Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Jun 03, 2014 9:33 am The ABC is running a story this morning on how we should prepare for longer and more intensive heatwaves using urban design. Michael Mobbs has been campaigning a little while to change the colour of black bitumen roads as well as getting rid of black roofs. Here is the link for anyone who is interested. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-02/c ... ts/5494124 At the bottom of the page there is also a link to a Mapping Heatwave Vulnerability website. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 2Jun 03, 2014 10:46 am I think it was a story on Chicago or some other US city, which had heat wave conditions where hundreds died from the days and days of continuous heat, and one of the main things that caused the problems was the heat islands from the building roofs being dark in colour. One of the results was that more and more building roofs were later either changed to a lighter colour or had roof top gardens. I see regulary in this forum the amount of people who are planning on putting on black tiled roofs and black or other dark coloured bricks on them. One person even responded by stating that they are going to put on a large ducted a/c system ! I think it would be a really good idea if there was some legislated way of stopping the numbers of dark coloured roofs, particulary in inner suburbier, as that's where it really creates a problem. If in a acreage estate like where I'm building, it isn't anywhere near as bad, as there's large expanses of grass and gardens in between all the houses, but inner urban where everyones roof joins up with the next will be a bit issue in the future. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 3Jun 03, 2014 11:12 am I think there should be more education & information on the advantages of building more thermally efficient houses for new home buyer & builders. This should information should be targeted where new home buyers are likely to be found such as display villages. Volume builders should be made to make this info available to prospective buyers so the buyers can make better informed decisions about their new house. I am building a house with a white roof. One of my neighbours also built a house with a white roof. We have both been criticised by people in the district because our roof "stands out" when seen from a distance (they do actually stand out). This ignorance on the thermal benefits of a light roof by the general public puts unnecessary pressure on new home builders to "conform" to match other houses. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 4Jun 03, 2014 11:36 am More information at the point of sale would make a big difference I think. People would be able to make more informed choices. A few years ago Derek Wrigley made a pdf checklist for people to take around when considering buying a house and I've often thought it should be given out to all prospective homebuyers. See link below: http://www.natsoc.org.au/our-projects/r ... cklist.pdf Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 5Jun 03, 2014 12:20 pm Beetaloo I am building a house with a white roof. One of my neighbours also built a house with a white roof. We have both been criticised by people in the district because our roof "stands out" when seen from a distance (they do actually stand out). This ignorance on the thermal benefits of a light roof by the general public puts unnecessary pressure on new home builders to "conform" to match other houses. I agree with there, so many people have been forced to 'keep up with the Jones' with their new homes. Many don't even consider the long term viability of their very dark coloured roof. I can clearly remember how much of a difference it was going from a old zincalume 'silver' roof to one I painted the colourbond colour of Thredbo White, which I think now the equivalent is the Colourbond 'Coolmax' Whitehaven white colour. I missed a couple of spots under the solar panels, so they remained as zincalume when the panels got moved slightly down the roof, so when you put your hand on the unpainted sections on a sunny day, you'd burn your hands, whereas a couple of feet away on the same roof which had been painted was cool to touch... so much so you could sit up there on a summers day and have a picnic (as long as you were wearing sunglasses!). Anyway, the roof on our new home being built is Surfmist, and it does stand out amongst all the dark roofs, although the neighbour has what appears to be 'classic cream' colourbond on their roof. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 6Jun 03, 2014 3:42 pm The damaging impact of Urban Heat Island Effect is recognised but Australia has been slow to act despite our high susceptibility to climate change. A house's dark roof heat signature can be greater than the harshest desert. The roof space under a black roof has been found to reach as high as 85 degrees C on a hot summer's day. Evaporative air conditioners can use up to 1 litre of water per minute. Impermeable outdoor areas and house rooves seriously impact on ground water recharge. This results in falling water tables, a serious issue that the public needs to be educated about. Regulatory emphasis has been on energy efficient homes but energy efficiency does not mean that a new home is environmentally friendly. There is nothing environmentally friendly about a house with a black driveway, a black roof with a huge evaporative air conditioner atop and a large impermeable outdoor area. In a changing world of environmental awareness, such properties will become blights on the landscape and resale values will reflect this. People are naturally drawn to houses with a soothing street appeal and wise colour choices will reap financial rewards. Every new house replaces vegetation and this has an adverse environmental impact if not offset in some way. There needs to be mandates as to the maximum % of roof and impermeable outdoor areas allowed on each block and banning dark rooves and dark driveways that generate heat sinks is logical. A transition to lighter coloured roads is also logical. Another logical step would be to mandate the use of heat reflective paints for new homes and renovations. 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: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 7Dec 03, 2014 8:39 am SaveH2O Every new house replaces vegetation and this has an adverse environmental impact if not offset in some way. There needs to be mandates as to the maximum % of roof and impermeable outdoor areas allowed on each block and banning dark rooves and dark driveways that generate heat sinks is logical. A transition to lighter coloured roads is also logical. I am living in Adelaide (originally from NSW) and the thing that struck me the most about this obstensively pretty town is how the urban planning is not only ruining the character of the place but is actively environmentally destructive. The local council here severely restricts new land release because they don't want urban sprawl. But the result is that metro blocks are now subdivided so small that the entire block is swallowed by a house, known as a courtyard home, with basically 8ft worth of rear yard which is typically paved or concreted with a metal-roofed pergola over the top. Is it any wonder Adelaide experiences heatwave conditions? It's one of the more extreme climates in Australia anyway so the active push by council to remove every bit of green space from the landscape of it is horrendous. No-one could have a tree in their yard even if they wanted one. And Adelaide is a city of gardeners.... You'd think living in a hot dry country we'd be better than this but the typical answer to discomfort seems to be to buy another reverse cycle airconditioner and pay the bills. I originally planned to settle here but the comparatively high price of land coupled with no garden space has forced me to buy and move back to NSW instead. I simply refuse to build and then surround myself with colourbond fencing and pavers without any green space whatsoever. The place I am renting has a colourbond fence down the side, the owners chose a fashionable black colour. That fence with is adjoined to a concrete path and my home is double brick has a very effective oven-like quality that heats my home up very effectively to uncomfortable temperatures and it takes days for the that latent heat to dissipate. Making this a very uncomfortable home. This house originally had a large yard, the landlords bought it to steal the land for their giant pool on their build next door. So they fenced off the heritage home I live in with just 1 meter clearance from the building with an 8ft black colorbond fence. Zero thought beyond what colour fence they'd prefer to look at went into that. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 8Dec 03, 2014 9:05 am strawlizzy how the urban planning is not only ruining the character of the place but is actively environmentally destructive. There seems to be a disconnect between what is known and what is done and maybe not enough pressure on your local council by the SA State Government. Renewal SA is the South Australian government's urban renewal authority and they were active in replacing what was intended to be a typical suburban housing development with Lochiel Park, a model green village - so it is not beyond government to get involved. http://joshshouse.com.au/star-performer ... -adelaide/ People seem to accept the numerous design guidelines new estates impose; it's just a pity most of these guidelines are more about form than function. In our case we had to have a certain amount of face brick or rendering but no restrictions on the colour of the roof. Why one and not the other? Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 9Dec 03, 2014 9:11 am Thats good news for SA at least. I wish they would do something to retain the character areas though. And I agree it makes no sense at all really. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 10Dec 03, 2014 6:18 pm SaveH2O .. Regulatory emphasis has been on energy efficient homes but energy efficiency does not mean that a new home is environmentally friendly. .. Liliana .. People seem to accept the numerous design guidelines new estates impose; it's just a pity most of these guidelines are more about form than function. In our case we had to have a certain amount of face brick or rendering but no restrictions on the colour of the roof. Why one and not the other? I so agree. Lots of rules but not necessarily sensible beneficial ones. Very frustrating. strawlizzy .. This house originally had a large yard, the landlords bought it to steal the land for their giant pool on their build next door. So they fenced off the heritage home I live in with just 1 meter clearance from the building with an 8ft black colorbond fence. Zero thought beyond what colour fence they'd prefer to look at went into that. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 11Dec 04, 2014 12:43 pm There is a house not far from us that was extensively renovated and extended a few years ago that has a dark Colorbond roof ( looks like the colour "Deep Ocean " ), very dark purplish brick walls and a charcoal coloured concrete driveway. On a hot day last summer when I was walking past with my daughter we took our thongs off and tried to stand on the driveway. Impossible for more than a few seconds. I hate to think of the thermal impact on our suburb that this one house would have. Stewie Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 12Dec 04, 2014 1:03 pm Stewie D There is a house not far from us that was extensively renovated and extended a few years ago that has a dark Colorbond roof ( looks like the colour "Deep Ocean " ), very dark purplish brick walls and a charcoal coloured concrete driveway. On a hot day last summer when I was walking past with my daughter we took our thongs off and tried to stand on the driveway. Impossible for more than a few seconds. I hate to think of the thermal impact on our suburb that this one house would have. Stewie This kind of thing is very noticable walking around my neighbourhood. Some homes I walk past give off a wave of heat while every tree you walk under is pleasant relief. I am lucky that my LL's at least put a patch of grass and some hedges directly outside of my bedroom. The breeze that comes in through the front of the house is noticably very cool and helps a lot. I've learnt so much about thermal heat sinks and evaporative cooling from this one property alone. I could practically fry eggs on the colourbond fence...Maybe I should leave a foil wrapped chicken out there, it would probably be roasted inside of 4hrs.... Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 13Dec 04, 2014 1:36 pm I flew into Melbourne from up north a few years ago and as we approached Tullamarine, I looked out the window for many minutes and it was astounding to see the number of black rooves and driveways there were. An absolute blight on the landscape. Liquid crystal thermochromic paints that are dark when cold but become lighter when hot have been around for a while now. Perhaps developing the concept further as a chemically safe mass produced roof paint or product coating should be researched. Now...that would be cool.....both figuratively and literally. 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: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 14Dec 04, 2014 2:45 pm While you're all milling around in here you might be interested in reading this article regarding tree cover inequality that was published on the Conversation recently: http://theconversation.com/fewer-trees- ... heat-33299 Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 15Dec 04, 2014 2:56 pm I notice that the LGA of Wyndham where I live has a tree canopy cover of between 0.0 and 9.9% yet the working class suburb I grew up in Tasmania is one of the top LGAs for tree canopy cover. It didn't used to be only the tertiary educated that could afford to live amongst trees Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 16Dec 04, 2014 3:04 pm I'm not surprised by those figures in that article Liliana. Anyime I've seen a new subdivision development they seem to have a scorched earth policy regarding existing vegetation. Stewie Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 19Dec 04, 2014 3:33 pm Liliana While you're all milling around in here you might be interested in reading this article regarding tree cover inequality that was published on the Conversation recently: http://theconversation.com/fewer-trees- ... heat-33299 Great article. I've long thought one of the best things about Australia is our old world convention of tree lined streets and yes treed backyards. In spring the Jacaranda trees make me swoon. It seems silly to me that we don't avail ourselves of the cheapest form of aircon available. But our lovely trees are falling victim to.... - Powerlines - People getting thingy about fallen leaves in their backyards - Making way for the pool, granny flat, garage. - vulnerability of slab foundations to tree root disturbance. Yet some of those things could be taken care of with proper tree selection. Re: Restrictions on black roofs and roads? 20Dec 04, 2014 11:30 pm Quote: I've long thought one of the best things about Australia is our old world convention of tree lined streets and yes treed backyards. In spring the Jacaranda trees make me swoon. You mean like the one in our backyard ? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I agree about tree selection. There are some that shouldn't be planted within a bulls roar of a house but a lot of others that would a welcome addition to any yard. Stewie The warning is on the sticker on the door too. Second the aluminium powdercoat 6 12623 Thankyou for your advice. We do have Caesar coming out and hopefully resolve the issue for us. 4 16013 I asked this question of one of the forum's resident cabinet makers who may/may not wish to identify himself to answer other questions if he sees this, but the rersponse… 3 5679 |