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Post 1: C11 The Enclosed Stage Checklist
Your walls are going up and the house finally feels real. But what you can't see now can cost you later. From dodgy wall ties to blocked weep holes, the enclosed stage is your last real chance to catch problems before they're sealed away.
Our latest post walks through the C11 Enclosed Stage Checklist. It covers:
- Site management. Why a messy site is more than an eyesore.
- Brickwork. How missing control joints or badly mixed mortar lead to costly cracks.
- Flashings and weep holes. Small details that keep your walls dry, or turn them into a damp sponge.
- Cladding and EPS board. Fibre cement and foam cladding look great, but only if they're installed properly.
Read the overview below, then grab the C11 Enclosed Stage Checklist and build with confidence.
Anthony Painter
Posts 2 and 3: ChatGPT builder reviews
What does an AI think of your potential builder? We use the same method for each review, asking ChatGPT to assess quality, language and what the builder says against what they do, then score them out of 10. This week: Hotondo Homes and G.J. Gardner Homes.
Anthony Painter
Anthony Painter
Website updates
- The Enclosed Stage Checklist is done. Another checklist is drafted and coming next week.
- We've added a DocSend embed to the latest checklist post to test the format.
- We're trimming this newsletter. It had got so long you needed a packed lunch to get through it, so from now on it's just the essential news from the week.
Software of the week: Supercut
Not sponsored. Just software we use.
Explaining something by email is slow and easy to misread. Supercut lets you record your screen, talk through what you're doing and send a link straight away.
- Instant sharing. Get a link as soon as you stop recording.
- Auto chapters. Viewers can jump to the part they need.
- Up to 4K recording.
- Timeline comments. Viewers can comment or react at a point in the video.
It runs as a browser extension on Windows (Chrome, Edge and Firefox) and as a native Mac app. At the time of writing it was in free beta, and it's shaping up as a good alternative to Loom.
Makes digital communication a whole lot easier and faster! Less charades and "war and peace" length emails.
This week's news
In case you missed it: the most important residential construction news for the week ending 4 April 2025. Our favourites are marked with burritos, up to five.
28-03-2025
🌯🌯 The budget reply fails to set out a clear plan to lift living standards or tackle the housing crisis. [[LINK]](https://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/budget-reply-fails-to-set-out-plan-to-lift-living-standards-or-tackle-housing-crisis/)
🌯🌯🌯 Housing crisis? What housing crisis? A look at the political paralysis behind the housing shortage. [[LINK]](https://rogermontgomery.com/housing-crisis-what-housing-crisis-a-look-into-the-political-paralysis-behind-the-housing-shortage/)
RACQ Charter Boat
🌯🌯🌯 Why no one really wants to fix the housing crisis. [[LINK]](https://grafa.com/insights/property-why-no-one-really-wants-to-fix-the-housing-crisis-403307)
Article excerpt: "To genuinely address housing affordability, Australia needs a holistic approach. This would involve increasing housing supply through measures such as modular construction and streamlined approval processes, reforming tax policies that currently favour investors, and lowering migration levels to align with housing availability."
🌯🌯🌯🌯 Housing industry ignores number one crisis solution. [[LINK]](https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/03/housing-industry-ignores-number-one-crisis-solution/)
🌯 Does the budget help solve the housing supply crisis? [[LINK]](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/does-the-budget-help-solve-the-housing-supply-crisis-/105098438)
🌯🌯 Queensland's infrastructure boom: the golden decade ahead. [[LINK]](https://infrastructuremagazine.com.au/queenslands-infrastructure-boom-the-golden-decade-ahead/)
29-03-2025
🌯🌯🌯 Are "innovative" prefab homes the answer to the housing crisis? [[LINK]](https://www.moneymag.com.au/are-innovative-prefab-homes-the-answer-to-the-housing-crisis)
Our comment: Yes. With labour shortages, entrenched players and supply chain problems, we need to rethink how homes are built. Manufacturing homes in a controlled factory lets us train workers to follow programmed processes that meet code, which widens the labour pool. The industry has had 20 years to evolve and hasn't. Why would it improve if left to its own devices?
🌯🌯🌯🌯 What are the major parties' housing policies? [[LINK]](https://www.savings.com.au/news/what-are-the-major-parties-housing-policies)
Our comment: Neither major party has offered a convincing plan; both are heavily influenced by vested interests. Until enough independents hold the balance of power to force compromise, expect more of the same. We need a shake-up big enough to make change unavoidable. Modular housing could be a key part of it, and government should be encouraging investment in it. It isn't cheap to scale, but if they're serious, they need to back it. For a look at what real scale looks like, check out Autovol.
ABB Robots
Our comment: Australia doesn't lack the expertise. Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, based in Brisbane, is a globally recognised robotics and automation expert who led automation work at Rio Tinto. Mining is far more complex than house construction. [[LINK]](https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/about/professor-hugh-durrant-whyte-cv)
If government were serious, it would invest in innovation and back local businesses so that capability compounds over time. [[LINK]](https://www.themandarin.com.au/287382-australia-nowhere-in-the-ai-race-says-top-scientist-calling-innovation-scene-dire) Attract talent. Australia has lost wave after wave of talent to the US because we don't back local startups. Stop commissioning another white paper and act: use our resource wealth to fund innovation and state-led or public-private housing manufacturing hubs, train people and expand the housing supply chain. And if you make money here, pay tax here. Profit shifting offshore costs Australians and adds to the affordability problem.
Australia's housing affordability crisis worsens. [[LINK]](https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/australias-housing-affordability-crisis-worsens-286858.aspx)
🌯🌯 Australia has access to all the structural timber it needs: ABARES. [[LINK]](https://woodcentral.com.au/australia-has-access-to-all-the-structural-timber-it-needs-abares/)
🌯🌯🌯 Housing is less affordable than ever. [[LINK]](https://grattan.edu.au/news/housing-is-less-affordable-than-ever/)
Article excerpt: "Instead, the biggest problem is that housing construction in recent years hasn't kept up with increasing demand."
🌯🌯 Dutton doubles down on "super for housing" policy. [[LINK]](https://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/dutton-doubles-down-on-super-for-housing-policy-179808040)
Our comment: Rather than fix supply, the proposal lets you dip into your retirement savings to buy homes made expensive by decades of policy failure. The Super Members Council warned it would push prices up rather than create more home buyers.
🌯🌯 Super for housing a recipe for disaster. [[LINK]](https://ieuqnt.org.au/super-for-housing-a-recipe-for-disaster/)
30-03-2025
Peter Dutton wants to be the "PM for home ownership", but do his policies stack up? [[LINK]](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/peter-dutton-wants-to-be-the-pm-for-home-ownership-but-do-his-policies-stack-up/q6qtaq6z9)
With net migration falling, experts say "surge" talk is overblown. [[LINK]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-30/migration-already-falling-despite-election-debate-over-surge/105111118)
31-03-2025
How a "lost decade" of low wage growth stopped young Australians buying homes. [[LINK]](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-30/lost-decade-young-australians-home-ownership-per-capita/105109248)
01-04-2025
🌯🌯 Why Australia has a housing crisis. [[LINK]](https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/03/why-australia-has-a-housing-crisis/)
02-04-2025
Coalition's pledge to relax bank lending rules labelled a "disaster waiting to happen" by the Greens. [[LINK]](https://www.9news.com.au/national/federal-election-2025-coalition-pledge-relax-mortgage-serviceability-buffer-greens-response/d5b5fcbd-8ea3-4fe1-a803-9669db24c5bc)
Our comment: Letting people borrow more to chase a limited supply of houses isn't a solution. Increase supply and everything else follows. The sale of AVJennings to an overseas buyer is another sign local builders are struggling. Buyers like that aren't doing it for charity. It's easier to buy a presence than build one from scratch.
03-04-2025
🌯🌯🌯 Aussie home builder AVJennings latest to fall into offshore hands amid cost pressures. [[LINK]](https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/aussie-home-builder-avjennings-latest-to-fall-into-offshore-hands-amid-cost-pressures)
New legislation to protect owners' corporations and homeowners slammed by builders' association. [[LINK]](https://www.docklandsnews.com.au/new-legislation-to-protect-owners-corporations-and-homeowners-slammed-by-builders-association/)
04-04-2025
Weak home approvals and apartment costs doom housing targets. [[LINK]](https://australianpropertyupdate.com.au/apu/weak-home-approvals-and-apartment-costs-doom-housing-targets)
The Constructor Forum
Got a question, or want to share a quality building detail, product or person that impressed you? The forum is a positive place to discuss good construction, good products and the people doing great work.
That's all for this week
The best way to support us is to share this with three friends who'll find it useful. You can reach me on X, Mastodon or Bluesky at @obiwonky. Anthony
PS: All our quality management checklists are on the Checklists page. C1 is free, and you can preview the others before you buy. They're A4 and print-ready, so the files are on the larger side.
