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| 6 Jun 2013 Retaining Walls on Boundaries
Retaining walls are not dividing fences and are subject to different legislative requirements. When installing retaining walls along boundaries, they must be wholly constructed inside the property – unless you have you consent of the adjoining landowner. It is a good idea to have the boundary line pegged by a licensed land surveyor to be […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Rainwater Tanks
With downpipes placed strategically around a home you could collect about 80 per cent of rainwater from the roof area. The Water Corporation suggests that with a roof area of around 100 square metres and our recent average rainfall of around 750mm per year, you can collect over 80,000 litres of water, saving money and […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Smart Planning Your Home and Garden
Smart planning your garden With smart palnning your garden can help control the temperature of your home. Plants and trees moderate temperature, keeping your hosue cool in summer, and sheltering it from the cold in winter. By choosing deciduous trees that shed leaves in autumn, you can still let in the warmth of the winter […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Roof Carpenters
There is no system of trade licensing in Western Australia, so it’s an “open market” for roof carpenters. Word of mouth, referral from friends or advertisements in the local community newspaper or the Yellow Pages are the main sources of supply. In terms of checking a “tradie’s” credentials, you could seek verification of formal trade […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Redevelopment Authorities
The WA Government has established a number of redevelopment authorities to expedite the development of land in WA. They operate by suspending local and state planning laws and introducing redevelopment schemes to govern development in a defined area. Current redevelopment authorities include: Armadale Redevelopment Authority The Armadale Redevelopment Authority (ARA) is tasked is to plan, […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Fixed Price Contracts
Fixed price contracts are the most common form of domestic building agreement. As the name suggests a fixed price agreement is where the builder agrees to perform building work for a fixed sum. This provides a degree of certainty to both parties, but during a period of escalating costs the builder is likely to include […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Floating Floorboards
Floating floors can be installed onto a concrete pad or any other flat, firm or level surface without using nails, battens or glue. They are called “floating” because they are not attached to the sub-floor in any way. They can be fitted over most flat surfaces – tiles, concrete, cork or timber. As a result […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Land Title Release and Contracts
Sometimes people sign a building contract and pay a deposit on a home when land title is not yet available. Delays in the processing of land title can be lengthy and with building costs increasing rapidly, so there can be contract complications and inconvenience to both parties. Under normal conditions and under most building contracts […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Preliminary Agreements
A Preliminary Agreement (PA), or Preparation of Plans Agreement, is a common document used by builders dealing with clients in the early stages of building a new home. These agreements do not involve building work and are preparatory to entering a building contract. Some common features are: the consumer is committed to paying a “deposit”, […]
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| 6 Jun 2013 Minimum Conditions & The National Employment Standards
NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS Click here to download Fact Sheet This Fact Sheet contains information about annual leave and redundancy provisions of the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020, which vary the minimum standards in the National Employment Standards. The redundancy pay provisions and the method of calculating annual leave in the modern award are […]