The Challenge of Owner Building This web site is aimed not only to assist those building their own homes, but to inspire home builders and anyone who has decided to try owner building. Having owner-built ourselves, several times, we have loads of advice to give others. Having written, illustrated and produced scores of books relating…
Owner Build Your Own House in South Africa: A Comprehensive Guide Introduction: To “Build my own house” can be an exciting and rewarding endeavour, allowing you to design and create a home that perfectly suits your needs and preferences. In South Africa, the process to owner build your own house is certainly feasible, but it…
What Are You Required to Do with the NHBRC as an Owner Builder? All new homes, by law, have to be registered with the NHBRC, some RDP houses are exempt from this. As an owner builder you may apply for an exemption from the Housing Consumer Protection Measures Act with the NHBRC. There are certain…
What Is the SABS? What Does the SABS Do? The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and now operates under the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008). This national body promotes and maintains the standards…
Here is a Classic Film Clip on How to Build a House This how to build a house film clip that was made back in 1946 is a must-watch for anyone contemplating doing any sort of building. Even though it was made so many years ago the process has more or less remained the same….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Picture Above: Stage two, where you maybe put in a pool and other areas for entertaining 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…
Landscaping Your Garden in Stages – Part 1 Picture Above: A bed of Iceberg standard roses with an Australian tufted violet groundcover filling the bed. 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 that will normally be…
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 enormous task. Plants need to…
Picture Above: A freshly placed concrete slab still wet on the top surface Cold Weather and Foundations The surrounding local temperature has a big effect on the setting time of cold concrete. The steps to take with foundations during cold weather are outlined below: Chemical Reaction Hydration is the chemical reaction when cement and water…
A Concrete Placing Guide Cast Your foundations This guide will help owner-builders to cast the 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-story buildings with tiled or sheeted roofs in stable soil conditions, the…
About the NHBRC The National Home Builders Registration Council (The 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 who use contractors who…
How to Build a Container House Mads Møller of Arcgency is 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 concept is a modular…
How to Decorate Floors with Concrete Concrete floors do not have to be drab and grey. Oh No! There is a South African company that manufactures and supplies specialised coatings, especially for you to give your floors that million-dollar look. Fairly easy to mix and apply it is also a cost-effective finish for your concrete floor….
A Table for Concrete Mixes by Weight in Kilograms, by Bag, and by Cubic Meter, for Various Strengths We have had numerous requests for concrete mix ratios by weight, by volume, and by mass. Here is a table that was released by the Cement and Concrete Institute for trial concrete mixes from 10MPa to 40MPa….
By-Law Definitions for Planning, Building and Zoning These definitions are mainly, but not exclusively, extracted from the Greater Metropolitan Area of Cape Town’s By-Laws Planning and Zoning definitions and explanations. They do and can relate to terms and phrases used nationally by other Municipalities and planning departments. We will be adding to them on an…
Definitions that are used in the Home Building Industry Words and definitions that are used in the home building industry are sometimes a little difficult to understand what is meant. Here we have a list of some terms that are used with an explanation of what it is the person using it means. Some of…
