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I've had screws break off when screwing into old seasoned hardwood (my house frame & trim). That's using a cordless drill and holes sized according to Sutton drill-bit/screw-size gauge. Perhaps an...

I have a Makita BHP453 which I bought in Mar 09 for about $450. Prices seem to have dropped quite a bit. At the time, I didn't see the kit with non-hammer drill and impact driver for a similar...

A big kitchen dresser that I've been making for ages. I think this was the first cabinet I started to make. I then got side tracked and it sat unfinished (unpainted and with no feet) in the room I...

There's no point in trying to unlock the Samsung as the Telstra model will only work on Telstra Next G.

Telstra Next G operates on 850 MHz only, while Optus (like the other 3G networks) is on 2100...

http://www.lasoo.com.au says the Samsung A411 is on sale at $69 at Australia Post. It used to be $99.

I believe the Samsung A411 is Blue-tick approved which means it is recommended for country...

I considered getting one of these modems but instead I bought a new phone which can be used as a modem, the Sony Ericsson z750i. It is $199 prepaid on Telstra (and occassionally it is on special at...

I've done 4 more windows now - all with Wattyl KillRust then White Knight Rust Guard on top (to get a flat white finish). Not a great fan of White Knight paints but theirs is the only flat white...

I have had best results on doors with Dulux Aquanamel semigloss and a large paint pad (approx 20cm wide). It goes on very evenly with a pad.

Vacuum the pad before use to remove stray fibres. ...

We've got Lockwood 001 deadlatches (the ones that automatically undeadlock when you come home).

We usually enter the house from back door so the 001 deadlatches stay locked. If you want to...

noideamad, you ought to read this thread
https://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=20083
particularly the part about Noel Arnold and Associates who will do free testing (subject to conditions).

Thanks for the replies. I have removed excess paint and put a top coat of turps based enamel and it is much better.

I have painted some steel windows before with acrylic and not had a problem - I...

I am in the process of painting casement steel windows (opening outward). These have an overlap where there is a problem with paint sticking. They also have a some spots of rust, necessitating rust...

There was a thread about this a while ago
https://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=47820

I've been doing a few more of these recently and I've worked out a few more wrinkles.

If you just...

One tip is that you should sand with one of those sanding floats that they sell with the plaster supplies. The sanding sheets that look like flyscreen are good as they don't clog and last a long...

See this thread
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=42365

Why don't you click the contact us link on that page and ring them up?
The manufacturers help lines that I have called have been very good.

I think you will find it all here
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/planningschemes/melbourne/home.html
(click on the map image on the left and you can look up any address)
and/or ask the council or look...

I remember seeing an apartment building in Sydney's eastern suburbs on the TV news. It was made of rendered foam and was being picked to pieces by cockatoos.

This mob...

They're not called sails for nothing. If there is a gap between your sail and your roof, you'd need something pretty substantial to anchor them the sail to, otherwise strong wind gusts could pull...

I think it is pretty well summarised on wers.net and on http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/fs18e.htm

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A combined washer/dryer will have an even longer cycle time than a separate washer and dryer, since you can't start the next washing load until the drying is done. In any case, some front loaders...

They look like tongue and groove boards. Weatherboards normally overlap or shiplap so that one board is laid on top of the adjacent board, not inserted into it.

Selleys has a flexible filler "No...

If it is still waterproof, you could fill the holes with suitable filler (grout or two part filler?) and cover with Laminex wet area panelling or similar product from another manufacturer.

IIRC...

Get a large (cheap) artists canvas from an art shop or somewhere like Spotlight or The Reject Shop. Cheap ones can be had quite large - I saw some largish ones for $20 at the local art shop the...

Have a look at http://603010.com.au
They have some colour schemes and you can have a look at them applied to their sample rooms.

Wattyl and Dulux have interactive paint planning thingies on their...

This might help size the timber
http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm

They've got a website at
http://www.foamedinsulations.com.au/

We have a show over the bath and I've just measured it at 730 wide (so adding in the thickness of the tiles, it's probably 750 wide). I think it is fine. Our bathroom is 1850 x 2700 and the bath is...

Why not just replace the whole back panel with solid melamine-covered 18mm board?

You can also get melamine wrapped pine 42x19 e.g. http://www.armstrongs.com.au/ under other products / board...

I have seen some in passing at Gray's Auctions in Cheltenham (Melbourne) and some of them at had Chinese writing on the front edging of the cabinets (where you would expect ABS edging). So you open...

Most plumbing places aren't interested in helping you find a product unless you know exactly what it is.

This place says they have stainless braided hoses.
http://www.aquaknect.com.au/news.htm
...

As noted elsewhere, this guy appears to be spamming his own product.

Re my earlier post about greywater pumps, I just had a look on ebay, and you seem to be able to buy a Davey D15VA Vortex...

It turns out that York can't supply a replacement outdoor unit for my AC system as it is too old. So I got the compressor replaced.

Didn't get the thermostat replaced. I was thinking of doing...

The "proper" way is to scribe the bottom of the skirting board to the floor, particularly for large gaps. But obviously you can't do that once it's installed. Scribing might require wide skirting...

In my humble opinion, the concrete slab is too high and ideally should be removed and lowered, or at least part of it removed (the strip near the house - you could fit a spoon drain with a grid over...

Good link - not seen that before. I googled for termite trap and there seem to be a few of these (don't know if they are all as effective).

Here's a couple of links from CSIRO....

I agree with all that. I paint the front and the back of the boards before fixing them, as well as the cut ends. If you do that the effect of humidity changes should be more even.

If your boards...

You could get the plumber to put one of those flexible stainless hoses near the tank so you can disconnect the toilet from the pump and reconnect to a mains tap nearby. That would be cheap, satisfy...

I spoke to the company and they said it didn't need a new drier as it didn't burn out, it seized due to lack of oil because the gas leaked out. Seizing presumably doesn't contaminate the system.
...

Another thing about mains backup: if it tops up the tank automatically, it's my guess that the water in the tank is then subject to water restrictions (e.g. in Melbourne you can't water your garden...

Is there a typo above? Or are you saying that without a burnout drier, the new compressor will last only a year or so?

The quote says:
Included: labour, compressor, refrigerant gas,...

The simplest and cheapest is not to have any mains backup. If the tank runs out and you can't flush the toilet, just put some water in the tank with the hose.

If you have ever seen what comes out...

There's probably pools of water under the house after heavy rain. I reckon you should lower the outside ground level to the same level (or lower if it's going to be paved) as the ground level under...

I'm not a builder but using H4 treated pine (or H3 if you're cheap) for the bottom plate would help. H4 is for in-ground use, and H3 is for above ground use. If you use any flashing make sure that...

There's this device
http://www.irrigationwarehouse.com.au/prod2265.htm
"TMC - Town Mains Water Control"
It's not showing a price at the moment - must be free!

I was looking at a Mistral cheapy recently at Bunnings and on the box it said the warranty was void unless installed by professionals.

There's some useful info on flashing roofs to walls here
http://www.pic.vic.gov.au/www/html/176-technical-solutions-sheets.asp

In my experience, split boards can't be repaired. The split will open up again later. You might be able to glue a piece of timber to the back of the split to repair it. In repairing a split, the...

I've installed some insulation in the walls from the outside (where I've replaced weatherboards). If I was renovating again, I'd remove all the external walls (either from outside or inside) and...

There is a chapter on refrigeration in the book "Sustainable House" by Michael Mobbs (Choice Books). He suggests, for efficiency's sake, ventilation for fridges so that air is drawn up through the...