I'm amazed that this discussion has carried forward for nearly two years! In that time I have moved to another coastal area (cooler climate and better proximity to children) and this time found most of the discussion still rings true. Finding another home here was an incredibly frustrating journey made all the worse by a mad investor rush in the area just when we arrived to start our home search. That search took the best part of six months and in the end there would only be three or four houses to choose from in any week. Result? A rushed purchase, a desperately inadequate building inspection and failure on my part to notice poor bathroom tiling, shortage of closet and storage pace, just how small the lounge room really was, and etc. I disappointed myself because I had let the pressures beat me and now we are trying to resolve all of these issues in a home designed and built by one of this states most respected project home builders 25 years ago. Having now studied the floor plan with more care I realise it was put together (designed) in modular fashion - most bedrooms have similar dimensions and the living areas are all approximately the same size as if the designer simply juggled three boxes of one size and four of another size and then worked out traffic flow. Then he must have thrown them all in the air to see how they would land and that was design number two! And etc and so on. This house aside, we looked at a great many during the six months because we had to broaden our search above and below budget trying to find something. There were massive termite problems, leaky roofs, asbestos galore, gazzumping at every turn, almost all but the most expensive properties suffered at least one substantial fail for the most basic of needs and to top it off the best home in our price range just happened to be built on flood prone land - approved by council who put the flood signs up less than five years earlier. We live and learn. Then there were the real estate agents, but that would take another two years and I doubt the internet has enough free page space available!!! OK, I hear you, they're not ALL bad...

the black marble with white stone veins through it. the picture you uploaded seems to have a name of milky way on it.

Find your basin first, and then calculate the height based on the height of the people in your house. (excluding the kids, they will grow). Rule of thumb is convenience of use and ability to look in the mirror without tiptoeing or bending down. Top of basin is usually 90cm (approx) for a above bench vanity, the table needs to be lowered. for a flush mount / undermount, then the bench will be at 90cm. My daughter is 150cm now, and 90cm benchtop works ok for her.

kilaclarke, you're right. Trust is essential. We trusted the builder we engaged. I thought we had achieved open and honest communication. That was until he lied about getting an engineering assessment done for the beam needed to replace a load bearing wall; and he kept on lying. His rough guess was found to be grossly under-dimensioned and not even braced properly to the existing structure (was it John, Z?). We became suspicious about the beam because he delivered workmanship like the botched door frame in the pics below. Trust quickly evaporated. I'm sure he now tells people what awful clients we were. It's not always the client. The photos are evidence of what was awful. We sought to protect other families from this cowboy shattering their hopes, dreams and finances. The Master Builders Assoc didn't want to know about it. Neither did Consumer Affairs. Perhaps, if the building industry sought to clean up and eradicate all the shonkies within their ranks, they'd have a better reputation and customers could have a heightened level of trust. New fad: Let sunlight in through your door frames & go nuts with the nail gun. A new approach to mitre joints: they don't join! New fad: Leave 2 to 7mm gaps around the frame. New fad: Rough and raw with semi-hidden light switches. People do not trust builders when they can see that a grade 7 student could achieve a better result in their very first woodwork lesson. This guy should not hold a builders license. How many others are there like him? The industry needs a clean up.