Archicentre Newsbreak                                                           27 March 2009
Archicentre Pest Solution Poll
If you had the choice what would you use to eradicate pests in your home?
* A chemical solution
* An environmental solution 
 Have your say on the Archicentre Pest Solution Poll


 
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Rats and mice in 46% of homes
  A survey of 500 homes in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, covering a range of pests including rats, mice, cockroaches, ants, spiders and silverfish and wood rot has revealed many people are living with health hazards. 

Evidence of past and present activity by rats and mice was found in 46% of all homes, spiders in 58%, cockroaches in 15%, possums 13% and silverfish in 5% of homes inspected.
 
Well known for its pre-purchase house inspections for over 25 years, Archicentre has launched the Urban Pest Advice Service, a low cost inspection service which will provide a detailed report on  pest and vermin problems on a property with suggested treatments.
 
The Archicentre Urban Pest Advice Service is totally independent and is not linked to recommending any specific pest treatment product.  The service will focus on providing low cost, environmental, non-chemical based pest solutions and strategies to home owners. 
 
The $165 inspection will provide the home owner with a detailed report on rats and mice, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, spiders and on a range of environmental solutions.      

Click here to find out more about the Urban Pest Advice Service.
5% to 15% drop in renovation costs
 
Residential building construction costs have not changed appreciably in the last quarter, however, a substantial slowdown in the planning of new commercial projects around Australia will see many tradespeople moving from commercial to residential over the next six months. 
 
This will result in more competition in the new home and renovation markets and we could see a drop in the costs of custom designed homes and renovations of 5% to 15% in some states.
 
Coupled with rapidly reducing interest rates this is seen as the best climate for residential construction for many years.   

The Archicentre cost guide is a free guide provided by Archicentre to help home owners who are renovating or people who are building new homes with a guide to assess quotes to ensure they are getting a reasonable price.

For new house and major renovations the cost structure is approximately materials 46%, labour 33%, fees, levies, permits, GST 21%; with a 5% to 15% increase in labour in country areas.