tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23779860797972320722024-03-20T23:17:21.385-07:00jshdweblog: Articles Revolving Around and on Designing and BuildingThe evolving link of the jshomedesign websiteUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-67285888402786187132014-09-26T00:39:00.001-07:002014-09-26T00:39:18.571-07:00Thinking of buying a block and building a house on it?<br />
Well then consider having me look at the block you're interested in.<br />
<br />
Coupled with the sort of house you're thinking of building, I can give
you the for and the against. Some blocks aren't sympathetic to some
ideas or plans, not to mention the budget. Especially in the Albany
Region, there are soil variables, drainage issues and even block size
potential problems. For example imagine a large family home with
need of three or so car spaces on a 300 or less square metre block,
on a slope with a mix of clay soils, sand and rock. It can get awkward
and expensive. Also, if you just bought the property and paid the
stamp duty etc, and then find it doesn't work well . . . Well with my
three plus decades of experience in the building industry, designing,
drafting, site reports, assisting Engineer's, soil testing and building -
an awkward and/or expensive situation may be avoided.<br />
<br />
At least it may be worth considering, for the cost of a site visit and a
consult/report. Phone or email me for an idea on my fees, which will
depend on how far the site is and how much time is needed. A visit
in Albany on an moderately easy block would be around $200.
A cliffhanger in Denmark – more.<br />
<br />
john@jshomedesign.com.au<br />
<br />
[0427] 211 277Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-68211059333023582352012-12-26T18:20:00.001-08:002012-12-26T18:31:54.772-08:00long distance flight<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KjvLFrR8UBg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-17948259121827634202011-12-01T23:50:00.000-08:002011-12-01T23:53:27.001-08:00The Home with a Wild Heart<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The Home with a Wild Heart</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Awhile ago a concept for quite a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">different home occurred to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Imagine at the centre of your home, a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">glass shaft approximately four by four </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">metres wide going up through the roof. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">In this space there are plants growing </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">and areas of double glass where fish </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">can swim around. There could also be </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">a couple of small birds flying around, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">with perhaps a couple of frogs and </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">lizards moving through the dense </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">undergrowth.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The peacefulness created by the cool, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">calm greenery of such a shaft of glass, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">would make it a worthy area to have in </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">a home. I have designed and built a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">couple of homes with a central atrium </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">and have noticed that the plants thrived </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">extremely well in these well protected </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">areas. Another bonus of this idea is; </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">as the land sizes get smaller, wouldn’t </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">it be great for young and old to have a </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">mini eco centre right there in the middle </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">of the house, in arms reach of the living </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">area. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The health of this internal garden will be </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">a great source of learning. Things to </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">consider are soil, air and water. Then</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"> there’s climate, feeding, housing, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">breeding and various other things that </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">you and the children can work on. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">At the end of the day; just imagine </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">coming home after a busy day of work </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">and then as you open your front door, </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">you are greeted by a peaceful haven </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">of plants and fish and birds. What better </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">way to have some contact with nature </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">than to have it in the middle of the home </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">. . . <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">a world of live ‘wildlife’ in the </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 199.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"><b>home with a wild heart.</b> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-58550096936516701832010-12-02T21:46:00.000-08:002010-12-02T21:46:48.023-08:00The Start of the Home<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">For every family and location there is a different home to suit that particular location for that particular family.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Those who are thinking of building will usually have a rough idea of their new home. Their ideas could’ve come from past experiences or perhaps, something they have seen.<span> </span>When they see an existing house that appeals to them, the design of that house would very likely have a strong tie with the block and therefore be somewhat of a product of <i>the block</i>; such as its area, levels, and orientation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The shape [an element] of the house assists to determine the desired look.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Quite often the future new home owners will have drawn a rough plan, so there’s a loosely tangible concept to show the designer. There are also occasions where clients approach a design drafting service and the design starts completely from scratch, whereupon the designer then sets out to discover the clients necessities for a home that would offer them comfort.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Factors that Effect the Design of the Home</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Some factors that influence the design are as follows:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>>The owner’s wishes <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>>The owner’s budget</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>>The Block </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>R codes [Planning regulations for various </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> housing density areas] </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>contour levels</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>views </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt; text-indent: 54pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">direction of sun travel ie North</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt; text-indent: 54pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">storm water considerations </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt; text-indent: 54pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">soil type</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>topography, streetscape and neighbours </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>location of services</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>natural features</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>>Availability of local materials</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span>>Availability of builders</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Appointing JS Home Design <span> </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">After the clients have made initial contact with JS Home Design and conveyed the rough idea of their proposed new home, JS Home Design will provide a quote, scope of works and agreement for their consideration.<span> </span>In this three to five page document, the fees and the scope of works for the three stages of providing plans are laid out. <span> </span>The three stages being: Sketch [Initial Drawings], Preliminary Working Drawings [Plans for Council prior to print] and Final Stage [Addressing energy efficiency requirements, Specification documents and other miscellaneous items].</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Sketch Stage</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">After discussions with the clients and the researching of the location and more, I form a ‘map’ of all the parameters of a particular project.</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">After the client brief and a site visit or two, some ideas start to emerge. <span> </span>A concept may be verbalized, penciled or 3D shaped on a laptop. <span> </span>Then there would be further consulting, exploring the options and possibilities. Further ideas start to emerge and develop into the Sketch Stage, where the drawings are updated with the current ideas.<span> </span>Here I would produce plans, elevations, details, three dimensional views and a site plan.<span> </span>This could be done as a free hand penciled drawing to quickly give a picture to the owners. Often I follow this up with a computer aided drawing program where a more accurate visual, including accurate 3D views are rendered for the client to<i> realize</i> the form of the design.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 46.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Quite often there are some adjustments and fine tunings, until the clients say something like, “Yes, I’m happy with that!”<span> </span>Then the plans proceed to the next stage.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-49395055843464064422010-09-14T21:11:00.000-07:002010-09-14T21:11:33.219-07:00Australian Tinkering – A Bit of History<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The Vernacular building was done with what ever materials were available by whatever skill the ‘builder’ had ‘on hand’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Back in the days gone, builders could wield an axe and then they progressed to the finer art of using a saw and a hammer. The art, and hard work, of splitting logs and the axe hewn timber poles for structural beams, mixed with use of earth and stone walls made the early mainframe. Then with bark, tin, nails, wire and small squares of glass, the building became a shelter. A bit of steel rod and flat iron with a forge and some basic tools one could even make the hinges and other window and door furniture.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Australian Tinkering has fascinated me for a long time, ever since I watched my grandfather twitch a piece of wire on the farm. I saw my father sort through the store of raw materials and then chose ‘just the thing for the job’. Tools would come out to clutter the work bench and with the smell of wood shavings, iron filings and oil in the old tin workshop some bellows would be made, for example.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzajapjmg5HAEsH0AijUT-mrACCKhIESTJ9h-RBPFBCv2QAVIpN9jAi0MMJ_-Kq96ND3Ho6UeeqaIBeEzCFDVXp39WK3cOmimIr-u3fB4HASo3GhOnv8YHaRe1t2yo3hjtxCvgYpJ5Z_M/s1600/DSC01122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzajapjmg5HAEsH0AijUT-mrACCKhIESTJ9h-RBPFBCv2QAVIpN9jAi0MMJ_-Kq96ND3Ho6UeeqaIBeEzCFDVXp39WK3cOmimIr-u3fB4HASo3GhOnv8YHaRe1t2yo3hjtxCvgYpJ5Z_M/s200/DSC01122.JPG" width="122" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">past and present tinkering </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 208.3pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">of the SW of WA</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2377986079797232072.post-70862964714220950972010-09-13T21:49:00.000-07:002010-09-13T21:49:07.589-07:00How Much Embodied Energy is in Your House?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm -52.7pt 0.0001pt 18pt; text-indent: 54pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm -52.7pt 0.0001pt 18pt; text-indent: 54pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm -52.7pt 0.0001pt 18pt; text-indent: 54pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Basically Buildings Need Materials</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">When you factor in the full picture of all the processes of manufacture, like what was involved with where, how etc the materials arrived at the building site; such as how much energy did it take to process the materials,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">including the mining/harvesting of the raw materials</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">, including the use of tools, fuel for transport, etc. How much pollution did the whole process create and what was the cost to the environment and how much would it cost to completely rectify the environment to before the whole process started and what were the costs and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">impacts on human health. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Then, also factor in the energy used on site during the construction. Then at </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">the end of the buildings life cycle, the energy and costs for the disposal of the building material. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">So;<b> </b></span><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Embodied energy is the energy used through all of the stages of the production of a building.</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">With embodied energy there is also embodied <span style="color: black;">emissions; carbon emissions. It has been reported that for around every dollar spent, there’s one kilogram of carbon emissions.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Choice<span style="color: black;"> </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The choice of materials, method of construction and some common sense, determines the amount of energy embodied in the structure of a building. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The design of a building should also then factor in the following:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Which Climate Zone is the building </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">What’s the transport distances involved </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">What’s the embodied energy content of the available local materials </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Materials</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Starting at the lower end of embodied energy we have local timber, local stone, local mud bricks and the best . . . local recycled materials. The embodied energy in sawn hardwood that is air dried, is about a quarter less than kiln dried and twenty times less than laminated veneer lumber or MDF. In the case of LVL’s [laminated] and MDF, this is due to the energy used in the heating process in the first instance and with the extra manufacturing and glue. Then at the high end of embodied energy are aluminium, copper and plastics. These materials have hundreds of times more embodied energy than the air dried sawn hardwood.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Design the building for a long life </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">In some cases the choice of a high embodied material is necessary; For example, large amounts of thermal mass, high in embodied energy, such as concrete and brick, can significantly reduce heating and cooling needs in a well designed and insulated passive solar house. Also the choice of a high embodied material, such as steel, may last longer, thus the building lasts longer. When the building lasts longer, the energy used for the building’s existence is spread over a larger time, thus in effect lessening the amount of energy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Consider</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">>Avoid building a bigger house than you need. This will save materials.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">>Make use of materials from demolition of existing buildings. Where possible, recycle construction wastes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">>Use locally sourced materials. This reduces transport.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">>Select materials that can be re-used or recycled easily at the end of their lives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">>Give preference to materials manufactured using renewable energy sources.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">At the end of the day</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">If every building was considered with keeping the embodied energy to a minimum, not only would the price of the building be less but it would help the environment and thus everyone’s health.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -52.7pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Healthy Planet, Healthy People </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm -52.7pt 0.0001pt 18pt; text-indent: 54pt;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0