The cladding you choose for your home is an important step in defining the look and feel of the project—you may have strong ideas or you may want to talk to your designer about the pros and cons of each option. There are many variables in choosing a cladding type including budget, function, maintenance, aesthetics, architectural intent and context. A cladding type can take on a different character and meaning depending on the building design or setting. Some schemes have a st

LBPs are designers, carpenters, brick and blocklayers, roofers, external plasterers, site and foundations specialists who have been assessed to be competent to carry out work essential to a residential building's structure or weathertightness. If you’re thinking of getting building or renovation work done on your house or apartment, you need to check if it’s ‘restricted building work’ (RBW). If it is, you’ll need a licensed building practitioner – or LBP – to do it. Restricte

The design and dreaming is over, now it’s time to watch your new home arise from your plans. This is a busy time and is fraught with possible problems – but it’s easier than you think as long as you know what to look for. Five things you need to know You need a contract with your builder—it’s a legal requirement for projects over $30,000. Your builder is a crucial partner – you need a good one whom you can trust. Your builder needs to be a licensed building practitioner (LBP)

Plans, Sections and Elevations can often obscure design ideas rather than illuminate them. Unless you’ve spent lots of time reviewing blueprints, you may find it difficult to understand the drawings well enough to have an active partnership with your architect or designer. There is, however, a solution. 3-Dimensional Renders allow you to fully understand your plans and become an active collaborator in your design. At VRA we offer them free to all of our clients. In the early

Most clients who come to see me have the same question uppermost in their mind—“How much will the project cost?” With careful planning and using the correct process keeping within budget can be straight forward. Knowing your spending limits and developing a building budget will go a long way towards keeping you out of financial trouble on your project. Bringing a building firm or quantity surveyor into the process right from the start provides cost certainty and ensures every