10% is actually the rule of thumb number that I have heard used for years. Of that 10%, about 60% typically goes to construction docs and the other 40 goes to the earlier phases of the job. Pre-design, if any, is often done hourly. None of this is set in stone anywhere and it will vary depending on the designer's experience and overhead, the complexity and size of the job, etc. There is certainly nothing alarming or unreasonable about asking 10%, and in design, as in most things, you generally get what you pay for.

I would clean up first. Especially the stuff growing in the paving. Then get gardening with pot plants and start experimenting with different plants and the positions. See what you like and if you can keep it alive! Our house has the sun setting over the back fence and we've done a few inexpensive things to reduce that issue (most expensive were outdoor blinds around the verandah) but for most of the year we just don't want to be out there. It is hard work to keep the plants going in summer, there is a lot of sand due to the difficulty in keeping lawn alive and it is just bloody hot. So, that's why I'm saying clean up, start gardening small and see how you go before committing to structures that might not address the real issues you have with the yard. Just my 2 cents! :)

I didn't like any of the stock standard vanities I saw being sold. By chance I happened to see a second hand vanity being sold on FB so I brought it ( see photo). I liked its shape and solid profile but didn't like its colour. I took it to a auto car spray painter and had them spray paint it in Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal (a greige grey). They did an awesome paint job with a mirror like finish. I brought a piece of primestone (marble look) for the top, two small towel rails to be fixed in the underside of the vanity that is sticking out so I can hang hand towels on either side. I brought a new tap for it (but kept the vessel basin). I ordered in some new legs for it online because I didn't like the legs on it (see below). Its currently at a joiners getting put together. I've actually enjoyed the process of pulling it all together. Sure by the time it has been put together I probably would have spent the same amount that it would have cost me to do a custom vanity however I think there is something to be said for re-using something a second time round rather than buying into consumerism that abounds us. All up I've spent $1,074 NZD for the vanity, the spray paint job, new legs from www.prettypegs.com, the new towel rails from Reece Plumbing & buying a new Elementi tap. That doesn't include the joiners costs - yet. I needed storage in my vanity. This one fit the bill for me. Good luck with what you choose to do! I am doing a bathroom remodel as well and enjoying it.

Hi everyone. Last October we booked a painter to repaint the exterior of our house. He estimated that he would start late February. Late February came and went, and in early March I sent him an email to see how he was going. No reply. I left a message on his phone. No reply. I finally managed to get him on the cell phone, and he said that he was 2-3 weeks away. No sign of him at the end of March. I sent him another email. No reply. I've texted him, and no reply. Am I expecting too much to think that I should not have to chase the painter like this? I'm getting concerned that as the weather gets worse the job is going to take longer and so will cost me more (we are paying for scaffolding by the week). It's starting to stress me out. Should I just cancel with this guy and try to find someone else to help, possibly for next summer?