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Lessonslearned
A Brisbane couple cut nocorners in their sustainable home
by Danielle Dunsmore
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Some people plan their sustainable house oryears, researching materials and design. Andsome, like Brisbanes Keith Armstrong and JulieDean, just leap into it.
Ive met people who had been planning their eco
house or years, but we were very much learning as
we went, says Julie.
Wed just had our son, Kai, adds Keith, and
even though we were exhausted, we really needed
to do more pre-planning!
Keith and I had developed a shared vision
or what living sustainably might mean, recalls
Julie. But we were pretty naive about the whole
building process!
Through a mutual riend the couple berien
architect Jim Gall, o Gall & Medek. They oun
slim block o land in leay Bardon in Brisbanes in
west and called on Jim to design their new hom
Both Keith and Julie were determined to m
the home as environmentally riendly as possi
and one priority was the reduction o PVC pip
throughout the house.
The concern we had with PVC is its chem
leaching since we would be using harves
rainwater or drinking, plus the high environme
impact in its manuacture and disposal, says Ju
All building materials have pros and con
says Julie. When considering your family ho
We were cutting downa visually beautiful tree but then we actually
used it for something thatwould endure
Hot air rises into thevoid where it canbe evacuated
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your health and your ideals about green building
practices, its a matter of trying to keep a balance
between emotion and logic.
In the end we settled or Zincalume, but because
o its lack o strength compared to PVC, we ended
up needing six eeds o the roo (to the water tanks),
which all had to have rst-fush diverters and lea
eaters. Plus the roo needed gutter guards. And
because we wanted to drink the water, we also had
to install two stages o lters as well!
We also had to nd a plumber who could, and
would, work with Zincalume. So the water system
ended up being pretty expensive.
Jim explains the end result, As the concern was
with PVC, we used a polyethylene (recyclable but not
biodegradable) product underground - the lesser
o two evils. But all the horizontal plumbing, which
hangs under the house across to the water tanks,
is Zincalume.
The issue o PVC had not occurred to the pair until
some o the plumbing was already installed...Hence
Julies advice on research rst!
The couple also took on the massive camphor
laurel tree a declared weed in the backyard.
Following the permaculture principle to utilise
whats on site, they decided to use the trees timber
in the house construction, including bench-tops
and stairs.
front deckliving kitchen
dining
bed 2 bed 1
seat
voidstudy
rear deck
bath/laundry
carport
entry
study
studio
bath
Lower level
Upper level
W !
The use o the camphor laurel or timb
this building was an innovative response
environmental problem, as camphor lau
an invasive weed. Camphor laurel is a n
to Japan, Taiwan and some parts o C
but has spread along the eastern seaboa
Australia rom northern Queensland to Vic
I you have a plant youre unsure about cthe Weeds o National Signicance (W
website: www.weeds.org.au. Two o the m
weed trees listed on the website include
teak and white cedar, which could be w
investigating or milling i you have them
your property.
M :
www.camphorlaurel.com
www.ww.org.au/publications/jumpinggarden_ence/
www.vwa.org.au/des_timbmil.htm
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It proved quite dicult, as it had to come down
in pieces, and then we had to nd someone to cut
it into slabs, remembers Keith. Everyone just
said wood-chip it! We did nd someone eventually,
and then we had to dry it on site or a year. And ater
all that, we were never really sure how it would
turn out!
It cost around $4000 to cut down and slab, and
we had to think is this really worth it? On one hand
we were cutting down a visually beautiul tree but
then we actually used it or something that would
endure. We love that idea but i we were acting
purely nancially it would not have made sense.
We believe that looking at the big pict
beyond simply what will it cost us is really crit
to sustainable thinking.
To which Jim Gall adds, A well-planned, sm
house can oset these costs.
The compact garden is now home to a fock
chooks, a rog pond, permaculture plantings
a vegie garden. A back neighbour grows native
recreate the green screening lost by cutting do
the camphor laurel.
During the build, compromises did have to
made such as truckloads o rock being remo
to make room or Keiths ground foor studio
Keith and I had developed a shared vision for what living sustainably might mean,but we were pretty naive about the whole building process!
These bookshelves,made by ne artist andurniture maker ZeljkoMarkov, are Victorian
Ash rescued rom aroad widening worksite
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It can be a challengeto source a largeenough batch o likerecycled fooring,but in this home theproblem is overcomeby the selectiono mixed stockrecycled hardwoodfooring. The resultsare stunning, making
the foor a eatureo the home
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the workshop. While moving all that rock was a
denite negative, the long-term environmental plus
o working rom home (and not renting a studio) wasindisputable.
The building design also focussed on not building
a larger home than was needed, and utilising
low-cost materials.
Jim always talks about minimal materials and
maximal eect, says Keith.
Deceptively simple, Jim Galls design is also low
tech. He uses simple materials that speak or
themselves, a design that means temperatures
remain relatively constant, and windows that look
out onto sky and trees, not neighbours. Best o all,
he has created a sustainable home or Keith, Julie
and Kai to live in or decades to come.
Keith and Julies home will be open in
this years Sustainable House Day held
on Sunday 13th September at selected
homes right across the country.
See the boxed text on p25
or more inormation.
The building design also focussed on not buildinga larger home than was needed, and utilising low-cost materials
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Bardon residence Designer Jim Gall, Gall & Medek Architects
(collaboration with T Chambers Builders) www.gallandmedek.com.au
Builder Tony Chambers BuildersLocation Bardon, Brisbane, QLD
Project type New building
Photography Rix Ryan Photography
Passive heating & cooling
House sited or maximum solar gain
Camphor laurel vents over bedroomdoors connect to main space ventilation
Use o two ull size doors as ventsrather than entranceways
hw wk: A combinationo ans and design or crossventilation are the most eectivedesign strategies to maximise
passive cooling. But to ensure theireectiveness you need to understandthe regional climate, as well as anytopographic and manmade eatures which may infuence yourhomes microclimate. For example, i you know rom which directioncooling breezes will come youll know where to position your crossventilation eatures (louvres, doorways, vents and windows). Seewww.bom.gov.au/climate/averages or regional climate inormationand the Your Home technical manual (www.yourhome.gov.au).
Concrete slab at lower level studio or thermal mass
Woolmen poly batts: R1.5 to walls, R3 to roo with R1 refective oil
active heating & cooling
Hunter Pacic Typhoon 52 reversible ans inside
Hunter Pacic 316 marine-grade 56 ans on decks
Building Materials
Boral plywood
Finlaysons plantation pine
Recycled Australian mixed hardwood foor rom TheBig Red Shed (www.thebigredshed.com.au)
Plantation hoop pine LOSP-treated and painted weatherboards.
Slabbed and milled camphor laurel rom tree elled on property.Dried or one year on property and kiln dried or three weeksor bench tops, stair treads, stringers, and banisters
Powerscape (www.powerscape.com.au) Touchstone95% recycled plasterboard (made in USA)
Zincalume pipes
WindoWs & glazing
Mix o Finlaysons Envirowood windows and biold doorsand GJ James aluminium windows and doors
other esd features
Drought-tolerant Australian red grass lawn andpublic verge rom www.nativeseeds.com.au
Wheelchair accessible house
hot Water
Hills evacuated tube solar collectors and Everlaststainless steel tank with electrical booster
reneWaBle energy
1.7kW grid-connected solar voltaic (10 x 170W capacitypanels, Solarun, SF-160-24-1M170), Fronius IG 20inverter, sized or uture expansion. Installation by SolcoChoice Electric Co (www.choiceelectric.com.au)
Origin Green 100% wind on a Green Earth electricity account
Water saving
Rainwater supply to whole o house, including drinking,with changeover o system as required to town water
10000L poly tank by Rotech ed by two linked stainlesssteel auxiliary tanks - 5100L slim and3000L round, by Stainless Water Tanks(www.stainlesswatertanks.net.au)
Australian madeDavey (www.davey.com.au)Hs50-06l pump and Torrium controllerand Flexcon PWB18V 18L pressure tankto minimise turning on and o o pump
Rainharvesting (www.rainharvesting.com.au)
Blue Mountain gutter mesh guards
Aqua One (www.aquaoneaust.com.au) Big Bluepaper pleated 5 micron whole-o-house lter
Aqua One twin 1-micron polymicro and carbonsuper-block undersink lter or kitchen drinking tap
Small roo gutters diverted to garden and rog pond
Mechanical hot water divertor or bathroom (by Lloyd Linson-Smith o Enviro Manuacturing www.enviro.net.au)
Dor AAAAA rated Vand RX and Mizu 1500 low-fow tapware
Reece Satinjet Escape 7.5L low-fow showerhead
2 x Caroma Prole dual-fush toilets with integrated handbasin
Kaldewei Saniorm Plus 82L small pressed steel, enamelled bath
lighting
T5 fuorescents and CFL pendants, speciedby LAD (www.ladgroup.com.au)
Paints, finishes & floor coverings
Organoil natural oil and Wattyl ID low VOC paint nishes
Natural Tung oils on foorboards and external woodwork
Sure Seal Ezy-As 1-2-3 low-VOC tilesealant to bathroom and kitchen
Sustainable eatures
This home eatures twodoorway-style cross
ventilation eatures tocapture cooling breezes