What is the ‘Focal Point’ of your new living room going to be?
This is something to think about when you are planning your new house as it will involve the layout and furniture of the room.
Generally there are three options.
The Fireplace
When i was young . . . in the 1950’s, (In the UK) this was the traditional focal point to a room.
Now with central heating the fireplace, in many home,s has lost its importance.
Many homes no longer have a fireplace as standard, but it can be an expensive ‘upgrade’.
The View
A window can be a great focal point with a few qualifications;
The view needs to be pleasant . . . not a view of a colourbnd fence 1m from the window.
The view need to be visible when you are sitting down.
What happens at night when it’s dark and/or the curtains are shut?
The Television
As television screens have increased in size over the years the TV has become a more important focal point.
In many rooms I see the television is not only a focal point, but dominates the room.
How Many Focal Points?
I think rooms can work well with two focal points.
In our current living room our focal points are a great view and the TV. These are on adjacent walls with both in direct line of site from our normal sitting position.
I have seen several rooms such as the photo rooms where the TV is mounted above the fireplace to get three points, although I’m not so sure about the idea as I think the heat can affect the TV.
I also prefer the TV to be at eye level rather than looking up at it.
One of the most important elements when building your dream home is lighting design.
There are several enchanting lighting options that you can opt for, however the wrong choice of lighting may lead to extortionate maintenance costs over the long-term for the homeowner.
One way around this is to install energy efficient light bulbs that will reduce the energy consumption for the homeowner.
LEDified, who specialise in residential and commercial LED Lights explain the benefits of installing these types of energy efficient lightbulbs.
Why should you consider installing LEDs?
LED light bulbs use up to 80% less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs and can produce the same amount of light.
They can also be used intelligently with dimmers, sensors and software that will adjust the light to external conditions and space.
For people that are building new homes, the initial supply cost of LED lights will be higher than incandescent solutions, however the long-term savings can easily outweigh the initial installation costs.
Saving the home owner money.
According to discussions on Whirlpool Forums, the average annual energy bill costs the Australian household $1000-2000 a year. (The figure varies depending on the household’s size and electricity consumption requirements.)
The initial cost of LED based systems will be offset by lower costs and maintenance of the lighting system over the long-term.
According to LEDified’ the maintenance cost can save home owners hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year.
LED lights have a longer lifespan.
One of the great things about LED lights is that they don’t need to be replaced as often as often as incandescent bulbs.
The lifetime of an LED lightbulb can be up to 60,000 hours compared to 1500hours of incandescent bulbs.
For example:
50,000h used for 24h a day will give a 6-year lifespan.
50,000h used for 8 hours a day will provide a lifespan of 17 years.
More information on LED lighting solutions can be seen in the video below.
They can be installed for creative lighting designs.
Because LEDs are small and directional, they can be used in several ways for the home’s lighting design.
For example, they can be used to illuminate flooring and cabinets and individual paintings.
Down lights can be installed to completely illuminate a room.
They will help reduce the home’s impact on the environment.
We are living in an era where people are aware about eco-friendliness and sustainability.
People are willing to invest in eco-friendly solutions for their home.
Builders and developers can make this process easier by providing an ‘off-the-shelf’ sustainable homes with LED lighting solutions.
This can be pitched as a USP for the property and may even earn a premium price for the property developer.
They improve the safety of the household.
Incandescent bulbs generate a lot of heat in order to emit light.
This results in fire risks and burns to people that touch the bulbs.
LED lights don’t produce heat in the form of infrared radiation.
This allows LED fixtures to be positioned in most locations around the home, including positioning near food and textiles.
LED lights are a great investment option for homeowners.
Builders and developers can do future homeowners a favour by installing LED lights into properties.
Not only will they benefit from reduced electricity bills over the long-term, but builders and developers will be playing their part in selling sustainable homes that will help reduce the carbon footprint on the environment.
Take action today and start taking advantage of the benefits that LEDs have to offer.
Over the years I have seen many builders put up many reasons for making houses bigger and more expensive.
Here are some of the additions that you wouldn’t have found in many houses 30-40 years ago.
En-Suite
Walk in Robe
Rumpus Room
Study
Breakfast Room
Theatre Room
Parents Retreat
Butlers Pantry
Al-Fresco
Whether you ‘Need’ these rooms, or think they will improve your life is up to you. . . . just remember that for every extra room that puts up the cost of your house.
Some a site plan will say the levels relate to AHD and other times the levels will relate to a TBM . .. but what is the difference?
AHD – Australian Height Datum
Between 1966 and 1968 sea level was measured at 30 sites around Australia.
Based on these measurements a Mean Sea Level was assigned for each point.
From the individual points a mean sea level for Australia was established for Australia and given the level 0.000m AHD.
This has allowed the establishment of levels at thousands of points across Australia. (The photo shows a typical survey marker)
All surveys which are available to the public (For example: Flood Level Predictions, must show levels based on AHD)
Interestingly the sea level can vary considerably from AHD depending where you are in Australia.
An example would be the Gold Coast where the following applies:
Mean Sea Level 0.850m AHD
High tide 1.890m AHD (Mean High Water Springs)
Low tide 0,23m AHD (Mean Low Water Springs)
TBM – Temporary Bench Mark
There is an expense in transferring a level from a survey point to your block so your block can be surveyed with AHD levels and contours.
This will vary from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars depending on how close the block is to a survey marker.
Unless the survey company is aware of the need for the survey to be based on AHD levels they will base their survey on a TBM to save you money.
They will normally assign a level to the corner of a drain grate or inspection cover frame. Typically this will be a round number such as 10.00m or 100.00m.
If you need the levels changed to AHD at a later stage they can extend the survey to calculate the AHD level at the TBM and then adjust the levels.
Could it be because there isn’t room to fit the car because the doors open into the garage? (taking around 1.0m off the effective length of the garage)
There is a reason why garage doors either lift or open outwards!
It is a normal glass that has an extremely thin, transparent coating applied. (Single glazed low-E glass is peculiar to Australia)
The coating reflects part of the ultraviolet, and infrared light, while allowing most of the visible light through.
In Australia the main advantage is that it helps cut down the amount of summer direct sunlight coming through the windows and overheating rooms.
A secondary benefit is it will reflect some of the heat back into a room in winter reducing the radiant heat loss through the glass.
A disadvantage is that the coating may be damaged by cleaning.
Suitable For All Orientations?
A Low-E Glass reduces solar gain in winter as well as summer.
North Facing
I definitely wouldn’t recommended Low-E glass or Reflective Films for sun control for windows where you expect to get the advantage of heat from the sun in Winter. That is North facing windows . . . proper shading will be a better solution.
East or West Facing
Low-E glass will be a better performer for East and West Windows although I would be going for a highly reflective film myself.
South Facing
Some practical issues are; is difficult to clean, can spontaneous fracture from thermal shock, and its performance won’t be close to double glazing.
Typical Performance
Total Solar Energy Rejected 49%
(Higher % = less heat in summer)
Glare Reduction 22%
(Higher % = less glare)
Ultraviolet Rejection 99%
(Higher % = less harmful UV rays)
