Forget the public display, public health and aesthetic issues. Building Officials in Australia have a problem – what class of occupancy to award the structure – Public building Class 9? – Outbuilding Class 10? – Office (if the gentleman is reading his emails?) Class 5? Kim Lovegrove and Justin Cotton help us out here […]

DIY disasters cost homeowners $380m Homeowners may not be as handy as they think as new figures show Australians have spent an estimated $380 million repairing botched DIY jobs. The research conducted by Gumtree Australia revealed 75 percent of home owners have attempted their own project, with one in five resulting in a DIY disaster. […]

The humble wood fire may soon be subject to new national standards or even a buyback program, amid concerns that Australia’s 1 million fireplaces remain a major source of air pollution. A Council of Australian Government has put forward nine options to reduce particulate emissions from wood heaters, after finding most emissions were due to […]

First it was “can we allow Marysville to rebuild – because is clearly is a fire risk”. Now new housing projects on the city fringe are being delayed by red tape as a councils claims the State Government’s bushfire planning rules are unworkable. Developers say some councils are reluctant to issue permits for outer suburban […]