A New House

Ducted Heating

Most builder’s standard heating system to homes where mains gas is available is Ducted Gas Central Heating.

This has the following advantages:

Low running costs.
Relatively cheap to install.
Feels warm fairly quickly.
Leaves the walls free for furniture, if you have ceiling vents.
If you upgrade the duct size refrigerated cooling can be added using the same ducts.

Disadvantage include:

Can be noisy.
Any allergies can be made worse due to the high levels of air movement disturbing dust.
When doors are shut (for example bedrooms), it stops circulation of air back to the central intake point. The heating then becomes less effective in those rooms.

If you decide to choose ducted heating I would reccomend you go for at least three zones. This will allow you to save money by only heating the rooms you are using.

At our last house our zones were:

Kitchen/Family Room, Lounge and Hall (The thermostat was mounted in the family room. If you want it in different location you need to tell the builder)
Master Bedroom.
Other Bedrooms and Study.

You should check how many of the zones can be served by the unit at the same time.

This post is based on a section of the E-Book ‘Guide to Selection / Pre Start’ available at the following link: anewhouse Guides

World’s Biggest Houses

New Australian homes are now the worlds biggest.

Here is a diagrammatic representation of the size compared with three other countries.

and here are the average home sizes in square metres:

Australia	214
USA	201
Greece	126
Germany	109
Spain	97
Italy	81
Britain	76
China (Urban Only)	60
Hong Kong	45

Source http://reneweconomy.com.au

In the last 25 years while the size has increased by 10% while the average number of people per household has dropped from 2.7 to 2.6.

Instead of complaining about ‘Housing Affordability’ why aren’t we just building smaller houses?

See this post to see the size you need: How Much House?

Garden Photo – Fail

One of the rules of getting your house Ready for Sale is to remove your pets, and hide their baskets food bowls etc.

If you don’t you might find your house advertised on the internet with a photo of your dog ‘leaving a deposit’ like this!

Its amazing how people miss these ‘interesting details’ when they are rushing round taking photos.

This is a real photo used to advertise a house that I found on the very funny American website uglyhousephotos.com

Steel Wall Frames

With a steel frame house a standard wall panel, other than using a different material, is much the same as a Basic Timber Wall Panel.

Once it comes to a panel with openings there are a few differences as the sketch below shows:

Typical differences are:

Diagonal Brace

The diagonal braces are used (instead of a panel of sheet material in the timber frame) to resist sideways forces on the frame.

Lintel

Rather than a solid beam a truss structure is formed to carry loads over the opening.

Also check the following links:

House Construction – The Frame

Upstairs Windows

Have you got visions of being able to look out of your upstairs bedroom windows like this lady.

Not anymore if you are building a new house. New laws to protect children falling out of windows have come into force.

Since 1 May 2013, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) requires “protection for openable windows in new homes where the floor below the window is more than 2m above the surface beneath” (i.e. 2-storey homes).

The protection is either a device to restrict the window opening, or a screen, so a 125mm diameter sphere (representing the size of a young child’s head) cannot pass through. The device or screen must also be able to withstand an outward horizontal force of 250 N.

The picture is called “By the open window” painted by Konstantin Makovsky.

For more about windows see : Glazing

Truck Driving Fail

If you are going to do your own removals……. Plan your route carefully, and get plenty of insurance!

You don’t want to end up like this!

This bridge in South Melbourne seems to claim at least one truck a month.

Some are professional drivers like this one, but a lot are self drive hire trucks.

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

Timeless Design

How old do you think this house is?

What do you think 2 years, 5 years, or even 10 years old.

It looks fairly modern with the ground floor brick and the upper floor a contrasting material. those wide eves look impressive and give good solar shade

Well this is known as the Susan Lawrence Dana House, in Springfield, Illinois.

It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who was famous for the ‘Praire House’ style.

Thanks toFrank Lloyd Wright Tours for the photo. (Going on one of their tours is on my Bucket List!)

And the house? . . . . . It was completed in 1904, so it’s more than 100 years old.

Do you know any other timeless designs?

Is Grey Water Re-Use Worthwhile?

What is Grey Water?

Grey Water includes all the waste water from the house with the exception of toilet waste. (Black Water)

It can includes water from; Washing Machine, Dishwasher, Sink, Wash Basin, and Shower.

A basic grey water reuse scheme sending washing machine water using a two way diverter valve to a perforated hose will cost less than $100. A top-of-the-range system, taking all the grey water, with treatment and pumps can cost $2-4,000.

Advantages

It’s available all year round whether it rains or not.
A basic system is inexpensive.

Disadvantages

You are not supposed to use grey water on root crop plants in your veggie plots because of bacterial contamination.
You shouldn’t store grey water as it is likely to go Septic and smell.
A lot of grey water contains too many nutrients for native plants.
Many common domestic soaps are high in sodium which can cause soil problems with long term use.

Summary

Because of its disadvantages I really regard grey water as a last resort rather than a main garden watering system.

If you have a veggie plot, or a lawn, one of the more basic systems will help you in times of drought, so I wouldn’t go for one of the top of the range systems.

If you are intending to use grey water make sure you use an eco friendly laundry liquid such as Earth Choice.

A better alternative is to make sure you get the right size of rainwater tank so follow this link: Rainwater Tank Size

Window Shade Fail

I saw these north facing windows the other day.

In spite of the architectural detailing this is a lesson on how to stuff up shading!

Its less than an hour from Midday and already most of the window is out of the shade.
If you want to know how to do it properly see this post: Northern Windows.

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

Staging Your Old House

Presentation of your existing house, or staging as its now known, is important to make sure you get the most money for your new house.

Probably the best look is a de-cluttered home. If you remove all the homely touches it can look a bit sterile

Here are some more tips to make sure it looks the best for the photographs, and for Inspection Days.

Outside Keep cars out of site, mow lawns, remove weeds, bottle & glasses for an outdoor setting.
Kitchen Remove all fridge magnets, no dirty or clean dishes in sight, i.e. not like this photo!

Bathrooms Matching bathroom towels, remove toiletries.
Bedrooms Beds made neatly with clean linen, Just a light and a clock on bedside tables.
Living Rooms Get Fresh flowers and fill the fruit bowl, remove any bright cushions.
Pets Remove pet basket and bowls and make sure the pet is somewhere else.
General De-clutter including removing toys and perhaps some of the furniture
On The Day Turn on Heating in Winter and air conditioning in Summer. All lights to be on.

If you want professional help there are quite a few people offering to provide staging assistance. A basic service will cost $2-3,000 rising to more than $10,000, which will include loaning different furniture.