Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 21Sep 21, 2012 10:23 am the company has to have passed FZ tests. As far as I know, there are only 1 possibly 2 companies that have passed. All others have to be covered by a FZ approved shutter. Mind you, if you have a shutter, there are no requirements for what the window behind the shutter is. We do want double glazing for better insulation too. I think that is correct.. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 22Sep 21, 2012 10:32 am I am no expert but I think all aluminium windows pass the standard but not timber windows. I know some actively advertise that they have FZ rated windows but this does not mean that other compainies do not. It is the thickened & toughened heat treated glass which is required to meet the standard. I am not sure about double glazing, I think the thickened glass is supposed to offer better insulation also. Do you have your DA yet? Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 23Sep 21, 2012 10:43 am Hmmm thats interesting. I hear a lot of conflicting thoughts. The Paarhammer windows are timber and have passed the FZ rating! But they are crazy expensive. Not sure about the thickened glass having better insulation than double glazed as there is no thermal break? Although likewise I am no expert! I have been to tonnes of homeshows and no one knows of any FZ rated (in Vic anyway). Our designer is looking into it more. Do you know of any brands in particular that have FZ rated windows without shutters? We have our planning consent through. It was slightly different for us as the house on the property was lost in the fires so we are allowed to rebuild there without going through the normal planning process. That is all approved. Don't have a building permit yet though still finalising a few things with the design. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 24Sep 21, 2012 10:55 am No, I didn't mean the thickened glass was better than double glazing but better than regular glass. You are in Victoria so things may be dfferent but lots of people must have rebuilt, surely there is a lot of information out there, more than NSW anyway. As to particular brands of windows, our DA just stipulated no exterior timber & 5mm toughened glass to meet the FZ standard our fire consultant said aluminium windows ( with the 5mm glass) met this standard, they are non combustible. Best of luck, do post on here what you find, costings etc. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 25Sep 21, 2012 10:57 am oh yes, it must be better than normal windows! Will post what if ind out! Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 26Sep 21, 2012 3:00 pm simon&jo - we are starting to build flame - only one side of the house though (everything else BAL-40). We are starting to explore options but feel we'll go with this company that was recommended for our windows: www.nilfire.com.au I have sent them a few emails with queries they respond fairly quickly and are helpful. Maybe give them a go. Keep us posted. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 27Sep 22, 2012 9:33 am Ryan 1977 Those quotes for building in a fire zone are ridiculous, did they itemize the extra costs? I wonder if builders do not really know what they are in for & just quote a big figure to cover their arses. Hi Ryan, Those quotes were actually direct from 2 window manufacturers, not the builders. Cheers Simon Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 28Sep 22, 2012 9:41 am Ryan 1977 I am no expert but I think all aluminium windows pass the standard but not timber windows. I know some actively advertise that they have FZ rated windows but this does not mean that other compainies do not. It is the thickened & toughened heat treated glass which is required to meet the standard. I am not sure about double glazing, I think the thickened glass is supposed to offer better insulation also. Do you have your DA yet? BAL 40 can have 5mm toughened glass, BAL FZ needs at least 6mm toughened. Also, aluminium is out of the equation as it melts too quickly [apparently]. Thus NilFire use steel frames to meet FZ. Paarhammer uses locally sourced ironbark for their frames which has passed FZ tests. NilFire and Paarhammer are both double glazed solutions which offer fantastic insulation [sound and heat] benefits too. But while these are double glazed, it doesn't mean that others have to be - it's just a side benefit and simply the way they chose to design their windows. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 29Sep 22, 2012 9:43 am Ryan 1977 No, I didn't mean the thickened glass was better than double glazing but better than regular glass. You are in Victoria so things may be dfferent but lots of people must have rebuilt, surely there is a lot of information out there, more than NSW anyway. As to particular brands of windows, our DA just stipulated no exterior timber & 5mm toughened glass to meet the FZ standard our fire consultant said aluminium windows ( with the 5mm glass) met this standard, they are non combustible. Best of luck, do post on here what you find, costings etc. Looks like you struck it lucky with your consultant - has the building been certified yet? I've been speaking to the RFS regularly and one thing that is clear is that aluminium doesn't meet FZ according to them, and all glass needs to be at least 6mm. Mind you, each time I speak to them, I seem to get a different response. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 30Sep 22, 2012 10:02 am We must have been extremely lucky then. We are definitely FZ not BAL 40. We had two fire consultants the second came up with the answer to our front door problem. Our DA never said exactly what we had to have, our private certifiers asked us to have a report done by a bush fire consultant & they were happy with his recommendations, they can hardly refuse to certify the house when they have given the go ahead to use these products. They (private certifiers) have been happy with the inspections so far. We used Steve Parrot @ Bush Fire Safety Solutions, we never really delt with the RFS much other than a couple of initial phone calls. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 31Sep 29, 2012 7:20 am when talking about the standard one has to be careful to take into account the amendments made since the standard came out. if you want a copy pm me leighton at clark new homes Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 32Oct 03, 2012 3:55 pm Attention : RYAN 1977 Hi Ryan, Please can you give me more information about the Promatect 40 bushfire system, Who has supplied and installed the product? cost of the board? Ive been looking at product called MODAK but have heard information that the board turns all fixing rusty plus $$ to install. I just want to build our dream home for cheap as possible. Any information would be great.Thanks Mike Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 33Oct 03, 2012 5:04 pm Hi Mike, The Promatect40 is just for the roof as far as I can tell & is used in conjunction with a colorsteel roof. My DH found it when trawling the net for FZ complying products & we passed it onto our builders who priced it, so I don't know the actual cost per board or who installed it. I think the suppliers of the board may have insisted that it was installed by their people. The cost of our roof was increased by $18 thousand, this is for a 2 stoey home of approx 300sqm. http://www.bluescopesteel.com.au/.../bu ... ion-1-ap... This is the fact sheet we downloaded & passed onto the builders. I can't imagine that the board would turn things rusty, it is a cement bound matrix board. Anyway have a look at this fact sheet, I hope it helps. Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 36Oct 18, 2012 11:10 am What have people done with there FZ doors? Any suggestions and costings? Re: Anyone built in the FLAME ZONE??!! 40Oct 18, 2012 11:51 am Trying to get some pricing, we orignally had a door going into the bathroom form the outside so you could go from the pool to the shower. but that side of the house is FZ and have been told it will cost thousands for a door... Hi All It has been a few weeks since my last update. The build has been progressing well. No major issues to report. The scaffolding was dropped today, gyprock will be… 96 356757 Hi , I'm currently going through this now within the Whitehorse council which has a similar set of restrictions. We're having to make compromises with our floor plan due… 3 30668 Yes it had a house on it. But Melbourne water only wanted something the original size of the existing house. We managed to fit a 45sq house on. 10 33655 |