Mel N 3D Home Concepts suancol Caro...See Morehomechef59
6 years agoKendrah
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoDa Vinci Remodeling, LLC
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli thanked miss lindsey (She/Her)miss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agomiss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agodyliane
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agoClaudia Mattioli
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
Sponsored
worthy