City of Johannesburg Relaxes Swimming Pool Plan Submissions The City of Johannesburg’s Planning Department has confirmed that they have relaxed the by-laws relating to swimming pools and plan submissions. These regulations concern the submission of plans – namely when plans are required and when are they not required. Following up …

The NHBRC has Deregistered from VAT and Adjusted their Fees We have recently had a number of enquiries about how the NHBRC calculates the fees that have to be paid when a proposed new house is registered with them. In 2011 the NHBRC was deregistered for VAT and they adjusted …

Your Home—Better Safe Than Sorry Common safety in the home must not be taken for granted. We list a few important pitfalls and some helpful advice and precautions to take to make your home a safer place to live in – for everyone. In the Kitchen: 1. Keep knives and …

How to Change a Tap Mixer Cartridge, Step-by-Step Tap mixer cartridges have changed the way home handymen tackle the task of fixing leaking taps and shower heads. The days of fixing a leaking tap by changing a simple washer are fast fading as more and more new mixer designs are …

How to Build Your Own Pergola This carefully designed, beautifully constructed wooden pergola looks rather grand and imposing. However, while it is certainly a relatively large-scale project, involving a fair amount of timber, there are no complicated joints, and you won’t need any specialised tools. You can simplify the project …

Plumbing Projects You Can Tackle Legally Do you know that almost all the municipalities now require a plumbing COC (Certificate of Compliance) before they will approve the sale of any house in their area. The question is what DIY plumbing work can you do yourself that is legal and will …

Ensure Your Balustrade System is Installed Correctly As it currently stands, the individual or professional company commissioning a balustrade sub-contractor has far more responsibility regarding their project than they realise. The Building Owner is responsible for ensuring that their project is SANS compliant and signed off by a qualified Engineer. …

Submit Your Article We are inviting you to submit your very own unique Home Owner story to us on this website There are various ways you can do this, for instance it might be a description of your experience or it could be a design or even a product. All …

The PAJA: A Law to Protect Your Rights We get questions daily about buildings blocking views, balconies overlooking neighbours’ bedrooms, building approval without neighbours’ consent, developers not putting in correct storm-water drains; complaints that the neighbours wall is on “my” property; the list goes on and on. > People also …

What to do when you have Blocked Drains Do your drains sometimes look like this, with smelly overflowing waste-water running into the street? Well a few days ago we had this problem. After a few tries with the plunger I gave it up as a bad job. If you think …

NHBRC Suspends the Payment of House Enrolment Fees-PA003 The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) announced at the beginning of November 2013 that the home registration fees, that must be paid on all new houses, will no longer be allowed to be included in the first progress payment that is …

Great Bathroom Layout and Design Ideas Over the years, the bathroom has earned a reputation as an area  unworthy of attention, probably because it has always been regarded as no more than a room in which to wash. Nobody can deny that this is still its most important function but, …

Engineers Design Buildings for a Purpose Engineers around the world will design a structure based on the brief given to them by a developer. The basis for any good design is to have a structure that is “fit for the purpose” for which it is intended. Most international building codes, …

Nkandla is Probably the Most Costly Owner Building Project in the History of South Africa Traditions come and go, and it seems once again to be a growing trend to have extended family living together in one home. But the numbers have grown out of hand at Zumaville, with the …

A Small House in the Dunes Jetty and Maarten Min have lived for more than twenty years in a small bungalow with magnificent views that they promised themselves that they would do something stunning with “later”. The bungalow was situated on the sand dunes in Bergen-aan-Zee in North Holland. Then …

Creative Home Design This imposing house was designed by well-known international architect Giovanni D’Ambrosio and is set in the popular winter skiing region of Australian in the State of Victoria’s mountain countryside near Mount Hotham. To integrate the house with its surroundings the architect has used organic materials. Wood, stone, …

How To Be SANS 10400XA Compliant – A Guide New Energy Regulations We get quite a few queries about the new SANS 10400-X and SANS 10400-XA on our website. Here are a few: Q: Hi, I have read through the regulations, but need clarification on whether an application is required …

Landscaping Your Garden in Stages – Part 2 As we suggested in Landscaping Stage 1, it is usually not going to be possible to build in all the plants, features or utilities into a garden when you initially start to build a house. These are facilities that will normally be …

Landscaping Your Garden in Stages – Part 1 It is not usually possible to incorporate all the plants, features or facilities into landscaping your garden when you first build a house. These are items which will normally be completed over a period of years as extra funds become available. It …

Landscaping Your Garden We have divided this article into two sections: > Landscaping Your Garden in Stages – Part 1 & Landscaping Your Garden in Stages – Part 2 The reason for this is because when you build a new house, starting to landscape your garden from scratch is an …

Cold Weather and Concrete Foundations The surrounding local temperature has a big effect on the setting time of concrete. The steps to take during cold weather are outlined below:  Chemical Reaction Hydration is the chemical reaction when cement and water are combined. This produces a strong binding medium for the …

A Concrete  Placing Guide   Concrete foundations This guide will help owner builders to cast foundations. These foundations are for external brick walls around a new house, or for extensions of an existing house. THE NHBRC (National Homebuilders Association Council) requirements for house foundations: For single storey buildings with a tiled or …

We Rely on Regulations Building regulations, and both international and national standards, are fundamental to successful building and construction projects, both big and small. It doesn’t matter whether you are building a garden shed out of timber, a modest family home from bricks and mortar, a skyscraper made by pouring …

About the NHBRC The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) was established in 1998 as a regulatory body for the home building industry. Their mandate is to protect house-building consumers and to make sure that building industry standards and regulations are followed. Their stated aim is to protect housing consumers …

How to Build a Container House Mads Møller of Arcgency an Architectural office situated in Copenhagen, Denmark. Has come up with a container house concept as he says is  using “Old shipping containers used as the structural framework for the WFH-Huse. This is not just recycling; This is upcycling!”  The WFH …