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Flooded houses in Queensland, as a result of this week's dramatic storms, could take months to dry out. Home owners have been advised to allow their homes to completely dry out before replacing carpets and fittings to avoid future problems.
Ron Tanton, Archicentre's Queensland State Manager said water damage in homes can be quite extensive requiring chipboard cupboards, doors and plaster work to be replaced.
"A water damaged building could take months to dry out and the natural tendency for people to repair and redecorate as quickly as possible can lead to mould growth and the work having to be repeated."
Archicentre offers a post flood protection checklist.
The first phone call following water or flood damage is usually to an insurance company. But beware of finalising a premature claim. In the circumstances described below, the full realisation of the problems may take a few weeks.
* Be careful of power points and switches with water damage. Ensure a licensed electrician checks these before reconnection.
* Water can penetrate gas stoves and other appliances, flooding pilot lights and causing damage to interior pipes. A flooded house full of fumes is extremely volatile. Natural gas, compressed natural gas and propane gas should be checked by a licensed registered plumber.
* Additionally, particle board cabinets will expand and collapse after water damage. Don't waste money repairing cabinets that need replacing.
* Following flooding, large pools typically form under the house. These areas need to be re-graded to prevent long-term structural damage like rotted floor framing.
* Keep the under floor space well-ventilated. Timber floors could otherwise dry unevenly, and result in twisting and warping.
* Flooded concrete slabs need to be dried out thoroughly before laying carpet. This can take several weeks. New carpet on a wet slab will ultimately rot.
* Sub-floor central heating ducts can fill with water. Ducts may need to be cleaned or replaced if they are full of mud.
* Plasterboard walls require time and patience before repainting. The outside walls probably feel dry, but inside the walls are wet and invite mould.
Info from Archicentre
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Summer holidays are a great time to take a break, leaving your home to fend for itself while you are away. However your home doesn't have to operate on full electrical power as if you were living there.
EnergyAustralia Energy Efficiency Expert Paul Myors said that while the Christmas holiday period could be stressful, there were a few simple steps homeowners could take to reduce the toll on their electricity bills while they were away.
“A bit of common sense and a little extra effort can help save you money and reduce your greenhouse gas emissions while you’re enjoying your holiday,” Mr Myors said.
“The first step is to turn appliances which have a standby mode off at the wall.
“This includes anything with a little red or green light. If the light is on it’s using power, costing you money, and contributing to your household’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Standby power can contribute as much as $100 a year to household electricity bills.
Appliances which often have standby power are televisions, sounds systems, DVD players, computers, printers, and dishwashers.
According to the Australian Greenhouse Office one in five homes leave their computers running all day and all night, whether they are being used or not. They will still receive emails when they’re off so flick the switch and watch your energy usage go down.
“If you have a second fridge, it’s also a good idea to empty it and switch it off while you’re away. Be sure to leave the door slightly open,” he said.
“On average refrigeration contributes about 14 per cent to a family’s electricity bill, so if you have two, switch one off and your energy consumption and bill will drop.”
For peace of mind, many of us like to keep a few lights on while we are away, but why not think about installing motion sensors or timers to keep running costs down.
Holiday energy savings tips
• Turn appliances with standby modes off at the wall. Get rid of the little red lights.
• Empty your second fridge and switch it off.
• Turn off your electric hot water system. But be aware many off peak systems need to
reheat overnight when you return
• Use motion sensors or timers on security lights, instead of leaving lights on.
“The Christmas holiday period can be a time of high stress and high bills and being energy efficient is a simple way of reducing both.”
Info from Energy Australia
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Asbestos dust from building works can become a deadly side effect of renovations, as warned by Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
“With hundreds of thousands of renovations taking place each year in Australia it is important to highlight the dangers facing people who can breathe in asbestos dust which attacks the lungs,” said General Manager of Archicentre, David Hallett.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, “Australia has the highest incidence of asbestos-related cancer in the world. Due to the danger that it poses, asbestos has been banned.”
The Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia Inc state “...the asbestos fibres can become airborne because they are very fine. Once in the air, the fibres are easily inhaled or swallowed. If they are inhaled, they can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and pleural diseases. These effects can take up to 40 years to develop."
The Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia estimates the number of people diagnosed with asbestos related diseases will not peak until 2020 - by then there will be 13,000 cases of mesothelioma and up to 40,000 cases of asbestos-related lung cancer.... 53,000 cases of incurable cancer caused by asbestos over the next 20 years. (Estimated by Prof Henderson - Flinders University)
Mr Hallett said that thousands of houses built in Australia before the 1990's may contain some asbestos. Because of its attributes to resist heat, flexibility and adhesiveness, it was used as a form of insulation around the pipes behind radiators or wood-burning stoves, used for roofing, eaves, shingles, wall cladding and in some plaster and paint.
“In most cases the presence of asbestos products in houses is no cause for alarm and it should be left in place. In the past asbestos was extensively used in many products, one of the most common being 'a/c sheeting' or asbestos cement. These sheets were most often used for cladding (sometimes known as 'fibro') and roofing.
“Building materials containing asbestos, such as internal walls or asbestos cement sheet roofing, that are in good condition should not pose a risk and can be left in place unless broken, deteriorating, or disturbed in such a way that dust containing asbestos fibres is produced. In this case, removal of the sheeting would probably be wise; however, it should only be done by licensed asbestos removalists,” he said.
WorkSafe Victoria suggest a large amount of asbestos containing material is still present in the community, and there is a significant risk, particularly for workers carrying out asbestos removal, as well as refurbishment and demolition work. Risk to workers is now most likely to arise during asbestos removal or during renovation or maintenance work that disturbs asbestos. As well as asbestos removalists, other tradespeople who may come into contact with asbestos include carpenters, electricians, plumbers and demolition contractors.
When called in to do pre-purchase property inspections and design concepts, Archicentre is often alarmed to find renovations have been started involving asbestos dust, without the owners receiving specialist advice from licensed asbestos removalists.
Removal and disposal of asbestos cement sheet should only be undertaken by a licensed asbestos removal company. Asbestos removal can add substantially to the cost of renovation or maintenance.
Licensed specialist asbestos removalists will take precautions like:
* Wearing protective masks and clothing
* Using hand tools and not power tools for cutting
* Not abrading or breaking up the product whenever possible
* Thoroughly wetting the product prior to working with it
* Working outdoors rather than indoors, and
* Wetting any residue prior to sweeping
“We advise home owners undertaking any renovation of their home to have a health and safety plan in place if they are doing it themselves,” said Mr Hallet.
“If professional builders or tradesmen are undertaking the renovation then part of the contract should clearly include a reference to health and safety matters and current public risk insurance policy. It is important to have regular inspections throughout the project to ensure the builder is complying with the health and safety issues in the contract.
“The bottomline is that people need to realise that a renovation can be extremely hazardous and there needs to be constant monitoring of the site to ensure the families' safety,” he said.
New Regulations for Occupational Health and Safety covers asbestos. The asbestos part of the OHS Regulations imposes strict conditions on how to handle and control asbestos, including airborne asbestos fibres. The Regulations also outline safe methods for removing asbestos from the workplace, who is able to remove it, and in what circumstances.
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With basketball rings a popular Christmas gift, it’s important that households are reminded of the installation guidelines. It’s common to mount basketball rings to the single layer of bricks found above many garage doors, but by doing so you could create a dangerous situation by causing the wall to collapse.
Nine guidelines were developed for the safe installation, safe use and maintenance of basketball rings after the death of a child slam dunking almost three years ago. It was the third death in Victoria of a child hit by bricks through a collapse of a wall by the unsafe installation of basketball rings
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Are you using compact flurorescent lamps (CFLs) as an energy saving lighting alternative in your renovation? Well be careful how you handle them, as CFLs contain small quantities of mercury. Lighting Council Australia has released information on CFLs and their mercury content, and how to dispose of them.
Most modern CFLs contain less than 5 milligrams of mercury, an amount approximately equivalent to the tip of a ball point pen. To further put this into perspective, it takes between 100 and 600 CFLs to make up the mercury in a common household thermometer. An average watch battery contains up to 25 milligrams of mercury
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People wanting a secure investment to escape the volatile share market should consider investing in their own home as a wealth building strategy which has the added benefit of improving their lifestyle.
"Renovation is becoming an increasing trend as homeowners find government charges and property taxes, for which they receive nothing when they buy their home, make up a considerable proportion of the $50,000 to $60,000 it costs to move house," said Ron Tanton, Queensland State Manager of Archicentre
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September 26th 2008 04:32
Archicentre rates the best and worst housing types in Australia. Between solid brick, brick veneer and weatherboard houses, with the latter being most susceptible.
House hunters have been warned, weatherboard homes contain the most building faults according to the latest research from Archicentre's Pre-Purchase Housing Inspections
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September 25th 2008 12:01
Want to renovate, but there’s a tree in the way? Trees can become a major problem for the home renovator if they are in the planned construction zone. There are many tree preservation orders in place in local councils around the country, preventing unnecessary tree removal. It is important to check with your council before you remove trees on your property, as it could be illegal. There are many reasons for this, including environmental, as well as unnecessary destruction of a tree for property development, or to improve a view. Trees are an integral part of our eco-system and air quality, therefore removing trees in an environmental hazard. If a tree is dying, or in a state of decay, tree removal may be essential, especially if the tree could potentially fall on a building.
A tree preservation order is usually enforced in local councils, which prevent tree removal under certain conditions. Apart from the risk of the tree falling, other factors include the tree height and trunk diameter. There are also regulations regarding tree pruning and transplanting. Before undertaking tree removal, be sure to ask your council for permission. This may include a written request, as well as a council inspection of the tree. Tree removal for renovation purposes only may be difficult to get permission for, perhaps reconsider how the renovation can occur without jeopardising the life of the tree
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September 22nd 2008 01:11
A reverse mortgage is a loan where the consumer borrows money against the equity in their home. The loan and interest is not repaid until the home is sold.
A report capturing the experiences of home-owners with a reverse mortgage has been released by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC
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September 21st 2008 01:04
Is your elderly parent moving into your home? Well you may need to renovate to add on a spare room, but you also need to renovate to cater for their differing physical needs. There are many alterations you can do to your or their home to make life possible for an elderly occupant.
As mobility is the main issue with elderly people, it is important to remove dangers that could lead to a fall. This seems like common sense, however Archicentre has undertaken a survey of 37,000 homes of older Victorians, of which 26 per cent of all homes inspected had slip and trip hazards. This represents an increase of 4 per cent on the last survey done in 2004
[ Click here to read more ]
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on Books Vs Movies - Vote Now!
The Home Guru
In the case of The Kite Runner, and The Shipping News, the books were much better. But then again, I did read them first before I saw the films...