Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 26, 2008 1:34 am Hi All,
As some of you know, I'm living in Canada at the moment. I just thought I'd share my general observations about the homes and architecture here as compared to Australia... - everything is wood, even the apartment buildings. They will have a concrete base, but then everything on top of that is wood (well over here on the vancouver side anyway) - most houses have a basement, a lot of which are being converted into self contained one or two bedroom suites for rent (on a side note, anyone know how much to do a basement in Australia?) - they love their 'try and cram as much furniture into a room as we can' look that you are seeing in some of the newer display homes - everyone's style is all variations on the same 'rustic' theme (dark brown/tan furniture with the frills that wouldn't look out of place in the 1800's), even the 'design' shows on TV stick to this style in the most part - a lot of places don't have cornice, but if they do it is in the most part 'frilly' - not like the old rounded stuff in most houses in Australia (same with the sideboard) - most people paint every room a different colour (usually strong like bright yellow or a deep red or a very patterned wallpaper) - there's not really any such thing as a 'big builder' - pretty much every house is custom made. If you want a house built or a renovation done you can either hire an architect or buy a plan off the net, then put quotes out to general building 'contractors' (more often than not a one-man operation) who do everything and will only hire a plumber/electrician/etc if they don't know how to do something. This means though that you can spend as little or as much as you like on the trimmings/fittings and set up your house exactly as you want it. - most if not all houses have the toilet in the bathroom - sometimes you will have the toilet as a separate room within the bathroom - most if not all houses have the shower over the bath and will use a single tap (rather than the separate hot/cold) with a lever to direct the water to the bath faucet or the shower head - most houses have the same textured ceilings (I don't like it) I'm sure there's things I've forgotten but that's it for the moment.... After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 2Nov 26, 2008 7:41 am Haha, everything you stated their I agree with except for the colors. I was born and lived most of my life in Canada (just moved to australia a few years back). Vancouver is not really the norm when it comes to house designs, etc, Vancouver I would say you'll see newer/different styles in.
I lived in the prairies and single color houses were the norm there (cream color walls). Triple glazed windows was also the norm, heating/ac is pretty much standard (i've only known one person in my city that didn't have air conditioning). You'll also notice the weather sealing around doors is amazing there compared to Australia (i've never had a bug crawl in through my front door in canada, heck, not even water can pour through if i put a hose to the front door). Of course, I suppose we don't need that much protection from the elements here in Australia. So far, I find myself comparing every display home I visit to my house in canada which my parents had built back in 1984 and I am still shocked about the 'little' things which I expect to be included not being included (i.e. better weather sealing around doors, fly screens - they come as standard with most builders in my hometown atelast, wooden window frames, etc). in regards to basements, every time I ask a builder that question, I always get laughed at and told I wouldn't want to know due to excavation costs. A basement in North America is not even regarded as a story normally, i refer to my house in Canada as a single story, but we had a main floor and basement (basement had rooms, carpet, etc, just looked like what we would see here on the 'upper story' of any house). Edit: Also to add - you will rarely if ever see antennas on peoples roof's, every house has cable (free to air) wired to it normally, atleast that was the norm in my city. Nav Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 3Nov 26, 2008 8:07 am Most importantly what are their dunnies like?
Do they have those hopeless American ones where the bowl first fills right up (a most disturbing spectacle) and then, in theory, all of a sudden sucks down in a big whirlpool, but in practice, just makes a half-hearted "glug" noise leaving everything in the bowl for second and subsequent flushing attempts? Or have they taken the European route of the inspection platform? "Now, supposing a house to have a southern aspect, sunshine during winter will steal in under the verandah, but in summer, when the sun traverses a path right over our heads, the roof will afford an agreeable shade, will it not?" -- Socrates, ca. 400 BC Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 4Nov 26, 2008 8:26 am Matt and I are working on a place owned by a Canadian ex-pat.
Now, he's quite fussy about everything, but one area where this really kept coming up (he was quite anal about it honestly) was with the insulation. He even bought little enclosures that go around the little halogen donwlights and their transformers so that he could still put the ceiling insulation over them... and heaven forbid you suggest cutting a hole in the insulation to install something... I guess over here we are not quite so fussed about insulating every square inch of surface area, but then we don't live in areas where it's below freezing half the year... Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 6Nov 26, 2008 7:32 pm When I lived in Canada, I lived in Montreal, so things may differ from province to province. The houses around us:
* everyone had a basement. It's where the oil furnace was, along with lots of storage. * Most houses were either stone and wood, or just plain wood. Ours was stone on the ground floor and wood for the top floor. * Every house had a "mud room" just inside the front door. It was necessary for taking off snow gear and had spaces to hang stuff to dry. * A lot of houses had laundries in the basement, but ours was on the ground floor. * Very few houses had a clothesline outside. Ours did, and my Mum hung stuff out as often as possible. I do remember, however, one day that she hung the washing out, and there was an ice-storm overnight. The next day the clothes were coated with ice, and some of them broke as they were taken off the line! * Internal access from the garage. That's all I can remember right now. Judie Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 8Nov 27, 2008 1:11 am Most of the toilets I've seen (including mine), while they do fill the bowl up, they also have a cistern so you do get the right amount of pressure... having said that though I've had to flush my toilet two or three times on more than one occassion...
But you do also get those ones that have no cistern and just hook straight into the mains water supply After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 9Nov 27, 2008 7:46 am Rodda Matt and I are working on a place owned by a Canadian ex-pat. Now, he's quite fussy about everything, but one area where this really kept coming up (he was quite anal about it honestly) was with the insulation. He even bought little enclosures that go around the little halogen donwlights and their transformers so that he could still put the ceiling insulation over them... and heaven forbid you suggest cutting a hole in the insulation to install something... I guess over here we are not quite so fussed about insulating every square inch of surface area, but then we don't live in areas where it's below freezing half the year... Haha, I think the same way as the person your talking about their. I am dreading seeing the house when it's at frame stage with insulation. I am even more fussed about external doors and weather sealed. I always ask the question 'if I get a hose and spray the door with water, will it leak water indoors?'. Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 10Dec 02, 2008 5:59 am Thanks Muzzman.
rod - I'm the same, my sparky was ripping great holes in it once and I had to replace sections where he'd been - before I'd pulled him up on it. Even the slightest of gaps in the insulation will lower the performance big time. A well insulated house is a joy to live in. Degrading that in any way is step backwards. Sound travels through those gaps too - so soundchecking a HT room - make sure every hole you make is plugged back up too. Steve Re: General Notes about Canadian Homes 11Dec 02, 2008 7:46 am Rodda Matt and I are working on a place owned by a Canadian ex-pat. Now, he's quite fussy about everything, but one area where this really kept coming up (he was quite anal about it honestly) was with the insulation. He even bought little enclosures that go around the little halogen donwlights and their transformers so that he could still put the ceiling insulation over them... and heaven forbid you suggest cutting a hole in the insulation to install something...... THIS is why I am owner building!!! Rodda I guess over here we are not quite so fussed about insulating every square inch of surface area, but then we don't live in areas where it's below freezing half the year... No but Australia does have extremes of temperature. The variation in temperature between day and night is greater than in England for example. So Australia needs lots of insulation to prevent heat escaping, and both heat and cold entering the house. Australia is one of the world's worst energy-wasters, and a change of attitude wholesale across Australia with regard to insulation will have to come about in order to correct this. You should check your detail drawings, it may show downpipe within brick pier. 14 14122 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74717 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105617 |