Breaking up the great solid block of colour a little bit helps to hide it. Next is the choice of what to plant. I'm leaning towards: ficus pumila, climbing fig, which can be pruned to hug the fence tightly, Himalyan blue bamboo, (but might sprout on other side of fence as well, so should have a 60cm deep root guard or be planted in pots) or waterhousia floribunda, weeping lilypilly, which can be pruned to a narrow, non-climbable hedge but 30cm might be about as narrow as possible. I'm just a bit scared the bamboo will move into the neighbours yard too...You also have to be careful to not plant anything with massive roots that could eventually crack your pool, and it has to be tough enough to cope with a bit of chlorine... Then, put in a dip line so you don't have to water such a narrow spot. Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

also love the existing railing and have seen steel mesh panels attached to the inside of a open steel railing and wonder if something similar would look good and satisfy safety regulations ...the mesh panel was flat dark grey sheet steel with holes punched in it and from a distance (with the white fence in front) looks like dark shadow and up close like very thick solid fly screen...an extra horizontal top rail would add more height if necessary and the result would create more shelter and privacy from the street.... otherwise a new steel fence with square steel pickets and top and bottom rails and make sure the old railing is offered for re-use or recycled

Are you sure the roof is stainless steel?? That is VERY expensive and only used in very exposed corrosive coastal locations since it lasts forever. I think it might be Zincalume, a low cost but very durable and very common roofing material that has a light silvery surface and should last for 50 years. Definitely do NOT paint the roof black (or any dark colour), it would add more than 10° to the internal heat load, and you would have to spend so much more on insulation and on-going AC costs just to get back to where you are now. Have the roof checked and repaired by a roof plumber instead. If it's an old leaky galvanised iron roof at the end of it's days, replace it with zincalume. The porch roof looks like it needs replacing, but I would replace it with new roofing, possibly the insulated sandwich panel kind, that has a smooth white underside, then add a gutter to the front edge so you don't make your visitors walk under a waterfall in the rain. The canvas awning suggested earlier would not last as long without looking tired and would require the removal of existing roof structure, so I think it would be the more costly option (and you would still have the waterfall problem). I would leave the front fence as is, it ties in nicely with the house, but trim the tree. The back deck could easily be roofed to match the front, and be more useful to tenants with weather protection. It would be good to make all trim colours the same, and against the cream brick I think the dark grey you have on the front door and columns works quite well. I would make the other windows and trim, as well as the weatherboards over the back door match that if it just involves painting. However, it's not essential and if it means changing powdercoat finishes it would be too costly to be worthwhile in a rental.

HI All - for some reason my lengthy reply a few minutes ago was deleted :-(. I put so much thought into it! So here it goes again. Basically a big thank you to you Houzzers. MB your subfloor ventilation sounds great and Im glad it's fixing the problem so simply. The reason why Im trying for a whirligig solution is that I favour a passive system, however if it doesn't work I'll look into what you suggest Siriuskey - yes to some kind of kit. I've already contacted a guy on Gumtree selling grannykit frames - he says for something to my specifications would be about $4000 for the steel frame alone. Would need to check engineering details - and the liveable sheds you've linked me to seem to have that all checked. Although getting a local Chippie to frame it all up on site - as Twos Co suggests - is probably the most economical option Two's Co - thanks for the feedback and the excellent checklist of processes. I've covered most of the concerns though - I've got the DA based on my own flimsy plans. Because it's relatively small, I was going to work with the builder directly and over-engineer it. I've since engaged an architect to do some handsketches and draft specs, which will be signed off by a structural engineer. It's basically a portal frame independent structure, with a 3 degree pitch skillion roof. The house was rewired and the wires you can see are non-live looms waiting for the extension! The sewer is not connected and that part was never plumbed in. There's good rear lane access, but for the purposes of getting concrete in, I'll most likely get a concrete pump from the front of the house - for $180 per hour they will save time and make the concreting much easier. The existing trench I got dug in because I had an excavator on site installing those lovely large concrete blocks you can see, for the retaining wall (500kg each). But that was 7 weeks ago, and the excavation has got too large, and I worked out for a very similar cost I can make the extension 1m wider, so why not. The existing trench I can fill in with the demolition rubble, compact, and filled with any fill waste. Two's Company, I'm on the fence about removing the existing Bedroom 3. If I thought it wouldn't add to the costs too much, I'd do it. One advantage is that I could then make the whole 9m long extension (Option 2) around 150 - 300mm higher, (ie a step up from the existing house) and thus avoid too much excavation and a potential pond. To answer your question about damp and moisture, the whole house is facing a hill with 7 degree slope, and fixing this has been the main aim of the retaining wall, however the runoff is only likely to increase in coming years. anyway here are a few photos. The site is still so messy because the demolition only happened 2 days ago - Im still tidying up....