It's always heartening to hear stories of people achieving successful and great value outcomes. My comment above was however not for standardised design or DIY scenarios, rather responding to an urban scenario with split level. The work we do is by nature customised and we deal with this sort of thing regularly & yes it (usually) involves a lot of money..as a flagfall and the sky's the limit. It's not however necessarily about bells and whistles and being fancy for the sake of it either. Rather it's about quality and long term value. You can spend a lot of money that lasts a long time which ends up being a more cost effective option than spending half as much but not lasting nearly as long. It's all relative and it depends of course also on land value, what is being proposed and the capacity for a proposed project to be financed. It's always a balance across a number of factors. We can rarely pin down a specific number either. It depends on specification and the design detailing. DIY construction is a completely different kettle of fish to a contracted build, as is a more simple, standardised design & construction/ specification to a more complex and customised multi/split level scenario with intricate/unique detailing...as is also rural scenarios to tighter inner urban situations. It really is a case of how long is a piece of string and it will range dramatically depending on how you are going about it. I had a client once who similarly was a DIY Owner builder with a trade background who did most of the work themselves. They similarly achieved the construction for a dollar amount far less that what it would have otherwise cost in a commercial contract. The design was also for mirror imaged connected townhouses so there was an economy of scale there as well, as well as being a compact and efficient design with certain details standardised to make the construction more efficient and materials relatively minimised with essentially 2 houses fitting within the size of a standard house, so they got 2 for the price of 1 essentially (good result!). BUT when you factor the practical hours "donated" or performed on the project for "free", including every hour of labour, construction management etc, supply and handling etc and apply a reasonable dollar value to it, as well as GST and builder's margin (or a construction management %) on top of the total, it's pretty much a resulting cost in the ballpark of what I was indicating.

Hello Joseph To satisfy most issues for sound transmission in apartments we usually use the Regupol E48 8mm Impact acoustic underlay. It complies with the NCC and exceeds most strata requirements. If you search for this product you can obtain from Regupol their product information sheet. You can speak to them on (02) 9820 1233 (Minto). They will be able to provide their test results and certification of their product for you depending on the installation. They will also be able to direct you to acoustic engineers familiar with this kind of query. Regarding an onsite test, there are a lot of variables that affect the sound result. For example, thickness of slab, whether there is plaster or a suspended ceiling (changes the result), insulation etc. It would help you to find this out as the test results hinge heavily on this, and the acoustic product tests by manufacturers have different products for different scenarios. Regarding your installer, there are a couple of things that will make or break the result. In order for any acoustic membrane to work, the flooring must be completely isolated from the walls and floor. That means a gap all round for expansion must be maintained and then covered with skirting up off the floor. We install skirting with a spacer between the floor and bottom of the skirt using some discontinued laminex samples as a minimum 2mm clearance is required. Again, the Regupol info sheet shows a diagram of this. Cheers

My victorian cottage has had its hard wood floor boards covered in 80s carpet. I’d like to remove the carpet, sand and paint the floors white to lighten up some of the rooms. Has anyone done this? How much did it cost per room and how long should the paint last before repainting. Thanks

I have a magnesium pool and magnesium is way more expensive than salt. Having said that the maintenance is easier and not as onerous. Added to the cost of pool upkeep are the health benefits and the fact I don’t have to pay for visits to recovery centres or extra massages. It’s also the best way to wind down and get a good nights sleep.