From fibro shack to cosy eco family home 2017

House Notes – From fibro shack to cosy eco family home

We purchased the cheapest place in town, an asbestos 70’s beach house, 10 years ago and renovated it into a cozy sustainable and beautiful family home.

With a 2.6KW solar PV system we pretty much break even with power bills. We have an evacuated tube solar hot water with gas boost; the boost isn’t needed over summer. As a family of 4 we only go through 4 bottles of gas a year for hot water plus our gas cook top.

A second hand kitchen was installed plus a custom built cool-cupboard for produce storage. Everything is as non-toxic as possible including zero-voc paint, chemical free curtains, pine with no glues for wardrobes and kids bed frames, and natural latex mattresses. Insulation has been installed below the floor, in the roof and in the walls, plus double glazed windows, which mean our fire takes very little wood to heat the whole house.

We planted indigenous shrubs for animal habitat, privacy, and a lovely cool micro climate in summer. We have five raised vegie beds and 9 fruit trees plus grapes and berries. We prune and mulch our shrubs and make our own compost (plus worm farm).

The kids cubby, tree house and sandpit areas are all made with recycled or left-over building materials.

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2017
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Efficient lighting
      Draught proofing
      Efficient appliances
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Shading
      Cross ventilation
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
    • Water heating:
    • Solar hot water (evacuated tube)
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Low flow shower heads
      Low flow taps
      Drip irrigation
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Radial timber for decking,
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Doors
      Paving
      Kitchen/bath cabinets
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
      Internal and external walls
      Floor
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Recycled plastic batts
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R3.0
    • Floor Type:
    • Polystyrene and aluminium board
    • Floor Rating:
    • R3.0
    • Internal / External Walls Type:
    • Recycled plastic batts
    • Internal / External Walls Rating:
    • R2.4
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 111m2
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double glazing
    • Universal Design Features
    • Multi-generational
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 3
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Drip irrigation
      Water wise plants
      Edible garden
      Organic
      Composting
      Native plants
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Zero-voc paint, chemical-free curtain material, natural latex mattresses, hardwax floor oil,
Location
Cape Paterson VIC 3995
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • Renovation

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