Blog

Practical guides on structural engineering, inspections, drainage and building work.

A modern two-storey white rendered house with an upper-floor balcony edged by a frameless glass balustrade, white columns over a covered patio with a timber-battened ceiling, palm trees and a lawn under a blue sky

Balconies and decks

Balustrade height in Queensland: what do the rules require?

Balustrade height in QLD: at least 1 m on balconies and decks and 865 mm on stairs, wherever a fall is 1 m or more. Gaps must stop a 125 mm sphere.

A white hard hat, rolled construction drawings tied with string and a yellow spirit level on a weathered timber stool, with a house on a grassy slope, a grey block retaining wall and a low timber deck blurred behind

Structural design

What are engineered drawings, and when do you need them on the Gold Coast?

Engineered drawings show a structural engineer's design of footings, slab and framing. A Queensland building certifier can accept the design on a Form 15.

A galvanised round steel pile with a flat square cap plate standing in pale sand, with rows of other steel piles, a yellow excavator with a drive attachment, palm trees and a timber house frame behind

Foundations

Screw piles: what are they and where do they suit Gold Coast sites?

Screw piles are steel shafts with a helix plate, screwed down to soil that can carry the load. In Qld, the NCC accepts piled footings designed to AS 2159.

A white single-storey house with a corrugated metal roof on a grassy headland above the sea, with palm trees bending in strong wind and a rain squall under storm clouds offshore

Wind loads

Wind ratings N1 to N6: what do they mean on the Gold Coast?

A wind rating is a house site's AS 4055 wind class: N1 to N6, or C1 to C4 in cyclonic regions. The Gold Coast is in wind Region B, so homes get N classes.