Month: July 2013

Why You Should Consider Sustainability

There is a lot of rubbish talked by big builders about sustainability costing you more!

In my opinion considering sustainable design for your new home will save you money as well as the environment. Here are three reasons why:

Size

A key sustainability principle is to minimise the use of resources. Getting a Smaller House means you save money on materials. The smaller house also has less wall and roof area where heat is lost. Reducing the size by 20% should reduce heat transfer through the roof by the same amount, and reduce the heat transfer through walls by around 10%.

Orientation

Getting the Correct Orientation can add an extra star to the house energy rating at no extra cost, which is going to save on your heating and cooling costs. It will also fill your house with light without causing overheating in summer.

Right Sizing Windows

Windows are the least effective element of the house as far as heat transfer is concerned, even if double glazed. Most windows are also much bigger than they need to be. Reducing windows on the West and East of the house and reducing the size on the South is normally a no cost option.

Get these things right and you will be saving money on the mortgage, and on your heating and cooling bills.

 

See Passive Solar for more on Sustainability

 

Concrete Pavement Thickness


The concrete pavement comprises the actual slab and its foundation known as the ‘Subgrade’

Subgrade

A lot of concreters will say a concrete slabs don’t need any foundations……That’s Bulldust!

The area around your new home is likely to have had service trenches dug across it and be churned up by construction activity, which is not going to provide a strong enough base.

Basically you need to get rid of all unsuitable (soft) material including topsoil.

It needs to be replaced  with a minimum of 100mm of suitable subgrade material such as roadbase.

See Preparing the Base for more information,

Slab Thickness

Here are some recommendations for the minimum concrete slab thickness:

  • 75mm  – Paths and Patios
  • 100mm – Parking for Cars, Caravans and Utes
  • 150mm – Footpath Crossover and Main Driveway

The reason why I suggest 150mm for the main driveway is because this has the biggest risk of something like a delivery truck using it.

 

For another post on on getting your paths and driveways correct see Concreting

 

Small Strata Developments

A small strata development is a way of retaining an existing house and providing a rear Block. It is an alternative to a Battle Axe Block. This plan shows a typical Small Strata Development.

With this type of development there are 3 Titles as follows:

  • A block title, of reduced size for the original house
  • A block title for the new block shown in red on the plan
  • An area of common title which is jointly owned by the owners of both blocks

So what  are the issues if you are thinking of buying the back block for you new home?

Driveway

  • If the common driveway is completed it may well get damaged during construction.
  • Getting agreement about driveway repair can be difficult.
  • Getting agreement from your neighbour to use the access for during construction can be difficult.
  • Sharing a driveway means that your parking options are limited and can lead to disputes.
  • Looking after the shared driveway is like some of the
    Community Title     issues.

Additional Service Costs

You will be need to bring in some, if not all, of the following service for an extra 20-30m.

  • Power.
  • Phone.
  • Water, could be two services if you want recycled water.
  • Gas, if it is available.
  • Storm water drainage, can be a problem if property drains to road.

The sewer is usually at the back of the block but check before you buy.

Additional Building Costs

I have heard additional building costs of more than $15,000 for these blocks because they are Restricted Sites

 

Lots more information in the anewhouse Guide to Buying a Block for only $4

See Blocks for more information on buying land.

 

Buying a Block

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Posts from this Blog and Much More.

In pdf format so you can read it on your tablet computer.

82 pages packed with advice  including Comprehensive Checklists that can be printed out.

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CLICK HERE for more details

 

Firewood Storage

If you are serious about wood fired heating you are going to have to think about storage.

How Long Do You Need To Store?

Firewood should be seasoned, until it is thoroughly dried out.

For freshly cut wood that typically means for at least 2 years.

Wood gathered from the forest floor still needs at least a years storage.

Unseasoned wood  doesn’t burn as efficiently as seasoned wood.  The difference is noticeable, and some of the problems are:

  • The volatile components won’t ignite such as creosote.
  • The volatiles are deposited as a black mess (which is highly flammable once it dries) on the inside of the flue.
  • There will be too much smoke.
  • There will lot of steam going up the flue, Which carries a lot of the heat with it.

Storage Locations

As Enough Wood for a Year is around 10 cubic m you need to be able to store around twice that amount.

This can be split between 3 places:

  1. An open storage for the first years storage. (The timber will still dry even though it is being rained on)
  2. A roofed storage for the second years storage. (Make sure this, and the first years storage is well away from the house)
  3. A day or two storage next to the door.(I just use a wheelbarrow)

 What Not to Do

One of the things I sometimes see in those trendy magazines is firewood storage next to the fire. A bad idea in my opinion there is going to be a lot of spiders and other insects in the firewood.

See why Wood Heaters are Better than Open Fires

 

 

Drop Edge Beams

If you want to build your new home on a slope you may need to have the additional cost of needing drop edge beams on the low side of the slabs.

These are a sort of retaining wall to hold the fill under the house slab as shown in the drawing below.

Here is a photo of a typical drop edge beam before the brickwork has been started.

Costs (2013) are in the order of $500-$700/sqm of beam, plus the cost of the fill under the slab.

Say. . . $12,000 to $18,000 for a 20m long house with a 1.5m drop beam so a significant extra!

The photo below shows the same wall after the brickwork has been completed.


If you are building on a slope you may also want to know about Retaining Wall Fairness

Thanks to Grumblebum54 for the photos

Bio-Ethanol Fires

Everywhere I go these days I see Bio-Ethanol Fires….. so are they a good idea for your new home?

Well all the publicity says they are a renewable resource that produces a ‘living flame’.  As Ethanol (we used to call it methylated spirits) burns cleanly with no toxic byproducts these heaters can be used in a room without a flue.

Well before you go down the Bio-Ethanol heater route here are some things to consider.

It’s Not a Main Heat Source

While a Bio Ethanol fire does give out heat, it’s not enough to heat out your house like a traditional Wood Heater. About the most you can expect is around 2 kW (the equivalent of a small fan heater).

Water Vapour

One of the combustion products is water. For each litre of fuel it produces almost 1/10th of a litre of water vapour. That can mean more condensation on the windows, and even mould in cold corners.

Oxygen Consumption

Although there are no fumes like a traditional fire it consumes the oxygen in the air. So make sure you get some fresh (colder) air into the room.

Safety

Some points about the Fire Risk:

  • You are storing a highly flammable liquid and pouring it in a heater in your living room.
  • You should never fill the heater while its burning or even when the burner is hot.
  • It is still a naked flame. Make sure children are kept well away from it.

Cost

Although there are some cheap Bio- Ethanol Heaters I wouldn’t feel all that safe with a cut price unit. If you get a quality heater you could be paying a lot of extra money for that flame effect.

 

Heating is just one of the topics included

in the Pre-Start/Selection Guide?

 

Shovel

I think a Shovel, as well as a Spade, is a worthwhile addition to your tool collection for your new home.

You should be able to buy a ‘Concreters’ Shovel like this for $25 dollars, or less, so it shouldn’t break the bank!

As well as concreting it’s a good shovel for loading bark. topsoil, or any other loose material into a Wheelbarrow.

If your partners is helping you having both of you shoveling, one with the shovel, and one with a spade, will get the job done a lot faster.

The same goes for cleaning, as with a spade, make sure you clean it after every use.

 

The Settling In Section contains lots of advice on what

to do after you have moved in your new house

 

Advice – Fail

When I saw this Billboard the other day I had turn round to drive past it again, as I didn’t believe it the first time!

They are making it appear that it’s a big deal that they are selling what are the worst blocks on the estate!

A North Facing Block mean that the house gets very little warming sun during winter, as half the front of the house will probably be garage door.

A typical house will also have lots of East and West facing windows which will really soak up summer sun making the house a real sweatbox. With winter there will be no sun coming in but lots of heat going out through those windows.

It just goes to show that if you want honest advice don’t rely on Real Estate Agents or Land Developers.

 

To find out which way to face is best see Orientation

For more fails and unusual houses go to What the………………….?

 

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