5 home-building hot spots that can violate code

There are plenty of laws and regulations to follow when you're building a home. Following these tips can help you keep everything up to code.

A dwelling is usually required to have:

• Kitchen sink and facilities for cooking food
• A bath or shower
• Clothes washing facilities with a laundry tub and space for a washing machine
• Toilet facilities with a wash basin
• Laundries in general shouldn't be part of a kitchen.

• The minimum ceiling height for habitable rooms is 240 centimetres (94 inches).
• Larger homes often have ceilings ranging from 270 centimetres (106 inches) to 300 centimetres (118 inches) in height.
• Laundries, kitchens, bathrooms and hallways can have a ceiling height of 210 centimetres (83 inches).
• Sometimes authorities will make an allowance in rooms with sloping ceilings, as long as the lower ceilings don't interfere with the "proper functioning" of the room.

• The minimum area for a useful bathroom is approximately 180 x 180 centimetres (70 x 70 inches).
• Rooms with any wall dimension less than 300 centimetres (118 inches) would be considered small.
• Living or lounge rooms ideally should have all dimensions over 360 centimetres (142 inches).

• Minimum widths for hallways and stairs are about 80 centimetres (31 inches). But 100 centimetres (39 inches) is a more acceptable width.
• The approved dimensions for doorway openings are 90 x 210 centimetres (35 x 83 inches).
• Standard doors need to be 82 centimetres (32 inches) wide by 204 centimetres (30 inches) tall.
• Very large rooms may be expensive to build because the ceiling and roof may need steel or timber beams to make it structurally sound.
• Factory-made trusses can be used to span large areas.

The prescribed wall widths for houses are:

• Timber-framed internal walls: 9.5 to 12 centimetres (3 1/2 to 4 inches)
• Brick internal walls with render: 13 centimetres to 14 centimetres (five to 5 1/2 inches)
• Brick veneer walls with plasterboard linings: 27 centimetres (11 inches)
• Cavity brick walls with internal render: 28.5 centimetres (11 inches)
• Solid brick: 23 centimetres (nine inches).

To build your home, you'll need to follow the national building codes, plus any by-laws and regulations of the local authorities. With all these laws finally followed, your home can be safer and stronger.