24 May 13 8:11 AM

I can only speak to my own experiences but we've used trickle vents in two builds now and found them to be very worthwhile. Like your design, our current house has very little roof space which could n......read more

2 May 13 9:12 AM

Possibly the cheapest solution is to buy a good quality fixture, something like this: http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/Light-Fittings/Energy-Saving-GU10-Downlights/FOZZ-II-Downlight-VOG-Black-Megaman And pu......read more

14 Jan 13 10:42 PM

I've lived in a variety of dwellings built using a variety of construction methods/materials (including concrete), including in Sydney's climate where correct shading is imperative to comfortable livi......read more

14 Jan 13 8:56 PM

Well, CCANZ specifically say to shade first, then ventilate (which makes perfect sense)... and to do this via eaves and fixed shades - effectively the same thing. Bottom line is you need one or the ot......read more

14 Jan 13 4:52 PM

Hi Alan. I don't quite see the logic. Thermal mass will operate the same way regardless of the season - and with no shading you'll get a lot more sun on that mass in summer than you ever will in winte......read more

11 Jan 13 1:59 PM

Nice spec! Although, based solely on your image I would disagree about cooling - with no obvious shade to those large expanses of north and west facing glass it's going to get very hot in there indeed......read more

12 Dec 12 10:58 AM

What you're saying would seem to make sense with a closed cavity - but AFAIK no TA would approve such a thing under weatherboards. Open cavities are by design ventilation (and drainage) systems - taki......read more

17 Nov 12 6:42 AM

Aren't these around $50 each? That's an awful lot of money to treat the symptoms rather than the cause and as Nick B mentions, you can certainly source high quality replacement fixtures for much less ......read more

16 Nov 12 11:00 AM

Most blinds suppliers now do honeybomb blinds which fit tight within the frame and insulate very well. I think Sante Fe do a 20mm double cell version also....read more

14 Nov 12 9:54 AM

I'm pretty sure Rex covered this topic in a similar thread some time ago. From memory he 'clarified' things very well for the OP. Anyone got the link?...read more

2 Nov 12 6:54 AM

I have used: http://www.lampspecs.co.uk/ http://www.lightpower.co.nz/ http://www.nzlightingltd.co.nz/ All have been great to deal with. ...read more

15 Oct 12 6:40 PM

I've been on this forum a long time and unless I've completely missed something I've absolutely no idea who GW is, what his company is called or precisely what he does for a living (other than somethi......read more

5 Oct 12 7:31 AM

ICF block perimeter?...read more

12 Sep 12 10:48 AM

Red and Black - if it were me I'd definitely try to stretch for both improved windows and ply sheathing (don't forget that this also increases bracing strength significantly). A 90mm sheathed wall is ......read more

11 Sep 12 9:36 AM

While I certainly agree that you should address the weakest link first I think it's also important to consider that building a wall 'to code' in NZ is almost guranteeing that it will underperform. A s......read more

10 Sep 12 9:05 AM

"Would I still need to wrap the house if I go for ply?" You don't have to but I would recommend it. If you specifically use the ecoply barrier system they require you to tape the joins. I'd ......read more

9 Sep 12 7:39 PM

$12k is excessive. 140mm framing on our build came in at an extra $3.5k with an $1k more to upgrade the insulation to R3.2 wool. This covered a 220m2 single storey build in Wellington. Also I agree wi......read more

16 Aug 12 1:07 PM

Irrespective of choice of materials - heating systems, insulation, etc. good design is the first and most critical thing to nail. Take the time to get that right and it'll pay dividends in a multitude......read more

15 Aug 12 12:03 PM

Replacing concrete block with ICF accomplishes the exact same thing. The cost of properly insulating a slab is next to nothing, it's a no-brainer....read more

13 Aug 12 2:47 PM

onehanger - all very good points. One tip to anyone building (especially if you haven't done it before) is that it is in your best interests to NOT disclose your true budget during the design phase........read more

9 Aug 12 8:55 PM

I should add that one thing I would change is that I should have found the money to upgrade to a condensing boiler. The ROI on would have been only two years, but the budget was beyond tight and somet......read more

9 Aug 12 8:41 PM

Okay, I'll go first. Single story, 220m2, located 30km north of Wellington. Optimally designed and orientated for true north with correctly designed eaves, etc. Every room bar the family bathroom, wc ......read more

18 Jul 12 11:37 AM

My house rates a 5 on Homestar, 'below average'.. which makes me laugh (sadly). Interesting given that the lowest the internal temperature has dropped to this winter is 17 degrees (down from 21 when w......read more

3 Jul 12 9:03 AM

GW - I'm not questioning whether the windows are worth it (they certainly are), or that minimum spec is generally sub-standard (it certainly is), I wouldn't be on this forum if I thought otherwise. I ......read more

3 Jul 12 8:02 AM

The number quoted definitely smells fishy. The windows alone would be at least $20k more than minimum spec. There's probably $5-10k more in the walls and insulation, then there's the slab, ventilation......read more

7 Apr 12 7:59 AM

"An air sourced hot water heat pump heating a 100mm slab on top of 40mm insulation, without anything round the perimeter..." You totally ingnore the basic principle of insulating first and h......read more

5 Apr 12 10:25 AM

Agreed, the way things are if you want any better than standard the onus is on the consumer to educate themselves and demand better. One of the key approaches I took was to get everything I wanted loc......read more

2 Apr 12 8:21 AM

More like one third of the price per unit actually.. but point taken. If not on a reticulated network then yes I'd certainly agree, it'd be hard to make a case to run DHW off of bottled gas, given the......read more

2 Apr 12 8:15 AM

Like most good quality CFLs the Megaman bulbs are free of liquid mercury. They contain amalgam instead, where a tiny amount of mercury is locked away in the form of an alloy. In it's solid state it's ......read more

30 Mar 12 9:47 AM

We pay just over $6 total per day on average for combo gas/electricity supply and use.. and most of that is electricity. 220m2 house, family of five including three messy young kids so very heavy HW u......read more

28 Mar 12 1:25 PM

Slabs with no perimeter insulation are still standard. Worse, I've seen more than one recent build with pipes going in the slab (at what cost?) but with no edge insulation at all!...read more

27 Feb 12 4:38 PM

http://www.insulfoamnz.co.nz/index.php...read more

1 Feb 12 7:34 PM

I didn't - so I should be shot???? Gee.. nice....read more

1 Feb 12 1:09 PM

It's definietly going to be tricky on that budget and first and foremost you're going to have to absolutely nail the design. As mentioned, build small and simple. No garage, nothing fancy, no bells an......read more

9 Dec 11 2:39 PM

Sounds good, certainly LED tech is getting better all the time and those new Philips chips sound great. I've been into many a new build where the ceilings are riddled with dozens of cheap halogens - p......read more

9 Dec 11 1:41 PM

The information I have on those Halers units puts them at 7.9w, 330lm (3000) on a 34 degree beam (please correct me if I'm wrong). One of the reasons we went with Switch in our living areas is that th......read more

8 Nov 11 9:54 AM

I believe it was six seconds to reach 80% brightness, or something like that. Whatever the case, it's not true. I bought 7w Philips LEDs from lightpower.co.nz. I note though that they've gone up consi......read more

28 Oct 11 7:39 AM

Yeah there's a lot os misinformation and confusion out there regarding clearances. I had the insulation guys quoting NZS 4246:2006 at me, which states that no downlight can be covered, ever. Upon read......read more

27 Oct 11 10:09 PM

Oh yeah and I also picked up a few Fozz Opera fittings for the bathrooms. These seem to be a sealed version of the Vog, and were great value from Lampspecs....read more

27 Oct 11 10:07 PM

Hi Nick, we went with the Vog fittings for all of our hallways and bedrooms - sourced locally (on special I think for about $30 each - too much!), but that included a Megaman CFL, which at the time I ......read more

7 Oct 11 11:59 AM

Trying to get the company installing on our place to do the job correctly is proving frustrating. Standards are so low and practice so poor it's frankly embarrassing. I'm resigned to redoing much of t......read more

30 Sep 11 11:43 AM

The single biggest issue I see with older houses has little to do with materials and method of construction (although I do bellieve those things are very important) - and everything to do with them be......read more

7 Sep 11 10:35 AM

Snake oil... avoid. http://www.ecobob.co.nz/Forum/ForumPosts/9548/Insulating-Paint-here-is-a-great-story.aspx...read more

18 Aug 11 8:07 AM

Back to GW's original point. I have a question - are the two mutually exclusive? Passive solar focuses on heating naturally and retaining that heat, surely to do the latter properly and effectively re......read more

11 Aug 11 12:22 PM

I believe this has been sorted and the builder has come to the party (I'm building right next door). Robert M - swings and roundabouts. These sites are average sized for the area (around 700m2) and ar......read more

30 Jul 11 10:17 AM

Hi nunnbetta, Switch do come with a white trim option (that's what I have).. perhaps they should/could be a little clearer with their information! As for insulation over the LEDs I have also heard tha......read more

30 Jul 11 8:00 AM

BTW - has anyone any experience with Ecolume LEDs? http://www.ecolumelighting.com/products/...read more

30 Jul 11 7:56 AM

The Brightgreen D900 unit looks good, in terms of specs in fact it almost seems to be a carbon copy of the Switch 13w unit. The Switch product achieves 900l from a 13w bulb, while the Brightgreen achi......read more

23 Jul 11 3:51 PM

Good to hear Nick! The Cronos fitting gets warm but not hot, the Megaman bulb itself somewhat warmer again but again not what I would call hot (it's still very safely touchable). I was also very impre......read more

19 Jul 11 7:47 PM

GW is right, you'll lose almost half your R value for miniscule solar heat gain, it's just not worth it. ...read more