Apr 10
If you are planning to do a bit of garden design this spring you may be needing to do a bit of building work. DIY Doctor has plenty of help and advice on lots of aspects of garden landscaping whether you are looking at building a wall, building a screen, constructing steps or putting up new fencing.
If you are adding some garden steps, or maybe changing the steps you already have we have several projects which can help, from the general ‘Building Garden Steps’ project which gives examples of the differing types you could choose how to decide on the size of your steps and how many you need, to individual projects on building flagstone steps and using sleepers to build your steps. These explain how to prepare the ground, what tools and materials you need and talk you through how to construct your steps.
When you want to divide up areas in your garden you might choose to build a block screen as it provides a strong wall but with a decorative look. Our project talks you through how to build a block screen from the materials you need to preparing foundations and actually building the wall.
There is also a project on building a garden retaining wall so you can find out how to build a wall to enable you to change the levels in your garden.
If you are looking at adding a path or changing the design or type of your exsiting path,diydoctor gives advice on how to plan out your path and the different materials you can use to make your path. Whatever material you choose it will be vital to prepare the ground for your chosen type.
Good luck with your garden projects!
Mar 05
New Zealanders have just seen some quite major changes to the building industry introduced at the beginning of March. Up until now it has been relatively easy to build a house yourself, but ammendments to the Building Act now means that there are ‘Restricted Building Work’ requirements that must be adhered to.
The changes now mean that tradesmen must become licensed building practitioners (LBP) to enable them to carry out ‘Restricted Building Work’. The classification of ‘restricted building work’ is that which is critical to the structural integrity and water tightness of a house or appartment. This encompasses foundations, load bearing walls and roofing. If you are a DIYer, this means that you must have your building work supervised by a licensed building practitioner and all licensed practioners will carry a LBP card. Obviously there is still a lot of home improvement and maintenance work which you can still carry out yourself such as installing windows, removing non-load bearing walls, replacing kitchens and bathrooms and building decking up to 1.5 metres. The changes also only cover residential buildings, so you are ok to deal with your own garage or shed too.
It is hoped that this will help avoid a continuation of the ‘Leaky Homes’ problem that New Zealand has suffered from with homes built in the 1990′s and early 2000′s. This period saw a huge rise in houses being built with severe problems with weathertightness, and this has caused an ongoing issue with homes becoming uninhabitable.
Mar 02
Minehead in Somerset has seen a new hall built in just three weeks. The building is a new 165 seater Kingdom Hall for the local Jehovah’s Witness congregation, and has been built entirely by volunteers seeing around 200 fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses from across the region travelling to help.
What is more amazing is that the build has happened in just three weeks and most of that has been done at weekends. The congregation has been saving for the last 15 years to enable them to build the new hall and had raised over £300,000 but it has all been worthwhile and they have been pleased with the support they have received.
Allan Peppin, one of the local Jehovah’s Witnesses involved, said “We’ve all had such a happy time working together and we have been really encouraged by the positive observations and messages of support from passers-by and visitors to the site.”
Feb 06
Simpler new regulations have been introduced in Scotland making it easier for people to make changes to their homes.
This now means it will be easier to do certain home improvements such as build garages, extensions, decking and sheds, without needing to apply for planning permission. This should remove approximately 4,000 applications out of the system per year, and will affect any projects starting on site from today. There will still be restrictions covering conservation areas and listed buildings though.
Derek Mackay, planning minister for Scotland, says “These changes allow people to improve their homes more easily and save them money, while creating jobs for building companies and trades people.
“Planning has an important role to play in increasing sustainable economic growth, and these changes, removing in certain cases the need for householders to get planning permission, are a good example of this. They will also enable planning authorities to focus their attention on processing applications for larger developments.”
Jan 19
This month has seen a continuing slow rise in confidence in American homebuilders with The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo sentiment gauge reaching the highest it has been since June 2007.
Bob Nielson, chairman of The National Association of Home Builders in the US said that this was “yet another indication of the gradual but steady improvement that is beginning to take hold in an increasing number of housing markets nationwide”.
