Thanks everyone for your further comments. No problem about it being an old post, always nice to communicate with people about design solutions/problems. Jilly, I posted some photos on 1st January 2016, they appear further up in the post. Garden Beet Pty Ltd, and Morel Construction Ltd, both of your solutions look great, but our problem still remains the western Queensland sun which is pretty vicious on anything that will either wilt, fade or break down. It was quite a difficult challenge to come up with something that was affordable, workable and durable. I would love to have had plants because I believe they soften large "hard" exterior areas, but we have decided that we will do that with pots around the pool area. Still have that to do, even after all this time. :) Thanks everyone for re-igniting this chat. Jilly, hope you find something that works for you.

Hi Eric, Great question, that applies to so many people in similar situations ! Typical house alterations & additions scenario with limited budget... What I recommend to my clients in those cases is usually a fixed price lump sum contract to start off with. The way that works best is that we prepare a really good and detailed set of drawings for them, and we try and foresee as many of the potential issues as we can, then we get prices from builders and lock a price in for that scope of work. That's part 1, which gives you a good level of price security. In addition, you then need a considerable contingency sum for the unknowns. Whenever one of those comes up, the builder will price them as 'variations' to the original contract, and we would check and approve (or don't approve them) for our clients. So this is the second part, which pretty much works like a cost-plus. That way you get the best of both worlds. A pure cost-plus I would only ever recommend with a builder that you know and trust really well, and if you are under time pressure. Otherwise most clients would be generally much better off following our usual recommendations as described above... Good luck with it all ! Best Marc

Well, it's Abscos skillion roof carport that's very strong, more than the gable one last time I checked. Gable roof carports can also cut out sunlight to house windows, while skillion leaves some light at top . You'd still need a shed for storage. Garages are obviously more secure for the car. Re a large shed/garage, you can get extra windows and skylights in many, also roll insulation and cyclone bracket kits. Some have extra height, if you have a boat, or are tall. you pay extra for colorbond. If its visible from the street, or from entertaining rooms, that's worth it. They have regular sales. one person needs a helper at certain stages. A mate of ours dislocated his shoulder while carrying a large sheet of steel, for a large commercial shed, when a gust of wind caught it. solar garage lights are available in hardware stores, you'd need a few for a garage, or wire the shed to house. Hardware stores also have storage systems for common shed/garage items, to click and store on the metal walls. My first hubby used to say, every man needs a shed, with a couple of old bucket seats from a Datsun in it...

Hi there Michelle, Have you thought about using artificial Vertical Gardens/Hedges on the fence? It's crazy how like-like it looks and it is all UV protected to ensure longevity. We are located in VIC (ship across Aus) and using our product by the pool wont affect it at all! There's so many designs to choose from and it is extremely easy to install. If you are still not sure get in touch with us today and we can send you up some samples to show you just how good the product is! Below are some photos of previous jobs we have done to give you an idea - many more on our Houzz Profile! Cheers, Aidan Designer Plants Australia