Minor Building Work

The Implications of Selling a House Without Approved Plans If you are selling your house, and don’t have approved plans, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. And if you are buying a house, and don’t ask whether the seller has approved plans, you might end up inheriting …

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 …

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 …

A garden structure is not just a wendy house. I am just going to post a few pictures of things in the garden including a wooden shed or two so that you can get a few good ideas. Here is a small wooden shed that I built for a step-by-step …

What is “Minor Building Work”? Whatever you construct on your property needs plans, unless it is defined as “minor building work”. Even so the Act states very well in Part A: General Principles and Requirements (this was previously Part A: Administration), that any structural building work that is defined as …

Strategic Planning of Boundary Walls and Fences Boundary walls and fences are one of the most controversial topics facing homeowners. We are constantly contacted by people from all parts of South Africa who want advice – or have some sort of problem – relating to boundary walls and fences – …

Concrete Slab Step-by-Step Whether you are casting concrete for foundation footings to support a simple timber structure, or for a solid slab that will form the floor of a garden building to be built from wood, the principles are exactly the same. Of course, if the slab is to act …

 Conned by a Fly-by-Night Pool Builder Why you should use a pool contractor who belongs to the NSPI South Africa’s building industry is rife with problems, so whether you are building a house or a swimming pool, it is essential to employ professionals with the experience needed to do it …

You Don’t Need Plans for Minor Building Work … But you DO Need Permission to Build Anything you build on your property needs plans, unless it is defined as “minor building work”. However the Act states very clearly in Part A: General Principles and Requirements (this was previously Part A: …

How far from the boundary wall must I build?   We get a number of questions asking “How close to the boundary am I (or my neighbour) allowed to build?” The site plan above is a sample and is only a guide to the approximate building lines and distances that …