Sanctuary magazine issue 8 - Bardon, Brisbane sustainable house profile

8/14/2019 Sanctuary magazine issue 8 - Bardon, Brisbane sustainable house profile

1/8

Lessonslearned

A Brisbane couple cut nocorners in their sustainable home

by Danielle Dunsmore


2/82

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


3/8

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


4/84

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


5/8


6/86

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


7/8

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


8/88

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

Documents

Sanctuary magazine issue 8 - Bardon, Brisbane sustainable house profile