Public tracker
How much of this has actually been done
Written is not the same as done. This page is the difference, kept in public so you can see exactly how far ahead the path has really been walked before you follow it.
- Field-tested
- 0
- Carried out on a real block, with notes
- In progress
- 0
- Being done right now
- Researched only
- 91
- Written and sources verified — but unproven
How to use this honestly.Follow the field-tested lessons. For everything else, the research is real and every link was checked — but nobody has felt what happens when it goes wrong. Verify anything that costs real money or carries real risk before you commit to it, and get a qualified person to look at structural, drainage and electrical work regardless.
Every lesson
02 — First contact and the brief
0 of 5 done03 — Site analysis
0 of 10 done- 📖Measuring up: a base plan without paying a surveyor
- 📖Levels, falls and datum: shooting levels cheaply and accurately
- 📖Perth soils: identifying Bassendean, Spearwood and Karrakatta on your block
- 📖Soil testing: pH, water repellency, depth and nutrition
- 📖Sun, shade and the Fremantle Doctor: aspect analysis south of the equator
- 📖Water on site: drainage, soakwells, low spots and roof runoff
- 📖Locating services: Before You Dig, sewer, water, power, gas and existing retic
- 📖Auditing an existing garden: keep, kill, or salvage
- 📖Tree assessment, retention and when you need an arborist
- 📖The constraints and opportunities plan
04 — Rules, permits and approvals
0 of 7 done- 📖R-Codes and your local council: setbacks, site cover and landscaping requirements
- 📖Retaining walls: the 500 mm rule, AS 4678 and when an engineer is mandatory
- 📖Patios, pergolas, decks and sheds: when a building permit is triggered
- 📖Pools, spas and the barrier rules
- 📖Dividing fences and the neighbour conversation
- 📖Bores, the sprinkler roster and the winter ban
- 📖Bushfire (BAL) and dieback obligations
05 — Concept design
0 of 8 done- 📖Design fundamentals: proportion, scale, unity, rhythm and focal points
- 📖Functional zoning and bubble diagrams
- 📖Circulation, sightlines and thresholds
- 📖Designing for a Perth summer: shade, thermal mass and the western wall
- 📖Style, mood boards and material palettes that belong in WA
- 📖Hydrozoning: water-led design before you draw anything
- 📖Producing the concept plan with free tools
- 📖Presenting a concept and taking feedback without wrecking it
06 — Detailed design and documentation
0 of 8 done- 📖From concept to a setting-out plan you can build from
- 📖Levels and grading plan: falls, steps and cut-and-fill balance
- 📖Hardscape details and sections
- 📖Drainage plan: soakwells, subsoil drains and surface falls
- 📖Irrigation plan: stations, mainline and controller schedule
- 📖Planting plan and plant schedule
- 📖Lighting plan
- 📖The specification and schedule of works
07 — Costing, quoting and contract
0 of 7 done- 📖Quantity take-offs from your own drawings
- 📖Perth material prices and where the trade actually buys
- 📖Labour, plant hire, tipping fees and the costs beginners forget
- 📖Building the quote: overheads, margin and contingency
- 📖Staging a project across seasons and budgets
- 📖Contracts, deposits, variations and payment schedules in WA
- 📖DIY versus subcontract: what is genuinely worth paying for
08 — Build
0 of 25 done- 📖Site establishment, safety, access and protecting what stays
- 📖Demolition, clearing and killing weeds properly
- 📖Earthworks: setting out, excavation, cut and fill, compaction
- 📖Machinery: bobcat, excavator, and hire versus hire-with-operator
- 📖Installing drainage and soakwells
- 📖Building retaining walls: limestone, block and sleeper
- 📖Base preparation for hard surfaces
- 📖Paving: laying, cutting, edge restraint and jointing
- 📖Concrete: formwork, reinforcement, pouring and finishes
- 📖Decking: substructure, footings, timber choice and termites
- 📖Structures: pergolas, screens, gates and outdoor kitchens
- 📖Irrigation 1 — Hydraulics: flow, pressure and friction loss
- 📖Irrigation 2 — Measuring your water: scheme supply versus bore
- 📖Irrigation 3 — Turning hydrozones into stations
- 📖Irrigation 4 — Choosing emitters: sprays, rotors, MP rotators and drip
- 📖Irrigation 5 — Precipitation rate, distribution uniformity and run times
- 📖Irrigation 6 — Mainline, valves, solenoids and wiring
- 📖Irrigation 7 — Controllers, smart controllers and roster compliance
- 📖Irrigation 8 — Installing, commissioning and auditing the system
- 📖Garden lighting installation
- 📖Turning Perth sand into soil: clay, compost and wetting agents
- 📖Planting: sourcing, technique, spacing and establishment
- 📖Turf for Perth: choosing and laying Kikuyu, Couch, Buffalo or Zoysia
- 📖Mulch, edging and the finishing details that separate pro from DIY
- 📖Final clean and detail
09 — Handover and records
0 of 5 done10 — Maintenance and establishment
0 of 9 done- 📖The first twelve weeks: establishment care
- 📖The Perth year: a maintenance calendar on the Noongar six seasons
- 📖Watering through the year and auditing your reticulation
- 📖Fertilising Perth sand: little and often, and the phosphorus trap
- 📖Pruning: what, when and why
- 📖Lawn care through the Perth year
- 📖WA pests and diseases: black beetle, couch mite, millipedes and dieback
- 📖Weeds in WA gardens
- 📖When to renovate, replace and rethink