SAB Building Solutions

05/06/2018

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 5 June 2018

It is so encouraging to see so many grass root organisations, community based that are forging ahead with sustainable projects and education. From co-operative food markets, embracing garden to plate, to Landcare groups working towards drought tolerant gardens and protecting biodiversity, designers and architects endeavouring to future proof homes to homeowners creating inspiring sustainable homes. However, I lament the construction industry in Perth won’t be flying the sustainable banner today. The industry has seen quite an economical downturn this past two years as its growth had been highly dependent on a past buoyant market fuelled by wages from the mining sector. They say you should turn a crisis into opportunity. Even if the media are reporting that the economy is back on track, it shouldn’t be the business as usual model. That is taking a conservative and regressive path. Building resilience in the industry should be encouraging innovation and creativity, looking to see what it can contribute to a more sustainable future. Promoting products that contain a recycled content element not only is a plus for the environment with reducing what goes to landfill but would contribute to new growth in the industry. So today, keep in mind that building a home with some recycled content, specifying things that can save you in energy costs and maybe a little energy and water independence are not necessarily going to break the bank but will go a long way to securing a sustainable home and better for the environment. Take a moment to value our environment and make a difference to your home’s environmental footprint.

31/05/2018

That word RESILIENT should be haunting us!

Without a doubt, the Perth building industry is all about survival rather than sustainability. I face it all the time with talking to clients about energy efficient designs. But it is also about the bigger picture. The word resilience pops up everywhere now in company and government articles. For planners, it is how to cope with accommodating demand for housing but also providing the right amenities for communities to be more sustainable and that word again resilient. The hot potato at present is the importance of protecting biodiversity and green spaces in our cities. There is a lot of talk but a serious lack of commitment by industry bodies here. The building industry does have a vital role to play in this and in fact we all have a role to play. The throwback answer is all about cost!
Just around the corner to my home I watch the land cleared for a new housing development. Now another large bushland tract has gone to the bulldozer. No consideration at all was given to maintaining any trees. What about the visual amenity to the community, the shade for the children to play? One big heat sink so we need our air-conditioners on 24/7 in summer. We so need to promote responsible development in our city.

14/05/2018

Coming soon McMansions for Mars!

Gosh, I have just read an article about NASA’s concept for sustainable housing for Mars. Heck we can’t even get our act together here in Australia let alone the ambitious plan for sustainable structures in outer space. Some clever brains in the way of an astrobiologist and synthetic biologist have come up with a proposal to grow or sprout a dwelling based on a fungus. Not a new concept as Eco designers have been experimenting with biofabricated material with mushroom, the key component to the resin giving unparalleled strength to furniture and walls.
So back to the issue of sustainable housing where particularly in Perth, it is renowned for constructing McMansions. We do not see an integrated approach with all the partners to housing such as state and local government housing authorities, community and the private sector. Adhoc, no strategic focus to sustainable housing means high costs in affordability. It might be better to live on Mars after all. Check out the link to McMansions on Mars.

It’s actually a lot less crazy than it sounds.

08/11/2017

Are you aware it is National Recycle Week 2017 taking place next week?
Monday 12th to 18th November and we should all be reflecting on how we can recycle and reuse in respect to a better environment.
Some shocking statistics to consider provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, demolition and construction waste accounts for nearly 40% of what ends up in landfill. For the building industry in Perth, it is quite a hefty impost for disposal and this of course is passed onto you, the home builder.
Many builders are taking a proactive approach to separating waste on site but in the residential building industry, one does not always see good practice. Plus, the manufacturing industry can play a major part in utilising waste into their process and there are a number of innovative products incorporating waste, which would have gone to landfill, happening all around the world. But we need consumers to specify! Take a moment to check out the environmental credentials of a company before you order. Companies such as Holcim who provide the concrete for your driveways and foundations have embraced many initiatives to ensure their manufacturing process includes recycled content and water. There is no compromise to quality so why wouldn’t you consider it.
A number of companies now offer eco friendly composite decking and cladding. Futurewood decking consists of 90% recycled content and offers low maintenance and a very attractive sustainable alternative to traditional timber decking. And we all want no maintenance, right! The bonus a few more rainforest trees still standing.
The message for National Recycling Week is get involved. Mine is just take a moment to look at a product before you buy and ask does it have any recycle content and how will I dispose of it when it is obsolete.

01/11/2017

Wanting to recycle my expired computer monitor, I delivered it to TADWA located in Bassendean in Perth today. This is where all old computers should go to be dismantled and recycled.

There has been quite a focus recently with the ABC’s Four Corners program highlighting the crisis that exists with recycling in Australia. There were several grates at TADWA stockpiled waiting for collection.

Sitting down reading over a cup of coffee, I came across an article about the work which is looking into future possibilities of recycling. The plastic waste from my computer monitor could be converted into one-dimensional filaments that then are utilised in the technology of 3D printing. The 3d printing is a burgeoning technology and how ironic to see an expired technology channelled towards the state of the art innovation.

In the construction area, a Danish company is up cycling end-of-life textile waste into high density Textile Board which can be used decoratively as internal cladding. It is a change of thinking to up cycling products that can be endlessly remade rather than the downscaling conventional recycling processes.

Wonder what the destiny will be for my computer monitor?

15/10/2017

MOVIE TICKETS???!!!!
TO TURN DOWN OR TURN YOUR AIR CONDITIONER.
You truly wonder sometimes about forward thinking with our government. It is akin to shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. Summer is fast approaching and our states have demonstrated a poor track record coping to prevent blackouts with a heat wave.
Our national energy crisis is not going away any time soon. And yet wouldn’t it make sense to build houses that reduce the need for artificial cooling. In Australia, we have an obsession with air conditioners. Not surprising, a concerning number of heatwaves Australia has experienced recently and changing weather patterns, this summer will be testing for all. We have been let down by codes that set minimum requirements for energy efficiency in housing.
You could say economics and regulations are the root of the problems. A government not prepared to move to embracing renewable energy to sure up our stability in our grid together with a system of inconsistent and ill-enforced energy codes which certainly sends out conflicting signals and provides loop holes to the housing industry.
Once a house is built, it gets more difficult and costly to improve energy efficiency. So it is a worthwhile investment to look at the steps that you can take to make your home more energy efficient at the design stage.
Unfortunately, I came across many homes being built here in Perth that have poor thermal performance which means the owners pay significantly more for heating and cooling. Movie tickets won’t soften their high power bill.

10/10/2017

Kitchen Bench tops embrace digital smart technology.
Wow, what a smart solution!

Corian has just released a very interesting innovation. In keeping to how we are moving to uncluttered streamlined surfaces, Corian have come up with Charging Surface®
A cleverly concealed wireless charging device is concealed under the bench top surface. Just simply drop your IPhone or Samsung Galaxy onto the surface and instant charging. How neat is that! Gone are the days of messy cables or finding a charger. Even a built safety mechanism, the charging stops once your device has reached 100% capacity.
Kitchen bench tops are the hub of family gatherings. And you can’t deny, we all spend time each day on the internet using our mobile phones. We now see integration of a workstation as we change the way we integrate work and keeping informed.
Definitely state of the art. Can’t wait for my next kitchen design! Check it out. Visit the Corian website.

03/10/2017

Sydney is a buzz right now with the construction industry’s 2017 Sustainability Awards together with some impressive line up of forward sustainable thinkers speaking at seminars. The latest research indicates a sustainable approach to building will provide higher quality outcomes for the homeowners. Alas in Perth there is only a small pool of builders with sustainable knowledge and the vision to demonstrate this to their clients.
On the reverse side we are seeing a host of suppliers now recognising sustainability is important to their business and the products that release to the market. Plus we are seeing opportunities with photovoltaic (PV) technology which now has a very good payback rate.
The role of good design in sustainability is so very important. This week I had a client approach me with a design, already prepared, for her new family home and was keen to have a sustainable build. However, one look at the plans and you could identify that there was little consideration to achieving energy efficiency through good passive design. Sustainability is intrinsic to the design concept not a bolt on principle.
As I pointed out some of the low-hanging fruits when it comes to a sustainable design that could have been considered, she was terribly disappointed this was not pointed out to her by her designer.
It was a small cost to change the design for consideration to future payback to reduced heating and cooling costs. I love my role when a client leaves empowered with knowledge to make her home more comfortable and better low-carbon choices to materials.

13/09/2017

If there is one thing that is so confusing and causes angst with homeowners is the issue of Builder’s margins.
Builders welcome variations to selections generally because, at the time of securing the contract, they have keenly priced items to gain your business. Competitive pressures here in Perth have forced builders to strip their margins down to the barest percentage for survival.
Be guaranteed if a builder drops their price to win your work, they will be looking to make it up with applying the Builder’s Margin to any changes you make.
Keep in mind with a lower volume of builds; they might not be securing the volume discounts they enjoyed beforehand.
Contracts feature the term Prime Costs (PC) which is an allowance for an item that commonly is selected after the signing of the contract at the Prestart process. For example, personal selection of sinks, tapware, tiles and the kitchen appliances. These are the items that add the gloss or glamour to your home and with some homework beforehand and specifying them in the Schedule of finishes that go with the contract you can save a lot of heartache and dollars.
At the time of signing the contract, you usually are focused on the contract price and not items like the builder’s margin on variations or interest due on overdue amounts. “Everything is negotiable” so sit down with the builder and come to a compromise on the higher cost items.

06/09/2017

The HIA National Greensmart Awards were announced yesterday.
As one of the judges for the Western Australian submissions, it was rewarding to see one proactive sustainable focused building company, here in Perth, take out two awards.
More to the point, the award for Water Efficiency is a winner not just for the HIA Greensmart Awards but for the owners.
They have future-proofed their home for Perth’s drying climate and hot summers. Perth’s water sources are very dependent on our climate and there is a heavy reliance on quite finite resources of our dams and groundwater. And even though everyone here in Perth welcomed the warm sun today, we do know that the winter rainfall is well below average.
This very contemporary new home in one of Perth’s leafy streets has not been compromised at all by installing 2 x 7000 litre tanks under the garage slab. Some nifty technology and the owners have a water-efficient lifestyle for the next decade and beyond.
Whatever magazine you open nowadays, you cannot miss articles on sustainable housing be it the host of popular television housing shows such as Grand Design. Awareness to rising energy costs, environmental issues together with industry initiatives and legislation has highlighted the importance of water and energy efficiency into the construction of homes.
The builders who enter the awards demonstrate to the community there is a sustainable approach to the environment when building a home. And you can measure the success of sustainability initiates from a financial perspective like minimum water and power bills.
It makes economic sense to embrace a sustainable focus to your home build. We don’t have a choice about our hotter summers or rising power bills so we need to manage change and build smarter. “Future proofing “ it is called.

29/08/2017

I was asked for my opinion of the benefits of polystyrene or EPS (expanded polystyrene) panels versus the entrenched building mode of double brick utilised here in Perth.
My opinion FAST STRONG SUSTAINABLE
The building industry needs to innovate to provide more sustainable options.
We won’t get into politics here. It is a well- known fact that the current construction building model utilised in West Australia is double brick principally because the dominant players have interests in the manufacture of bricks.
The new panels provide significant energy and resource savings.

As energy is the heartbeat of a building and is intertwined with the affordability factor to own and run a house, your choice of external walling is important.
If you check out the information furnished by the Australian Government to a guide to environmentally sustainable homes, and the correct choice of building materials, double brick construction is indicated as providing poor thermal resistance with corresponding poor insulation values.
Australian Government. Your Home: Australia’s guide to environmentally sustainable homes. http://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy
One of the other benefits is the speed in it which it can be installed compared to with conventional double brick builds. This saving is reflected in your build cost.
And the insulation is built in!
What about fire resistance? Manufacturers usually incorporate flame retardants to the foam. Polystyrene does not burn or fuel fire. Toxins released when it melts in no worse than burning wood.
This construction method in no way comprises on building quality and one of the few products that have the least possible environmental impacts.
The home building industry is evolving concerning materials and processes. And that is a good thing!

18/08/2017

Since my last post, I have received some calls and requests to provide more detail to what exactly are Provisional Sums.

Problems can arise when you do not allow for any buffer to cover any unexpected expenses with the signing of the contract. Unfortunately, a party recently signed a contract where the Addenda had no amount allocated for provisional sums such as site cost, scaffolding and additional run in for sewer and water. In some respects she is right with her argument, she has gone to a company to have her house built, and they are the experts and hence expected the contract to be above board. The sad fact is “caveat emptor” factor sits over the top of any financial transaction where a legally binding contract is involved.

These days with the convenience of Google Maps and Near Maps, a salesman just takes a look at your site from the office computer. Nothing beats that walk on the site, a “rake over” in the instance of a house being demolished and hence provisional sums are an allowance for work or materials which cannot be specifically detailed when entering a contract.

Just last month I assisted a client with lodging a complaint to the Building Commission where he organised his demolishing contractor to save some money. However, when the site works got underway, work had to stop as the contractors turned up rubble from the demolishing of the old house. Turned out to be quite an expensive exercise with cleaning up the site. Not to mention the delay with the house build. Plus he now faces the lengthy process with the Building Commission to be compensated.

A young couple building at Gidgegannup, work came to a halt when extensive rock was unearthed with an estimated cost of $65,000 extra to their contract. That’s why requesting confirmation of costs from contractors before signing a contract can avoid a lot of stress.