Wow, where has the time gone? following up to our post 18 months ago, a lot has changed since then... What's New? We relocated our entire factory to 34 Haydock Street Forresdale (30km south of Perth) Installed new Auto load/unload CNC to help with supply Installed new edge bander custom built from Austria We have orders being shipped interstate every 2 - 3 days We have orders sent to N.Z & Christmas Island Launched new showroom for Perth Customers 426 Scarborough Beach Road Osborne Park Prices online have either remained the same or even decreased Online Design software soon to be available online, stay tuned. Products & Service Over 110 cabinets to customize Over 200 different door colours and finishes from only the best brands Flat Packed or Pre-Assembled Custom made laminated benchtops Order Online or In-store Delivery all over Australia We are cabinets makers who have a passion software and website development, our first online ordering platform was launched back in 2006. Our business model is 'community focused' meaning the more people who use our system helps with our buying power and our costs come down, these savings are updated online for everyone to benefit. eKitchens (08) 9456 3108 sales@ekitchens.com.au www.ekitchens.com.au Check out our video

We also just started construction. So far, it's just been the fencing and site cut and fill. We were considering asking a friend who is a commercial builder to recommend someone who could conduct inspections at the following stages: Pre-slab (to ensure all the plumbing, etc is in the right spot), slab, frame, pre-plaster (to ensure that the plasterboard doesn't hide anything), lock-up and final. But, it will ultimately depend upon how expensive each of the individual inspections are. We'll also do our best to monitor the work, at least up until lock-up stage as we'll then be unable to enter the property. Here are some resources which I've found helpful: http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewforum.php?f=31 http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing-and-accommodation/building-and-renovating/checklists/during-construction http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing-and-accommodation/building-and-renovating/checklists/when-building-work-is-complete http://www.anewhouse.com.au/ http://www.anewhouse.com.au/tag/construction-stages/ http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2014/05/how-many-construction-inspections/ http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/11/using-a-building-inspector/ http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2014/01/using-your-own-building-inspector/ http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2013/12/building-certification-inspections/ http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/ http://www.inspectionangel.com.au/checklist http://www.abis.com.au/handover-checklist Good luck!

Hi there, having recently been through a similar decision process for our Reno I can really recommend ordering the Dulux A4 samples. They are made with the real paint on them so you can move them around from room to room to see exactly what it will look like without having a heap of swatches painted on the wall. They have a sticker backing but I used blu-tac so 8 could move them over and over. Good luck

Judging by the plan, the photos and your comments it appears that too much heat is coming in from high light glazing (clerestory windows) into the lounge and dining areas. Both rooms will be cold in winter because the direct heat from these windows is not enough and not absorbed in an thermal mass and they do not have ground level windows or glazed doors facing north. The elevated floor means that it is cold under the house so heating in winter goes down as well as up. The roof would lack adequate insulation due to the period in which the house was built. The roof tiles probably have another 15 years maybe a bit more so it is costly to insulate from the top (i.e. taking roof tiles off adding insulation then putting roof tiles back in again. The colour of them is contributing a lot to the heat. So what to do. - add external shading device to the highlight glazing, maybe timber battens 40 x 40 at 20mm spacings. This will block direct sunlight within the shading season. That helps to reduce heat intact and see how you go. If that does not work then - add a rigid foam core board to the underside of the timber ceiling, e.g. Foilboard which is 20mm thick r 2, then install a 12mm plywood ceiling lining under this. That way you retain the timber rafter ceilings but also one that has a light coloured (hoop pine ply) timber in between. (Note this is costly) - big gains in heat loss is achieved with underfloor insulation. Try r3 bulk squeezed tightly between the floor joists. Then you can plan for the future with the following - change glass in windows and glazed doors to a low e glass - install insulation into the cavity of the external walls using a company called envirowall. - replace roof tiles with a light coloured metal roof, replace the existing roof battens with a 100 x 40 batten so that you can install a 100mm thick anticon insulation. All of the above costs money and if you don't do it then it costs money to burn energy to keep the living rooms between 21 to 27 degrees year round (what we consider comfortable) so if it tough to decide what to do or not. As an alternative For about 40k you could spend 30 of it on solar cells, and an awesome battery (Tesla powerwall 2) and buy some wall mounted ac units. But that would be kicking the can down the road. But sometimes you have no choice. Good luck