Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Apr 29, 2015 10:02 pm Hi there Our builder has notified of below upgrades to meet 6 star energy rating. We are building in western suburbs of melbourne. 1)Walls to have R2.5 batts with sisalation paper to house, including walls between garage and house. $1455 2)Internal walls to bathroom and laundry are required to have R2.5 batts. $443 3)Ceilings to have R5.0 batts to house. $622 4)Elevated floor areas (master bedroom, bed 3 and bed 4) to have R4.1. $250 5)Double glazing is required to windows 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 (window numbers are shown on page 6 of your plans). $2955 The contract states that all our homes are designed to meet 6 star energy rating and owner must pay costs incurred for any upgrades required due to alterations in the design. We have only added a kitchen window and increased the size of another window. Do you think we should be paying for above upgrades to meet the energy rating other than the 2 alterations that we have made? I am not willing to pay $5700 for these upgrades. What do you suggest I tell the builder other than stating the contract. Or do I have to accept these costs? Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 2Apr 29, 2015 11:14 pm It's hard to give a definitive opinion without a lot more information about what circumstances the standard design would meet 6 stars but two things that would lower the star rating would be: 1. Extra / larger windows. 2. Less than optimum orientation, for instance lots of window area facing South, East, and West The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 3Apr 29, 2015 11:59 pm Your situation seems excessively expensive, however as bashworth has already mentioned, we need far more information to be able to provide an accurate advice. Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 4Apr 30, 2015 10:38 am I can see why you would be upset, that's a lot of money when you thought it wouldn't be needed. The floor plan must be designed to suit a certain orientation and maybe the way it fits on your block is not optimal? I have noticed that some builders don't include some of the insulation (don't recall if it was the external walls or ceiling or both) in their "base price", they add it on after saying that it depends on what is needed. Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 6May 03, 2015 10:26 pm Hi Bashworth, quick one if I may. Our builder is providing R2 insulation for the walls and R5 for the ceiling. In your opinion, is it worthwhile upgrading the ceiling from R5.0 to R6.0? Not sure on cost, however, assume it will be > $500. cheers Michael ------------------------------------------- Build Thread - Mainvue Emporio ER430 KDR https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76790&p=1332227&hilit=mainvue#p1332227 Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 7May 04, 2015 10:25 am For Sydney the recommended ceiling insulation is R 4.0. Further South like Melbourne or Canberra I'd say it would have to be R 4.5 - 5.0. Anything more would be in the realm of diminishing returns and you could probably spend the money better elsewhere. Stewie Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 8May 04, 2015 10:40 am I was considering R6.0 for in the ceiling up here in S E Qld, but realised it was rather pointless going up that far, so now I'm looking at putting R4.0 in there instead. ... still a bit more than what is needed. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 9May 04, 2015 11:09 am Thanks Stewie and Brpatt, Had a feeling that may be the case. In relation to other energy saving options, would you consider installing a whirlybird on a terracotta tiled roof. Appreciate its a no brainer for a colorbond roof, however, not sure when it comes to tiled roof? cheers Michael ------------------------------------------- Build Thread - Mainvue Emporio ER430 KDR https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76790&p=1332227&hilit=mainvue#p1332227 Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 10May 04, 2015 1:57 pm Decent sarking under your tiles or something like an insulation blanket - all to keep the hot summer sun from heating up your house. Whirlybirds are OK but you also need some eaves vents to help with drawing air up to it. Personally I'm not a big fan of them - pardon the pun, as I think they are dog ugly. Stewie Re: **Urgent** please help with insulation upgrades 11May 04, 2015 10:03 pm Thanks Stewie, Appreciate your insight. ------------------------------------------- Build Thread - Mainvue Emporio ER430 KDR https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76790&p=1332227&hilit=mainvue#p1332227 Thank you @. Tried to play with the facade models but the exact colour is not matching up. 2 3273 Render your bathroom walls, two opinions versus the one, makes you wonder. 3 6064 thanks Chippy, i hope they have applied sealer but i am doubt to be honest, so i am gonna do this job after handover. 8 16291 |