Since this thread started I've moved house and renovated two more bathrooms and this "step" issue is definitely becoming a headache. You know, we are such slavish followers of trends, I just have to wonder at times how much we are becoming victims of them too. When I built my first house over 50 years ago, most homes were built on piers with timber flooring and concrete was only used in bathrooms and laundries, but the levels were adjusted so when tiles were laid in wet areas the transition was minimal. Floor tiles were also thinner than today's tiles, in most cases they were smaller tiles too and not these great slabs we use today that obviously need to be thicker for strength. Now we are building more slab on ground homes, no provision is being made for the thickness of floor tiles to ensure a more seamless transition between areas. My front entrance is tiled and has a 2cm "step" down to the lounge and family room areas and even that 2cm I find people constantly tripping over. I plan on removing these tiles and replacing the whole entry/kitchen/family area with vinyl planking. Carpet in the lounge room helps offset that step a little but I was told recently by people who have addressed this issue this way that putting an extra layer of underfelt within the doorway area works very well to help offset this problem. When I renovated the ensuite I now have this step issue but the tiles had been glued down with an unknown product of super strength that gave my bathroom guy a lot of grief trying to jackhammer up - took him 2 days to remove them and screed the floor to his standard - and he decided he could not do the main bathroom in a realistic time frame to meet the price he quoted me, he felt he could not even guarantee the standard of work he wanted to achieve so his suggestion was to tile over the existing tiles and when he got to the doorway he would add an extra part tile sloping to down to the floor level similar to what pucciplan described with his timber. He assured me he had done it with many other renovations, it was barely noticeable and would solve the issue much easier and cheaper for me and far less time consuming. In the meantime as I have carpet in the hallway we heard of the idea of using an extra layer of underlay and I've chosen this option. My laundry is right opposite the bathroom and those tiles will be replaced too. On close inspection of the original construction, we discovered no waste drain was put into the laundry, the tiles were drained towards the external door, which is apparantly acceptable .............EXCEPT, they then put a dam across the floor inside the doorway to stop rainwater coming in under the external door!!!! Now the laundry tiles will be laid over the top of the existing ones as well to allow for any possible accident needing drainage. Fortunately I've had no weather issues but we will put a rubber flap at the base of the door, just in case, and I will again do the extra layer of underlay under the carpet and hopefully will achieve a satisfactory result. At least the two doorways will match. Quite frankly though, I'm finding so many design issues these days, I really think the whole home building industry needs a thorough overhaul. I think as I age too, so many more issues are coming to light BUT they are obviously issues that could affect anyone of any age. I think we need to forget "trends" that don't consider the big picture of things and come back down to basic commonsense. HU - I'm really at a loss as to how your builder managed to get a 6.5cm step to the bathroom, that is absolutely ridiculous. The only thing I can think of is there may have been a slope issue for drainage, but surely it could still not have been that much, anything that much out should have been picked up when the building was inspected during construction. "Normal" is a good excuse for laziness or shoddy workmanship. I think from reading your posts, you are in an apartment?? You would then have slab floors?? Therefore I can't see the need for the step to be above 2cm. Definitely take this further - Fair Trading should be able to help you, the standard heights for steps varies according to location and use - it is a bit of a minefield to work out. Good luck. Amanda - how did all your renos go in the end? Sounds like you are still sane. :)

I'm also considering the Korlock by Karndean for our extension (open plan kitchen/living and dining). The open plan area is north facing with plenty of sun exposure and I am also concerned about the discolouration over time. We also have a pet and young children is on the outlook, so would be interested on any feedback around durability and whether it's as 'waterproof' as all the sales people say. If it helps, I'm located in a suburb of Melbourne.

if i've understood correctly there's a driveway on the eastern side of the house? so my first suggestions is to make the deck as close to the boundary as allowed (hopefully about 1-5m from the fence will leave at least 4 m with stairs moved to the outside edge and create a drive through carport with potential access into the garage downstairs and a good sized deck space upstairs... i wouldn't change any of the sliding doors or windows and concentrate on making the best deck for the outside living area and use old dining room as a small TV room, old living as dining area (an extendable table can move indoors or out for big crowds) a generous new kitchen with island and open up the space between old living and kitchen without removing the whole wall

my sister had to originally put her washer dryer at one end of the kitchen, european style. She actually found it way more convenient, and so when she got to upgrade and do over the kitchen, one end of the galley became the butlers pantry with washer and dryer in there as well. maybe it could work, but given all the advice above, I think avoiding moving walls is going to be important. Gosh, hopefully everyone's advice helps! Don't worry and take your time, I have been in my old house a year and I think i came up with 4 different floor plans before i realised what I needed to do. keep thinking it over and one day it will just hit you what needs to be done.