Under new changes to the Victorian Building Act, you ht home owner are now required to choose your Building Surveyor…NOT the Builder. What do they do? A Building Surveyor is a registered building professional who is responsible for ensuring the construction project meets the minimum standards set out in the building code of Australia, national standards, and relevant state and …
Wednesday October 5 2016 by VBA Safety in the kitchen is important for everyone. Good building practices will help maintain safety and one important area too often overlooked is the proximity of gas cookers to their surround, combustible, areas. The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) has recently seen a growing number of domestic gas cooking appliances installed in residential premises which …
Tuesday October 4 2016 by VBA Research and understanding of bushfires is generating significant improvements in safety and as that knowledge and expertise advances so do the regulations required to ensure consistent application for all buildings but especially those used by our more vulnerable community members. On 6 September, the Building Amendment (Specific Use Bushfire Protected Buildings and Other Matters) …
Article on VBA website – August 5th 2016 Changes have been made to the VBA’s powers and functions under the Building Act 1993. Some of these changes may affect your rights and duties under the law. This section of the VBA website holds information about: how these changes relate to you as a building practitioner, building surveyor or owner-builder when the …
If you are owner building or using a builder please be aware of the following: Author: Jacqui Rigby-King If a person commissions an architect or a builder to draw architectural plans for them in accordance with their own “mud map” designs, and even if there is not much additional design input into the drawing of the architectural plans, the architect or …
With the current trend of eco-friendly and green initiatives driving better energy consumption and sustainable design of new buildings, there is an increasing requirement to have buildings further sealed off to air leakage and ensure any air entering or exiting your apartment is avoided, which unfortunately can sometimes result in condensation and moisture build up. Condensation in modern apartments must …
Article by Insurance News About 2300km of potentially deadly Infinity electrical cable remains in thousands of homes, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) warns. The product, imported from China, was recalled in 2014 after tests showed its poor-quality plastic insulation breaks down over time, leading to electric shocks or fires. Retailers and suppliers report electricians and …
Article from Insurance and Risk Insurance brokers have been warned that non-compliant, highly flammable cladding appears to have been used in buildings around the country – not just Victoria. The Victorian Building Authority last week revealed that of the 170 buildings audited as part of the their investigation, which was prompted by the Docklands Lacrosse apartment fire of November 2014, 51% were …
Be safe when you are building or renovating and don’t follow any of the below instances! We’ve put together a selection of 24 photographs which show that there is a kind of resourcefulness that only men seem to display. Women shouldn’t be jealous of this, however, for as you can see, it’s often characterised by a complete absence of the instinct for self-preservation. What would we do without these guys? So, this is how tightrope-walkers earn …
This article is written by Springwise and sponsored by Geovation Cortex is an easily transportable alternative to cement, in the form of rollable concrete sheets that are activated by water. Cement trucks are incredibly expensive to run, especially in areas that only require a thin layer of cement — such as drainage ditches and canal beds in developing countries. …
