Hi Our company ‘Australian Sun Energy’ and ‘Warmboard Australia’ offers a full service for hydronic heating buyers including design, heat load requirements, heating systems and installation by our hydronic installers. There are many types of hydronic systems available, the 2 most common are in-slab and in-screed, in-slab heating the Pex piping is installed at the bottom of the concrete and attached to the reo mesh at 200mm centres, this system uses the concrete floor as a heat mass to retain heat for a longer period of time, pluses for this system are, once heated it only requires the boiler the add a small load to keep it at temperature, minus is that it takes a long time to heat up to temperature 5 days in some cases and can be an issues in Australia because we have such variable weather even in winter heating the house even on a warm days requiring the windows to be opened. In-screed the Pex piping is installed on top of the slab at 150mm centres then a screed of approximately 65mm is placed on top, this gives a faster heat up time but less mass to store the heat, minus is it’s more expensive to install due to 2 concrete pours. If your wanting polished concrete floors either of these systems will be suitable. Hydronic radiators and low to the floor wall systems heat the air space not the floor, as the heat rises from these units it heat the room from the top down meaning you can have a hot head but cold feet when it should be the other way round, pluses are usually a lower supply and install cost, minus are higher energy costs to run due to high water temperature and other factors. All gas boilers and heat pump heating systems specifically designed for hydronic heating are modulation systems meaning they adjust themselves down from peak load demand for example, 32kw to down to a low 3kw if this is all the heat required to keep the system at a stable heat. For more advice call Peter 1300 137 407

HI All....read everything and to me it would appear the main cause is your slab, albeit issues around the slab. A trench is a start, with extra drainage (black round pipe with heaps of holes in it, and loads of scoria). My opinion is that the actual ground is damp and unfortunately concrete is porous, so as long as there's heaps of water around that cannot drain away, the concrete will slurp it up. (I'm no drainage expert) As far as your gib goes, I don't think you have any option but to replace it (then insulate wall by wall as you go.) Here in NZ, I previously worked for a company that did leaky building repairs, and honestly, that black mould is a very real danger to the family's health, so it's got to go. Like others have said, you may get rid of it visually for a period of time, but once you rip the gib off, you may come across other issues. I'd also invest in a dehumdifier and keep that cranked to start getting moisture out of the air, or other options as others have mentioned. Sorry Cathy, ain't no easy fix there..................... Is it possible to have a look into council records to see what the land back in the day was actually used for? That may give you an insight into what the problem could be.

thanks, below is the bin cabin i am looking to get its 450mm https://www.arova.com.au/collections/side-mount/products/soft-close-70l-pull-out-waste-bin-for-450mm-cainet-white the reason i put 1440 wide is that the maximum wide benchtops comes in, since it needs a joint due to the column i can cut the 3000mm stone cut in the middle and make 1500 wide of more, no problems. moving the door involved too much work like cutting bricks, door frame etc. Agree the 600mm is too deep for top cabinets, i am thinking of doing 600mm drawers with a bench then like 300-400 gap, and top cabintes at 450 or 300mm deep.

How much is a "moderate" budget? Moderate means different things to different people depending if they are involved in the renovation industry or outside. With your concrete slab and solid brick walls I would anticipate a moderate spend would be in the range of $15K to $20K. "Floating" cabinetwork and a wall-mounted toilet pan will push this over your $20k due to installation. Under $15K you are probably not spending enough. Always pay for quality tapware sanitaryware and fittings when doing a bathroom renovation as the labour is so expensive to replace them if they are cheaply made, they fail and need to be replaced. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits