Building for Performance

By now, it should come as no surprise to learn that we cannot rely on Australian regulations to ensure quality construction, which is needed to ensure a home can perform as intended. For instance, new houses in Sydney are constructed in such a way that they “leak” air at a rate of between 7 and 10 times what is considered acceptable in many other countries. Many consider that the best home performance standard in Passive House, which allows for no more than 0.6 air changes an hour while the average in Australia is 15 air changes an hour while in Sydney, it is closer to 25 air changes an hour. Maybe this explains why most of us woke to the smell of bushfires as the smoke penetrated the every fabric of our homes last summer, or why hay fever sufferers  get little relief from being indoors.

Similar issues arise in many other areas of constructing a home. Issues such as thermal bridges, waterproof membranes vs vapour permeable ones and even the positioning of insulation have a major impact on performance, yet most builders do not understand or have experience of these issues. They build houses the way they have always built houses, and are very good at what they do, but to get a home to work properly needs a quantum change in construction. Luckily, many builders, despite their lack of experience in these advancements, are very capable of building you a great home, but to do so, they need quality detailed construction documentation and to work collaboratively with an architect to achieve the end goal. This is very different from the usual build, where designers provide little more than the DA drawings and the builder uses their past experience and the regulations to construct your house.

At SEED, we understand the importance of ensuring that your home is built to the highest possible standards. This starts with detailed documentation of the project so that builders are in no doubt about how to build your home. An assessment of builders is made at the tender stage to ensure not only the best value of money, but that the chosen builder is capable of working to the required standard. Finally, SEED will administer your construction contract to ensure your end up with the quality of home you deserve and which performs as intended.

We readily admit that compared with a house designer, who simply produces your DA documents, this might seem a costly approach but we are confident that given the opportunity, we can show you why this should be your preferred option and how it will save both money and disappointment in the long run. Please feel from ask us more about our documentation and contract administration services.Back