Minty’s Binderee Grove House
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House Notes – Minty’s Binderee Grove House
For the last 14 years we have been enjoying an increasingly sustainable lifestyle in the passive design house we designed and built ourselves. We have been passionate about passive and sustainable living for many years and we wish to share the experience of actually living ‘the good life’ with others.
The house and garden nestle into the landscape, enabling us to not only save money, but also to live in timeless style and comfort. The design and materials used lead to a long-term, low-carbon footprint by means of low maintenance, ease of cleaning, durability and energy efficiency. The vegetable garden, with its wicking and raised beds, the landscaped orchard, the chickens, and the fruit groves and small vineyard, supply our healthy, economical lifestyle, while the low-maintenance garden helps create a mini sub-tropical oasis where there was once a dry, hot and dusty gully.
Sustainability Features
- Energy efficiency:
- Efficient lighting
Efficient appliances
- Passive heating cooling:
- Passive solar designed home
Shading
Thermal mass
- Passive heating cooling:
- External landscaping to reduce local heat and reflectance
- Active heating cooling:
- Ceiling fans
- Active heating cooling:
- Slow-combustion wood stove and wood heater supplied from own wood supply
- Water heating:
- Solar hot water (flat panel)
Wood fire wetback
- Water harvesting and saving features:
- Blackwater system
- Water harvesting and saving
- All laundry water is directly used on fruit trees. Wicking beds in garden, mulching, shading, reuse of water from water treatment plant.
- Energy Efficient Lighting
- LED lights throughout
Natural daylight
- Window Protection:
- Awnings (external)
Deciduous tree/vegetation
Drapes/curtains
Pelmets
- Window Protection:
- Wide eaves, vegetated pergola
- Sustainable materials:
- Rammed earth lower floor – earth was sourced under 80km away. Vegetable garden wicking beds made from a 100yo+ water tank with recycled carpet as felt lining. Dry-stone walling built with rocks from the property (we are just aiding weathering by bringing them down hill faster!). The landscaping is zoned to enable efficient use of minimal water. Animal manures are collected and recycled.
- Recycled and reused materials:
- Rocks/stone
- Insulation Type:
- Under roof
- Under Roof Insulation Type:
- Insulated panels
- Under Roof Insulation Rating:
- R3.5
- All-Electric Home?
- No
- Total cost of home when constructed:
- $330,000
- Estimate of annual savings:
- $10,000 – $15,000
- House Size
- 320m2
- BAL Rating
- N/A
- Wall Materials
- Aerated concrete
Concrete blocks
Lightweight construction (timber frame)
Rammed earth
- Window and Door Types
- Low-e, films
Sliding windows/doors
- Window and Door Types
- Double glass doors – commercial style
- Universal design accessability
- Multi-generational
- Universal Design Features
- 80cm minimum door opening width
Lever handles for doors (no knobs)
Window openings easily accessible
- Number of bedrooms
- 5
- Number of bathrooms
- 2
- Garden / Outdoors
- Planting to produce microclimates to maximise plant survival in adverse climate conditions
- Garden / Outdoors
- Chickens
Edible garden
- Healthy home features
- Cabinet design to minimise dust collection
Indoor plants for air filtration
- Healthy Home
- Polished concrete floor (downstairs) and tiles upstairs reduce maintenance, simplify cleaning and are highly durable
- Housing Type:
- Standalone House
- Project Type:
- Continual Improvement
- Open with support of
- Totally Sustainable Tallangatta
- Builder
- Owner
- Designer
- Owner
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