Turret House 2016

House Notes – Turret House

The Turret House began as a humble 19th century miner’s cottage comprising two hip roof sections and a skillion section at the rear.  In approximately 1990, the skillion section was demolished and a new hip roof section was added comprising an open plan kitchen/living room oriented towards the backyard, and a bathroom, laundry and toilet.

When we purchased the property in 2003, the house had three small bedrooms and an overall floor area of approximately 118 m2.  Although the open plan kitchen/living room had a nice outlook towards the backyard, the windows were oriented towards the west and south.  Thus, it was dull and we often needed lights and heating on during the daytime, even on sunny days.

Over the years, we have progressively renovated and improved the house and garden, with a vision of creating a sustainable and comfortable family home.  When the electric hot water service rusted out in 2008, we replaced it with a gas boosted solar evacuated tube system.  When BREAZE organised a solar neighbourhood program, we quickly signed up to install a 1 kW grid integrated solar PV system.  We have three above‑ground water tanks with a total volume of 23,000 litres.  The tanks are connected to the house, so when the water is not required for garden use they can reduce our dependence on town water.

Following the addition of two little people to our family, we began to feel the squeeze in our little house, particularly our cottage sized main bedroom.  In 2014, we embarked upon an extension at the rear with the multiple aims of improving livability, maximising sustainability features, maximising solar access, minimising the footprint on our treasured backyard, minimising overshadowing of our existing barbeque area and retaining as much of the existing house as possible (only demolished the rear verandah and two external walls; re-used existing windows and doors).

In summary, we now have a very comfortable family home, largely due to its sustainability features which include:

  • Great solar access, with lots of north-facing windows and a skylight in the kitchen;
  • Shading to north-facing windows on the first floor of the new extension;
  • Double glazing to all new windows and doors;
  • A door at the bottom of the staircase, to avoid heat loss from ground floor living area to first floor bedroom during cooler months.
  • Ceiling insulation:  R6.0 Earthwool batts in the new extension area.  R6.0 polyester batts in the older area;
  • Wall insulation:  R2.5 Earthwool batts plus wall wrap in the new extension area.  Wall wrap in the older area;
  • Sub-floor insulation to ground floor and first floor:  R2.5 Masterfloor polystyrene boards;
  • Two turbo roof ventilators, one on the ground floor and one on the first floor;
  • Good cross-flow ventilation via the long east-west axis of the house;
  • Energy efficient LED lighting and ceiling fans throughout most of the house;
  • Rainwater tanks with a total volume of 23,000 litres, connected to the house;
  • Some reclaimed doors and windows in the new extension;
  • Recycled hardwood floorboards in the new extension;
  • Five star gas central heating, with insulated ducts and zone control;
  • Native garden;
  • Vegetable garden under development.

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2016
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Efficient lighting
      Efficient appliances

    • Energy efficiency:
    • Two roof ventilators.
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Shading
      Cross ventilation
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans

    • Active heating cooling:
    • 5 star gas central heating with zone control and insulated ducts
    • Water heating:
    • Solar hot water (evacuated tube)
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Above ground storage
      Low flow shower heads
      Low flow taps
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • 3 water tanks
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 23,000 litres
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Earthwool insulation (recycled glass)
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Timber
      Windows
      Doors
      Insulation
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
      Internal and external walls
      Floor
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Earthwool plus aircell insulbreak to new extension. Polyester plus roof wrap to original house.
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R 6.0
    • Floor Type:
    • Masterfloor polystyrene boards (75mm thick).
    • Floor Rating:
    • R 2.5
    • Internal / External Walls Type:
    • Thermawool plus wall wrap to new extension (external walls). Wall wrap only to original house (external walls).
    • Internal / External Walls Rating:
    • New extension: R 2.5. Original house: Rating unknown.
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • Energy star rating:
    • 6.3 stars
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
    • $30,000
    • Estimate of annual savings:
    • ??
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 203 m2
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double glazing
      Low-e, films
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 4
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 2
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Water wise plants
      Composting
      Native plants
Location
Ballarat East VIC 3350
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • Renovation
      Retrofit
      Continual Improvement
    • Builder
    • Preferred Construction Services

Ask questions about this house

Load More Comments
Name
Email
Comment
Leave Comment