Why are wooden houses so popular in Australia?

Michelle - I think Andrej is saying that most houses are double brick, whereas ours are brick veneer.

Interesting that we had a thread a little while back saying that many homes in WA are also double brick.

I suspect the use of double brick on Europe could be to do with climate. We probably also have a more plentiful supply of plantation timber for building here also.
Perry

Andrej,

The low use of brick houses in Australia also perplexes me. And I live in Sydney.

As ausdesign has said, we (at least the eastern states) have clay soils. This is both a disadvantage (lots of soil movement as the ground changes from wet to dry) and advantages (plenty of raw material to make bricks). ausdesign put it well when he said that it's important to build the foundation right.

For you information Andrej, Western Australia is almost exclusively full brick construction, while the eastern states are mainly brick veneer (brick outside and plaster board on the inside). You also need to note that only about 5 to 10% of the population lives in Western Australia and that well over half the population is in the eastern states (Victoria, NSW and Queensland).

I will be using full brick in my construction in Sydney since, to me, it's the way to go:
* low maintenance
* large thermal mass, therefore best thermal performance
* robust (hard to knock a hole in brick rendered internal wall)

I am paying particular attention to the foundation; piers done to shale (about 1 to 2 metres down) and concrete slab.

Most people will say that full brick construction is more expensive. Firstly, why not in Western Australia? Secondly, the Rawlinsons Construction Cost Guide full has brick costs the same as brick veneer.

SO WHY WOULD ANYONE NOT BUILD IN FULL BRICK RATHER THAN BRICK VENEER?

In practice, builders charge more for brick veneer and I suspect that this is because it is seen as a premium market.

In Sydney, about 40 years ago there were mainly two types of houses; full brick and totally non-brick. Then there was a move towards brick veneer. Not sure what triggered this move, but now there appears to be no reason for brick veneer (at least in Sydney). The only reason I can see now is the heard mentality. Being a nation with a high sheep population, maybe this makes sense ?

So, are we a bunch of sheep or is there a compelling reason to build brick veneer when full brick offers so many advantages – even if you do end up paying 5% more?

Cheers,
Casa

I'm convinced that full brick is the way to go for best thermal performance, but I'm currently perplexed about whether it is better to add insulation or not.

As we know, a double brick cavity wall has an R value of about 0.7 m2.K/W. This can be improved by 1.0 m2.K/W by adding either double-sided reflective foil or 30 mm polystyrene foam.

The question is, do I want to add the insulation? Most people would say yes, but there is something else to consider. A cavity brick wall has a thermal lag of about 7-8 hours. This means that in winter the sun's warmth on the north wall will find it's way into the house in the evening. Just like in winter you want sunlight to enter a window, I suspect that you also want it to hit the walls. Any insulation would reduce any heat flow into the house.

Of course in summer you need to provide shading for the walls, just as is the case for windows.

So, do I put insulation in? My current thinking, and I have to do some more research, is to only insulate the non-northern walls.

Any thoughts out there?

Andrej, sorry about taking this topic off course, but hopefully others will find discussion on the thermal performance eof full brick interesting.

Cheers,
Casa

Great info, guys, thanks.

Casa2: About the brick isolation. We don't have any other options, because during the winter time, the temperature is often under 0 celsius. The R norm is 3 over here, but most new houses have it within 4-6, which means a brick of 30-44cm + 10-20cm of isolation and 3-glass windows.

Yeah, and I just learned the difference between double brick and brick veneer.

Casa, I'm from Bratislava (Slovak Republic). What is the air gap for between the 2 bricks? Wouldn't be 1 bigger brick more stable?

Andrej,

Good to have someone so far afield on the forum. Would like to hear more about how building paractices vary between your region and Australia.

ausdesign,

Going for a full brick house, I'm more worried about heating than cooling. To make matters worse I'm on a south sloping block (therefore local microclimate will be colder than surrounding) with views to the south (therefore large windows to the south). I also have the objective, or is it challenge, of keeping the house between 20 to 26 degreees Celcius all year round without any heaters or air-conditioning.

Any tips on how to keep the house warm would be appreciated. Currently, relying on northern windows to heat the thermal mass. Will also install some solar panels to circulate water through hydronic pipes in the floor slab.

Cheers,
Casa

stonecutter,

I hope there was something specific to your parents house that caused the cracks and work required. My parents house is also full brick and although there was cracking once during an extended dry period, it's been OK. I put down my parents problem to the fact that the house was build in many stages.

I'd like to think, as ausdesign mentioned, that if the foundations are done well then there should be no cracking.

The (hopefully) great thing about full brick is that you never need to paint the outside and the inside is more robust (less holes in walls, etc).

Wouldn't think that reverse brick veneer would be any less prone to cracking.

Cheers,
Casa

ausdesign & ahuang, thanks for the replies

Casa, you can follow the process of my house on my page. About heating, when the temperatures are stable in your area(not too cold in the winter), a small heat pump would doa good job.
http://www.srpnet.com/energy/pumpworks.aspx

But not as big as on the pic, there are also smaller ones for the outside wall, which would be strong enough.