oiled doors and jams, resene paint "rice cake"

PAINT

Predominantly Resene VOC
free paint is used throughout the house.

Low VOC Resene under coat,
ceiling paint and paint for sills

Resene  Flat  for Ceilings

Resene Acrylic Sealer
Undercoat

Resene Zylone Sheen
VOC Free

Resene Lustacyl

Design Note:

Resene Rice Cake was selected, a warm white. This has been used throughout, with half shades for the ceiling and window frames. the simple paint choice is to highlight the natural timber features of the floors, kitchen benches and timber doors all featuring recycled hardwood.

Find out more about Resene Paints here

FLOOR, DOORS and KITCHEN

Livos Kundos Natural
Oil sealer is used on Doors, Floors, Shelves  and Kitchen.

Find out more about the beautiful Livos products here.

texture: details of a past life still live in the recycled timber doors.

recycled timber doors

The hardwood frames of the Portables have wracked and
twisted and took some time to get flush  using
masonite packers and planed finally ready
to receive the plasterboard. In hind sight, it would have been worth wracking
the entire structure before we started framing.

We decided the opportunity to add additional insulation to
the floor was not to be missed. R 2.0 bulk insulation is being added to the
20mm Ultra Foil Board. The 20mm Ultra under a concrete slab gives a insulative
value of 2.3 Heat flow in and R 3.5 Heat flow out. As there is no technical
info available for a timber floor structure using foil board ultra,  we’ve had
to extrapolate but think a R rating of around 4.2 including structure and an R
2.0 batt, is a reasonable assessment.

When we  placed the
suspended ceiling to the Garage,  we provided
an air gap to allow the radiant surface of the foil board to work as hard as
possible.  From the underside of the
existing hardwood floor joists, we’ve placed a pine 70×35 batten at 1200 ctrs
(to snugly fit the foilboard without cutting, accuracy here gives a positive
seal). The foil board is fixed to the underside of the floor joists, and a
rondo 301 ceiling battens with hangers from the pine battens. The pine battens
are skew nailed to the hardwood joists, with a batten screw at walls and mid
point to help provide a positive fix. I don’t like polystyrene, but waver when
the ease of installation, especially in a confined sub floor space becomes an
important factor. Very little effort is made to recycle polystyrene. Only one
product, we’re aware of, Ceilite, uses a recycled component in their insulative
product. Apparently, anything above 30% recycled component results in hard
lumps in the boards, which would require a different method of cutting.

The suspended ceiling in the house, will provide a cavity of
125mm or 135mm from face of plaster to the underside of the insulation blanket.
The cavity will is battened, elevating
the insulation blanket,   to  maintain required clearances around recessed
LED downlights without compromising the ceiling insulation. The battens and
hangers have been used to create a simple way of elevating the insulation
blanket to the required heights. The LED’s operating temperature is much lower
than Halogen, but benefit from air circulation reducing heat build up that will
reduce lifespan.

lime render - close up

LIME

Mixing Lime. We hunted for lime we could slake straight from
a Quarry, but had little success. We resorted to Limil. We sourced lime that had
been bagged recently or fresh, which allows for consistency in the ratio of
water to lime. Older lime may become lumpy when slaked with drier clumps
difficult to blend effectively which can spoil the appearance of the finished
render .

The ratio of lime to water is not definite and will have an
impact on strength when blended. An expert eye is helpful here unless you’re
willing to experiment. The ratio we used was 1 x 20kg bags of lime to 30 litres
of water. This blends into a thick creamy lime liquid. Lime is aggressive. Full
body protection, gloves, safety glasses, ear protection and a proper tightly
fitting face mask are a must. No exposed skin is a good philosophy.  When this sits, excess water will separate and
sit on the surface. It is important to have tightly sealed drums to reduce
evaporation.

The lime is left for
a week in barrels before  water levels
and consistency are checked before remixing, blending the mixes if required.
Thinner mixes were thickened with more viscous mixes, and excess moisture from
thinner mixes used to thin the viscous. A level of expertise and know how is
essential here. Gary Nicholl from Clunes, who has a long history with lime
render that started as an apprentice to his father, has mixed and blended the
lime to a beautiful creamy consistency.

lime barrels

I love lime. Initially it is kilned at 1000 degrees , but then,
when it is slaked and used as a render or mortar, it cures back into a calcium
carbonate, and fixes up to 90% of it’s carbon pollution.  Lime  maintains it’s flexibility to a degree, as  it expands and contracts as it wets and
dries. Concentrated water flow across lime should be avoided with careful
detailing, as it will erode a lime mortar or render.  To date we have had no problem with it
on  horizontal surfaces even with parapet
walls exposed to full weather .  For
example  parapet  flashing must fall away from the face of  walls back onto a roof surface. The use of
lime and it’s suitability  needs to be
assessed case to case .  Typically we use
a single 10mm lime render over blockwork, when it  has dried enough to resist light finger
pressure, it is sponged with a very slightly damp sponge (no fluid). The render
is not struck off before this, so the trowel marks are vaguely visible. The
beauty of this process, is that the single coat of lime render almost
completely conceals the blockwork, something you would need 2 coats of a cement
render to achieve. The soft sandy appearance of the sponged finish is not a highly
reflective white, but a more luminous, softly glowing surface, in contrast a
cement or acrylic render can appear flat or dead.

Historically, lime would have been used for render, washes,
paint  and mortar before cement became
commonly available.

Lime Render. The Mix

The mix is where the success of your lime putty becomes
evident. There are bags of slaked lime putty available for those less inclined
to experiment. A carefully measured ratio of 1 lime to 3 sand is blended in a
mixer. Lime is placed in first, then half the sand, a handful of micro fibres
(which need the second ½ of the sand to blend), a generous cup of diluted (1:8)
bondcrete and water. The mix until the mortar folds just so. The type of sand
used may dictate the use of a plasticiser, be sure that the technical data
specifies compatibility with lime use.

‘Economono’ Micro Fibres

Bond Crete diluted with water (1:8) is used as a preparatory
coat,  a moist surface helps ensure what
ever you’re rendering does not suck moisture from the mix inconsistently. IE a
highly porous area next to a not so porous area gives rise to difficulty trowel
and finishing. Bondcrete also assists with adhesion. It’s important the surface
is still moist at the time of render application.

The render is then trowelled on, left to dry (for a very
carefully measured time), and sponged off with a barely damp sponge. The sponge
creates a sandy texture which softens trowel marks and edges. A 10mm thick lime
render that has been sponged (no screed required), virtually completely
conceals our blockwork. The same effect using cement based render would require
2 x 10mm coats. The irregularity of the surface remains, and is obvious with angled
light. To me, it is a beautiful, soft surface that has many moods.

We use a ER11 powder coated stopping bead to exterior
junctions of ‘other’ materials, and a  Rondo
RELA30 pvc external angle is used to create clean, durable joints to corners.
Make sure the edge of the external angle has a minimal radius or the pvc will
show,  the render will not adhere well to
plastic. There are a large range of external angles available. Fixing methods
vary, but care should be taken to ensure the fixes will not rust and spoil the finished
surface of render. When we don’t use a
concrete nail gun, silicone and  clouts
in mortar joints can be used  to secure a
render bead. When  fixing with a nail gun
into block, it’s best if the block is core filled, fixes into the central rib
of block, or the fixer has at least 40mm of block from top or bottom to avoid
chipping and splitting which can be tricky to achieve.

We use an older  traditional lime and cement mortar mix for our
blockwork mortar and reinforce with mesh every third course to add strength to create
a more flexible structure. Some cement mortars are so rigid, if there is
movement within a structure, the blockwork
will split in a vertical line, rather than redistributing the stresses
through the mortar joints.   It is
debatable that modern brickwork and blockwork structures with more  rigid mortars  that require regular  expansion joints to reduce the concentration
of stress  which creates an intrinsic
weakness in a building.

Lime can react with some plasticisers and liquid water
proofers. The manufacturer of these products should be contacted to ensure
their  products are compatible with lime.

Before the render is sealed, it is important to protect the
structure  from any rainwater that may
splash mud or dirt against the walls. We endeavour to place a 1 meter wide
perimeter of crushed rock around the pre rendered structure to help minimize
splash.

rendered

Solarchitecture’s Murrnog project was on the cover.

Solar Installation.

Braemac have inspected and prepared a quote for a 2kw grid interactive array with an average daily output of 10.35 kw.  Excess power will contribute back to the grid . The idea of locally generated power is very exciting, any power that goes into the local grid and feeds local use, reduces consumption by omitting the transmission losses that occur when dirty power is shunted approximately 230 kilometers from places like Hazelwood , Yallourn or Loy Yang.

The School White Board

becomes the Job Task List.

Plumbing

Waste water plumbing will be divided to allow for future reuse. Shower and Laundry Trough (washing machine) water will connect to black water sewer but will have a diverter that allows for future options such as a watt works, which would recycle water to the toilet cistern.

Rain water will also have the potential to be captured in the future.

We are considering an electric solar hot water service with the idea that the 2kw solar array will compensate  the electricity used to boost
hot water. The storage tank will be located in the garage under the toilet to minimize hot water runs (and therefore energy and water waste) before point of use.  For any electricity used over that generated, it is our plan to purchase 100% green power.

To house the washing machine, we created a recess into the stud wall, with a chipboard back, to be plastered, between airlock and toilet to provide adequate space in a tight area.

The pantry was modified to include the fridge enclosure to keep the kitchens sense of openness to the north.  As this is the entry point into the main living space, it was felt that a fridge enclosure here to the north, would enclose the kitchen too much, and compress it’s sense of openness.

Internal Doors

The internal doors are shipped lapped 300×45/35 oregon boards lightly sanded, with a hidden (rebated) top and bottom rail to tie the
door together. The boards will only be fixed at the top and bottom, the shipped lap will remain unglued to reduce the likely hood of warping allowing the boards to expand and contract  independently.

The ceiling at 2600 is suspended using Rondo 301 battens(continuous span) and 315 hangers from 90 x 45 Ceiling Joists at 1200 ctrs. The
plaster will sit 10mm below the lower trusses.

The ceiling height  is lower than the existing window head, so we’ve built a pelmet of 19mm pine, to allow for the difference. We’re not sure yet if we’re going to increase the window head height, or just allow the frameless double glazed panels to disappear up behind the pelmet.

Roof and Ceiling Insulation

Under the existing roof is  Solomit, between the expoed rafters we have placed R 1.8 Fletcher Permastop Blanket, the radiant barrier facing down. Over the new ceiling joists, we will place a R 3.0 Fletcher Permastop Blanket that will unroll over the joists and allow for a cavity to recess lights, without compromising the insulative envelope. The solomit  has an approximate R value of 1.25, which lifts the levels of ceiling and roof insulation above that specified in the first rate assessment.

The Fletcher insulation claims to have a 70% recycled glass component. The reason this product has been selected is that it has an integrated heavy duty foil face, that can be stapled to existing roof rafters and also unrolled over ceiling joists. We’ll put R 2.0 Autex Green Stuff Batts in the walls right to the ridge in the gable to reduce heat gain and loss from/to the roof cavity. The existing walls have a heavy duty sisilation in place, which there is not reason to replace and will help reflect radiant heat back into the building.  An R 1.8 Insulative Blanket with heavy duty sisilation has been placed between the blockwork and frame. This achieves an insulative value of 3.8 without consideration of structural contributions, or existing sisilation (check first rate assessments of walls). Rendered Block, 90mm frame with cladding (hardwood and metal)

New gutters and downpipes

Wall Insulation

Where ever possible we’d typically place a 35mm batten over frame to create an air gap to ensure a radiant barrier has a chance to work as effectively as possible. The blockwork cavity will provide a gap, but not to the interior as space feels a little precious. The idea of a radiant barrier to the interior between frame batten and internal sheet is attractive reflecting up to 90% heat back into the building envelope.  The portables have existing heavy duty sisilation to exterior and interior faces of the frame. It’s such a pleasure to see this material in good condition after decades of use. Modern light weight sisilation, tends to be very vulnerable to age and moisture and deteriorates quickly. Radiant barriers can reflect 90% of radiant heat with the right detailing. They can be applied both internally for retention of winter heat and externally to reduce summer heat. Bulk insulation retards heat being conducted, but radiants barriers actually reflect that heat away or back inwards where you want it (most of the time)

We have purchased insulative blankets with heavy duty sisilation for longevity and performance.

We have used an R 1.8 insulative blanket to blockwork cavity and plan to place R2.0 Green Batts to frame cavity.

140 x 45 lvls at 450 centers fixed to Portable PFC with welded cleats and 2xM10 bolts.

90 x 45 suspended ceiling and a 140 x 45 lvl roof frame.  Joist hangers secure the Purlins to whaling plate.

We’ve reused the doors and door jambs from the portables as the external doors. They are heavy and solid, made to endure the frequent comings and goings of many students and Teacher.  We have fashioned door sills from an old jarrah window sill.

Flooring

Recycled Tas Oak from Trentham Renovators Gold Mine. A fantastic and chaotic pile of wood, bricks, doors, windows in an old Foundry.  We also unearth  a 2.5 meter long x 75mm thick bull nosed  piece of jarrah window sill we’ll use for the airlock door sills.

The Tas Oak for the link will run north south in contrast to the rest of the flooring which runs east west. There will be a diagonal patch in the north west corner of the bedroom wing that will fill a hole that looks as though it once served as an air inlet for some kind of heater.

The infill panels between the portables floors is split and damaged, and the entry porches have non slip rubber over ply, which will become
internal so these will need patching. The floor has been removed and replaced in these areas to walls locations to hide joints (pantry/bed)

More Tas Oak from Dunolly wreckers, a much more organized and accessible range of flooring and timber.

In accordance with the Building Code of Australia, a water resistant floor is required to laundry and toilet. A sealed timber has been
approved by our building surveyor as adequate for these areas, with additional care required between wall and floor junctions into adjacent spaces. The bathroom requires a waterproof floor, so timber as a finish is not an option.

In the bathroom additional floor joists will be added to allow us to remove the flooring . We will then frame in our grades to create fall for shower drainage, set down the floor,  line with a tile underlay, then water proof the floor, the wall skirt and shower recess then we’ll tile.