Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Sep 13, 2012 12:24 pm We just bought a 520m2 block of land, NW of Melbourne, and are now in the process of finding a builder. We are not after anything special, just a 3 bed, 2 bath, house with enough outdoor area. We like to build a house which is sustainable, but due to our budget we need to make some concessions. Items that are a must for us at this stage: Double glazed windows Roof & wall insulation Rainwater tank to water the garden (maybe to flush the toilets) Eaves One thing that I believe can make a difference is the roof color, picking the right color is not going to affect the price so that is a big plus. We would like to have a colorbond roof and I personally think a lighter color is more energy efficient that a darker color. Or am I completely wrong, since I see so many dark roofs? Re: Roof color 2Mar 14, 2013 6:16 pm You are right, lighter colours are better. Darker colours attract the heat more. The reason why you are seeing darker colours these days is that they have become trendy. Dark roofs, especially metal ones need good insulation! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Roof color 3Mar 27, 2013 11:42 am Hi, it depends what you are trying to achieve. If your house in the colder region where there are more colder days then warmer days then you have to go for darker roof tiles. Regards, P>S> make sure you choose the right frame for your double glazed windows as frame is around 40% of your windows energy efficiency check it here WERS Re: Roof color 4Apr 23, 2013 7:58 pm I lived in houses both with black roof and white roof... both double storey houses. Honestly, white roof is better in summer. Re: Roof color 6Jul 18, 2013 1:05 am DoubleDutch Items that are a must for us at this stage: Double glazed windows Roof & wall insulation Rainwater tank to water the garden (maybe to flush the toilets) Eaves Eaves! I remember time was when eaves were standard. Okay well about your question on roof colour, I too have heard light colour reflects heat better in summer. If you were getting tiles I'd say get reflective sisalation but I haven't got any experience with metal roof so can't help you there. Re: Roof color 7Jul 20, 2013 2:12 am Houses with no eaves but with aircon infuriate me! I know your rainfall is a little different over there (more consistent through the year), but over here, the smarter water specialists recommend using rainwater to flush the toilet (such a big consumer of water) and greywater to do the garden... the theory being that rainwater is collected here when it is not needed (the garden is already wet) but greywater is a year round supply. Re: Roof color 9Jul 20, 2013 8:53 am I went with a dark colourbond roof, although originally wanted a much lighter colour for the same reason as you. In the end it was the colour-mix on the facade that swayed my decision. Colourbond has a lower-thermal mass than roof tiles so that can help in summer, although a dark roof will negate some of those effects. My builder's standard inclusions had one roof vent, however I asked for two. A few other things to consider: - higher ceilings ( better in summer ) - reversible ceiling fans ( adjust the blade direction to suit summer or winter ) - good cross / through ventilation ( think carefully about where windows and doors are placed ) Build thread: here Land Nov 12, Contract 6/07/13, Consent 15/08/13, Start 20/09/13, Slab 25/09/13, Frame 4/10/13, Brick 21/10/13, Roof 2/11/13, Lock-up 17/12/13, Handover 3/3/14 Re: Roof color 11Sep 18, 2013 10:21 pm We're doing zincalume for our roof, gutters and fascias. For cooling reasons and because I've yet to see a colourbond roof over 10yrs that isn't faded/going white and I don't want to drink whatever that is. I could be wrong (happy to be wrong), but it isn't going to hurt us to go basic zincalume - it'll reflect the sun better than any matt colour would, it's cheaper and I like it. Our builder is putting a couple of vents in too to vent hot air out. Re: Roof color 12Sep 19, 2013 5:27 am Lighter colorbond colours do reflect more heat, the lighter colours like surfmist are designed as HSR or high solar reflectivity. They also produce a product called coolmax for industrial roofing designed to reflect more heat than zincalume. The vents are a good idea as they slow the build up of heat in the roof space and let it escape faster at night preventing your insulation from absorbing and radiating as much stored heat through your ceiling. Make sure your zincalume is genuine Australian made, a lot of imported product is out in the marked and can be sold under the zincalume or colorbond reputation, but without the guarantee. 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