Owner-supplied materials and fittings: who carries the risk
A client who buys the tapware or the doors has not taken the builder out of the job. This guide shows where the risk really lands and what to record before the item goes in.
11 min read
Topic
Materials
Articles and news about Materials for Australian builders.
Owner-supplied materials and fittings: who carries the risk
A client who buys the tapware or the doors has not taken the builder out of the job. This guide shows where the risk really lands and what to record before the item goes in.
11 min read
Purchase orders a small builder will actually use
A purchase order is the cheapest control a small builder can put on spending, and the one most often skipped. This guide sets out a habit that holds up on a busy site.
12 min read
Polycarbonate roof sheeting: expansion and fixing
Polycarbonate moves far more than the steel frame beneath it. The fixings have to allow that movement, or the sheet cracks in the first hot season.
12 min read
QR codes on site: linking materials and inspections to records
A QR code on a pallet or a wall is only useful if the record it opens is the current, correct one. Labelling discipline and record control matter more than the technology.
11 min read
Ordering materials through supplier portals: the checks that matter
A supplier portal is quick, but it moves the checking that a counter sales person used to do onto the builder, and the mistakes it hides are expensive.
12 min read
Retaining wall materials and drainage behind the wall
A retaining wall fails when the ground behind it has nowhere to go. The material matters less than how the wall is backfilled and drained, and that is where most failures begin.
12 min read
Lead paint in older homes: safe work practices for renovation builders
Lead paint can turn a routine renovation into a health risk for the crew and the occupants. This guide covers testing, dust control, keeping lead separate from other hazards and disposing of the waste.
11 min read
Lead paint in renovations: what disturbance means for your crew
Old paint in an older home can release lead dust the moment it is scraped, sanded or cut. Plan the testing, the controls, the cleaning and the waste before the first tool comes out.
11 min read
Choosing mortar and joint profiles for durable brickwork
Mortar is usually chosen for convenience, but its strength relative to the units and the shape of the finished joint decide how a wall handles movement and water over its life.
11 min read
Autoclaved aerated concrete walls: what builders get wrong
Autoclaved aerated concrete is light, quick to lay and unforgiving of water. Most of the callbacks on AAC walls come from handling, adhesive and moisture decisions made before the render goes on, not from the blocks themselves.
12 min read
Storing and moving gas cylinders safely on a house site
Gas cylinders are the most ordinary item on a house site and one of the least respected. Where they stand, how they travel and what is kept beside them decides whether a bad day stays a bad day or becomes a fire.
12 min read
Receival inspection: checking building materials before they are installed
A receival inspection is the last moment you can reject a defective delivery cheaply. Once the product is fixed, the argument shifts from the supplier’s problem to yours.
12 min read