Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 22, 2014 1:41 pm Hi Guys, I've had a few goes at designing my own home over the years and this is my latest attempt. It's still a work in progress but the concept is strong. I'm going to add another bedroom and maybe a separate study/office pavillion building. I'm Designing it to be completely electricity neutral and so far i'm on track. The design as it is now has a 10 Star thermal efficiency rating. Even Though it's tropical I'm hoping to find an appropriate block of land on the atherton tablelands (hence the fireplace's). I'd like to have everyone's feedback on the design and any suggestions. The render was made before the roof was changed to a butterfly style. If anyone wants to have a look at the Floor Plan as it is right now i've attached PDF. http://www.weebly.com/uploads/2/8/1/8/28185161/hs_a_lodge-01_-_floor_plan.pdf Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 2Jul 23, 2014 10:12 am Looks good. Looking forward to seeing how this evolves. A render of the updated roof line would be good. There was another house I saw only a couple of days ago with a similar footprint that you would probably like. I'll see if I can find the link. Stewie Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 4Jul 23, 2014 5:12 pm @Stewie D Hi Thanks, I will definitely get a new render. @qebtel Hi, This house is designed to have all it's power supplied onsite - PV cells and Solar hot water. if it ends up being attached to mains power it will sell more electricity than it will use. it also means that over its life it will pay back the carbon footprint used to build it. Another term for electrically neutral would be net-zero / zero-energy building http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-energy_building Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 5Jul 23, 2014 5:48 pm awratten .....if it ends up being attached to mains power it will sell more electricity than it will use. Just be aware of decreasing tariffs when calculating returns. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 6Jul 27, 2014 4:05 pm I do think some designs with butterfly roofs look great, & I like the idea of one sloped roof pitch allowing plenty of winter sunlight to enter the house, while the other pitch is orientated for PV. But be aware that one problem with butterfly roofs is that their box gutters can overflow, flooding the interior of the house. I'm sure the gutter can be oversized, & designed to minimise this possibility, but as you'll have such high rainfall in the atherton tablelands it may not be worth the risk. It may be better to keep the single pitched design on your current render. My guess is that it would be cheaper to build than a butterfly roof too. You could consider putting your PV on a N (or E/W) facing roof on your 2nd pavilion or garage. Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 7Jul 28, 2014 12:27 pm awratten Hi, This house is designed to have all it's power supplied onsite - PV cells and Solar hot water. if it ends up being attached to mains power it will sell more electricity than it will use. it also means that over its life it will pay back the carbon footprint used to build it. Crikey, my house is electricity neutral then! And i didnt even know it! Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 8Jul 28, 2014 12:49 pm qebtel Crikey, my house is electricity neutral then! And i didnt even know it! Well.....that's a positive! 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 9Jun 30, 2015 5:40 pm It's been a while since I last posted about the progress of this project... Getting some changes made. specifically adding a walk-in-pantry and redesigning the master suite. may even be adding a second veranda off the master. updated drawings to come. Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 11Jul 27, 2015 5:32 pm Looking forward to seeing your place come together. Can I make a suggestion with your kitchen- perhaps you should place a sink in the main kitchen as well as the butlers pantry. I have one in my main kitchen and pantry & to empty a boiling pot off the stove I don't want to walk into my pantry to drain it. Less of a hazard risk Just a thought. Good luck with it all. Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 12Aug 03, 2015 3:02 pm dolphinblu Looking forward to seeing your place come together. Can I make a suggestion with your kitchen- perhaps you should place a sink in the main kitchen as well as the butlers pantry. I have one in my main kitchen and pantry & to empty a boiling pot off the stove I don't want to walk into my pantry to drain it. Less of a hazard risk Just a thought. Good luck with it all. That's a good suggestion, I'll definitely be adding a single sink in the main kitchen area... Re: Designing Sustainable Tropical Home - Cairns 13Aug 04, 2015 11:55 am Hi awratten Personally I think you will have a problem with that unsupported cantilever roof You might want to consider adding/designing in an exoskeleton triangulated trusses and ties Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Always handy to have the facts on hand when relying on agents advice, a lot of times sale agents advice is only good anecdotally, and when you actually dive deeper it's… 33 52706 We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16275 From what I know about water tanks (I've been working with a client on them for a few years now) is this - The concrete can last a lifetime if they don't crack for some… 2 10630 |