Main Picture Above: Designed with the needs of a family in mind, this small bathroom has durable, easy-to-clean ceramic tile surfaces and owes much of its charm to a simple, streamlined layout and a restful neutral background. Your Bathroom Planning the Right Way Whether it is a guest cloakroom, a luxurious en suite arrangement or…
A Fashionable Black Minimalist House In fashion, black is the colour that will always get a load of attention and recognition because of its depth of colour can simply make people and the place they live look fashionable. In home designing, black is the colour that can be said to be strong or bold. In…
Tips on How to Remodel Your Bathroom A comprehensive survey of the functions and fittings of an existing or future bathroom will help you to organise your thoughts and will also give you a good idea of the size and cost to remodel your bathroom that lies ahead. Before you rush out and order hundreds…
House Plan Submissions – What is the Process? The City of Cape Town has created an easy-to-follow infographic to explain how the process of house plan submissions works. No online submissions Plans cannot be submitted by post or online, they have to be “walked through” personally by the owner or his appointed qualified professional. The…
Picture Above: A retaining wall constructed from specially designed, interlocking blocks The Implications of Building Retaining Walls Part K of SANS 10400, Walls in the National Building Regulations (NBR) covers the structural strength and stability of all walls, including those that form part of a house or other building, and both garden and boundary walls….
City of Cape Town Planning Departments Now Accept Plans On a Memory Stick After at least two years of development, the City of Cape Town has implemented and introduced its new DAMS (Development Application Management System). This new Development Application Management System allows all new development applications to be made and processed through the new DAMS and…
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Electric fences are governed by the Electrical Machinery Regulations which are part of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In addition, local authorities and municipalities have their own by-laws that must be complied with. You can download the Electrical Machinery Regs from the link above. Below is an explanation extracted from the City of Cape Town…
A stunning swimming pool picture aboveWould you need to submit plans for a pool like this? See the post below.Pool by Prim City of Johannesburg Relaxes Swimming Pools 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…
The NHBRC has Deregistered from VAT and Adjusted their Fees We have recently had a number of enquiries about how the NHBRC fees are calculated, those are 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 their…
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 manufactured. This is because of…
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 even further by buying ready-planed…
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 not affect your COC? Plumbing…
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. The Owner is therefore responsible for…
Submit Your Article We are inviting you to submit your very own uniqueHome 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 you have to do is submit…
The PAJA: The SA Law that Protects 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 want to know who they…
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 that this is going to…
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 made to the home builder…
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, nevertheless, it seems a poor…
The Photograph above: By Valenciano – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29802079 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 purpose” for which it is…
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 President’s brothers, many wives, and…
A Small House in the Dunes – Dune House 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 (Dune House). 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 Australia 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, metal and glass are all…
How To Be SANS 10400XA Compliant – A Guide New Energy Regulations SANS 10400XA and SANS 10400X are what we get quite a few queries about on our website. Here are a few: Q: Hi,I have read through the regulations, but need clarification on whether an application is required when changing existing steel framed windows…
Alterations and Additions to Your Home There are so many changes that have been made to the National Building Regulations in recent years that homeowners may be forgiven for wondering what is and what is not allowed in terms of altering and making home additions. Some of the greatest concerns relate to the new energy…
