Hi everyone,
Looking for some advise. We are about to build an above ground pool in our backyard. There is a private sewer line running under the pool at 1.6m underground.…

Good morning everyone,
We are building a first floor addition to our house. I have some concerns about the carpentry work by our builder, but not sure if my concern is…

Wow, thanks for the reply.
I already went the DA path and in the middle of construction, but I have never (even to this date - 12 months later) understood how…

Hi all,
I am coming across a builder who has 2 licenses - 1 for himself and 1 for his company (where he is the director).
1. License for himself is…

Hi everyone,
I've just got structural diagrams for my first floor addition in Sydney.
I can see that there are some timber beams in this area of the first floor. (picture…

Thanks Stewie, is there actually any difference between a "good" certifier versus a "normal/bad" certifier?
Do I need to do much research to find the perfect certifier or just find…

(Syd Northern Beaches) Almost got DA approval for first floor addition.
Can anyone recommend a good Private certifier for Construction Certificate and PCA? Looking for someone that can give me…

Thanks for the reply.
We found a carpenter to do it. He actually used PVC pipes and braced it onto our tile roof.

Yes Balcony is on the ground floor, but note there is the garage in the "lower ground floor". That's why part of the balcony is 2.2m above NGL. HOWEVER the…

Thank you for quick responses. Currently it is 1.5 storey house on a side sloping block.
Existing lower ground floor:

Existing Ground floor. Understand i can only build on top of…

Hi Bimbob,
It's a sloping land - yes some part of the balcony is 2.2m above Natural Ground Level, but some part of the balcony is just 1m above NGL. I…

Hello,
From the CDC clause of Storey definition:
Storey is defined in the Standard Instrument as a space within a building that is situated between one floor level and the floor…

Hi, we are in the Northern beaches council.
Lodged DA for first floor addition (add storey) and council requested us to erect 4 height poles to assess view loss impact neighbour.…

What about growing some bamboos from pots? they grow like grass so you will have full 6m height in less than 1.5 year

Not sure how you can validate the cost estimate yourself, i think best to just get more quotes. With the current covid situation i was told that alot of the…

We are doing a 2 story extension to the back of our house and will require 2 new posts holding up a floor and another 2 new posts on top…

I will ask the builder about bondeck. Will it be too heavy for my existing brick veneer foundation?

Thanks for the advise. Do you only recommend using F17 solid joists in high traffic areas (such as your kitchen) rather than the entire floor?

Wouldn't Concrete flooring be too heavy for my first floor addition? Haven't really considered using concrete flooring.

I was thinking about water resistance under the bathroom. Will I-Joist be risky in those areas?
I am just trying to determine the best material to use. Cost is not an…

very rare to use solid timber because of cost? or is solid timber an inferior product compared to engineered timber for joists?
I thought at least solid timber is more water…

We are adding a first floor to our house. Builder has recommended that we can use engineered timber products such as "I-joist" or pay more for "LVL" for joist. We…

Thanks Stewie, Looking at your diagrams, i am pretty sure 1.5m is enough setback to enclose 2 stories at the boundary.
Looks like councils are quite flexible, do you have to…

Thanks for the quick replies!
North - I am not blocking anyone's North aspect so no concern here.
I have edited my previous comment a bit to indicate that there are…

That would be wonderful Stewie! Thanks.
Yes - we have about a 2m drop from the left side of the house to the right side of the house, exactly like the…

I have to say that I still don't agree with the definitions of the wordings that the side setback is calculated using the max building height, however we have contacted…

Hello everyone,
We hired a architect to draw up plans for our First Floor Addition project here in Sydney. We want to fit our plans into a CDC.
I like to do…

I am looking to add storey to existing house.
So many questions:
1. Can I sign the building contract before getting council approval?
2. What if I signed the contract but council…

Thanks Chris,
Can you please elaborate a bit more on which trade to contact to do the things you highlighted?
- site plan, geotech site report, elevations,Floor Plan, Demolition plan, etc
- Energy…

Hello everyone, starting to plan for a first floor addition to my brick veneer house. I would like to get advise on the sequence of steps from the experts here.…