Innholdsfortegnelse for No 50 i BuildHome Victoria

Wood is nature’s most incredible building material, unsurpassed in environmental considerations, incredibly versatile in design and its range of applications, and superior in performance for thermal, acoustic, strength and fire applications. Above all, it is inspiring, striking and ultimately beautiful; it is nature’s gift to the built environment. The environment It is a well-known fact that wood has significant credentials when it comes to environmental considerations. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the carbon is stored in the wood and then emitted into the atmosphere. This carbon stays locked in the timber until the timber is burnt or allowed to decay, at which point the carbon is released back into the atmosphere. While using timber for fuel is still carbon-neutral, using it for building creates a net absorption of…

N ot all of us have the luxury, or the budget, to build our dream home on a substantial block, nor in the country, where space isn’t as limited as it is in the capital cities. Sadly for many people, the long-held dream of owning a quarter-acre block is becoming increasingly unatainable, with most lucky to afford just a small pocket of land to call their own. As a result, house design has been adapted to suit the changes in land sizes. “As lots become more expensive to develop, they become more expensive to purchase, so the cost per square metre (sqm) increases,” explains Nick Marino, NSW state sales manager of home building at Sekisui House. “To ensure there is affordability, house lots over time have become smaller. Most residential…

T his timber-framed house, known as Wisteria Way, is designed as two stacked rectilinear volumes. The lower volume, comprising the living spaces, faces the sun and extends down the slope to enclose the garden. The upper volume, comprising the bedrooms, faces dense bush and extends across the site to cover the carport and entry below. A light-filled double-height entry and stair void define the intersection of the two volumes. The use of zoned living for private retreats and the clients’ entertaining needs are carefully woven into the stunning inner space. Given the brief and nature of the block, the design of the home had to be carefully planned to allow for key external and internal functions. The pool area is serviced by a lower ground floor incorporating the plant requirements,…

S et on an elevated corner block a stone’s throw from where the ships turn at McCrae, this two-storey modern contemporary home is another credit to Graham Jones Design in conjunction with Individual Builders. The pre-existing house had to be demolished in order to make way for the new, tastefully designed home. Working closely with the owner, Craig McPhan of Individual Builders and his team built a streamlined residence boasting some extra-special features. The exterior of the home combines a mix of building materials including Exon cladding, rendered brick walls and stonework. The home faces away from the street towards the water, with a landscaped front entrance and poolside entry. The lower floor includes two bedrooms as well as a guest bedroom with ensuite bathrooms and breathtaking bay views. An…

E xtending over 35.16 squares, Nostra Homes’ Savana 36 is a sleek design ideal for second or third homebuyers. Incorporating modern lines and textures, the design is perfect for affordable, contemporary-style living. With a spacious layout, the two-storey home is designed to make open-plan, clutter-free living a pleasurable reality. The modern facade sets the tone of the overall home. This tone then continues right through the inside, with creative shapes and levels showing off the quality finishes. Upon entering through the oversized front door, there is a large study or home office and outdoor access to a small courtyard. Continuing through the home, the breezy open-plan kitchen, meals area and family room prove that openplan living can be stylish and practical. Bringing the elements together means the transition from cooking…

BuildHome: What is your definition of a project home? Natalie O’Shea, building designer at Hotondo Homes: Project homes, or homes built by a volume builder, are pre-determined house designs which usually have an affordable price attached to them. Adrian Popple, design director at Metricon: The term ‘project home’ is not one that we hear very often anymore, but generally it means a home built with a volume builder. A project home builder offers home buyers a set of predesigned home plans to choose from. This is an alternative to commissioning an architect to design a home to your exact specifications. Marcus Bortolussi, senior sales consultant at Bellmarch Homes: A project home is an individual house based on a display home, sales brochure or pre-existing design. The repeatable design can be…

Storybook Designer Homes was established more than 20 years ago and its team is dedicated to producing state-of-the-art, high-character design solutions at extremely competitive prices. Clients choose from traditional, classic, beach and modern styles and no matter what the building site — level, sloping, narrow, treed etc — Storybook will create a fabulous solution. Pictured are a few of the 2000 individual designs Storybook Designer Homes has created for owner-builder clients. The process of individual design is not just about the floor plan and external shape of the house; rather, it’s the total desired impression inside and out. The company began by providing a product to satisfy the cottage and traditional market, but quickly realised there was a huge need for more contemporary and coastal products. Today, Storybook is proud…

The Sorrento by Snowgum Homes is crafted in the company’s purpose-built facility to the highest-quality standards before being delivered to the site complete and ready to move into. It is a three-bedroom home that comes with walk-in robes to all bedrooms, an ensuite to the master bedroom and a semiensuite to the other two bedrooms. Snowgum Homes designed The Sorrento so that it would be perfect for anyone — couples, singles and large families. It has a spacious kitchen with a 900mm upright oven, a large pantry and an island bench that allows for extra bench space or a breakfast bar. There is also a separate laundry with linen closet. The large living area boasts a raked ceiling and comes with a 4.8m double sliding door, which allows light to…

There is an amazing selection of building products on the market these days that will help you build an energy-efficient home with great aesthetic appeal. The simple use of a unique building product can be the final touch to making your home extra-special. Whether you are a city dweller or a country resident, there is a building product for you. Unique building products not only help to individualise your home and give it the look and feel you want, they also make the home more functional for your specific site needs. We live in a vast country with varying climates and environmental conditions, so no one building system will be the ideal solution for every place. Unique products allow you to create the home you need in the area you…

B uilding your new home is an exciting venture, one that takes time and careful preparation. It is therefore essential that you choose to build with only the best materials and products available. A solid floor is a vital component of a solid home. Luckily, MEGAjoist has launched a new, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, long-span floor joist and rafter system. It is easy to install and provides ready-made service penetrations. It is available in pre-ordered lengths and can be docked in the factory or on-site as required. The patented product uses solid timber flanges and intermediate timber webs that are glued together to act as a solid element. This means the joist acts more like a timber beam than a truss, giving the completed floor system a more solid feel. The…

This large, three-storey, 105-square home was built by Trevor and Megan Ryan on Phillip Island. It features many curved walls and is an excellent example of what can be achieved with the Thermacell building system. Commercial builders are learning what many owner-builders have known for years — that Thermacell, the fire-retardant polystyrene formwork used for casting concrete structures, is the smartest, safest, easiest and most cost-effective way to build. After completing the home on Phillip Island, Trevor says he would recommend Thermacell. “I have no hesitation in recommending Thermacell and I’ve done so to friends and other owner-builders. As owner-builders ourselves, we found Thermacell to be a fantastic building product. Its noise and insulation factors have proven to be better than expected.” Thermacell blocks have keyways top and bottom and…

New porcelain pavers for sophisticated landscapes Capturing the essence of natural stone, the new SOHO porcelain pavers from Boral add elegance to landscape design. The pavers combine the aesthetic of precious natural stones and the texture of sedimentary and calcareous stones to create depth and visual interest in outdoor spaces. The porcelain stoneware collection draws inspiration from current design trends. Available in three natural, chromatic hues, with carefully balanced warm and cold tints, the modern outdoor tiles are a versatile, low-maintenance choice for refined outdoor design. The pavers are suitable for a wide range of residential applications to add elegance to patios, pools, paths and driveways. Offering flexible installation options, they can be laid on crushed rock or sand, adhered to concrete screeds or fixed on pedestals. The slip- and…

For those who know exactly what they want, there is no substitute for a custom-built house. Finding a reputable builder is the first, and perhaps the most important, step in the process towards creating your dream home — one designed with your needs, style and site in mind. A custom builder will guide you through everything, from design to construction, and will work towards making your dream a reality. They can also coordinate and manage the whole project to ensure everything stays on track and the end result lives up to your expectations.…

" W e were looking for a builder who would take the time to sit with us and understand exactly what we wanted,” say these homeowners, a married couple who were looking for a custom design and a builder who specialised in this to get the right finished product. “We found New Home Shop in Caroline Springs through a referral and found the company’s consultants to be flexible when it came to our needs — nothing was impossible. “They provided us with inspiring input, and then introduced us to Doug, the actual builder, who was sensational. Doug not only offered his own valuable contribution, he also created a realistic expectation for us — not the fairytale scenario most expect when building their first home. This dose of realism allowed us…

With a fresh, breezy appeal, the customised Woolamai by Swenrick Constructions is a testament to sophisticated design that truly speaks for itself. Featuring a blend of textures to the external cladding, including Hoobler Stone and corrugated Colorbond steel, the house facade has a unique sense of character that catches the eye. Modern living and a natural ambience are captured by the open-plan design that blends the main living areas including the kitchen, dining and living room. The generosity of extra highlight windows to these areas allows plenty of natural light and provides the occupants with views of the surrounding landscape. A stunning wood fireplace and hearth with Hoobler Stone feature chimney sits as the focal point of the space for a homely feel. The contemporary kitchen is a cook’s delight…

The Tarkine range of homes represents the perfect design for families of all ages. Offering a well-balanced combination of materials, construction and affordability, the Tarkine 238 attracts a wide range of clientele. “The Tarkine is a versatile home with plenty of space, allowing it to grow as your family grows,” says Hotondo Homes building designer Natalie O’Shea. “It is a showcase of modern design and functionality, with a very luxurious feel and plenty of natural light.” The brief for the home was to create a design that would fit on a relatively narrow 12.5m-wide block while maintaining a contemporary and spacious feel. The open-plan kitchen, family and dining space connects to the study, and the entire area offers views of outdoor spaces. It makes the home appear much larger and…

Kit homes provide an affordable, flexible and convenient housing option for homebuyers. As the name suggests, kit homes are delivered in kits containing all the necessary materials to construct a home and generally include roofing, windows, external cladding, internal walls, ceilings, verandahs and decking. Kit homes offer the homebuyer brilliant value for money, as expensive labour costs can be greatly reduced through assembling the home yourself or with the help of contracted labourers. This reduces not only the overall cost of your new home, but also the total building time. No longer do you need to sit around, forking out rent while you wait for your builder or developer to make significant progress. Kit homes allow you to take matters into your own hands and complete the project in a…

Fair Dinkum Federation Series Featured here is the Caulfield, with a range of seven different sizes and floor plans. The 24-square (223m²) home is only $140,040 for the deluxe with lock-up package, including GST. Inside the home, you will find four bedrooms, a living room, meals area/family room, kitchen with walk-in pantry, laundry and two bathrooms. When built on a projectmanaged basis, the home takes approximately 16 weeks to construct, with a choice of weatherboard or brick. As the name suggests, the Harkaway Homes Fair Dinkum Federation Series Caulfield is an authentic-reproduction Federation home with a wide range of traditional features. These include high 3.6m external walls, 3m ceilings, a Federation roofline, integrated verandah, leadlighttopped box-bay windows, leadlight front-door frame with cricket-bat-entry door, Federation-line casement windows, Federation friezes and French…

This charming country-style home is located in Brooks Estate, Lower Barrington, a beautiful rural setting in north-west Tasmania. By working with the client, Tasbuilt adapted one of its designs to maximise the elevation of the block and the panoramic views of Mount Roland and Mount Claude. The home features three bedrooms, a wraparound deck and a raked ceiling throughout the living area. The traditional kitchen’s design was centred on a country scene feature tile, beautifully handpainted by the owner. The double opening doors in the front entry lead to the open living area. Minimal hallways maximise space and create an open and spacious feel. There are three large bedrooms, two of which have practical built-in wardrobes, and the master bedroom incorporates a walk-in robe and ensuite. The bathroom includes tiled…

As operations manager for Whytehall Services, Alex Labberton typically works on commercial projects for large wellknown companies doing interior and structural fit-outs, but he swapped his suit for his tool belt to build a holiday home for his family. “It was my chance to get back on the tools as a hobby across 18 months of weekends, public holidays and RDOs to build the family holiday home,” says experienced builder Alex. “I pretty much had carte blanche but my dad warned me: ‘You’d better not build me an office block.’ It’s a family joke because I also have a hotelier cousin who built a foyer-style reception area in his home.” The home is 600m² on one level in coastal Kilcunda, Victoria, and overlooks Bass Coast. There are two wings, with…

The architecturally designed Perimeter House by MAKE architecture has been awarded the Kevin Borland Masonry Award at the 2017 Think Brick Awards. Perimeter House in Abbotsford, Victoria, is bound on all edges by a vibrant industrial context of brick factories, businesses and warehouses. This house is poised between two extremes, with the cool tranquillity of the shady poolside inner garden only a building skin away from the tough industrial streetscape. With one side of this western-edge threshold pushed hard against the street and the other side opening to a centrally located courtyard space, inbuilt pool and fireplace, this strip of building works between the public and the private, while offering places for engagement with the active street edge and places for children to play. Adbri Masonry’s Architectural Bricks in Ebony…

Style meets functionality Attention to detail is paramount in this distinctive design, which embraces the enviable views of the surrounding hills. The high-end contemporary design more than meets the homeowner’s request for attention to detail in a showpiece home that combines numerous materials for a striking exterior and an interior that focuses on functionality and style. The design is reflective of the home’s corner block position in a slight embankment and the need to enjoy the views of the surrounding hills of Marysville. A steel portal frame allowed the build to progress quickly once the excavations were completed and the slab was prepared. Due to the feature porte cochère, entry bridge, main deck and horizon pool, the external design needed to include exceptional timberwork, stone and other natural materials to…

Tell us a bit about Frys Energywise and how you help homeowners build more energy-efficient homes. Frys Energywise is an expert in the assessment of new dwellings for energy efficiency and cost-effective solutions for the improvement of existing dwellings. Why is building an energy-efficient home important? Whether you are designing a new home or planning a renovation, designing and constructing the home with energy efficiency in mind can save you thousands in energy costs. The home will function efficiently as soon as it’s built and for years to come, which will add value in the long run. Making homes more energy efficient will not only go a long way to ensuring the ongoing supply of energy, but also make a massive difference to the environment. Is it more expensive to…

T hese Melbourne homeowners had previously commissioned Graeme Alexander Homes to design and construct their beach house at Mt Martha, a home large enough to accommodate themselves and their extended family on weekends and holidays. They have been spending longer periods of time here over the past seven years. It was now time for these empty-nesters to sell the old family home in Melbourne and move into a smaller townhouse in the same neighbourhood, so they turned to Graeme Alexander Homes once again. Finding the ideal townhouse proved to be more difficult than they first thought, so after a lot of searching they decided on an old house in Hawthorn East, at the end of a lovely court that backed onto a school. This home has a northerly aspect but…

This stunning new unit by Q&J Constructions is sure to exceed the expectations of any family, empty nester or single person. First impressions are extremely impressive, with the balanced combination of materials and angles creating an interesting front facade. A modern door and a simple but eye-catching garden complement the entrance space. The 260sqm home has two bathrooms, three bedrooms and an enviable open floor plan that creates a spacious living environment. In the expansive living area, different textures and materials combine to give warmth to the modern space. A fireplace serves as the focal point and helps keep the spacious room heated in the cooler months. The kitchen is more than attractive, with state-of-the-art appliances, maximum storage space and a breakfast bench and bar stools. A red splashback adds…

A great way of knowing what you’re buying is to purchase a project or display home. According to Hotondo Homes building designer Natalie O’Shea, “Display homes offer the opportunity to envisage what your house will look like. Seeing the home will allow you to pinpoint aspects you may want to change that would otherwise be missed when viewing a simple floorplan.” Inspecting project or display homes allows you to get an idea of the overall size of each home, as well as its layout. By walking through different houses, you can compare room sizes and envision how your furniture will fit into the house. It is also an ideal way of judging the building quality and finishing touches included with each home.…

Southern Vale Homes recently opened its newest display home, the Solace 32+, in Wodonga. It’s a design that is far from your typical four-bedroom family home. There’s a clear element of playfulness and surprise on show throughout, evidenced by the ultra-modern facade with different textures of render, brick and timber cladding, as well as custom cabinetry, functional timber-slat feature walls, and a secret butler’s pantry. Wall niches and built-in timber shelves feature in many rooms, including the entranceway, sitting room and dedicated theatre/media room. The timber-slat feature walls give the light-filled home its own personality, and also create independent, furnishable spaces without disrupting the flow of the open-plan living area, which incorporates dining/kitchen/family spaces and backs onto a generous-sized alfresco. “With the Solace 32+, we really wanted to show off…

If you are thinking of building in Victoria, South Australia or Tasmania, the qualified staff at Paal’s Melbourne display home will help you choose and personalise your new kit home and guide you through the entire building process. Michael Jennings and Robyn Cummins are both experienced in assisting customers to conceptualise their dream and translate that into practical steps, from floor plan design through to completion. “There’s still a preconception of kit homes as small, low-quality boxes or as relocatable homes that arrive pre-erected on the back of a truck,” says Michael. “Paal’s kit homes are not affected by usual kit restrictions, as they are built on site in the traditional manner with the added advantage of owner-builder suitability and the longevity of a hi-tensile steel frame. “Although Paal specialises…

Prefabricated, modular and manufactured homes offer practical solutions to a range of building challenges. Their environmental benefits, flexibility and cost efficiency make them an attractive building option for a variety of different housing needs. Prefabricated dwellings are constructed and assembled off-site in factories, then delivered to the location on a truck. This is great for the environment as it reduces the need for mass excavation and ensures little or no disturbance to existing vegetation around your land. Homeowners can also take advantage of existing houses on their land by renting them out or living in the home until the prefabricated dwelling is ready to be delivered. Another advantage of modular homes is that owners are able to add on modules for an easy extension. Modules can often be added to…

Prefabricated housing is generally defined as homes that have been built off-site in a controlled manufacturing environment (a factory). Made in parts, these key building components are then transported and assembled on site. Across the world, this innovative construction method has been proving very effective in terms of solving problems such as housing shortages, as well as the concerning issue of the impact housing and construction have on the environment. As the growth and popularity of prefabricated housing grows in Australia, an awareness of its benefits has also grown. Homeowners’ concerns with design restrictions and lack of a comfortable living environment have been quickly negated by prefab builders who are producing some of the most talked-about buildings in the industry. Taking significantly less time to construct and at up to…

Casafico builds homes, innovates and manufactures building products that allow you to construct quickly, minimising environmental impact. Developed by family company Casafico, Polystat prefabricated walls are an all-in-one product combining the frame and insulation, with cavities for services and a finished coat, ready for accelerated installation on site. Polystat uses waste materials including newspaper, carpet, polystyrene and glass, saving them from landfill and transforming them into composite walls ready for on-site building construction, strong enough to be used as load-bearing walls. The result is a pre-built, user-friendly, lightweight wall with good thermal and fire-rating properties. The thermal efficiencies of the polystyrene core provide superior insulation, saving energy to heat and cool the building, while the recycled materials forming the coatings and panelling provide the fire-rating requirements. Conscious of the impact…

Nothing is more hypnotising or comforting than the flickering flames of a fire in winter. Australian-owned company Sculpt Fireplace Collection combines luxury and comfort with its aesthetically pleasing fireplaces by French manufacturers JC Bordelet, Axis and Seguin. Sculpt Fireplace aims to provide Australians with a dynamic collection of designer fires, broadening the market for people who want an interior that is finished with a high-end design aesthetic. Handmade in limited quantities, award-winning JC Bordelet fireplaces are dramatically suspended from the ceiling and aim to enhance the ambience and warmth of any living space. Crafted in the south of France, the contemporary new-age design of the Bordelet Tatiana 997 hanging wood fire is constructed from hand-shaped and spun steel. With a 180-degree viewing area and 360-degree pivot rotation option, this artisan-engineered…