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Thx! Meeting went well! Love the design studio
Did anyone opt for or thinking of opting for any sustainable improvements to their TA homes? Solar power, rainwater recycling or others? Seeking inspiration for a sustainable home! Thank you!
Hi Kathz,
We are building with TA (approaching contract stage). We are making a few upgrades to make it a sustainable home - not only because we want to, but because we are utilising the new Bank Australia loans / finance for sustainable homes (extra discounts off interest rates). It's been a little bit of a challenge with TA but we're getting there. We have a rear facing north which also makes things easy. We would have loved to have gone for Passive House but we just couldn't make the budget and choice of builder work.
TA are providing the following upgrades for us:
- R6.0 insulation and sarking in ceiling
- R3.5 insulation between floors
- R2.5 insulation external walls and selected internal walls
- solar pre-wire: the cost of solar / battery with TA was really really expensive so we are doing this after handover (6.6kw solar, option for a battery although unlikely based on current usage and cost)
- Double glazing of the corner stacker door and laundry door (not standard)
- Heat pump hot water (which will eventually be connected to the solar) in lieu of gas boosted solar hot water.
Things that we considered but couldn't quite make work for various reasons:
- FSC certified flooring (this is an option of the Made by Storey product but it's just quite expensive)
- Tesla battery
- Rainwater tank - almost $6k for a 3000L tank plumbed to the toilets is hard to justify if it's not a large(r) family. We'll put a rainwater tank for irrigation post handover.
- Changing the windows from awning windows
- Heat recovery ventilator (hard to justify with 7 stars)
We're anticipating to have a gas free home with approx. a 7 - 7.2 star energy rating. Like I mentioned, we wanted to go further, but we're happy with this given the low additional cost.
Feel free to reach out if you want any further info on this.
Hi
Wellbuild thanks for sharing this and looks very good list. I am also thinking along the same lines with regards to hot water system. Do you remember how much you paid for the upgrade to Heat Pump hot water system ? Also does removing the solar gas water heater reduced your star ratings by any chance for the build ? Thanks
The additional cost for the heat pump hw ranges from $400 - $850 depending on the make/model. The other thing to keep in mind is that if that is the only gas you have (i.e. induction cooktop, no fireplace) you won't need the builder to organise a gas connection. This saved us (credited) approx $2k.
The choice of hot water system has no impact on your energy star rating (NatHERS rating) of your home. The rating takes into account site orientation, air leakage, windows / glazing, insulation, slab, and passive design principles only. Any appliances are not factored into the star rating - it's fundamentally about building fabric.
Hi Kathz,
We are building with TA (approaching contract stage). We are making a few upgrades to make it a sustainable home - not only because we want to, but because we are utilising the new Bank Australia loans / finance for sustainable homes (extra discounts off interest rates). It's been a little bit of a challenge with TA but we're getting there. We have a rear facing north which also makes things easy. We would have loved to have gone for Passive House but we just couldn't make the budget and choice of builder work.
TA are providing the following upgrades for us:
- R6.0 insulation and sarking in ceiling
- R3.5 insulation between floors
- R2.5 insulation external walls and selected internal walls
- solar pre-wire: the cost of solar / battery with TA was really really expensive so we are doing this after handover (6.6kw solar, option for a battery although unlikely based on current usage and cost)
- Double glazing of the corner stacker door and laundry door (not standard)
- Heat pump hot water (which will eventually be connected to the solar) in lieu of gas boosted solar hot water.
Things that we considered but couldn't quite make work for various reasons:
- FSC certified flooring (this is an option of the Made by Storey product but it's just quite expensive)
- Tesla battery
- Rainwater tank - almost $6k for a 3000L tank plumbed to the toilets is hard to justify if it's not a large(r) family. We'll put a rainwater tank for irrigation post handover.
- Changing the windows from awning windows
- Heat recovery ventilator (hard to justify with 7 stars)
We're anticipating to have a gas free home with approx. a 7 - 7.2 star energy rating. Like I mentioned, we wanted to go further, but we're happy with this given the low additional cost.
Feel free to reach out if you want any further info on this.
Hi
Wellbuild thanks for sharing this and looks very good list. I am also thinking along the same lines with regards to hot water system. Do you remember how much you paid for the upgrade to Heat Pump hot water system ? Also does removing the solar gas water heater reduced your star ratings by any chance for the build ? Thanks
The additional cost for the heat pump hw ranges from $400 - $850 depending on the make/model. The other thing to keep in mind is that if that is the only gas you have (i.e. induction cooktop, no fireplace) you won't need the builder to organise a gas connection. This saved us (credited) approx $2k.
The choice of hot water system has no impact on your energy star rating (NatHERS rating) of your home. The rating takes into account site orientation, air leakage, windows / glazing, insulation, slab, and passive design principles only. Any appliances are not factored into the star rating - it's fundamentally about building fabric.
Thank you very much for the reply. Yes the overall aim is to get rid of gas as I am planning to get the Solar installed down the track. Do you have any recommendations for the make of heat pump ? Cheers !
I did a lot of research and found that the Sanden units were widely regarded as the most efficient, most sustainable (don't use typical refrigerants), and had the best warranties available on the market. They were the most expensive but the difference was only approx $400-ish.
I did a lot of research and found that the Sanden units were widely regarded as the most efficient, most sustainable (don't use typical refrigerants), and had the best warranties available on the market. They were the most expensive but the difference was only approx $400-ish.
Thanks for the feedback. Sanden looks good but the challenging point I have that it has the heat pump system external to the storage unit so its like 2 physical units installed side by side. Is that correct ? I was also looking at Steibel which has everything combined in one unit. Do you see Steibel equivalent/closest to Sanden ?
I can see Sanden has 6 years and 15 years warranty for units and Steibel has just 5 years for combined unit.
Yes - the Sanden has the tank seperate to the heat pump which I actually think is a big positive and makes it less bulky. Sanden is also the quietest (not sure if this is related to the parts being separate). And for the Melbourne climate zone, a mate has done the analysis that shows a 7% difference in energy savings...(but keep in mind that the Stiebel will still save you a MASSIVE 68% energy from your normal hot water system - it's just that the Sanden is at the 75.1% mark)
This video (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Rovg4cyyY) might be worth checking out and includes the Sanden and the Stiebel. It actually references a 10 year warranty for the Stiebel. I also really really really like the fact that the Sanden warranty includes a three year warranty for labour!
If I wasn't going for a Sanden, I'd have probably opted for the Stiebel.
Hi Kathz,
We are building with TA (approaching contract stage). We are making a few upgrades to make it a sustainable home - not only because we want to, but because we are utilising the new Bank Australia loans / finance for sustainable homes (extra discounts off interest rates). It's been a little bit of a challenge with TA but we're getting there. We have a rear facing north which also makes things easy. We would have loved to have gone for Passive House but we just couldn't make the budget and choice of builder work.
TA are providing the following upgrades for us:
- R6.0 insulation and sarking in ceiling
- R3.5 insulation between floors
- R2.5 insulation external walls and selected internal walls
- solar pre-wire: the cost of solar / battery with TA was really really expensive so we are doing this after handover (6.6kw solar, option for a battery although unlikely based on current usage and cost)
- Double glazing of the corner stacker door and laundry door (not standard)
- Heat pump hot water (which will eventually be connected to the solar) in lieu of gas boosted solar hot water.
Things that we considered but couldn't quite make work for various reasons:
- FSC certified flooring (this is an option of the Made by Storey product but it's just quite expensive)
- Tesla battery
- Rainwater tank - almost $6k for a 3000L tank plumbed to the toilets is hard to justify if it's not a large(r) family. We'll put a rainwater tank for irrigation post handover.
- Changing the windows from awning windows
- Heat recovery ventilator (hard to justify with 7 stars)
We're anticipating to have a gas free home with approx. a 7 - 7.2 star energy rating. Like I mentioned, we wanted to go further, but we're happy with this given the low additional cost.
Feel free to reach out if you want any further info on this.
We're going through tender currently and have a similar set of upgrades. Some other things we have are Anticon 60 (R1.3) roof blanket and R1.5 HVAC ducts (think standard is R1.0).
How are you doing the heat pump hot water without the water tank plumbed to toilets? There's a crazy building regulation around this. I was advised they could get a "performance solution" to avoid needing the tank, but this would be around $2k, so we figured we may as well put that $2k toward getting the tank installed, since it is something we do want. Also although the $6k for the tank might seem really expensive, I think 25-30% of that is the cost to plumb it to the toilets, at least in our case, plus there's the pump and the mains backup connection etc.
We've added a Reclaim Energy heat pump hws, but the cost is almost $2.5k more than your upgrade cost you mentioned for the Sanden. The Sanden and Reclaim Energy units are almost exactly the same, so I'll be asking about this on Monday, hopefully can get the Sanden and save a couple grand, thanks!
We're also considering upgrading some of the glazing to more efficient options. They're trying to set up a meeting with us and Stegbar to go through options but sounds like stegbar is operating at reduced capacity at the moment with restrictions so not sure where that will end up.
Is your approx. 7-7.2 star rating from your (preliminary) energy report, or are you estimating it yourself?
Hi Kathz,
We are building with TA (approaching contract stage). We are making a few upgrades to make it a sustainable home - not only because we want to, but because we are utilising the new Bank Australia loans / finance for sustainable homes (extra discounts off interest rates). It's been a little bit of a challenge with TA but we're getting there. We have a rear facing north which also makes things easy. We would have loved to have gone for Passive House but we just couldn't make the budget and choice of builder work.
TA are providing the following upgrades for us:
- R6.0 insulation and sarking in ceiling
- R3.5 insulation between floors
- R2.5 insulation external walls and selected internal walls
- solar pre-wire: the cost of solar / battery with TA was really really expensive so we are doing this after handover (6.6kw solar, option for a battery although unlikely based on current usage and cost)
- Double glazing of the corner stacker door and laundry door (not standard)
- Heat pump hot water (which will eventually be connected to the solar) in lieu of gas boosted solar hot water.
Things that we considered but couldn't quite make work for various reasons:
- FSC certified flooring (this is an option of the Made by Storey product but it's just quite expensive)
- Tesla battery
- Rainwater tank - almost $6k for a 3000L tank plumbed to the toilets is hard to justify if it's not a large(r) family. We'll put a rainwater tank for irrigation post handover.
- Changing the windows from awning windows
- Heat recovery ventilator (hard to justify with 7 stars)
We're anticipating to have a gas free home with approx. a 7 - 7.2 star energy rating. Like I mentioned, we wanted to go further, but we're happy with this given the low additional cost.
Feel free to reach out if you want any further info on this.
We're going through tender currently and have a similar set of upgrades. Some other things we have are Anticon 60 (R1.3) roof blanket and R1.5 HVAC ducts (think standard is R1.0).
How are you doing the heat pump hot water without the water tank plumbed to toilets? There's a crazy building regulation around this. I was advised they could get a "performance solution" to avoid needing the tank, but this would be around $2k, so we figured we may as well put that $2k toward getting the tank installed, since it is something we do want. Also although the $6k for the tank might seem really expensive, I think 25-30% of that is the cost to plumb it to the toilets, at least in our case, plus there's the pump and the mains backup connection etc.
We've added a Reclaim Energy heat pump hws, but the cost is almost $2.5k more than your upgrade cost you mentioned for the Sanden. The Sanden and Reclaim Energy units are almost exactly the same, so I'll be asking about this on Monday, hopefully can get the Sanden and save a couple grand, thanks!
We're also considering upgrading some of the glazing to more efficient options. They're trying to set up a meeting with us and Stegbar to go through options but sounds like stegbar is operating at reduced capacity at the moment with restrictions so not sure where that will end up.
Is your approx. 7-7.2 star rating from your (preliminary) energy report, or are you estimating it yourself?
Feel free to DM me about the building regulation - it's a reference to VBA Practice Note 55. I have some additional context here which is better discussed via DM.
The star rating is from the prelim energy report. They knew how important it was to us and the fact it was tied to finance / interest rate so we got this earlier than normal. They had submitted the design to the energy rater and the ER provided a list of things required to get that design to 7 star - all of which have been included in our tender docs. We then added a few additional things too.
Question for everyone. When we say fully tiled bathroom, do we expect tiles behind the vanity and mirror or do you exclude those areas? My assumption was it should be tiled behind both.
Question for everyone. When we say fully tiled bathroom, do we expect tiles behind the vanity and mirror or do you exclude those areas? My assumption was it should be tiled behind both.
In our rental we have floor to ceiling tiling (fully tiled) and there is tiles behind the vanity and mirror.
sorry i read your question wrong. we have the vanity wall fully tiled in the powder room but that is because we are installing a round mirror after handover. i don't see the need for it unless you think you may interchange the mirrors or cabinetry at a later stage? we wouldn't expect this in our upstairs bathrooms nor want to pay extra for it.
What are the pros and cons of tiling or not tiling behind the vanity and mirrors? Unless one plans to change the vanity or mirror after few years, wouldn’t tiles also be removed if doing a reno?
sorry i read your question wrong. we have the vanity wall fully tiled in the powder room but that is because we are installing a round mirror after handover. i don't see the need for it unless you think you may interchange the mirrors or cabinetry at a later stage? we wouldn't expect this in our upstairs bathrooms nor want to pay extra for it.
We are doing the mirror after handover the same for powder room and that room will be tiled for mirror to be hung post handover. It’s the other 2 bathrooms that currently doesn’t have tiles behind the mirrors or vanity. Well as you said it may not matter if we are not planning on changing the mirrors/cabinetry.
Question for everyone. When we say fully tiled bathroom, do we expect tiles behind the vanity and mirror or do you exclude those areas? My assumption was it should be tiled behind both.
Nah. They won't tile behind to save costs and
Labour. If you ever get to the stage you're ripping out a mirror and vanity, you're basically renovating a bathroom.
We have almost identical insulation and it achieved an energy rating of beyond the required 6 stars.
Got the rainwater tank for flushing4 toilets as well as pump for garden use too.
Have an additional dedicated tank for garden and sub terraneous irrigation to help keep usage to a minimum.
Solar is coming next year. Keeps changing so once we lock something in I'll let you know!
Our (Custom) carpet is a Triexa made from corn by products. 25 year guarantee. Amazingly soft.
quote="Wellbuild"]
Thx! Meeting went well! Love the design studio
Did anyone opt for or thinking of opting for any sustainable improvements to their TA homes? Solar power, rainwater recycling or others? Seeking inspiration for a sustainable home! Thank you!
Hi Kathz,
We are building with TA (approaching contract stage). We are making a few upgrades to make it a sustainable home - not only because we want to, but because we are utilising the new Bank Australia loans / finance for sustainable homes (extra discounts off interest rates). It's been a little bit of a challenge with TA but we're getting there. We have a rear facing north which also makes things easy. We would have loved to have gone for Passive House but we just couldn't make the budget and choice of builder work.
TA are providing the following upgrades for us:
- R6.0 insulation and sarking in ceiling
- R3.5 insulation between floors
- R2.5 insulation external walls and selected internal walls
- solar pre-wire: the cost of solar / battery with TA was really really expensive so we are doing this after handover (6.6kw solar, option for a battery although unlikely based on current usage and cost)
- Double glazing of the corner stacker door and laundry door (not standard)
- Heat pump hot water (which will eventually be connected to the solar) in lieu of gas boosted solar hot water.
Things that we considered but couldn't quite make work for various reasons:
- FSC certified flooring (this is an option of the Made by Storey product but it's just quite expensive)
- Tesla battery
- Rainwater tank - almost $6k for a 3000L tank plumbed to the toilets is hard to justify if it's not a large(r) family. We'll put a rainwater tank for irrigation post handover.
- Changing the windows from awning windows
- Heat recovery ventilator (hard to justify with 7 stars)
We're anticipating to have a gas free home with approx. a 7 - 7.2 star energy rating. Like I mentioned, we wanted to go further, but we're happy with this given the low additional cost.
Feel free to reach out if you want any further info on this.
Hi
Wellbuild thanks for sharing this and looks very good list. I am also thinking along the same lines with regards to hot water system. Do you remember how much you paid for the upgrade to Heat Pump hot water system ? Also does removing the solar gas water heater reduced your star ratings by any chance for the build ? Thanks
The additional cost for the heat pump hw ranges from $400 - $850 depending on the make/model. The other thing to keep in mind is that if that is the only gas you have (i.e. induction cooktop, no fireplace) you won't need the builder to organise a gas connection. This saved us (credited) approx $2k.
The choice of hot water system has no impact on your energy star rating (NatHERS rating) of your home. The rating takes into account site orientation, air leakage, windows / glazing, insulation, slab, and passive design principles only. Any appliances are not factored into the star rating - it's fundamentally about building fabric.[/quote]
Hi All
Sorry for hijacking thread, however there was some discussion about building variations previously.
I am just wondering if anyone has done any building variations and whether you were successful? Or did TA knock them back? I have just asked for a few and they've basically knocked them all back. Wording in the contract suggests they will not do anything structural or to joinery, however something like a change of a tile I would have thought would be ok?
I also called their tile supplier separately to ask if my house order was confirmed, which they said it's sitting there in a pending state currently.
thanks
Tile changes I thought if you are ready to pay variation cost should be doable. Have you asked them the reason for not allowing any changes?
Tile changes I thought if you are ready to pay variation cost should be doable. Have you asked them the reason for not allowing any changes?
the official response from the ss is it gets too messy. i have a call with the ops manager tomorrow morning to get further clarity. And yes, I am aware of the admin fee for changes and happy to pay it, but don't even have the option at the moment.