Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Apr 13, 2010 6:22 pm I was just curious about what all of you learned members of H1 (sorry I'm a lawyer, can't help the use of legal terminology ) think about the subject of eaves It seems that most of the volume builders don't provide eaves on a home as standard (ie they finish the roofline at the edge of the walls). Is it a matter of keeping in with the current fashion or just cost cutting? Or maybe it's because of the limited frontage on most suburban blocks of land. Is having eaves a sensible or not so sensible thing in our hot climate with sometimes torrential rainfall? I suppose I fall into the "yes to eaves" camp but only really as a result of being pestered by my parents who are of the older generation that think houses without eaves look "unfinished" . I'm also hoping that having eaves will save me on heating and cooling costs and help me to avoid the possibility of a flood in my house if the gutters overflow. Also I'm fundamentally lazy so am hoping I'll have to wash my windows less if they are a bit protected from the weather I'd be interested to hear everyone else's views.... Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 2Apr 13, 2010 6:29 pm I'm definately a eaves person. My parents don't have eaves at the ends of their house and all their cladding is really weathered. So definately better in terms of covering/ protecting. Also I just think (personally) it doesn't look right, it looks like the gutters have just been bluetacked on the edge of the house. But each to their own Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 4Apr 13, 2010 6:40 pm I'm an eaves person too. Our plan didn't include them so we had them added on. Also for the reasons you stated. Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 6Apr 13, 2010 6:46 pm Definitely yes, in fact we paid extra to extend our eaves to 600mm, as we've gone for a plantation style home. Beyond the style and look (I'm one of the unfinished without eaves people), the fact that it will help keep cooling costs down for us was another factor. Stefan Building the M3tr!con Liberty 42 at Stonecutters Ridge. The New Build Blog - "Life, In Progress." Stonecutters Ridge Community Website | My photos Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 8Apr 13, 2010 7:02 pm Yes to eaves too. I think houses without eaves look like a lego house before you have the fine motor skills to hang the tile lego pieces over the edge. In fact I think all my lego houses eventually had generous eaves too. So I'm an eaves person form way back in construction. The cooling benefits of eaves in summer are significant according to basix. You may still get some flooding from overflowing gutters with eaves but it will be to a lesser degree. Without eaves you will know about it sooner, so during heavy rainfall it's worth checking on your gutters that they are not clogged. Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 9Apr 13, 2010 7:10 pm Fernyhouse I think houses without eaves look like a lego house before you have the fine motor skills to hang the tile lego pieces over the edge. In fact I think all my lego houses eventually had generous eaves too. Well that just brought back soooo many memories of making lego houses. Did you do the 'brick' fence around the garden? (didn't ya just love those lego trees and flowers!) Oooh and fighting over the windows, doors and roof tiles with my sister!! I'd forgotten how much fun it was. I always wanted one of those kits that you actually used a little trowel to stick the bricks together with mortar and then you put it in water and the mortar dissolved so you could build it again! Never got one. ***PLEASE RETURN TO EAVES DISCUSSION....SORRY FOR LONGWINDED REMINISCING*** Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 11Apr 13, 2010 7:28 pm Yes to eaves too for me. I think it was a Basix requirement for us. Lucky for us our builder included eaves as standard, otherwise we would be happy to pay extra for it anyway, it completes the house in my opinion. Call me old fashioned, but every house I drew as a child had a roof with eaves, the first real house I am building definitely needs them Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 12Apr 13, 2010 8:03 pm We had to have them - developers covenant. They do look much nicer with them though and I think it does add to the energy efficiency of the home. Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 13Apr 13, 2010 8:21 pm As for protection and efficiency yes to eaves. Personally I like them without, all depends on your taste and what look you want to achieve. Budde Design 3D Architecural Visualizations, Architectural Rendering, Artist Impressions, 2D & 3D floor plans http://www.buddedesign.com nathan@buddedesign.com Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 14Apr 13, 2010 8:45 pm A massive yes! The wider the better if room allows. Already in the space of 12 months we have seen many people who have massive increases in power bills! I don't think we could have thought it would start to become a reality so soon. Just imagine what they are going to be like. Do what you can now to reduce your home energy requirements later. Will we be looking at homes in the future that have favourable attributes to reduced home energy? Just like how we look for economical cars because a V8 is too expensive. we build V8 homes right now. They are great big old 55 Chevs that suck back fuel and perform poorly. Invest for the future so you have the economical home people will look for Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 15Apr 13, 2010 10:11 pm I think you are spot on with everything you have said in terms of the builders cutting costs, the continual decrease in the size of available land etc. I too felt pressured by my parents to have eaves as "houses just look unfinished without them" or "they look like boxes with roofs" quote un-quote thanks mum! Both my husband and I said before we chose a house plan that we did not like the look of houses without eaves, however with the facade that we have chosen for our house we feel that a) the house will look funny WITH eaves, and b) we never actually noticed that we didn't have eaves! So for us not having them is no major deal! However with the facade that we have Sleven Moved into our Atlantique MkII 36 by Carlisle Homes Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 16Apr 13, 2010 10:43 pm grom40 Also I'm fundamentally lazy so am hoping I'll have to wash my windows less if they are a bit protected from the weather . Love it! Eaves for us, it was always a given... dont know why though! Custom European Cabinets - Melbourne Kitchen Specialist PM for business details as website currently being updated! Our Crazy Owner Builder Journey! Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 17Apr 13, 2010 11:50 pm Consider whether your house would look silly if you had eaves on the Northern side and not the southern side? Does the design allow for this? I contemplated pulling bathroom and laundry out under the eaves ont he southern side. Decided we would only do it if council requested articulation in the end though. Eaves on the southern side were aesthetic and rain issue rather than heat reduction issue. Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 18Apr 14, 2010 12:06 am YES YES YES!!! I don't know the pros or cons of having eaves I just think houses look so much better with them .... our eaves have been sitting on the ground for about THREE weeks and I'm dying to see them up jimnsal Call me old fashioned, but every house I drew as a child had a roof with eaves Yep ... me too Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 19Apr 14, 2010 12:28 am I would have eaves, better protection from the weather, some people prefer the look of no eaves and some like eaves. I have eaves at the front (except garage) and left elevation behind the garage. My house of the right elevation is higher and has no eaves on that side, except for the alfresco area. Sounds interesting? Re: Eaves- to have or not to have? 20Apr 14, 2010 9:55 am They should make it law that all houses be built with 450mm eaves as a minimum. Eaves add more character to a house, let alone the efficientcy savings aswell. If you want a job done properly... Do it yourself! Update from me! Couldn't find the trimmer - not sure if there isn't one simply because the eave is so narrow. Went ahead with the spring toggles and it all worked out… 7 5867 The two 15mm holes are obviously not compliant. The Dept of Fair Trading would love to see this one! Do the gutters pool water after it stops raining? Although it's… 4 7847 My door tends to rub against the frame during winter and I'm looking to fix it so it closes smoothly. Looking online on Youtube I'm seeing methods to fix the alignment and… 0 692 |