New sustainable home rating method
Not everyone interested in sustainable home design has the opportunity to start from scratch with a blank sheet of paper like we did. I’m sure many people steadily upgrade their ...
Liveability Real Estate is something new
The Centre for Liveability Real Estate wants to promote better house design by translating sustainable design principles into an easily understood list of liveability features which appeal to potential buyers.
Cost estimate versus design features
After spending so long developing a design based on many sustainability features, receiving the cost estimate focused our attention on the project budget. Some trimming was needed to produce an affordable design that didn't sacrifice the original aim of building a state of the art green home.
Choosing an exterior colour scheme
Trying to choose the right exterior colour can be daunting when all you have is colour charts and a drawing. However, expert assistance is available for anyone who isn't confident with this important decision.
Tiny house uses space effectively
When downsizing, it's worth dipping into the Tiny House philosophy for ideas on how to live with less - less space in a home which means thinking about less things to put into the dwelling.
What does going to VCAT mean?
I didn’t believe Libby was serious when she said it. I remember thinking, “I heard that wrong.” When I asked her to repeat the sentence, it was identical. She replied, ...
Planning for a building permit
Hang on a moment! You might be thinking, “What happened to the planning permit? I’ve missed something. When did we jump to the building permit?” Planning permit review well underway. ...
3 lessons about double glazed windows
Libby looked up from the pile of drawings on the desk and said, “You should write a post explaining the three things we just learnt about double glazed windows.” We’d ...
Response from Council
“Relax,” said David when Libby mentioned she hadn’t seen any change to the status of our planning permit application on the Maroondah Council’s website. She thought a response should have ...
Sustainability scorecard results
Designing a sustainable home from first principles means combining lots of ideas into something that is so much different to a standard design. Does the overall design make sense? Is ...- 1
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