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“Passive House is only relevant in a German climate”
I hear this quite a lot! But, I’m owner building a certified Passive House in Perth. And that’s Perth, Western Australia, not Perth, Scotland. Have I lost my mind? No, I have not. I mean, it’s a matter of taste, Passive Houses cost more to build, and there’s a whole debate to be had about…
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How much will I save if I owner build my house?
If there’s one question that pops up ALL THE TIME on Australia’s owner builder forums, it’s this one: ‘how much will I save if I owner build my house’? And those questions make sense. Building a house is probably the most expensive thing you’ll ever do. It makes sense to want to know the price.…
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My baby steps in home automation
I’ve got grand ambitions to use home automation to optimise the energy efficiency of my new build, as well as for other convenient ways to streamline my daily life. I’ve written here about a very inspiring off-grid home using home automation to manage power use really impressively. And I’ve written here about Home Assistant, the…
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An energy efficiency masterclass from an offgrid Aussie home
I just wrote a post about making power savings using cheap home automation, but one story I heard there was next-level, and needed its own post. Wowee, I really hit the energy efficiency inspo jackpot! I’m having fun tinkering around learning to use Home Assistant, an open source (free) software for automating things around your…
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How to save power using cheap home automation
I’ve got some grand ambitions for home automation, but at the moment I’m taking baby steps. For inspo I asked asked some Home Assistant fans how they’re using it to save on their power bills, and here are some of their fantastic answers. (I’ll come back to what Home Assistant actually is in a moment,…
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How to build a Passive House in Perth
Congrats! Building a Passive House is a great idea. The Passivhaus Institute in Germany sets the standard, globally, for homes that are super comfortable to live in, and super cheap to run. I’m working on owner building a certified Passive House and I’ve done years of research on this topic here in Perth, Western Australia.…
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Owner Builder interview: How Neil the engineer is building a rock solid house
It’s true of Owner Building, like so many things in life, that you may want to build your house quick, build it cheap, and build it good, but, well, you’re probably going to have to pick two out of the three. Neil Gallegos, from Quindanning in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, is definitely building it…
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Free heating and free cooling – good passive solar design
If you’re designing your house, what if there was an easy way to make it more comfortable to live in, and cheaper to run, for free? And all you had to do was look at where you’re putting your windows and your eaves? Well, I’m happy to tell you that this is the magic of…
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Thinking about Owner Building?
Most people use a builder to build their house, but if you do it well, Owner Building can be a great path to a better quality house at a lower cost. It’s not an easy path though, saving money requires investing a huuuuuge amount of your own time, and building a house is a very…
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Owner Builder Step 5 – Drawings
So you have completed steps 1-4: And you are ready for Step 5, a set of drawings. What do you want to achieve? Diving into the detail too fast can miss the big picture. If you engage an architect they won’t start by asking whether you want a walk-in robe or what ceiling height you’d…
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Owner Builder Step 6 – Permits
I mean, not necessarily exactly in this order, and hopefully not without good attention to the step I’m convering here – the permits and permissions you will need for your Owner Build. The process I’m going to describe is for Western Australia, be aware that the process does vary a great deal by state. Planning…
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Builder to lockup, then Owner Build
A question which gets asked a lot in Australia’s owner builder forums, is whether to get a builder to build the house to lockup, and then take over to complete the home as an owner builder. On the face of it, this is an appealing option. It doesn’t seem very common in practice though. Why…