Rosemary Lane 2017

House Notes – Rosemary Lane

This early 1980s brick veneer house has been renovated and extended with sustainable design principles.

Orange is generally a cold climate and heating is a priority. The existing house has been re-planned to maximize northern sun. Like many houses of this age, the house originally had living areas and larger windows facing the street (South) for ‘street appeal’ while it had service rooms and small windows facing the northern back yard. To remedy this, the house has essentially been flipped over to open living areas to the north and provide access to northern sun and the backyard.

New double glazed windows, insulation, and solar panels have been installed to make the existing house far more efficient. New taps and appliances contribute to a more efficient house.

Electricity usage bills have been as low as $50 per quarter.

A new extension has just been completed to add more bedrooms and a second bathroom. Minor work in the existing house continues the practice of moving services areas to the south and living areas to the north. The new addition is timber framed with high levels of insulation in ceiling, walls and floors (R5 in walls and ceiling). The use of northern double glazing, high levels of insulation and thermal mass in appropriate locations means that even in the recent cold weather we have required only minimal mechanical heating late at night and first thing in the morning.

Given reasonably sunny weather the house requires no mechanical heating during the day, comfortably reaching high teen and low 20s deg inside, while external max daily temperatures are around 10deg. Careful consideration was given to the selection of materials used in the build. If products contained high embodied energy, they were sparsely used where they specific characteristics were most valued and were they would last (eg concrete used for thermal mass). Timber used for framing, cladding, flooring and joinery were selected for their sustainability.

The existing garden was protected during construction with existing tress being built around and utilized for their shading, contributing not only to the preservation of the natural environment but enhancing the energy efficiency and enjoyment of the built environment .

The intention is show how a very average house and be transformed using sustainable design principals and relatively simple (and commonly used) building techniques.

Careful design keeps the overall size of the house to a minimum to reduce use of construction products and running costs.

Designed by Richard Southwell and built by Mark Barnes.

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2017
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Efficient lighting
      Draught proofing
      Efficient appliances
      Energy monitoring
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Shading
      Cross ventilation
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Evaporative
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Above ground storage
      Low flow shower heads
      Low flow taps
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Tanks
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 3000L
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Timber frames
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
      Internal and external walls
      Floor
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Sustainable plantation pine tongue & groove lining boards with bulk insulation
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R5
    • Floor Type:
    • Timber framed and concrete
    • Floor Rating:
    • R2
    • Internal / External Walls Type:
    • Timber stud framed with two layers of insulation
    • Internal / External Walls Rating:
    • R5
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 155m2
    • 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
      Edible garden
      Native plants
      Chickens
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Low voc paint
Location
Orange NSW 2800
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • Renovation
    • Builder
    • Mark Barnes

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