Welcome to DirectBuild’s June 2011 NewsletterThe last few months have been very busy for DirectBuild. We exhibited at the Sydney Home Show again last month and it was terrific to meet so many of you. People often visit a home show well before they plan to start renovating or building and we had many great conversations about the way in which DirectBuild can work with you from the initial planning and design stage of your project to help you create fantastic outcomes for your home. The next big event on DirectBuild’s calendar is our first Owner Builder Education Weekend. We hope to provide many of you with a great way to “Plan for Success as an Owner Builder” and complete your owner builder education requirements in a friendly, convenient and cost effective manner. The education sessions will be held at the Canada Bay Club in Five Dock on Saturday 6th August and Sunday 7th August, 2011. On the Saturday we will have the opportunity for a maximum of 20 people to complete their White Card qualification. This is WorkCover’s OHS Induction Certificate and is a prerequisite for completing the Course in Owner Builder Compliance and gaining your Owner Builder licence. Refreshments, course materials and parking will be provided. For the Sunday session, we will bring together a group of experts to share their knowledge and kick-start your plans for success. Experts will include:
You will also have the opportunity to meet some Owner Builders who have recently successfully completed projects and learn from their experience; and gain an introduction and tips for completing the Owner Builder Compliance Course online from one of the online course providers. Whilst there will be more seminar places available on the Sunday, we propose to keep numbers low so that everyone will have the opportunity to ask questions in the forums or speak one-on-one with our experts. Once again refreshments, materials and parking will be provided. To register your interest in the Owner Builder Education Weekend please email Kate Wilkie on kwilkie@directbuild.com.au We will send out full location and cost details in the next few days to all who registered their interest at the Sydney Home Show or subsequently. Two of the experts you will meet at our Seminar have provided articles for this Newsletter so please read on.
For ease of reference, we have also taken the opportunity to upload each of our past Newsletters onto the DirectBuild web site www.directbuild.com.au Click on News and then Newsletters. Any feedback on these articles or suggestions for future articles would be welcome. Please click here to share your comments with us. |
Owner Builder Educationby Peter Berginc - ABSOLUTE EducationIn the last 12 months, the Owner-builder education scheme in NSW has been given a major upheaval. As of the 1st October 2010, any prospective owner-builder wishing to carry out work on their residential property with a reasonable value of $12,000 or more must complete the new nationally accredited course “91509NSW Course in Owner Builder Compliance”. This is the only course that is valid as proof that an applicant has passed the required training by the Office of Fair Trading. How do I plan for my new home or extension?by Chris Watson - Elementree Drafting ServicesThere’s no exact spot to start planning your new home or extension; once you start dreaming of the type of home you want, the planning process has effectively started. The real question is how do you convey what you’re dreaming to your designer? Old Buildings Need to Breatheby DirectBuild Australia(Extracts from Information Sheet 2.3 issued by the NSW Heritage Office) Under normal circumstances, older buildings will function well if they are allowed to work as they were intended. Mortars, plasters, renders and finishes should all be of relatively permeable materials, allowing moisture to pass through them and evaporate from the surface. Traditionally, mortars, plasters and renders were usually lime-based and decoration was with limewash. |
