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Good evening all.
A quick question about laying timber laminate flooring over concrete. Brand new house, slab has been down for 12 weeks now. The instructions say "the moisture content of the...

Thanks Rossluck.
I have spoken to the fellow at the local quarry today and found out what most people do around here. Roadbase (approx. 19mm stone plus fines), 4 inches thick. Cost about $1850.
...

Thank you everyone.
I think I have a pretty good idea of what is needed now.
The driveway runs downhill from the road. This is the part with the most problems. When it rains a fairly substantial...

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Keep 'em coming.
We certainly do not have enough money for bitumen at present. I am thinking road base is going to be our best option. The driveway does run up and...

Hi all.
Once our new house is built we will be putting in some sort of deck (we don't really like paving) at the back. We have thought of a traditional deck with stirrups, bearers and joists but the...

Good evening all.
A question about my driveway at our new property in Queensland....
We have 8 acres, new house nearly complete. When we had the dam dug we also got the driveway cleared. Just a...

Pemberton Swimming Pool, Lefroy Brook. Camping next door at the Pemberton Caravan Park.
Spent many a day/week hiking and camping around this area in my younger days.
Lovely spot indeed.
-mrsxtro

Hi all!
We are building a new house and want to put decking off the rear of the house. It will be at ground level though. We have built a number of decks up off the ground so know all about stumps...

Just thought I'd let you know that we are having a new house (305 m2) built now that we have had to pay extra for footings due to the soil class. Ours is 'H', a little less unstable than yours. It is...

Seanr,
Hoping you won't mind giving out some free advice!
We are soon to have a fibreglass pool (10.3m x 4.3m) put in on our 8 acre block. It comes with a cartridge filter. Should we upgrade to...

Hi all.
Just wondering whether anyone knows if I have to get council approval to build a deck in Ipswich, Queensland? It will be quite large (approx. 10m x 4m) but less than 0.5m off the ground. No...

Hi all.
We are building a new house (well actually the builder is but we are paying!) and are putting ceiling fans in most of the rooms. We need to buy them ourselves and pay cash to the electrician...

hehehehe sounds a little like my house! But I blame the five kids for the mess, couldn't possibly be me!
Thanks for the reply. I have spoken to many flooring "specialists" lately who all tell me...

Thanks for the reply.
Just wondering how well it is wearing? Major scratching problems etc?
Thanks again.
-mrsxtro

Anyone ever laid a Parador laminate floor? And was it the dearer CleverClick range, or the cheaper SmartClick range? Just wondering if you are happy with the looks and quality? How well is it holding...

Not woodworking but I know you fellows and girls know way more than just wood!

I am having a new house built and want to tile the living areas. It is approx 115 square metres. Tiles we've chosen...

Hi all.
I have a little spot (approx 20 cent piece size) in the kitchen where the polyurethane finish has been eaten away (no idea how!). Was wondering whether there is some way to fix it?
Thanks...

Hi all.
Saw some vinyl flooring at a carpet shop the other day. Was like thick lino but in tiles or 'timber look-a-like' planks/strips. See this web site for more info:
www.karndean.com

Anyone...

Evening all.
Not strictly a woodworking/renovation question but definately a house question!
Anyone ever built or had anything to do with Tamawood Homes? I've found a design of theirs I like...

Hi all.
After some advice on flooring options for my new house (not built yet). We are building on 8 acres so there will be lots of wear and tear from the 5 kids and 2 dogs running in and out with...

I also like the look of the bamboo. Was it very expensive? Approx. costs for supply only and laid would be appreciated.
Thanks.
-mrsxtro.

If you don't fill the gaps then you will undoubtably get big cracks in the paint between each VJ. It is not a good look. Yes, VJs are designed to move but if done properly with a flexible gap filler,...

BTW to get a really good finish you need to fill the gap between each board with flexible gap filler. It is a bugger of a job, takes forever, but well worth the effort in the end.
Have fun!
-mrsxtro

Thanks Dallas for the photos.
Did you do that work yourself?
Here's some photos of under my house.
...

Thanks for all the advice.
If we go ahead....
We intend getting someone in to do the restumping, excavating, drainage, retaining walls and slab. We will probably do most of the building ourselves....

I too have put in an Ikea kitchen. It was a relatively easy, if monotonous, process to build all the cupboards. It came together very nicely and looks great. I'm not sure how well the cupboard front...

Thanks for all the input.
Just to clear up the confusion....
Yes there is quite a drop of land under the house but then it flattens out quite a lot (ie. the rest of the block is useable). Because...

Hi all.
I have a 1912 Queenslander on 1970m2. At the road it is approx. 1m off the ground. At the back, due to the pretty substatial slope of the ground under the house, it is approx. 3m high. We...

Evening all.
We will shortly be building a new house. Well, actually the building company will be doing that, we will be paying! Anyway, the builder is a fairly large project home builder. The house...

Thanks for the advice, Michael.
I want to cut off one end so I can put the washing machine back against the wall rather than sitting in front of the trough (the triple trough takes up the whole of...

'Morning all!
For those who haven't read my previous post.... I have an old concrete triple laundry trough which I will be cutting down to a double as a temporary fix until the laundry gets a total...

Thanks Pulse but I don't think it would be quite feasible to get it to Queensland!
I'm going to try the angle grinder! Just bought a new one so should be a fun christening!
Thanks for the help....

Hi all!
I have an old triple concrete laundry tub, which I want to make into a double. Was wondering whether anyone has any brilliant ideas on how to cut off the extra sink area.
Thanks in advance....

Just out of interest (as we are considering doing a similar project)....

Have you costed the whole job? Ie. excavation, restumping, retaining walls, drainage, concrete slab, building etc. A round...

The frame is all hard wood, "yellow balau" (sp???) for the actual decking and the balustrading is made from treated pine.
Even 3 metres high it stands strong and straight!!!
Cost about $5000 all...

BTW it is now completely finished and oiled and painted but I don't have any photos of it! When I get a chance I'll post some recent ones.
-mrsxtro

Thought you all might like to see my new deck (well, actually it is about a year old now!). Because the back of the house is about 3 metres high it was a tricky enterprise but very satisfying. It is...

Sorry, wasn't clear enough. The timber of the floor is fine. It is just unsanded and unpolished where the old cupboards used to be. So I just need to sand and polish a small area. I don't think the...

The floor in the kitchen is hoop pine and has been sanded and polished. The bit that needs a fix up is the section in front of the stove that used to be under the old cupboards. I suspect we will...

Sorry, the gates need a paint not a pain!

Actually we already have the gates. I found them under my parents old house when they bought it 2 years ago and quickly snaffled them away to my house! I only needed to plane about 5mm of each side...

hehehehe love it how you guys get soooo excited about this sort of stuff! I feel at home!
Cabinets are from Ikea (sorry, don't cringe, they are reasonably priced and seem to be good quality with a...

A couple more photos.
Mostly finished. Just some painting, a little floor sanding and closing off the doorway behind the fridge and it will all be finished!

O.K. I promised photos so I will try and attach some for your perusal and approval!
Enjoy!
-mrsxtro

Evening all.
Now that my kitchen reno is almost complete my roving eyes have latched on to the study area as the next thing on the to-do list. The 'study' is essentially just an enclosed verandah...

Thanks so much for the welcome and the advice.
I have used cement sheeting as suggested (dusty stuff to cut!) and have tiled about half the kitchen now. Only one wall to go. I must say it looks...

Evening all.

I have a 90 year old Queenslander which has tongue and groove walls. It is highset and as it is in need of restumping some time in the future (probably when we build in underneath) it...

Here is a link of a 'how to do it' type article that I found helpful:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/repair/article/0,16417,680938-2,00.html

Have fun.
-mrsxtro

Hi all.
Very first posting, but have learnt a lot from lurking and reading here.
A suggestion about decking around the pool....
My husband and myself built a deck around our above ground pool....