Air sealing a residential envelope: where builders lose points
Air sealing fails for reasons that have nothing to do with the sealant. It fails because the sequence was wrong, the junctions were never detailed, and the defects were closed up before anyone could check them.
14 min read
The PointCPD blog
Building industry news and articles
What is changing in Australian building, and what it means on site: construction technology, materials, energy, regulation, safety, contracts and the housing market.
Air sealing a residential envelope: where builders lose points
Air sealing fails for reasons that have nothing to do with the sealant. It fails because the sequence was wrong, the junctions were never detailed, and the defects were closed up before anyone could check them.
14 min read
Claiming against the NSW Home Building Compensation Fund: what builders owe when a homeowner lodges a claim
The Home Building Compensation Fund sits behind residential building work when a builder cannot finish the job or fix defects. Understanding the claim pathway, and your obligations while it runs, is what keeps a claim from becoming a licensing problem.
10 min read
Provisional sums and prime cost items: pricing what the client has not chosen yet
The two allowances that cause most of the arguments at the end of a job. What each one is actually for, how to set them so the adjustment does not turn into a dispute, and how to explain the difference to a client before they pick the tapware.
11 min read
Slab edge thickness and setdowns: getting levels right before fitout
Setdowns and edge thickness are fixed the day the formwork goes down, but the consequences land weeks later with the tiler, the shower screen installer and the door hanger. Here is how to tie the slab setout to the finishes schedule before you pour.
11 min read
Roof and edge protection plans for two-storey homes: layout decisions at set-up
On a two-storey house, the edge protection plan is settled long before anyone climbs the trusses. The decisions that matter are perimeter coverage, how the levels connect, and what happens at the openings nobody wants to pay to guard.
11 min read
Who regulates builder CPD in NSW, and what each body actually does
Three different institutions touch your CPD, and only one of them can refuse your renewal. This is the map of who sets the rule, who audits it, and where it is actually written down.
12 min read
What actually drives construction costs in Australian residential building
Material prices, labour supply, fuel, regulation and finance all push residential construction costs around, and most of them sit outside your control. The builders who survive the cycle are the ones who price the mechanism, not the moment.
11 min read
What it really costs to move your estimating from spreadsheets
A new estimating platform is not a software purchase, it is a change of method. Here is where the money and the risk actually sit when a residential builder moves off spreadsheets.
10 min read
NatHERS assessments and what they mean for your build
A NatHERS certificate is a design document, not a formality. It commits you to specific insulation, glazing and sealing outcomes that have to survive contact with the site.
10 min read
Owner-builder permits in NSW: what a licensed builder must check before starting
An owner-builder permit lets the owner take legal control of residential building work. That changes your contract, your insurance position and your supervision duties long before you set foot on site.
15 min read
Quoting residential building jobs in NSW without losing money
Most quotes that lose money were not priced badly at the takeoff. They were priced without a deliberate margin, without a risk allowance, and without a written set of assumptions the client agreed to. Here is a repeatable process for residential work in NSW.
13 min read
Waffle raft slab defects: a pre-pour and post-pour fault-finding checklist
Most waffle raft defects are locked in before the pump truck arrives, and most of the rest are caused by what happens in the first days after the pour. This is a fault-finding checklist built around the failure modes specific to waffle rafts.
12 min read
Working alone on a residential site: the tasks that should never be done solo
On small jobs the lone worker is usually the person who owns the job, which is why nobody plans for it. Here is how to decide which tasks need a second person, and how to make a check-in system that actually works.
12 min read
Free site templates for builders
SWMS, JSA, Take 5, inspection checklists, site diary, variations and payment claims. Word and PDF, free for commercial use.