Hi all, I am trying to find a solution for hot water for a new build. It is a long, narrow house and finding a suitable location for a HWS is proving to be a bit of a challenge. It is currently in the small section at the back next to the living room, though we have been advised against this because...

It's all easy if you have an unlimited budget. I have already calculated that double glazing is not worth it from a cost point of view. It would increase my place from 6 stars to 6.4 stars, which is only a decrease of about 4 mJ/metre per year which is almost insignificant in terms of cost savings (...

[quote defaultattr=""]About U values, yes these look good for low-e but as I say it’s only a reflector of radiant heat whereas double glazing really slows heat conduction. Add to this the acoustic properties of DG. If the choice is single glazing clear float or low-e. I would choose the fo...

How are you building with? You can chant you bed 1 windows to awning to reduce noise too Perth is a cool climate zone interestingly enough. Strange I know but it is. I had a meeting with Jason Windows again and the guy said that the double glazing is usually not worth it. He suggested ComforPlus Lo...

How are you building with? You can chant you bed 1 windows to awning to reduce noise too Perth is a cool climate zone interestingly enough. Strange I know but it is. I am buildings with a small builder called Ultimo Constructions. Seem pretty good so far; they have won quite a few HIA awards over t...

Also don't focus on the stars. Ask yourself what you'd like to achieve with the additional money your spending. Why spend money on dbl glazing? If comfort is a goal then it's money well spent. Likewise with anticon. If comfort is the goal it too is money well spent. You should strongly consider dbl...

I appreciate your point but in reality this is false economy compared to double glazed windows.... Windows are like holes in the wall, or a better analogy is holes in the bottom of a boat. Yes, imagine holes in the bottom of a boat... I ended up getting quoted $3300 by the builder for double glazin...

I agree with you but strictly performance-wise, uglier is better, sort of like the Queensland state of origin team.... You seem to want everything taken to an extreme. I am more than happy to sacrifice a star on the energy rating and have a house which looks and feels nicer and more luxurious to li...

If you cant afford double glazing then the cheapest options are: 1. Anticon blanket I added anticon and it increased the rating by 0.1 star. Wasn't worth it in the end for the $2.3k it is now costing me.

I have to agree with Bimbob on this one. A metal roof gets really hot and your roof space in summer will be like the surface of the sun if you don't have Anticon at a minimum and preferably a decent foil blanket insulation under the roof sheeting. Stewie I finally got my energy efficiency report an...

I have to agree with Bimbob on this one. A metal roof gets really hot and your roof space in summer will be like the surface of the sun if you don't have Anticon at a minimum and preferably a decent foil blanket insulation under the roof sheeting. Stewie The quote for Antico 50 was only about $2300...

A small investment? Thanks for the advice but you've probably added about $30k worth of modifications. The double glazing alone would be tens of thousands. Unfortunately I do not have unlimited money. A decent amount of glazing is necessary at my place since it's a very narrow block (only 8.5m wide)...

By adding the cavity insulation plus the above, a lot of incremental changes can add up to a big difference. What type of cavity insulation were you looking at? Stewie Thanks Stewie I can tell of course that the solar absorbance can decrease significantly with different roof colours, but don't real...

Hi all, Our house plans finally got approved after sitting in the too-hard basket at the council for the last 3 months and we also got advice from the builder today that the energy efficiency came in at only 4.1 which is pretty poor. They advice including cavity insulation to bring it up to 6. The c...

I am building with Ultimo Constructions in Balcatta and have found them to be pretty awesome. You actually sit down with the registered builder and CEO (Angelo Rossi) from the first meeting rather than some sales consultant who is paid on commission. Everything is custom (mine is a narrow block). It...

I think the main issue is that your northern areas will be almost constantly shaded off by the nearby house. To minimise this effect, it makes more sense in putting kitchen and living areas to your second floor and put your bedrooms to the ground floor. You can also turn your alfresco into a terrac...

So I have had to start working with a new builder and have a new floorplan again that we are pretty sure we are going to run with, though with a few changes. Thought I would ask for advice on here again as I got some really good tips last time. This is a very narrow block (8.5m wide) and the house t...

Thanks ddarroch ; so much awesome advice. You are such an asset to this forum! The overshadowing is a tough one. The neighbors to our north (the block is subdivided straight down the middle of the larger original block) wanted to build a massive 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom McMasion but it was rejected by ...

https://forum.homeone.com.au/u/81927_1600154046.jpg I have seen a few others ask for a critique of their floor plans on here so I thought I would join them... This is for a narrow block (8.5 metres). I think it ticks most of the boxes but I have some thoughts: Should the bathroom on the top floor b...