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| Archicentre Newsbreak
22 January 2009 |
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Who has the most influence over the decision to
purchase a property - women, men or a joint
decision?
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Archicentre
Free Seminars
The Seminars commence on Tuesday 24th February
2009.
Seminar 1 Sustainability - Ten
Things You Should Know about Building in a Changing
Climate The talk will cover why houses are cracking,
what people can do to save water and energy, discuss
alternative construction techniques, showcase a recent
sustainable building project and take questions from the
audience. Click here for
seminar details and
bookings. | |
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| Don't Devalue
your Home with Poor Design
Decisions |
 The
case of a couple spending $40,000 on an
ensuite which turned a three bedroom home into a
two bedroom home and immediately devalued the home
by up to $100,000 is the classic example of a poor
design decision.
Image left: Robert
Caulfield
Archicentre
sees many cases where Australian home owners are
paying thousands of dollars to devalue their homes
through lack of design, poor choice of materials and
illegal building, which is likely to increase with the
economic downturn.
Installing new
bathrooms without first checking the sub-floor
structure, undertaking renovations without a permit, and
the installation of electrical wiring by unqualified
people are just some of the ways of devaluing a
home.
A poor
choice of materials or a badly designed addition that
looks like an add-on can take thousands of dollars
off the resale value of a property.
If
the renovation or addition is not structurally sound, to
rectify the situation it is often necessary to demolish
and remove the sub-standard construction, adding
extra costs for the home
owner.
Archicentre
pre-purchase inspections uncover some instances
of poor design decisions, especially in the
renovation of period homes, where the renovation had
sometimes destroyed the main integrity and value of the
home.
With the economic turmoil and the
margin for costly financial repairs being almost non
existent, homebuyers should thoroughly check out any
renovations before buying their new home to make sure
they do not face major expenses in rectifying
renovations or illegal building.
If you are
about to embark on a renovation and don't know where to
start or want to avoid the traps of devaluing your home,
you can make use of Archicentre's FREE seminars which
commence on 24th of February around Australia.
Click
here for
all seminar details and
locations.
Robert Caulfield
Managing Director
Archicentre
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| Asbestos Warning for Home Owners and
Renovators |
 Large numbers of houses throughout
Australia have been constructed using asbestos-cement
products as internal and external walls, ceilings and
roofing.
Image left: Asbestos cement sheets
being carried to be wrapped in plastic.
Asbestos was used in flat sheet fibro cement
building products up to 1982 and in corrugated
fibro-cement roofing material up to 1986 because of its
cheapness and ease of
installation.
Archicentre's
pre-purchase house inspections indicated the
presence of asbestos cement sheets in the eaves of most
houses and behind wall and ceiling tiles as well as the
commonly known areas of wall linings and roofing. Older
garden sheds are often made entirely of asbestos cement
sheeting. Asbestos can also be present in vinyl
tiles and some painted surfaces.
The real risk of exposure to asbestos fibres and
dust occurs with the demolition of walls or roofs,
during renovation of a property, drilling or cutting of
products containing asbestos. More
Information | |
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